Sunday Morning Huddle: Week Nine

Ryan McDowell

Let’s face it, there’s an enormous amount of information out there on Sunday mornings. We’re not going to waste your time by repeating the news and notes about who’s in or out this week, since that’s really not what you visit us for. We’re also not going to do another article on starts or sits this week – we already have the personalized lineup advice for you on the premium content. Again, there are 100 places you can go for that, so no reason to repeat ourselves or others.

The Sunday Morning Huddle goes through each game and states what we’re looking to see from a dynasty perspective. One player will be picked from each team who has dynasty value tied to the game – players at a pivot point where their value could increase or decrease based on opportunity and performance.

EARLY GAMES

KANSAS CITY AT CLEVELAND

For the Browns, this game will be less about any specific player and more about how the team is run with a new coaching staff. Following Cleveland’s Week Eight loss to the Steelers, head coach Hue Jackson and offensive coordinator Todd Haley were fired, leaving defensive coordinator Gregg Williams to serve as interim head coach while little known Freddie Kitchens is the new play-caller. There are reasons to be excited about the changes but too many faces of the old regime remain.

Chiefs wide receiver Tyreek Hill was looking iffy for much of the week after tweaking his groin in last week’s win over the Broncos. By the end of the practice week though, he was not listed on the injury report and will be good to go. As discussed last week, Hill has odd home/road splits, excelling as a visitor. While the injury had me worried about Hill, he is now safe to roll with against the Browns in Cleveland. This should be another monster game for Hill and the Chiefs offense.

TAMPA BAY AT CAROLINA

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With veteran receiver Torrey Smith out in Week Eight, rookie D.J. Moore shined, setting new career-highs with five catches for 90 yards. Smith has been ruled out again this week and the Panthers are playing host to the league’s worst pass defense. The Buccaneers have allowed seven WR1 games and ten top 24 games to receivers, each ranking worst in the league. If Moore goes off again, he could supplant Smith even when he’s healthy.

After throwing four interceptions a week ago, quarterback Jameis Winston was benched in favor of veteran Ryan Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick started the first three games while Winston was suspended and was the QB1 over that three-week span, even outscoring Patrick Mahomes. After nearly leading the Buccaneers to a comeback victory, Fitzpatrick was named the starter, sending Winston to the bench. He gets a bit of a tough test against Carolina but he hasn’t really been stopped all season, beyond one terrible half against the Bears in Week Four.

NEW YORK JETS AT MIAMI

The Dolphins continue to struggle with injuries as quarterback Ryan Tannehill is at least a couple weeks away from returning while wideout Kenny Stills is questionable to play in this game against the Jets. The player to watch in this one is running back Kenyan Drake. While it feels like he’s had a disappointing season, losing the lead rushing job to veteran Frank Gore, he’s in fact averaging just one point less than he did in the back half of last season, when he was the RB6 from Week Nine through the end of the season. Drake has weekly fantasy finishes of RB6, RB28, RB1 and RB8 over the past month.

The Jets activated sophomore running back Elijah McGuire from the injured reserve list and he is expected to make his season debut against the Dolphins. New York could use his pass-catching skills after they lost veteran Bilal Powell for the season a couple weeks ago. Rookie Trenton Cannon has served in that role since and has shown some upside but the Jets clearly like McGuire. If he’s still out on the wire, go add him now.

DETROIT AT MINNESOTA

At the trade deadline this past week, the Lions dealt veteran receiver Golden Tate, who led the team in targets, receptions, receiving yards and fantasy points at the time of the trade. While the obvious beneficiaries of Tate’s departure will be receivers Marvin Jones and Kenny Golladay, there is also opportunity for another to play a significant role in the passing game. This game against NFC North rival Minnesota will be the beginning of the new information we can use. Receivers TJ Jones and rookie Brandon Powell are both options and it has even been suggested that running back Theo Riddick, who is due to return from a knee injury this week, could be used more as a slot receiver. This is the outcome I am hoping to see today.

It appears that the Vikings will have running back Dalvin Cook back in the lineup but only for a limited amount of players, according to early reports. Wide receiver Stefon Diggs might not be as fortunate though. After suffering a rib injury last week, Diggs is expected to miss this game against the Lions. As if Adam Thielen needed a better situation. Laquon Treadwell should also see more playing time than usual. Treadwell’s season-highs are just four receptions for 47 yards. He has one touchdown on the season and a WR53 game in Week Two represents his top weekly finish of the season.

ATLANTA AT WASHINGTON

Redskins running back Chris Thompson suffered another injury in last week’s win and will miss today’s game against the Falcons. This is turning into a lost season for the talented pass-catching back but will leave even more opportunity for veteran Adrian Peterson to see the field. Peterson’s comeback is one of the top stories of the year and he currently ranks as the RB14 in PPR leagues. His 587 rushing yards places him fifth among all backs in the league. As a home favorite, this sets up as another huge game for Peterson.

The Falcons come off their bye week and travel to DC to face the Redskins. The Atlanta offense is still a bit perplexing for fantasy owners. Their one “sure thing” is veteran receiver Julio Jones who still hasn’t found the end zone since the middle of last season. The backfield has also been a disappointment with Devonta Freeman on the shelf and Tevin Coleman simply falling flat with his increased opportunity. Rookie wide receiver shined in a three-game touchdown barrage but has been quiet since.

CHICAGO AT BUFFALO

If you thought things couldn’t get worse for the Bills, enter quarterback Nathan Peterman, who will take over for a concussed Derek Anderson. Rookie quarterback Josh Allen is reportedly a couple weeks away from throwing but probably should just sit out the remainder of the season. Curiously, the Bills not only did not trade veteran running back LeSean McCoy, they even committed to keeping him for 2019. This team’s decisions make no sense.

The Bears backfield began the season with Jordan Howard playing over 70% of the snaps and earning 20 touches, including five receptions. This was not good for Tarik Cohen’s game considering catching passes out of the backfield is where he excels. Now, two months into the season, this is essentially a 50/50 committee but with his PPR upside, Cohen has claimed the lead role in fantasy terms. Howard hasn’t outscored Cohen since Week Three.

PITTSBURGH AT BALTIMORE

The Ravens made a move at the trade deadline, dealing a future seventh-round pick for running back Ty Montgomery. While TyMo had made little impact in the Packers backfield over the first half of the season, he could play a major role for Baltimore, who has clearly been disappointed by Javorius Allen as the presumed pass-catching back. Allen’s playing time and number of touches have been trending down in recent games and he could find himself nearly fazed out of the offense. I’m not ready to roll out Montgomery in his first game with the team but am anxious to see how much opportunity he gets in Baltimore.

After starting the season just as he left off a year ago as a rookie, receiver Juju Smith-Schuster has hit a mild cold patch, finishing as the WR53, WR28, WR14 and WR58 over the past four contests. Smith-Schuster is averaging under 60 yards over those four games and has one touchdown in that span. In recent meetings with the Ravens, alpha wide receiver Antonio brown has been slowed, meaning this could be a Juju game.

LATE GAMES

HOUSTON AT DENVER

Just days after losing receiver Will Fuller for the year with a torn ACL, the Texans traded a mid-round pick for veteran wideout Demaryius Thomas. While DT is not the player he once was, he can still put up numbers and should be a nice complement to what star DeAndre Hopkins can do, as well as the speed of rookie receiver Keke Coutee, who will miss this game with a hamstring injury. I love this landing spot for Thomas and can’t wait to see how second-year quarterback Deshaun Watson uses his talents.

After trading away one of their top all-time receivers, the Broncos will now face Thomas and his new team. With the veteran gone, all eyes will be on rookie receiver Courtland Sutton, who the team has talked up prior to and following the trade deadline. Sutton is quickly gaining dynasty value and could already be considered a top 25 dynasty receiver even with up and down production so far this season.

LOS ANGELES CHARGERS AT SEATTLE

The Chargers are back from their bye week and hope to have starting running back Melvin Gordon on the field with them. Gordon sat out the team’s Week Seven game with a hamstring injury and then missed practice time this week. Gordon is questionable but is expected to play in this nice matchup against the Seahawks. Gordon is still the RB6 on the season despite playing fewer games than any other top 12 fantasy runner.

Seattle running back Chris Carson will be a true game-time decision as he deals with a hip injury. If Carson is forced to miss the game, veteran Mike Davis would be next in line but this could also be an opportunity for underused rookie back Rashaad Penny. For the second time in three games, Penny did not even play an offensive snap in Week Eight. His value is fading fast but neither Carson nor Davis seem to be the long-term answer either. At some point, the Seahawks will give their first rounder a shot at real playing time.

LOS ANGELES RAMS AT NEW ORLEANS

The Saints host the Rams in a battle of two of the league’s top offenses, this game features a 60 point over/under, the highest on record in over ten years. That means fantasy players should be using as many pieces of these two offenses as possible. One player who could be in a prime spot to make an impact is rookie receiver Tre’Quan Smith. Since the season-ending injury to veteran Ted Ginn, Smith has served as the number two wideout, drawing nearly a 20% target share. The Saints have controlled the past couple games and quarterback Drew Brees’ passing volume has been down. Expect that to change against the undefeated Rams.

After a two-week absence due to a knee injury, the Rams welcome back wide receiver Cooper Kupp in a game they will need all the weapons they can get. Kupp is still the fantasy WR22 despite missing a pair of games and most of a third. He’s averaging nearly 18 fantasy points per game and is still the go-to options for quarterback Jared Goff in the red zone.

SUNDAY NIGHT

GREEN BAY AT NEW ENGLAND

After practicing on a limited basis for much of the week, it appears that the Patriots will have rookie running back Sony Michel back on the field. Michel suffered what appeared to be a serious leg injury two weeks ago but that will apparently cost him just one game. Michel had weekly ranks of RB16, RB15 and RB8 before leaving the Week Seven game with his injury. The dream of Cordarrelle Patterson at running back looks to be dead…for now.

The Packers are yet another team impacted by a deadline trade. They moved on from running back Ty Montgomery, who cost them a chance to defeat the Rams last week when he fumbled a late-game kickoff return. The backfield had been a three-way split between Montgomery and sophomore backs Aaron Jones and Jamaal Williams so the move leaves this as a two-back committee. While Williams is the preferred blocker, Jones checks every other box and his value could explode as he earns more playing time. Last week’s 62% of the snaps was a new season-high for Jones by a wide margin.

MONDAY NIGHT

TENNESSEE AT DALLAS

An early-season injury to tight end Delanie Walker and a surprise falling out and eventual release of veteran receiver Rishard Matthews left second-year players Corey Davis and Jonnu Smith with huge opportunities for the Titans but both players have failed to take advantage. Smith’s season-high in fantasy points is a meager 3.1 and he’s only caught five balls all season. Davis, the much-hyped former first-rounder, has fared slightly better, thanks to a fluke WR4 game in Week Four. Other than that game, Davis doesn’t have a single weekly performance inside the top 40 receivers.

We haven’t seen wide receiver Amari Cooper on an NFL field since Week Six and that wait will be prolonged until the national stage of Monday Night Football. Cooper was traded from Oakland to Dallas during the Raiders bye and then walked right into the bye week for the Cowboys but is now set to make his debut. Cowboys offensive coordinator suggested earlier this week that Cooper would play a significant amount, which makes sense given how much they paid for Cooper, the fact that he’s already the most talented receiver on the team by a wide margin and the fact that they can’t afford many more losses.

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ryan mcdowell