It was only a matter of time before Covid appeared in the NFL. Thankfully, everybody is ok and it appears that no games will be cancelled and week 4 will have its regularly scheduled number of games. As of the time of this writing, the Steelers/Titans game is looking like it will be moved back to Monday or Tuesday, but not cancelled. We have dealt with a flurry of injuries and have moved players up our fantasy depth charts into starting positions. With these moves, it is especially important to find productive players to put in your flex spots.
As you know, every Thursday here on Razzball, I will be posting the weeks “Sexy Flexies” to give you a couple of players to consider starting in your flex spot. The objective isn’t to point out the obvious guys you’re starting in your RB or WR slots, but to take a look at a couple of players who are a bit more under the radar. These will likely be guys that you won’t start every week but will be good rotational pieces in the flex spot of your lineup based on matchup and opportunity.
What I do here is look at the match-ups and opportunities and highlight for you a couple of guys who I believe will perform in the situation they are in for the given week. For this column, we will be looking at players who are ranked 60th or later at the flex position for the week, according to Fantasy Pros Consensus Ratings, but will still get you double digit fantasy points in your flex spots. Let’s take a look at the players who will be the “Sexy Flexies” for week 4!
Justin Jefferson – WR – Minnesota Vikings – at Houston
Welcome to the league Justin Jefferson! The rookie first round pick busted out in a major way last week catching 7 passes on 9 targets for 175 yards and a touchdown. Coming into the game Jefferson only had a total of 6 targets and 5 catches so the monster game certainly caught most people off guard, including the Titans. Coming out of college, Jefferson was profiled to have tremendous body control, outstanding ball skills and was great at winning contested catches. The struggling Vikings needed someone other than Adam Theilen to throw the ball to and I think Kirk Cousins found his guy in Jefferson.
I’m not usually one to chase a big performance from last week, but Jefferson’s situation here is different. The Vikings were talking about getting the rookie more involved in the offense as he is a playmaker and an impact player, which we got a glimpse of last week. Not only are Mike Zimmer and Gary Kubiak showing they want Jefferson involved in the offense, he also has a very favorable matchup this week. The Houston secondary is bad. Their best cornerback, Bradley Roby, will likely shadow Adam Theilen, leaving JJ with a lot of time against Vernon Hargreaves III. Hargreaves is one of the most beatable corners in the game and is giving up 5 inches in size to Jefferson as well. Jefferson can beat him off the line and also beat him to the ball in the air, so I look for Cousins to air it up to the rookie once again in this contest. I believe that Jefferson will again reach the endzone while reeling in at least 6 receptions in the process for a solid double-digit fantasy performance for you in your flex.
Brandin Cooks – WR – Houston Texans – vs Minnesota
On the other side of the ball, in the same game, you have the struggling Texans offense. In their defense, the opening schedule they were handed was a gauntlet of 3 of the best teams in the AFC. Through those 3 games it is the new addition Brandin Cooks who leads the team in targets. It looks as though Deshaun Watson is looking to Cooks as a guy he wants to rely on after losing DeAndre Hopkins in the offseason. Will Fuller is still a main target when healthy, but it is Cooks on the field opposite Fuller on about 85% of the Texans offensive snaps. Being on the field for opportunities to catch passes is half the battle.
The other half of the opportunity equation is the matchup and this one against the struggling Vikings secondary is a great one for Cooks. The Minnesota secondary has given up 11.9 or more PPR points to 5 different receivers already in the past 3 weeks and also allow the 2nd highest yards per attempt to perimeter receivers. The cornerback trio of Holton Hill, Jeff Gladney and Cameron Dantzler all grade out on PFF under 46, making them one of the worst trios in the league. Deshaun Watson and the Texans are looking to turn things around after a tough 3 game stretch and this matchup against a defense who has allowed the 3rd most passing yards per game seems like the perfect get right spot. Cooks should be able to easily reach 5 catches for 65 yards and 11.5 fantasy points in a PPR league. If he gets in the box as well it is a Sexy Flexie homerun!
Lets crush week 4 and hopefully these Sexy Flexies will help you get some wins this week. Both players have great double-digit point upside and should have significant roles in their team’s game plan this week. Don’t forget, for some more help with setting your lineups, and even for full season projections, check out Rudy Gamble’s Pigskinator! Good luck in all your matchups this week!
