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Bye Weeks: Houston, Indianapolis, Minnesota, New England,
San Diego, Washington
Tony Romo in the starting lineup will do
wonders for Dez Bryant's fantasy value.
Grab a Helmet
Dez
Bryant v. JAX (in London): The golden age of the diva
wide receiver (Terrell, Randy, Ochocinco, and Keyshawn) has largely
passed, but if anyone fits that bill in today’s NFL, it’s definitely
Dez Bryant. It was almost painful watching him try to connect with
Brandon Weeden last Sunday (just two receptions on 10 targets),
although a late meaningless score salvaged what could have been
an otherwise atrocious day. I say “almost” because it was also completely
hilarious. Asking Weeden to impersonate Tony Romo on short notice
just isn’t realistic and Bryant seemed genuinely shocked he couldn’t
get more involved. Regardless whether Weeden gets another start
or Romo returns, you need to keep Dallas’ next gen diva in your
lineup. He’s a handful, yes, but he’s also the most dangerous player
they have. Start him and hope Tony Romo’s presence on the team’s
flight to the UK means he’s playing.
Martavis
Bryant @ NYJ: Two weeks ago, I openly wondered how Dabo
Swinney’s 2011/2012 Clemson teams managed to lose six games despite
featuring Andre Ellington, Sammy Watkins, and DeAndre Hopkins. Now
I’m utterly perplexed because, as I now realize, those teams also
featured Indy’s Dwayne Allen (2011 only) and Pittsburgh’s new WR
toy, Mr. Bryant. When you have future NFL players comprising almost
your entire skill position complement, you should probably figure
out a way to get in the national title discussion. Bryant’s recent
breakout is likely unsustainable – 2.76 fantasy points per target
in three weeks – but can he keep it going for one more Sunday? He
sure can. The Jets have surrendered a league-worst 24 TDs via air
so far (6 more than anyone else) and TDs via air is what Bryant
apparently specializes in. He has five of them already, despite
limited looks. It’s time to start him.
Mike
Evans v. ATL or Odell
Beckham Jr. @ SEA: You know me well enough to know I
habitually flaunt conventional fantasy wisdom. Conventional fantasy
wisdom says you shouldn’t rely on rookie WRs much, especially not
when the games start really mattering down the stretch run and into
the fantasy playoffs. Nevertheless, that’s exactly what I’ll be
doing in my most important league, flanking my WR blueblood, Demaryius
Thomas, with Evans and Beckham, Jr. the rest of the way. The former
is a physical freak who’s quickly overtaken Vincent Jackson as Tampa’s
most valuable pass-grabber. The latter, a shifty speed merchant,
has capitalized on Victor Cruz’s season-ending injury to become
New York’s best and most dangerous passing game weapon in just four
2014 appearances. By the way, when I use the term “most important
league,” I really mean “the league which I could conceivably win
and/or earn some Christmas cash.”
Grab Some Wood
Michael
Floyd v. STL: What the heck happened to this supposed
breakout candidate? Early in the season, it looked like Floyd
might end up being Arizona’s sneaky #1 WR option, even above the
venerable Larry Fitzgerald. He posted two 100+-yard games in his
first three games and only needed some scores, it seemed, to really
make things interesting. He eventually got a pair of them in Weeks
6 and 7 but, by then, the downward spiral had begun. Floyd has
barely surpassed 100 yards in his last four outings combined and
is now clearly the #3 receiving option (maybe #4 if you count
Andre Ellington) for the front-running Cards. Heck, he’s not even
the most valuable Floyd at the position now. That would be San
Diego’s Malcom, the 23rd best option at the position (Michael’s
merely 51st). Don’t forget about him but don’t use him until something
changes in Glendale.
Dwayne
Bowe @ BUF: Apparently, Colby
didn’t get the official Shot Caller memo (we have letterhead and
everything) that Kansas City wide receivers are not a recommended
start. Allow me to reinforce that point, therefore, heading into
Week 10: Kansas City wide receivers are NOT a recommended start.
Know why? They don’t score. Like, ever. Think about that for a
second. We’re over halfway through a 17-week NFL season and Chiefs
wideouts have accounted for ZERO touchdown receptions. ZERO! How
is that even possible? Has that ever even happened? I doubt most
moderately knowledgeable fantasy GMs could name the other KC receivers,
so we’ll focus on Bowe for the purposes of this discussion. He
hasn’t caught more than six balls all season, hasn’t tallied triple-digits
a single time, and…yeah, that lack of touchdowns thing again.
He sits until something drastic changes and/or you get really,
really desperate for receiver help.
Mike
Wallace @ DET: Ever so quietly, Wallace had been working
back toward his Pittsburgh production levels this season, but
hit a couple speed bumps the last couple weeks, posting 5.9 and
5 points, respectively, in Weeks 8 and 9. And these were games
Miami won convincingly. Wallace’s production has long been
tied to six-pointers (long ones, usually) and this year is no
exception, it seems. In fact, if you take the touchdowns out of
his bottom line, he’s only nine-ish fantasy points better
than the guy we just talked about and has a lot of the same issues
(not a ton of total receptions, no 100-yard performances, etc.).
Obviously, he’s earned those pay dirt visits, but he might
find adding to them difficult against one of the league’s
best defenses this Sunday. I don’t like his quarterback
against the Lions in Week 10 and, by association, I don’t
like him.
Good luck, folks!
Quarterbacks 
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