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Week 9 Free Agent Auction Targets

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Author: Jay Poundsee (@JayPoundsNFL)

The halfway mark is upon us and as I sat here researching information for this article with my two toddlers running rampant and my 9-year-old nagging at them, I just stopped shook my head and chuckled a bit. The site of these guys going crazy through the house is a normal day in my house and has become even more than normal since COVID, which can become more than stressful at times, as I’m sure many of you can relate. The stresses of everyday life tend to wear on us as humans, and things like fantasy football are a welcome getaway even with as fickle as it may be.

The thought of this stressful and very hard to predict game being a get away was summed up perfectly by Rich Dotson of the Dynasty Nerds podcast the other day when Dotson said, “Even when you are losing you are winning”. This statement really got me thinking in depth about why we play this game and its more than true. If you have a terrible season guess what is waiting at the end of the tunnel, someone like Trevor Lawrence or Ja’marr Chase. Dynasty owner takes all that and adds so much more with the salaries and strategy involved it truly has been one of the better “getaways” for me throughout COVID and now the future, and I hope it has for you as well. Enough of the love story about myself and fantasy, let’s get to some football and free agents of the week.

The free-agent Auction processes bids on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, and Sunday at 5 am EST during the regular season. Reminder that All transactions (Trades & FAA) freeze on December 6th as we move into the playoffs. Trades and FAA bids can be placed after December 6th, but they won’t process until December 29th. Once the season is over then the FAA will resume to 7 days a week at 5am EST.

Nick Mullens (1-Year $750,000) 47.42% Owned

With starting quarterback Jimmy G. set to miss at least 4 weeks from initial reports I have to put Mullens at the top of this week’s free agent targets. When called upon this season Mullens has performed admirably and seems more than capable of putting up consistent points. The problem is George Kittle went down with what I am assuming will be a season ending injury with the initial reports saying he is looking at missing 8 weeks. The task at hand is not going to be easy for Mullens with all of the injuries the 49ers have faced this season, they have seemed to be the most beat up team by far losing so many key pieces. When Jimmy G. went down Sunday Mullens came in and played very well completing 72% of his passes for 238 yards and adding 2 touchdowns through the air as well. The emergence of Brandon Aiyuk will certainly benefit Mullens on Game day as Aiyuk has done nothing but look like a true alpha when he has played.

The biggest question for me is how will the run game hold up without Kittle as he is such a vital piece to the 49ers run blocking. The 49ers are usually one of the top few teams in the league in rushing, but Sunday without Kittle they struggled horribly and must get better in the coming weeks if they want Mullens to have any sort of shot at success. This is a situation to monitor if your depending on Mullens as the 49ers have started to unload pieces and may look to come back healthy next year with another high draft pick.

Jake Luton (4-Years $704,187/Year) 46.39% Owned

We have heard rumblings for a short while now about the Jags possibly benching Gardner Minshew, and while he’s not being benched, he isn’t going to be starting either. A thumb injury will hold Minshew out of the match up against the Texans and give rookie 6th rounder Jake Luton the start for Jacksonville. The Jags also have Glennon on the roster but with them completely out of the playoff race there is zero benefit in starting the veteran QB. Luton is very raw there is no doubt about it and being a 6th round talent with very limited off-season work does not bold well for the former Beaver, but this is what free agent gambles are all about. Is it highly likely Luton goes out and looks no different than Dinucci against the Eagles on Sunday night, yes it is but there is also a sliver of a chance that he goes out plays well and never looks back. The chance of Luton having a huge game is exactly what we are looking for when we target players like Luton in free agency.

I went back and watched a few college highlights for the Beavers, and I didn’t see anything spectacular in Luton but I did see a very smart, well poised kid who doesn’t make mistakes, and he played in a pro-style offense. I am not all that confident in this selection, but the Jags have nothing to lose so Luton may get more chances at the job than usual, especially if he proves somewhat capable. Be sure to keep in mind Luton isn’t stepping into the starting role for the Chiefs this is a bad football team, though it does seem to have young capable play makers on offense. I have to say I honestly feel bad for Minshew, he has struggled some this season, but this defense is horrendous, and the offensive line is not much better which hasn’t given Minshew much hope for success.

Marvin Hall (1-Year $690,000) 1% Owned

Marvin Hall will be in the number 3 slot this week and while he’s not a pretty pickup as usual, he is a capable big play guy. I have heard from more than one source that Kenny Golladay is heading to the IR, which leaves a massive hole with a lot of open potential for Detroit in the coming weeks. Hall had a very good day against a tough Colts defense totaling 4 catches on 7 targets for 113 yards. A good portion of Hall’s day came from one huge 70 plus yard play and that is exactly what you are picking up Hall for, to make the big play in Detroit. I know that the most obvious answer here to replace Golladay is Marvin Jones, but how many times have we seen Jones struggle in the number one role in the past when given the chance, he seems much better suited as Robin over Batman. Outside of Golladay we haven’t seen any sort of consistency as far as fantasy goes but the offense does score points and they have a very bad defense, which is usually a great recipe for fantasy and the exact reason we should target some piece of this offense while Golladay is out.

The most important thing a receiver can have 90% of the time is a good quarterback throwing them the ball and Hall has just that in Stafford. While Stafford has not looked great at times this year, he has played better the past few weeks, including a beautiful game winning drive against Atlanta. There is also zero risk tied to Hall with such a cheap salary and only one year remaining meaning he can be cut for cheap anytime or dropped for free at the end of the season.

Braxton Berrios (1-Year $644,602) 33% Owned

As much as it pains me to do it I have to put Berrios back on the free agent target list again this week. I seriously can’t believe I just typed this but it’s true target Berrios as a great bench play or even spot starter if you are really banged up. As gross as picking up Berrios may sound its actually not a bad play as he’s shown the ability to have big games (by Jets standards) anytime Crowder misses, and Crowder has been banged up all year. Berrios has also shown the ability to produce without Darnold as well and I know what you’re thinking what does it matter if Darnold plays or not he stinks, while you are right I came across an interesting stat that the Jets haven’t won a game without Darnold playing since drafting him which means he makes a little bit of a difference.

I know that still doesn’t equate to much, but it has to say something about what Berrios has been able to do this season for the lowly Jets. Teams have to know what the jets plan to do at this point which is throw 3-yard passes to Berrios or Crowder 20 times a game. Eventually this coaching staff will get a bit of an overhaul and young players like Berrios who have shown promise amid disaster this season should continue to see valuable reps as the season goes. I know he only had 34 yards this week but if you are making a playoff run and I told you that you could pick up an unnamed receiver cheap in the auction that has potential to get 10-15 targets anytime he starts in the slot you would do it almost every time, right?

Troymaine Pope (1-Year $645,000) 0% Owned

The Pope exploded onto the scene out of nowhere this week with 10 carries for 67 yards while adding on 5 catches. The great thing about Pope is his extremely small deal making it easy to move on from him freely this off season. Pope has bounced around in previous years even finding himself out of the league for the 2017 and 2018 seasons before catching on with the Chargers in 2019. The best staying power Pope has is beating out rookie Josh Kelly for touches, while Kelly has struggled over the past few weeks it’s hard to imagine Pope being anything more than a rental for the next few weeks while Kelly figures things out. All that said the Chargers are still in the playoff race and don’t seem to be an easy out with stud rookie Herbert at the helm.

If Kelly continues to struggle especially in practice look for someone like Pope to step in and take Kelly’s touches, just like Pope did Sunday.  The running back landscape is probably the worst we have ever seen it making players like Pope very intriguing pickups. I’m willing to bet if you go through 90% of leagues many will be struggling to find any type of solid production from their bench running backs and some struggling to have two solid starters. I know I’ve said it a lot but players like Pope who can contribute on your bench should not be overlooked, especially if you’re going for a championship. I have lost a total of 6 games by 5 points or less throughout all of my fantasy teams this season which tells me bench scoring is the deciding factor in more than a few match ups each week throughout the platform.

While I tend to be a pretty laid back guy and what most would call a Jokester, I do not ever cheat the system as I feel it usually doesn’t get much accomplished and rarely teaches any type of lesson. I wanted to “cheat the system” worse than ever this week and put Jordan Wilkins in my free agent targets as almost everything fit the requirements. His salary is $675,310 with 2 years remaining, but his ownership is just above the 50% threshold at 53.6%. Wilkins may be a solid play moving forward depending on the health and performance of rookie Jonathan Taylor. Wilkins did outperform Taylor this week easily posting 20 carries for 89 yards and 1 touchdown against the Lions. Wilkins has a horrible match up against the Ravens this week and I would recommend waiting to play him, if possible.

One other player I would like to mention is Demarcus Robinson (1 year $2,297,500) who had a solid game against the lowly Jets. I don’t have Robinson on the list because of the emergence of Mecole Hardman as well as the army of weapons at the Chiefs disposal, putting Robinson a bit further in the pecking order than I am willing to trust. I hope everyone is enjoying Dynasty Owner as much as I am, even blowing up my team I still find it the most fun I have ever had playing fantasy and I hope you are as well! As always good luck on your Chase for the Ring!

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