Ladies and Gentleman, Happy Friday! The first quarter of the NFL season is coming to a quick close. We are reaching a point in the season where we will start to see teams and players take off. It’s well documented, with how the NFL pre-season is treated, that September is a slow start for teams. The Patriots are a prime example. I see team owners on twitter freaking out and jumping ship on players that they invested a lot of draft capital.
In the wise words of William Wallace,”Hold…Hold…Hold.” I understand, easier said than done if you are staring at a 0-3 start and losing studs to injury. Speaking first hand, I am still holding on to Chris Hogan and Derrick Henry but time is running out. Don’t get me wrong, I have dropped both players in various leagues but not giving up 100% stock. All I’m suggesting is don’t get “too cute” yet and drop players just to pick up a RB4, WR4/5 that had one good week while your team is just warming up. I would not drop Hogan or Henry for, let’s just say, Aldrick Robinson who had two receiving touchdowns in the TNF Vikings @ Rams game. After this week we will get a green light on dropping some of these players.
I’ll get off my soap box and get to the Bad Boyz of week 4 but if you have questions, on guys you are fighting with dropping or keeping on your roster, leave a note in the comments or @ me on twitter.
Alright let us get to it, we have a few new offenders to present to you this week. Also, we have a clearer picture and update on repeat offenders with a couple getting released on good…bad behavior.
Getting ReleasedÂ
- T. J. Yeldon:Â The time has come, Yeldon’s value has disappeared. Leonard Fournette inches closer to returning and in his absence Yeldon as yet to yield fantasy relevant production that you can trust in your lineup. If you have Fournette you will want to consider keeping Yeldon on your roster just in case Fournette incurs a season long injury, if you have the bench depth. For non-Fournette owners that grabbed Yeldon hoping for better production it is okay to drop him for players with more upside. See if any owners in your league have given up on Dion Lewis or Royce Freeman. Or throw a few trades out for players with low stock right now- David Johnson, Kenyon Drake- to name a few.
- Ito Smith:Â Similar to Fournette, rumor has it that Devonta Freeman is close to returning. Ito only had 2 carries for -6 rushing yards and 3 catches for 41 yards. Tevin Coleman owners want to keep an eye on Freeman’s injury as the season progresses. If he ends up missing more time or out for the season at some point you might want to consider rostering Ito to insure Coleman.
Repeat Offenders
Handcuffs are getting dropped by non-starter owners in a number of leagues. This is the time for you to scoop in if you missed out on your handcuff. I’ve seen Austin Ekeler, Javorius Allen, Royce Freeman, Corey Clement and Latavius Murray pop back on waivers after week 3. If you own their respective starter see if you can fit them on your roster to provide insurance for your Fantasy Football championship run.
- Latavius Murray:Â Murray will be locked on your waivers after playing in the Thursday night game. Pick him up if your league-mates bailed on him after the week 3 Vikings game that got out of hand and the game script did not favor Murray. The TNF football game was an amazing display of offense but a huge take away here was the minimal usage of Dalvin Cook in the second half. The broadcast team reported no issues with Cook but for some reason Murray was getting the nod. I don’t know if I believe this and I’m sure more will get reported over the weekend. Murray holds value for now but his production needs to increase. “Hold….Hold….Hold.”
- Corey Clement:Â If you do not own Ajayi I give you the green light to release Clement, if necessary. Ajayi owners, pick up Clement, many of your competitors have given up on Clement after week 3. Don’t forget my soap box, offenses are still warming up and Ajayi has a fracture in his back. That sounds pretty scary to me. Everything I’ve read, it is just a pain management issue for Ajayi but one bad hit or if something happens to his knee then Clement is fantasy relevant again. I know Smallwood will scare a number of you from doing this but the Eagles have shown, without and with Ajayi in the game, Clement is utilized in this offense. I do not recommend picking up Smallwood unless you are an Ajayi owner with a deep bench of 8+ spots or deeper leagues of more than 14 teams.
- Giovani Bernard:Â Keep Bernard on your roster even if you do not own Mixon. It looks like Mixon will be out at least one more week. Keep an eye on the Friday injury report because there are rumblings he has a chance of suiting up. Once Mixon returns, non-Mixon owners should consider dropping Bernard. If you own Mixon this will be your opportunity to get your handcuff.
- Javorius Allen:Â Still continues to provide PPR value. Standard leagues are safe to drop him unless you own Collins. Javorius is getting rezone usage and is involved in the game plan every week. The Ravens face some nice matchups for the running game as the season moves forward. For Collins owners, Allen is a must own for handcuff purposes and non-Collins owners he is worth keeping unless we see his usage drop off at an alarming rate.
- Chris Ivory: I laughed last week when I wrote about a Bills player but then they pulled out a win against the Minnesota Vikings. Yes, this really happened. Browns win, Bills win..must have been one of those weeks. LeSean McCoy is still fighting his rib injury but says he will play this Sunday. This is a situation worth monitoring for McCoy owners. Hopefully you are in a better situation with your roster then pondering a claim for Chris Ivory.
New Offenders
Check your leagues for Sony Michel. I believe this train will be leaving soon.
— Nic Rome (@NicRome_) September 20, 2018
- Sony Michel and James White:Â If you follow me on twitter you got this nugget last week while Michel was still sitting on your waivers. I promise you, I cannot see the future but Rex Burkhead has been sent to the IR this week. Cue up opportunity for Michel. Whites value increases dramatically as well but chances are slimmer that he is available in your league. You have no shot at Michel in competitive leagues but you might be able to snag him in a low-end trade if you are in a home league with your buddy’s coworker that drafted a2nd tier QB in the early rounds.
- Alfred Morris:Â Matt Breida was a full participant in practice on Thursday and looks like a go for Sunday. If you own Breida this is your chance to get your handcuff. Morris was a big waiver wire name earlier this week but you should see him pop back on waivers after the Breida news. I’m not overly excited about this play because of the Niners losing Jimmy Garropolo and the outlook on this offense is in question. I do imagine Shanahan will lean on the running game whoever they play at QB but opposing defenses will keen in on this as well.
- Rashaad Penny:Â It was nice to see the Seahawks run game have life against the solid front 7 of the Dallas Cowboys. Chris Carson looked good but he picked up a hip injury during the week. It does not look to be major but this is a situation worth monitoring.
- Doug Martin:Â Marshawn Lynch has a shoulder injury but given Beast Modes history of playing through minor injuries, Martin is not worth as roster spot yet. If you own Marshawn and are relying on him as your RB2 then Martin is worth the insurance policy, if you are concerned with Marshawns ability to stay healthy the rest of the season.
This piece has reached the point of almost too long. I need to leave some names to write about for next week. If you are still reading I appreciate the commitment and look forward to your comments/tweets.
Good luck this week and see you all next Friday.
