Everyday we will post a Market Check, which is a summary of our research on a different position for the week.
This is not the end of our advice for the week. At the end of the week, we’ll make our picks at each position. Some of the picks will not be discussed in the Market Check.
If you’d like to see our FREE picks every week, sign up for the newsletter!
BULL MARKET
Players we believe will out-perform their salary for the week. These guys will give you the most bang for your buck when you are building lineups.
Reed’s 26 targets is 3rd to only Greg Olsen and Rob Gronkowski. The power based run offense has complimented Reed’s game and allowed him to see more one on one coverages in which his size and speed allow him to dominate. With a competent QB Reed would certainly be threatening Olsen as the #2 TE in fantasy right now. However, Reed is still putting up very consistent stat lines despite and that without good QB play and red zone opportunity. Of the 17 redzone attempts the Redskins had this season, 7 were passes and 2 were thrown to Reed. So Reed has been producing without the red zone work, which I expect to increase for both the Redskins as a team and for Reed when they get down here. With an already great start to the season, an increase in red zone opportunities will make Reed even more attractive. The Eagles will bleed yardage to Washington this week, and if Desean Jackson is back it will take the top off of the D and give Reed even more space to work in the underneath routes…..love me some Reed this week.
Posting 182/196 snaps of the year, it’s clear Clay is a fixture in this reborn Bills offense. New offensive coordinator, Greg Roman loves TE’s, lining them up all over the place to run the ball and set up play action. Clay’s role is continuing to grow as the offense settles in with Tyrod as the starter. And with Sammy Watkins and Lesean McCoy likely to miss the game, Clay’s workload will be sure to increase. Clay is a safe bet to get 7-10 targets, making him a very safe option with high upside.
After a dud week 1, Newton and Olsen have shown the chemistry we expected from them this season. The last 2 weeks, Olsen has received nearly 37% of the Panthers targets…..10% better than the next TE. At that target rate, and on a team with no other receiving options, Olsen’s salary is a bargain and will continue to rise as he will exceed it in production. The Run-Pass option shown below was a thing of beauty, pausing the linebacker just enough to open the throwing window for an Olsen TD. Expect the Panthers to continue to find ways to get Olsen the ball especially in the red zone.
The RPO (Run-pass option) freezes LB just enough for Cam to squeeze it in to Olsen for a TD.
BEAR MARKET
Players we don’t believe will perform up to their salaries. We think you can find better value elsewhere.
I already described why I hate this matchup for the Giants in my Defensive market check…..on top of that, Donnell is just plain awful. He is stiffer than a board, he can’t catch (2 drops vs. Redskins) and looks lost on half the plays. I don’t see the Giants being able to move the ball much against the Bills, and if they do it won’t be because our Larry “Stiff” Donnell. His current yard per target average is a miserable 5.1. Giants will likely utilize backup DE Fells more as the season goes on. Too many other bargains at this position…..move on.
The 49ers will do everything in their power to establish the run game so they can keep Aaron Rodgers off the field….and so they don’t ever have to watch Kaepernick try to throw the ball over 10 yards again. Kap is so bad that they might opt for Blaine freakin Gabbert in this one. Anyway, Davis will continue to be a non fantasy factor and utilized as a blocker for the one bright spot on offense, Carlos Hyde. Beside being over the hill both in talent and age, Davis is on the league’s least explosive offense. No thanks.
Another one of Colts GM Ryan Grigson’s misses that he gets a pass on. Fleener flat out sucks….and with Dwayne Allen likely back Fleener can continue to suck on the sideline instead of on the field. DraftKings mistakenly gave Fleener a starting salary when he will most likely put up zero stats, like he did in week 2 when Allen was healthy. Stay away from Fleener but if Allen is healthy he could be a sneaky cheap TE option for tournament lineups.
