Josh Gordon ranks 14th in air yards among
WRs and gets a beatable Steelers secondary in Week 15.
Grab a Helmet Keenan
Allen @ KC (THU): Allen has been a rock solid WR1 the
last several weeks, as he takes a five-game scoring streak into
a big game against the Chiefs. He’s been a PPR machine as always,
and the scoring has really brought him into upper echelon of fantasy
receivers. The match-up is drool worthy, as the Chargers are sure
to employ a pass heavy scheme due to the injuries at running back
and the nature of the opponent. Allen has a whopping 28 targets
over the last two weeks, and he should be good for a dozen more
Thursday night, There’s few receivers hotter than Allen right now,
so continue to ride him.
Stefon
Diggs/Adam
Thielen vs MIA: Firing offensive coordinators has been
in vogue lately, with John Defilippo being let go early this week.
Looking back to last year, in the case of the Bengals and this year
with the Browns, the moves did provide some short term spark. Change
can only be good for this Vikings team, as they fight for their
playoff lives. Diggs, and especially Thielen have cooled of late,
but the Dolphins got carved up by Brady and the Pats last week.
With the Fins’ top corner Xavien Howard iffy to play, Diggs and
Thielen should find plenty of openings in the secondary. My biggest
concern comes with the fact that head coach Mike Zimmer desperately
wants to run the ball more. This could be a blessing in disguise
as the run game opens up big plays down field. I’m comfortable with
making Diggs and Thielen upside WR2 plays this week.
Josh
Gordon @ PIT: With the Patriots finally stable and healthy
at wideout Gordon’s targets remain limited, but he’s been a highly
productive player for the last several weeks. He’s good for a weekly
chunk play, and while there hasn’t been a truly breakout game, he’ll
have chances this week against a Pittsburgh secondary that’s been
highly beatable during their three-game losing streak. I expect
a high pass volume for the Pats in this one, and the more chances
Gordon gets the better. You can likely get by with him as a WR3
that has WR1 upside if things go his way, which is a great chip
to have deep in the fantasy playoffs.
Grab Some Pine
John
Brown/Michael
Crabtree vs TB: While Lamar Jackson has given this
team a spark, it’s mainly come with his legs, as neither Brown
or Crabtree have been anything close to usable for weeks now.
Crabtree’s best game since Week 11 was a 3-21-1 game against the
Raiders, and Brown was equally invisible until discovering the
endzone last week. The Ravens have decided a dynamic running game
and solid defense is more effective than what they were doing
early in the year when these two guys were returning weekly WR2/3
value. Even against a dreadful Tampa defense, I haven’t seen enough
from the Raven passing game to trust these guys in the fantasy
semi-finals.
Kenny
Stills/DeVante
Parker @ MIN: Oddly enough these guys have traded off
fantasy value the last three weeks, producing some solid games
and giving owners production from the WR3 slot. But it’s mostly
been an all-or-nothing proposition, making both of them nearly
impossible to trust, especially in bad matchups. This week qualifies,
as the Vikings are not only “trapped in the corner” desperate,
but also feature a defense that’s given up the 3rd fewest fantasy
points to receivers on the season. They haven’t given up a truly
WR1 to a receiver since the Rams in Week 4. There just hasn’t
been enough meat on the bone all season for either of these guys,
so I’m staying away.
Demaryius
Thomas vs NYJ (SAT): It's all about volume for the
former Bronco. While I like Watson to put up decent numbers this
week, I just don’t know that the Texans get Thomas involved
enough to trust him as a starter. I’m sure his route tree
is still hampered by his continued learning of a complex offense,
but other than the 2 touchdown game in Week 12, Thomas has failed
to see more than 6 targets or 4 receptions in a game since joining
Houston. Like I said in my blurb about Watson, the Texans have
reigned in the offense since the loss of Will Fuller, and are
much pickier about going downfield. Watson and the tight ends
dominate the area of the field Thomas works best in, and with
such a low floor, I want WR3 options with more upside.
