Stafford and the Rams’ offense looked transformed with
the return of All-Pros Kupp and Nacua. With both guys back healthy
and getting open at will, Stafford vaults into the QB1 conversation
with a couple of teams on bye in Week 9. The Seahawk defense is
familiar with their division rival, but they haven’t exactly
been a “shy-away” unit this season. The quick hitting,
timing passing attack of the Rams, and threat of run game, make
Stafford a strong play.
Few fantasy quarterbacks have been better than Nix over the last
few weeks as he looks more comfortable in the pocket, and offers
big upside as a runner. The rookie is 4th in the NFL in rushing
among QBs and has tacked up four scores. While the Ravens’
pass defense has been the embodiment of the poop emoji, their
high-powered offense should force Denver to score. Nix is pushing
into weekly start territory.
Williams struggled mightily last week against the Commanders
with possibly his worst game as a pro. He completed only 40% of
his passes, and got knocked around for most of the game. A miracle
Hail Mary spoiled an amazing comeback, but the rookie should be
hungry to build off a tough loss and regain the foundation he
was building with solid fantasy performances in Week 5 and 6.
Stroud has been a fantasy disappointment this season. He’s
barely in the top-12 at the position, and half of his games have
been under 20 fantasy points. With Collins still on IR, and Diggs
done for the year, Houston is down to Tank Dell and a bunch of
unproven receivers. Houston visits a Jets team playing for their
lives right at the apex of spooky season. I expect a conservative
game plan for Houston and low upside for Stroud.
Keeping with quarterbacks going to the East Coast to play without
their top receivers, Trevor Lawrence faces an uphill battle in
Philly. Despite one of his best games of the year against the
Pack, Lawrence and the Jags came up short, losing not only the
game, but perhaps the team’s top three pass receivers. With
Kirk out and Thomas / Davis not 100%, the sledding will be tough
against a defense yielding only the 6th fewest fantasy points
to the position.
We nearly had a Scooby Doo moment last week with Winston. With
Jameis slinging it around the field, several neatly wrapped interceptions
were inexcusably dropped by Ravens defenders. I was fully convinced
that Kevin Stefanski would pull off that Winston mask to reveal
Deshaun Watson! Disappointedly Shaggy, Scoob, and the gang didn’t
make an appearance last week, but it’s folly to chase points
with Winston against a much better Charger secondary.
