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By: Jay Pounds (@JayPoundsNFL)
I am going to do things a little different to start this week’s article and I hope everyone reading feels it’s well deserved. One of the true legends in this industry lost his battle with Covid over the weekend and I feel it’s only right to pay some respects in the form he seemed to love so dearly: fantasy football content. Every single time I had the privilege of listening to Mr. Tagliere, he made football seem as if it were the most important thing on planet earth but also found a way to mix in humor. It truly gave me some free time and peace in this world each day. I have played fantasy football for a long time, and never once did I think about getting into content creating for fantasy football, until the first time I listened to Mike Tagliere that is. I have never personally met Mike Tagliere, nor have I talked with him all that much on Twitter aside from a few occasions that always brightened my day, yet I feel like he was somewhat of a mentor to me. Idol may even be a better word to use. The drive and passion that man showed to the game of football and his co-hosts Kyle Yates, Dan Harris, and Joe Pisapia was intoxicating, and I just knew I had to take a chance in this industry, all because of a man I have never met. That is my version of the genius of Mike Tagliere. If you happen to follow both of us on Twitter you will notice my Twitter name is very similar to his and it’s because I wanted to be like Mike and I am not talking about Michael Jordan, I wanted to be like Mike Tagliere! If any of his family, friends, or fans happen to read this just know Mike Tagliere will be dearly missed and I will continue to keep every single one of you in my thoughts during this difficult time! To the undisputed Fantasy Feud Champion: Rest easy Mr. Tagliere you have and will continue to inspire many people and not just in this industry but other phases of life as well.
Alright Dynasty Owners, we are back with another week of trying to find a diamond in the rough with the Free Agent Auction targets. The free agent articles/videos will be dropping every Tuesday afternoon in advance of when bids process on Wednesday at 5 AM and will consist of the week’s Top 5 free agent adds. I will do my best to keep the players listed at an ownership percentage of 65% or less and make sure all players have contracts of $8,000,000 or less, with most players coming in at under $4,000,000. One last note, in Dynasty Owner you will be credited each week with 25% of your entire Bench’s score making these weekly free agent pick-ups extremely important to help boost your total weekly score.
On to the top targets for Week 4:
- Jacoby Brissett (QB – MIA) – 1 year/$5,000,000 – 42.6%
As I mention a ton in my articles, quarterbacks are Dynasty Owner gold. I have had plenty of weeks where my entire team did well, and I lost because of a 20-point QB in my Starting lineup. I am not sitting here saying Brissett will have a 40-point week, but he will look solid on your Bench until Tua Tagovailoa comes back. In Week 3, Brissett had one of the weirdest stat lines I have ever seen going 32-49 for 215 yards and no touchdowns, completing 65% of his passes on just 4.39 yards an attempt. He was able to add a touchdown on the ground though. The Dolphins haven’t shown much at all from the running game and Brissett will have to continue to help in that area as well while he is the starting quarterback in Miami.
- Cole Beasley (WR – BUF) – 2 years/$7,250,000 – 62.7% Rostered
Up next after Josh Allen’s big bounce back performance in Week 3, we have a repeat from a few weeks ago, Cole Beasley. Beasley caught 11 of his 13 targets for 98 yards against the Washington Football Team showing glimpses of what made him extremely useful in Dynasty Owner last season. If Josh Allen can continue to play the way he did in Week 3 for the remainder of the season, Cole Beasley will be a steal regardless of how many Dynasty Dollars you spend to acquire his services. Beasley has been nothing short of a steady force for this Buffalo Bills team over the past couple seasons and I see no reason that ends now.
- Emmanuel Sanders (WR – BUF) – 1 year/$6,000,000 – 58.6% Rostered
As I just mentioned with Cole Beasley, most of the same can be applied to Emmanuel Sanders. Sanders is probably the player I was most wrong about coming into the 2021 season as I was expecting him to take a backseat to Gabriel Davis but that has not been the case thus far. Aside from injury, I see no reason that the Bills will start throwing to Davis over Sanders and if you are expecting big things from Josh Allen the rest of the way, then Sanders is a no brainer to have with bye weeks coming up. In Week 3, Sanders came away with 5 catches on 6 targets for 94 yards and 2 touchdowns. I don’t know about you, but I would love that kind of production anywhere in my lineup.
- Nick Westbrook-Ikhine (WR – TEN) – 1 year/$610,000 – 3.55% Rostered
Nick Westbrook-Ikhine may very well be the lowest rostered player to ever hit this series at just 3.55%. I am sure not many are all that familiar with Westbrook-Ikhine, don’t worry I wasn’t either. A.J. Brown is said to have a Grade 1 or 2 hamstring injury and is looking at missing three weeks minimum with a high chance of re-injury when he can return. Even if Brown only ends up missing the minimum of three weeks, Westbrook-Ikhine will still be a solid piece to hold as young depth. Look for Westbrook-Ikhine to be the Robin to Julio Jones’ Batman for the foreseeable future.
- Peyton Barber (RB – LV) – 1 year/$990,000 – 33.7% Rostered
You know how I mentioned how Westbrook-Ikhine may be the lowest owned player ever? Well Peyton Barber may be the top dawg for players that felt the grossest to put in the list. Nonetheless with Barber hitting the century mark in Sunday’s game against the Dolphins, I had to include him this week. Barber may be a tricky pickup this week with the Raiders playing on Monday night and Josh Jacobs getting an extra day of rest. If you are desperate or have Jacobs on your Dynasty Owner roster, Barber may be worth a look this week.
Conclusion
I unfortunately did not get to watch as much football as I would like this week because my son’s football games are on Sundays at 1 pm for some reason. As much as I hate missing any of the NFL games on Sunday, it is well worth it.
In Sunday’s 5th grade football game, my not so little man (5 ft 4 inches, 165lbs) never came off the field and had 3 sacks, 8 tackles for a loss (one which looked like a miniature version of Jadeveon Clowney against Michigan) and added 9 pancake blocks on offense. If you read this week’s article, your dad is proud! I hope you enjoyed my little story here at the end and hope your teams are all undefeated. Wouldn’t that be nice?
Please do not forget about Steve Van Tassell’s weekly Tuesday recap article and Friday preview article and video, as well as Matt “The Jerk” Morrison’s Wednesday article and video plus his Thursday Night Football preview article. Don’t forget to check out Dynasty Owner on YouTube!
Thank you all for reading and as always good luck on your 2021 Chase for the Ring!