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Author: Jay Poundsee (@jaypoundsnfl)
The way this football weekend started out for me was in an extremely irritating way. I woke up Sunday to my house having zero power which instantly meant no normal football day, and on top of it my phone was dead, so there was no scoreboard watching either. I had my soon to be wife call and see what was going on… a tree fell, no power until 4pm at the earliest! I don’t remember the exact time the power came back on, but I do remember finally sitting down flipping the RedZone channel on for about 30 seconds just to stand back up instantly screaming! This time the screaming wasn’t because of the frustrations of no football, it was because The Hail Murray had just happened. The play of the year had instantly flipped my Sunday upside down, and the best part is I am nowhere near a Cardinals fan, but man was that one of the best finishes I have seen in quite a while with both teams feeling they had it won. I mentioned a few weeks back that the Cardinals are 100% must see TV, and The Hail Murray only solidifies that
I will finally stop drooling over the Hopkins catch and get back into some Dynasty Owner, which I am assuming is why you are here. This week we happened to see quite a few players that are not highly owned perform well, and should turn out a decent free agent or two. Keep in mind as soon as the regular Dynasty Owner season comes to a close your rosters will lock for the remainder of the season, so tighten up your roster before it’s too late, and Tim puts his foot down. I would absolutely hate to see someone lose their championship game because of bench points, and on top of being the first loser in your league you wont even have a shot at the coveted Chase for the Ring.
If you are in the top 100 and have a team that has been either hot as of late, or very consistent all year, the time is now to package your draft capital and lower level starters for sure fire production. Be sure to look at upcoming strength of schedule before making any trades.
Salvon Ahmed (1-Year $765,000) 53% Owned
Has anyone had better luck in 2020 with no name running backs than the Miami Dolphins? They brought in someone none of us love, but we all respect this past off season in Jordan Howard. Coming into this year everyone in the football world thought Howard would be the lead back in Miami with Breida getting the passing work. That theory proved to be dead wrong with the emergence of Gaskin, and no preseason to see how bad Howard actually looked. With Gaskin hurt and on injured reserve the Dolphins went straight back to Howard, for about 4 plays looking just as bad as earlier in the season. Ahmed clearly outplayed Howard in the game against Arizona 2 weeks ago, so much so the Dolphins actually ended up releasing Howard.
The undrafted rookie out of Washington stepped in this past week handling a full workload, and managed to look really good while doing it. Ahmed tallied 21 carries for 85 yards and a touchdown, and catching his only target for 5 yards, in his first NFL start against a solid Chargers defensive front. This backfield is still Gaskin’s job to lose once he returns from injury, but the way Ahmed has looked, he’s sure to have a stable role in this up and coming offense moving forward.
The fact Ahmed is a rookie with a clear role the next few weeks on a very cheap deal makes Ahmed a must grab at this stage in the fantasy season! I would also like to mention that Ahmed is a player I have been what most would call “A Truther” on since his Washington days. I loved watching his highlights every bit as much as someone like JK Dobbins, or Jonathon Taylor over the off season, and if I can say anything about Ahmed its that he runs with a violent purpose and has above average vision. If Ahmed can prove himself as a pass catcher over the next few games that Gaskin is out hell have the makings of a potential three down back in the coming years.
Willie Snead (1-Year $6,000,000) 6.19% Owned
Its good ole Willie Snead back in your fantasy thoughts. It feels like just yesterday that Snead looked like a very underrated talent catching passes from the legend, Drew Brees. Those days unfortunately are long gone, and Snead has looked like a shell of himself ever since leaving the Saints. Though, Snead has started to find himself a nice little role in Baltimore with at least 4 catches in each of the last 3 games for the Ravens. The most impressive performance thus far is debatable (both in losses) between his 5 catch 106 yard day against the Steelers, and his performance in the monsoon Sunday night against the Patriots, with 5 catches for 64 yards and 2 touchdowns.
If Snead is able to keep this type of production up through the remainder of the season he could become a great acquisition for owners that have the room to acquire him, just imagine how deadly Snead can be if Lamar figures things out. Hollywood Brown has struggled to become the number one guy we all hoped he would, and the past few weeks Snead has stepped up and looked like the true alpha for the Ravens passing game. I know Nick Boyle is a tight end who doesn’t do much in the pass catching area, but his injury should open up even more targets for the receivers due to the Ravens having to leave Mark Andrews in to block more than he has been asked in recent memory. Another positive with Snead is his deal is only for the rest of this year, meaning you can cut ties freely this off season.
Cam Sims (2-Years $540,000/yr) and Isaiah Wright (3-Years $763,333/yr) 10.31% Owned
I know I kind of took the cheap way out of this one, but I honestly couldn’t decide between the two for the rest of this season. My best advice on which of the two to take would be watch some film, and take the one your gut tells you to grab. Sims has came on strong the past few weeks playing on a massive 74% of offensive plays, culminating in 94% of offensive snaps against Detroit. Sims was able to grab 4 out of 5 targets for 54 yards on Sunday, following his huge 3 catch 110 yard day against the Giants. Sims is a big bodied receiver at 6 feet 5 inches tall weighing 215 pounds, a similar frame to that of Kenny Golladay.
The teammate of Sims, Isaiah Wright has also been coming on strong as of late with a 6 catch 59 yard performance this past Sunday against Detroit. Wright is someone the Washington front office, and coaching staff drafted, and seem to hold in high regard giving him a little bit more potential over Sims in future seasons. I haven’t had the chance to take a deep dive into Sims just yet, but I have looked at Wright quite a bit this past off season, and he is a very talented kid who has the chance at a bright future in this league.
The Washington Football Team has been a very hard team to judge by what they say, so take what you read from them about who will play lightly. The injury to Kyle Allen initially scared some fantasy owners away, but I think this may benefit the team as a whole from a fantasy prospective. Smith seems to want to push the ball downfield opening the offense up more than Allen, or Haskins throwing for 390 yards and completing almost 70% of his passes.
Jalen Guyton (2-Years $540,000/yr) 49.48% Owned
I have honestly been waiting all season long to put Guyton on one of these lists, but he just hasn’t shown the ability to produce in the short or intermediate game thus far. On Sunday against the Dolphins that all changed as Guyton put together the game I have been wanting to see from him, even if the stats were not all that good. Guyton showed up Sunday in a strange, but good way with just 4 catches for 24 yards. I know you may be thinking why in the world is this guy recommending someone who only had 24 yards of offense, but let’s not forget Guyton has proved to be the Chargers true home run threat this season hitting multiple times on deep touchdown receptions.
If Guyton can start to play and perform more in the short game like he did on Sunday, we could start to see some games with 5 to 7 catches for 120 yards and a touchdown from Guyton. The fact Guyton plays with a fellow rookie, and what seems to be a budding superstar in Herbert, the future is bright for Herbert, Guyton and the Chargers offense. The Chargers are somewhat deep at receiver with Allen, Williams, and Henry (tight end) but none of them have shown the ability to be able to consistently stay healthy over their careers. Guyton is also a rookie on one of the cheapest deals you will find in all of Dynasty Owner, making him a must stash if you have the open roster spot. I absolutely love players like Guyton, or a Darnell Mooney in dynasty, because they have the ability to be a true lottery ticket very soon!
Marvin Hall (1-Year $690,000) 14% Owned
Marvin Hall had another Marvin Hall type of week in week 10, with 2 catches for 61 yards and a touchdown. The type of day Hall had Sunday is exactly what you can expect from Hall most weeks, at least until Golladay comes back. While Hall did add a touchdown Sunday, we all know that cant be counted on, and usually just depend on the flow of the game for most players, especially of Hall’s caliber.
Hall will never be a “sexy” pickup, or one someone will jump into a bidding war over, but he will get the job done for you on the bench, especially on his touchdown weeks. I am not too sure on how much longer Golladay will be out, but I have heard rumblings about him wanting a new deal, or out of Detroit, which is why he may be out longer than initially expected. There are also a few other things going in Hall’s favor with Amendola being hurt and possibly missing time, as well as the Lions having basically zero experience at his position outside of Jones, a couple rookies, and himself. The Lions seem to find themselves in shootouts every single week giving Hall plenty of opportunities to connect on a deep ball throughout the game, which is another one of those things fantasy managers tend to love.
Closing Thoughts
It’s just a bit bonkers to me that the free agent targets seem to be getting a little bit deeper as we continue to go through the year. I have two players this week that didn’t make the cut who could potentially have an impact in the coming weeks, and one of them in future seasons as well. Alex Collins for Seattle will more than likely get the start with the Seahawks scheduled to play on Thursday this week.
Collins is only 1% owned with a very cheap salary (1 year $630,000) making him basically a risk free addition. The second player has much more upside, but is also a more risky pickup due to his length of contract, and price. Jakeem Grant (4 years $4,925,000) has looked good since Preston Williams went down with an injury. Grant has managed to snag 4 catches in each of the past two games, and adding a touchdown this past weekend. If Grant can build a rapport with Tua over the remainder of this season he could be a sneaky pickup, but he could also be a $5,000,000 cap hit who does nothing but take up cap space, and a roster spot…. Don’t you just love the NFL.
In a perfect world we would all be fighting for playoff spots, not needing this list at all. Unfortunately we live in 2020 and its anything but perfect, though on the bright side we still have Dynasty Owner and football! I hope you all enjoy the pickups, and as always good luck on your Chase for the Ring!
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