how good was that london game?!

By Martin Richardson

You know those questions that pop up on social media that are like- ‘could you make a play in the NFL?’ Well after watching Blake Grupe try and make a tackle I am sure now more than ever I could not. And I’m ok with it. Poor fella has come out of that tackle with a torn ACL.
Then, to provide further proof, you have Jim Nantz think it’s a good idea to try and demonstrate the peanut punch on live television against a still built JJ Watt. Incredible television.
But anyway, back to an incredible week of fantasy football. Yes, I know that some weeks are better than others, but last week will take some beating being down at Wembley to cover the Texans play the Jags. What a game for Travis Hunter to take the game by the scruff of the neck. Football can be cruel as he did not deserve to lose that game.
This week we have four teams on bye week: those aforementioned Jags, the Bills, Chargers (thank the lord we don’t have to watch them this week) and the Commanders (Antonio Williams discourse saved for next week). So let’s dive in to see who can make a difference this week.

ONES TO WATCH: THE GOOD

There is nothing better than that feeling when you take a punt on a second year breakout candidate and it pays off. And to those who have drafted Matthew Golden, congratulations on the solid season you must be having.

With three games of 100 yards or more, and in those games they all had a touchdown too, Golden has gone from potential flex candidate to must start wide receiver in a blink of an eye. He has got some serious numbers of targets as well, with his floor being six targets and his ceiling so far being thirteen, so he has plenty of opportunities to bring the ball into the endzone, irrespective of those drops that he had last week.

His next two games present opportunities as well for him to continue this blistering form, with matchups against the Lions and the Panthers. Do not be afraid to keep Golden in your lineups.

And if some of you have Golden in your fantasy team and perhaps are not performing as well as you had hoped, then I would also look to get that trade package together and sell him high; as nothing will get that price higher than two or three big fantasy points hauls which he loves to do.

Now, whilst some may say it was sour grapes from me not to include Isaiah Likely after his performance single handedly destroying any chance of me winning my matchup two weeks ago, I wanted to see if he carried on that form and sustained it; which he did.


In that first of two monster weeks for the tight end, Likely scored two touchdowns, 13 targets with 11 receptions for nearly 100 yards, with Jameis slinging him the ball at every opportunity. After that, he had that second big game, this time against the Saints, where he nearly reached 100 yards again and had only the single touchdown this time round, but a similar 11 targets.


All this tells me that Likely, as most suspected in the off season, would be one of the main men for the Giants, something he never had with the Ravens. This week he comes up against a defense that is starting to find its feet again in the Texans. Couple this with the fact that it is now JJ McCarthy at the helm of the offense and not Jameis Winston, this will be a further test for Likely to continue his season as the number one rated tight end in fantasy football.

Moving on, I guess CJ Stroud listened to Dak Prescott and decided to pick up some wins. And I had the privilege of watching Stroud rip through the Jags defense at will on Sunday. He looks like he has got this offense working well since such a slow start to go 0-4.

With 7 total touchdowns in three weeks, and an interception, Stroud has looked more than efficient and for fantasy players he has gone from a streamer to a near must start in some leagues. Now in week 7 against the Giants, he has the chance to hit for a fourth week in a row that gets fantasy players over 20 points. This could be a great week to maybe look to stream other players from the Texans too. Who said it was a good idea to start Jaylin Noel again?

The final point I want to make who has been great for fantasy players is not one player I particular, but several and they all belong to: Kickers Corner.

Some of these kickers have been better than some RB2, WR2 and TE1 in some leagues.

Will Reichard has around 70 fantasy points already this season in some leagues, hitting double figures pretty much every week. That’s more points than Trey McBride. That’s double than what Kyle Pitts has this season. That’s three times as many points than breakout candidate Colston Loveland.

Spencer Shrader, no doubt either undrafted or picked up very late in fantasy drafts, has nearly 100 points and leads fantasy leagues for kickers. He has over double the points of DeVonta Smith and Justin Jefferson. Which is incredible for someone who, like I said, probably went undrafted in some leagues.

The Ones to Watch: The Bad

In terms of the bad, how the weeks can change for some. And when you hear a head coach say he’s surprised a team could double up on players like Michael Wilson and Trey McBride when Marvin Harrison isn’t on the field, that worried me. How does he not know that’s what they’ll do?

Which is where I’m focusing on here. Michael Wilson has not been good since Harrison was announced to be traded in that mystic Schefter tweet. He’s had seven targets in both subsequent games, four receptions and just over 30 yards. This is a concern for the Cardinals and fantasy players. All you have to do is cast your mind back to the likes of JuJu Smith-Schuster who excelled as a WR2 at the Steelers, but could not find that separation and those numbers when covered by better players. This could well be the same fate of Wilson if things don’t improve. And that is looking likely as they have a gruelling schedule of the Broncos, Cowboys, Seahawks, Rams and Chiefs. That is rough. Keep an eye on how he does this week, and if he contributes with a touchdown and those yards we know he could get, then maybe he has value. But if he struggles this week, you may need to move on.

On the back of a touchdown, this may seem harsh on Ashton Jeanty. But, I have my reasons. The main one for me is that he NEEDS that touchdown to get fantasy impact that we thought he would. His touchdown last week got him double figures, but the Raiders just cannot get the run game going at all for Jeanty to push on and be that top 10 RB. I would also say that his big game against the Dolphins is the only reason he’s sat in the top 15 at the moment. Would it be a hot take to say that perhaps Jeanty has fallen victim to being drafted by one regime in Vegas (Pete Carroll’s offense), and then not favoured by the new regime (Klint Kubiak’s offense)? It certainly tracks to see someone lauded as a top draft talent to be floundering somewhat in a new offense when the head coach and staff have changed have changed.

With games coming up against Rams, Jets, 49ers and Seahawks, Jeanty and the Raiders run the risk of having a rough middle of the season. Keep an eye on Jeanty as these games progress and don’t be afraid to drop him if those matchups present a tough ask.

Ones to Watch: The Wildcards

I can’t lie, I’ll be living off the fact I said it would be worth a start for Jaylin Noel for a while. But we live in the present and we need to look ahead.


I’d lie to start with Colby Parkinson. Now this started as a ‘Now that Devante Adams is out, and the Rams love 13 personnel, who will benefit?’ But now, with the new developing that Puca Nacua is a game time decision this week, who could be the main threat for the Rams as they try and get their season on track.


Answer: Colby Parkinson.


I didn’t transcribe to the idea that Tyler Higbee would be the main tight end on the roster if Ferguson wasn’t a go, and I don’t now. He had a chance in the loss to the Cardinals and fumbled the ball twice and nearly finished the game with negative points in some leagues.


Colby Parkinson on the other hand, had six targets, hauling in five of them, one for a touchdown, meaning he was much more reliable that Higbee. This week he faces the Raiders defense that has stuttered of late, allowing the sixth most fantasy points to tight ends.


This could be a great pick up if Nacua is a no go at game time. And given how Coach McVay speaks about him here, he will be involved:

Now to end with, I want to bring a little joy to Buccaneers fans and say this week is the week for Ted Hurst to break out. With news breaking on Friday that Emeka Egbuka was ruled out for concussion and foot injuries, my interest in the usage of Ted Hurst increased exponentially. This may seem like a leap given the stuttering offense that has been the Bucs all season,  but Baker is back and this could help him. His first touchdown in the NFl shows what he can do when he gets that separation, and I think he can be the perfect long term partner to someone like Egbuka. Why not Chris Godwin in this situation, well I think the evidence here is that he doesn’t quite fit the Zac Robinson offense, which is a travesty if you ask me, but here we are. Hurst will likely be available on waivers, and if you have been stung by bye weeks, then he may be worth a shot as the WR2 for the Bucs this weekend.

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

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