Rest Of Season 80: Wheeling And Dealing

Remember when in-season trades never happened in the NFL? That was so, so, so long ago. This season we have had several notable players moved ranging from all-pro defensive backs to noted aerospace engineers (Josh Dobbs). However, the trade of Emmanuel Sanders has opened the opportunity for Courtland Sutton to continue his rise to fantasy glory. Sutton had already made a second-year jump prior to the trade and is currently sitting as the WR12 in half-PPR leagues. Sutton’s metrics support his rise to prominence with his player profiler athletic comparison being Alshon Jeffrey. He is 9^th in weighted opportunities, top 20 in air yards, and top 20 in targets per game. His quarterback already stinks out loud so any mid-season change to a rookie, if Drew Lock were to get healthy, should have a minimal effect on his rest of season play. Expect the Denver Broncos to remain generally pesky as they fulfill a 5-6 win team destiny, and their air game to funnel through Courtland Sutton for the remainder of the 2019 season.

Moving Up

• Derrick Henry – Henry only has 2 games in the 2019 season above a 70% snap count, but he is 6^th in the NFL in total touches. The Titans have a neutral strength of schedule as compared to what they have faced thus far meaning we shouldn’t expect negative game scripts to eliminate Henry from week to week usefulness.
• Kenny Golladay – This ranking is based on the premise of Kerryon Johnson’s injury pushing the Lions to go much pass heavier as an offense. Matt Patricia received a bevy of criticism in 2018, but he seems to have stabilized and is doing a good job in Detroit. I believe Patricia is a sensible head coach and realizes that in order to continue to give his team the best chance to win he will need to pass the football. Golladay is currently outside the top 20 wide receivers in targets per game. Any uptick in volume will only assist in a high end WR2 finish.
• Darren Waller – There is nothing fluky about what Waller is doing. There is a realistic shot that he finishes the season as the TE1. He is currently 3^rd in targets per game at the position and is trailing Austin Hooper on a fantasy point per game basis by less than half a point. He is 2^nd in weighted opportunities. The Raiders just gave him a new contract mid-season. Waller is a league winner.

Moving Down

• Keenan Allen – It will be intriguing to see the return of Russell Okung will do for this entire offense. Early in the season Keenan Allen was peppered with targets to tune the 14 per game for weeks 1-3. In week 4 they blew out Miami, and the following week Mike Pouncey was injured. This further decimated a putrid offensive line. Kennan Allen ran a 4.71 40 yard dash. He is not a supreme athlete and relies on timing and rhythm with Phillip Rivers to succeed. If this line is poor Keenan Allen will continue to regress on a per week basis from the start of his season.
• David Johnson – The signings of Alfred Morris and Zach Zenner this week are not a good indication of the health of David Johnson. It can only be assumed that the success of Chase Edmonds in his absence last year has earned him more playing time upon Johnson’s return. The driving force that was maintaining Johnson’s value was volume within the high pace of this offense. If that volume dissipates, he will drop down this list quickly.
• Phillip Lindsay – Lindsay has been below a 50% snap count for the past 4 weeks and Royce Freeman has assumed the position of lead rushing piece within the offense. It doesn’t necessarily make sense as Lindsay has been better on a yards per carry basis and success rate over average basis per sharp football stats. A key to fantasy football is not assuming rational coaching but discovering what a coach will do earlier than your opponents. In this case, the coaches are screaming at us that Lindsay is falling out of favor even though the statistics do not show a reasoning.