A Thanksgiving weekend to remember
By Martin Richardson
Sometimes you think that the NFL throws everything at you some weeks and that happened this week: Williams announcing himself back from injury in a big way, Derrick Henry showed signs of life and against a team now looking for another Head Coach and somehow the Broncos now look like they could sneak into the playoffs after such a shocking start to the season.
But what also happened this week was the passing of the trade deadline in some fantasy leagues, which means you’ve now got to roll with what you’ve got or hope there are some hidden gems on the waiver wire for the remainder of the season.
Let’s take a look at who made an impression in the last seven days, but also at who may well be causing a few headaches too.
JORDAN LOVE
That thanksgiving game was wild last Thursday. I loved it. It was just end to end and a joy to watch. But that was in no small part to Jordan Love crushing the Lions’ hearts and throwing three touchdowns. Ok he didn’t throw for major yardage, but given that the Packers had 17 players on their injury report for that game, it was impressive that he rolled into Detroit and took the win.
Looking ahead this could be a turning point of the top 10 fantasy QB. He has a tough Chiefs game this week, but the Raiders showed that you could do something against that mean defence. But after that he has a really favourable run in- the Giants, the Bucs and the Panthers, all teams with bad records and pretty much bad everything else. Love could easily drive the Packers to 8-7 and maybe, just maybe, sneak into that wildcard weekend.
ZACH MOSS
It’s never nice to report on an injury and look on who can replace the injured player, especially when the drop off is as big as the Rams suffered with Kyren Williams and any of his replacements. The same cannot be said for the Colts. They have a more than adequate replacement for the injured Jonathan Taylor: Zach Moss. When Taylor was on his injury/holdout, Moss had some monster games against the Ravens (140+ total yards and a touchdown), the Titans (165+ total yards and 2 touchdowns) and touchdowns against the Saints and Jags. Should Moss only be a replacement for two weeks as suggested, he has games against the Titans and Bengals; two teams where he could once again have a massive impact on fantasy matchups across the land.
CHRISTIAN KIRK
When Calvin Ridley arrived on the back of Kirk’s fantastic 2022 season, there would always be questions on what the impact would be on people like Christian Kirk. But throughout this season, it’s been clear that Kirk’s role on offense is one of consistency. He is always good for picking up key yards for Trevor Lawrence when the offense may be stumbling, which is always a bonus for anyone who has him on fantasy football. With seven out of eleven games going for over 50 yards and three touchdowns, Kirk has shown that consistent value for fantasy players. Sure, he’s not Amon-Ra St Brown or AJ Brown, but Kirk could supply you with some valuable points as we get closer to the business end of the season.
PAT FREIERMUTH
Last week I wrote about Jaylen Warren being one to watch now that Matt Canada was out of the way. Well, that aged about as well as milk in the sun. In last week’s game it was the returning TE Freiermuth that stole headlines in their game last week against the Bengals. With 120 yards from 11 targets, nearly three times as many targets in previous games, Freiermuth was the recipient of a Canada-less offense. Plus, now that we are close to the trade deadline, picking up Freiermuth with games against the Cardinals, Patriots, Colts and Bengals again would be a very smart move.
My Mulligan of the week: The Detroit Lions
I mentioned earlier about how Jordan Love looked a lot better in the shootout with the Lions. So, what does that mean for the Lions? They are still a very good team and still have some very good weapons for fantasy players. You may not want to have Jared Goff as a staring QB at the moment, but don’t let that stop you looking at their other skill positions.
The RB combo of Montgomery and Gibbs have been dynamic and exciting, with Montgomery getting a touchdown in every game since his return from injury and Gibbs also having three touchdowns in the same number of games. Will this change in the remains gams of the season, I don’t think so. Both have become a tandem force that can keep the Lions offense ticking and help out a QB who is just dipping a little bit.
At WR, Amon-Ra St Brown is as dependable as they come. With over a hundred yards in six games this season, and his lowest haul just over seventy yards, he’s going to get you points as well as touchdown scores. He has five touchdowns so far this season and there is certainly a chance for him to get more as the regular season ends.
Finally, we turn to Sam LaPorta, TE rookie sensation. He’s been so good for getting those chunk plays as well as games with multiple touchdowns. He is certainly someone that has grown as the season has progressed and shown he can get you some decisive points in those must win games.
FANTASY HEADACHE- WHO CAN YOU TRUST?
CHRIS GODWIN
Chris Godwin has become a bit of a forgotten man at the Buccaneers of late. He has one touchdown all season but a few times that he’s been targeted he hasn’t been on the same page Baker Mayfield. Which doesn’t help the Bucs when most of the time recently they are needing to make each drive a scoring drive. Contract hunting Mike Evans is on course for yet another monster 1000 yard season, Rachaad White has become more of a weapon as a catching back and a good threat in the redzone even tight end Cade Otton is getting similar yardage to Godwin every week. Godwin was always one of those ‘well they can’t target Evans all the time’ picks in the middle of your draft, but now he’s becoming a ‘well if they need points, Evans is the guy’ type person; which let’s face it, you don’t need on your starting roster at the moment. I would look to see who else is out there to help your team down the stretch because as a Bucs fan, I’m not really sure he’s going to get more of the ball or redzone chances.
COPPER KUPP
Here we go again with Kupp. Another ankle injury that has hit Kupp and will no doubt hit your fantasy prospects. In the last two games he has had eleven and eighteen yards and not a sniff of the end zone. This isn’t what people who no doubt spend a high draft pick on him in the summer. Can you trust him in those upcoming games? I’m not sure. Look at last week, Kyren Williams came back off IR and exploded back on the scene- over 200 total yards and multiple touchdowns. Tyler Higbee rocked up with two touchdowns as well for the first time this season. These all point to that fact that perhaps Kupp might be in line for some rest down the stretch if this injury is a lingering issue.
DAMEON PIERCE
I was singing the praises of Devin Singletary recently and I think he’s becoming more of the RB1 in Texas. But that isn’t exactly high praise as last week CJ Stroud had the highest amount of rushing yards last week. But, like most people in the summer, Pierce was someone a lot of people were high on. But it just hasn’t worked. He’s missed games with injury and he’s often playing second, third or even fourth fiddle to all the electric WR and a rejuvenated Dalton Schultz at TE. Pierce could well be sat on your roster costing you valuable points when people like Rico Dowdle and Tyjae Spears are having more impact in fantasy matchups. The Texans do have a set of favourable matchups coming up, but can you trust Pierce if you are in a need of wins?
MARTIN RICHARDSON
NFL/FANTASY FOOTBALL ANALYST
A Yorkshireman living in Lancashire, Martin is a massive NFL fan but his heart belongs to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Also a huge Fantasy Football enthusiast and spends far too long crunching the numbers! Follow him at @MRBucsFan31