Ridley has ever so quietly put together a really nice season,
He’s scoring 9.3 FPts/G, a slight bump from his stellar rookie rate
(9.1) and sits at WR17 as we head into Week 12. He’s also coming
off a strong performance against Carolina last weekend. Atlanta’s
super soph grabbed all eight of his targets in that one for 143
yards and a score, notching 20.3 fantasy points, his best total
of the season and second best as a pro. It seems Mohamed Sanu’s
departure might do wonders for Ridley’s production and it doesn’t
hurt this coming week he’ll be facing the league’s most vulnerable
secondary. Tampa’s surrendering 31.5 FPts/G to the position so far,
a number that would be by far the league’s worst in a decade and
maybe longer (our FFToday statistics don’t go back far enough).
Start Ridley.
The Jets haven’t been much better defending opposing wide
receivers this season. They’re giving up 27.2 FPts/G to
date and have yielded 15 TDs on the season. Four of those came
in a single game just two weeks ago against their New York rivals,
the Giants. Williams, meanwhile, seemed to be making a habit of
scoring six-pointers earlier this year—one each in his first
five contests—but has been shut out ever since and is stuck
on that number through 11 weeks. Nevertheless, he’s still
WR31, despite missing a handful of games, and the Raiders are
still very much in the playoff hunt, something nobody would have
expected when we kicked things off in September. My vote for Coach
of the Year goes to John Harbaugh, but Coach Chucky’s a
close second, just a notch above his Bay Area colleague, Kyle
Shanahan. Start Tyrell this weekend.
The 49ers were dominating early with a fearsome front four and
a devastating run game, but Shanahan has unlocked the passing
game in recent weeks, causing me to reassess the squad’s
Super Bowl odds. That uptick in passing game efficiency coincides
with Emmanuel Sanders’ arrival from Denver, but also roughly
coincides with Samuel’s emergence as a dynamic second fiddle.
The rook from that other USC has scored 10 or more points in three
of his last four outings and has also commanded a chunky 28 targets
over that stretch, the same number as Odell Beckham Jr. Suddenly,
a San Francisco team that had no viable wide receivers now has
two of them to go along with a stud at TE. If I had to place a
bet today, I’d put my money on the resurgent Niners to rep
the NFC in MIami come February. Start Samuel.
Emmanuel Sanders’ defection created opportunity in Denver and
Sutton has more than capably seized it. Though his targets and production
haven’t necessarily increased since Sanders left, the second-year
SMU product has had to adjust to being the alpha dog in a crummy
offense and also to a new QB, Brandon Allen. He’s scored 12.3 points
in both of Allen’s starts and shined on the road last Sunday in
Minnesota, albeit in a losing effort. Sutton et al. face another
tough road test this Sunday when they square off with the Bills
at Orchard Park. They’ll have to contend with suboptimal weather
(possible AM snow and chilly temps), but more importantly for Sutton,
he’ll have to contend with shutdown corner, Tre’Davious White. Sutton
will have the size advantage but White’s handled all comers this
season. I think he gives Denver’s new WR1 fits at New Era Field.
It’s hard to know what to make of the Tennessee passing game and,
more specifically, the Titans’ receiving corps. They don’t lack
talent, but even since Ryan Tannehill took the helm, they remain
an enigmatic, inconsistent bunch that can rarely be counted on for
surefire production. Brown’s scored six or more points in five games
thus far, topping out at 21.4 in the Week 4 win at Atlanta. He’s
also scored fewer than three points five times, however, meaning
he’s got about a 50/50 shot to be relevant in any given week. And
by “relevant,” I mean borderline relevant. He’s barely a first page
candidate through 11 weeks (WR49) and would only be a flex consideration.
Unless you’re decimated at the position (Smith-Schuster, Woods,
Thielen), I don’t see any reason to roll the dice on Brown v. the
Jaguars. Ignore Corey Davis too.
Not a single Philly WR appears on Page 1 of the FFToday WR rankings,
a shocking development when you consider how potent this offense
has been under Doug Pedersen and also when you consider that Carson
Wentz is finally/fully healthy. Jeffery is the most productive
of the bunch but his 7.4 FPts/G mark is the worst it’s been
since 2012, his rookie year. Clearly, the Eagles miss their gamebreaker,
DeSean Jackson, who helped clear out passing lanes and safeties
with his elite speed and ball-tracking skills. Jackson was put
on IR after missing half the season and won’t be able to
serve as cavalry until the 2020 campaign. That means Philly will
have to grind on with Jeffery, the erratic Nelson Agholor, and
the ghost of Jordan Matthews. Expect a ton of Zach Ertz and Dallas
Goedert, but nothing interesting from Jeffery Sunday.
Good luck, folks!
