Happy holidays everyone!

By Martin Richardson

Happy holidays everyone!

I hope you’ve all filled yourselves up with turkey and tucked into a fine selection of holiday football.

Thanksgiving is a time to be surrounded by friends and family; and what is better than spending time with your football family and spending the holiday weekend watching your favourite team both on the field and in your fantasy lineups.

So in the spirit of the season, let’s take stock of what has happened so far, reflect on those choices we’ve made and appreciate what we’ve had and what we are thankful for this season.

I AM THANKFUL FOR: WIDE RECEIVER DEPTH

When the Broncos moved on from Mr Unlimited himself, Russell Wilson, taking the hit on all that cap money, people everywhere assumed that the Broncos would be losing almost every week and scrapping it out for the first pick in the draft. They cashed in a Jerry ‘Just a Guy’ Jeudy and all signs were pointing down for the organization. But, Sean Payton has taken rookie draft pick Bo Nix and turned this team into a potential play-off team. And what has been a major part in all of this has been the form of one of their veterans: Courtland Sutton.

Sutton has 5 touchdowns this season and he also has 744 yards with 5 weeks of the season left. He could well tip into a 1000-yard season and no one deserves it more than him for how well he has slogged through season after season for the Broncos. With big games against the Panthers, two touchdowns against the Raiders, and over 120 yards at the Ravens, Sutton should not doubt be a starter for you in your matchups down the stretch if you are in the hunt for a playoff berth.

Now, when Aaron Rodgers and Davonte Adams left the Packers, fans and talking heads alike wondered what was next for the Packers. Well, a big Jordan Love contract after a solid season and a draft that left you with a core of young talent has those fans and talking heads thinking that Packers front office made some sensible moves. With a WR room costing less than most WR2s, the Packers are set to have some very talented players for the next few years.

One of those players has been Jayden Reed, who has 4 touchdowns on the season but has some big numbers when it comes to moving the chains for Jordan Love; the highlights being 138 yards and a touchdown in the season opener against the Eagles, 139 yard and a touchdown against the solid Vikings defense and 113 yards against the Super Bowl contending Detroit Lions.

Speaking of Super Bowl contenders, the Baltimore Ravens are certainly knocking on the door of reaching the business end of the season. And a major part of that has been Zay Flowers. He had a solid year last year, but this season Flowers has blossomed with Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens. Even though he has just four touchdowns this season, Flowers has been a massive factor in moving the chains for the offense, with four games over 100 yards and a couple close to it. Granted, Flowers has had some quitter games, but those bigger games have made him a top 10 fantasy wideout and if you took the mid round risk on Flowers, then chances are it has paid dividends throughout the season.

Finally, there are moments each week where I look at box scores and fantasy scores and scratch my head wondering who to focus on each week. However, there are some names that just appear to me in a vision that just epitomize this run of ‘Under the Radar’ articles.

Enter Nick Westbrook-Ikhine.

Tied 5th in the NFL currently for most touchdowns with six. Yes, you read that right. That is more than Justin Jefferson, Garrett Wilson and CeeDee Lamb. He has had a touchdown a game in all bar one game since the Titans bye week in week 5, which is a great streak considering how poor the Titans have been all season long. To add to his value as well, QB Will Levis is making some better plays to get Westbrook-Ikhine the ball, with over 100 yards and a touchdown against the Vikings from 2 receptions.

He will no doubt be on waivers for you in your leagues, as only 17% of ESPN players have him rostered. If you’re in need of points, I would argue that he is more consistent that the likes of Xavier Worthy and Deebo Samuel.

I AM THANKFUL FOR: UNDERRATED QUARTERBACKS

When you delve into fantasy football, the old adage is not to go too soon for a QB. People will argue that there is sometimes an exception: Josh Allen, Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson are the main ones. But, this season there has been some real value in being patient and picking up a starting QB in those later rounds once you’ve got a solid team build up. Some of the main highlights have been those who I have mentioned in my previous articles, with the likes of Baker Mayfield and Bo Nix surprising many with just how good they’ve been.

Take Geno Smith for example. He’s a top 15 QB on ESPN, with 14 total touchdowns and only one game which lies in single digits, and even in that game he threw for over 200 yards. In fact, he only has one game where he threw for less than 200 yards and that was the season opener against the defensively solid Denver Broncos. He also has four games where he has thrown over 300 yards as well, so the points are there on the board, you just had to be willing to take the punt. Add to this the dynamic use of Jaxon Smith Njigba and you can see why he has been a solid fantasy option for player this season.

You also have someone who has benefited from circumstance. And whilst I never wish ill on anyone, Sam Darnold has certainly benefitted from the injury to rookie first round pick, JJ McCarthy. With eight games where he has thrown for multiple touchdowns, a highlight being 4 against the Texans, Darnold has been so much better than anyone would have predicted. Darnold has only had two off games, with a strange game against the Jets in week 5, and then an equally odd game against the Jags where he threw three interceptions.

Irrespective of that, Darnold has 22 total touchdowns this season and with that chemistry developing nicely with Jordan Addison and superstar Justin Jefferson, I would assume that he will be within 30 touchdowns before Christmas.

I AM THANKFUL FOR: ROOKIES BEING GREAT ALREADY

If you play dynasty fantasy football and you’re sat with players like Brian Thomas Jr, Bo Nix and Brock Bowers, on your roster, you must be delighted with how things are going. These three players have been so good for fantasy players all year round.

Starting with Brian Thomas Jr, he has been a shing star for a decidedly average Jags team this season, with 5 touchdowns and nearly 700 yards on the season. He’s had some big games as well, with over 120 yards and touchdown against the Colts and nearly 100 yards and a touchdown against the Patriots.

I would imagine with a new coaching team in place for the Jags next season, as I just cant see Pederson keeping his job, Thomas Jr is already going to making headlines as a making the leap candidate in his second year.

Next we have my QB surprise of the year in Bo Nix. I’ve spoken about him a lot in previous articles, so I’ll keep this brief. Nix has been fantasy value with multiple touchdowns in six games this season, including four against the Falcons and three against the Panthers; which as a Bucs fan, is just absolutely wonderful. Nix has 16 touchdowns this year after a slow start of four interceptions in his opening two games, but are we shocked that both Nix and the aforementioned Courtland Sutton are under the radar this season? Perhaps not given what the Broncos had to address before the season started.

In a season that has been as dreadful as that of the Raiders, to come out of the other side of it with a generational talent on offense in a particularly tough position, you may well take that all things considered. Whilst some may say he needs more touchdowns to complete his game, unlike other fantasy TEs, Bowers has big game yardage to make him a top, top talent for fantasy players. He has 97 yards and touchdown against that mean Broncos defense, 93 yards against the Rams and 126 yards and a touchdown against the Dolphins. Like I said, if you’re in a dynasty league with Bowers on your roster, you’re sitting pretty and smug for a long time.

I AM HOPEFUL FOR: NO MORE INJURIES

I know it happens every year, but good grief I feel like there have been some big ones this year. I feel like I need the Oscars music to be playing here as I list some of these players: Christian McCaffrey, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, Tua Tagovailoa, Nico Collins, Anthony Richardson, Jordan Love, Sam LaPorta, Jonathan Taylor, Kenneth Walker, Stefon Diggs, Brandon Aiyuk, and Isiah Pacheco are the ones that I can remember and that’s a big list. I apologise if I have missed anyone out here, but that is a long list of players who have been injured throughout the season.

Let’s all just hope that there are no more big injuries in this holiday season and you have a healthy fantasy roster going into the players.

AND FINALLY...

Finally, I am to say I am thankful to The Touchdown and everyone who takes the time to read these articles. I love doing it and I am thankful for the opportunity to write about what I love to watch every week. Have a great Thanksgiving weekend everyone.

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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