While everyone is glued to their tv and radio waiting to find out who the president of the United States will be, don’t forget that you have a crucial week 9 matchup in your fantasy football leagues right around the corner! Hey, even if Trump and Biden tie in Pennsylvania they’re still both in good shape to win the NFC East! Most league’s regular season ends week 13 or 14, so we are in the crucial weeks of the season that can shape the playoff landscape in your league. It’s make or break time and it is extremely important to find productive players to put in your flex spots. That is exactly why I write this column, to help you make these tough decisions and win your weeks!
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 matchups 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 9!
Randall Cobb – WR – Houston Texans – at Jacksonville
The Houston Texans are coming off a bye week and we have seen teams play well thus far in the game following their bye. Since firing Bill O’Brien, the Texans seem to be playing with some new energy and the offense is clicking much better. The passing game in particular is putting up solid volume with Deshaun Watson throwing for over 300 yards in 4 straight games. The last time we saw the Texans on the field, Randal Cobb caught 8 passes on 10 targets for 95 receiving yards. In fact, Cobb has been a sneaky PPR play this season, putting up double digit fantasy points in 5 of his 7 games.
This week the Texans face the Jacksonville Jaguars who has one of the worst secondaries in the league. The Jags rank 32nd, dead last, in DVOA against the pass this season so we should see Watson throwing the ball a bunch this week to take advantage of that secondary. Playing out of the slot for most snaps, Cobb will see plenty of Tre Herndon who ranks 105th of the 116 cornerbacks graded on PFF and whose coverage grade ranks 99th of 114 graded. The veteran Cobb should be able to take advantage of this matchup and once again come through with a double-digit performance for us this week.
Damien Harris – RB – New England Patriots – at New York Jets
We have seen the New England Patriots fall from grace over the past few weeks and they certainly don’t look like the Patriots we have been used to seeing. Damien Harris has been the lone bright spot in an otherwise dreadful Patriots offense recently. Harris looks to have taken over the early down role and will be the back the Patriots use in the red zone as well. Last week, Harris carried 16 times for 102 yards making it the second game in the past 4 that he was able to eclipse 100 yards. In addition, he had an impressive run for his first TD on the season as well. Harris should be able to keep the momentum and build on that performance in a plus matchup this week.
As I mentioned, Harris has the role of the early down, “ground and pound” back in the Patriots offense. Those kinds of backs we like to use in matchups where the projected game script has them playing from ahead. This week, the Patriots get to take on the winless Jets and they are favored to win the game by a touchdown. The downside with Harris is that he’s not much of a pass catcher, so we are relying on him to get enough volume to rack up the yards and hopefully find the endzone. The Jets have allowed 9 rushing touchdowns and over 116 yards per game to opposing RBs so far this season. Harris should get plenty of volume in this good matchup and get us at least 80 yards and a touchdown for a solid flex performance.
As always, lets crush this week and hopefully these Sexy Flexies will help you get some wins. 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 check out Rudy Gamble’s Pigskinator for weekly projections! I always encourage you to follow me on twitter @fantasycoachjb and ask me all your questions there as well. Good luck in all your matchups this week!
