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By: Jay Pounds (@JayPoundsNFL)
I feel like I say this at least every other week but I cannot believe we are already through 10 weeks of this NFL season. As the Jerk likes to say, these are the fastest 17 weeks of the year and he is not wrong by any stretch of the imagination. As I always do before jumping into the Free Agent Auction targets, let’s run through what I thought of this week’s wild games in the segment I like to call, Jay’s weekly recap.
Up first we have the Chiefs getting back on track against the Las Vegas Raiders in a big way with their star quarterback Patrick Mahomes throwing 5 touchdown passes. On Thursday, we had the game that started the weeks’ worth of weirdness with the Miami Dolphins beating the Baltimore Ravens. I am crediting this one to a tired Ravens team that overlooked their opponent more than the Dolphins being a better team. The Steelers somehow managed a tie despite Mason Rudolph starting at quarterback and after the performance he showed on Sunday, I am not so sure he even qualifies as a backup in the league at this point. The entire Cowboys team got back on track against the Falcons and have put themselves in position to easily make the playoffs with a huge lead in one of the worst divisions in football. The Saints continue to start Trevor Siemian and continue to lose. At some point Sean Payton has to realize Taysom Hill is the better option for his team to win football games. The Colts barely squeaked by Jaguars on Sunday but regardless of the score Jonathon Taylor has put himself squarely in the mix to be the RB1 in all of football. After all of the hype about how good Baker would be after the release of OBJ, he turns in the performance of a lifetime against Steve Van Tassell’s New England Patriots. I will keep saying it until he proves me wrong, Baker Mayfield is just another game manager in the NFL. The Panthers brought back franchise icon Cam Newton this past week and he came back in a big way with his first two plays resulting in a pair of touchdowns. The Chargers strange season continues with an unexplainable loss to the Minnesota Vikings. If I am being honest, the Chargers may be the poster boy for how this 2021 season is playing out, weird. Russell Wilson returned to action this Sunday and I feel it’s safe to say he will be quickly putting this game in his rearview after being shut out by the Green Bay Packers defense. Finally, in what was likely the biggest shocker to everyone this weekend, the Washington Football Team beat up on Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers. When scrolling through Twitter after this game there were more than a couple tweets about Tom Brady being on the decline after two subpar games in the past two weeks. I am here to remind everyone it is Tom Brady; he doesn’t age and will smile as you eat your negative words about him next weekend, I learned my lesson now it’s time you do 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 11:
- Cam Newton (QB – CAR) 1 year/$4,500,000 – 75.74% Rostered
I don’t think there was a better story in Week 10 then Cam Newton heading back to the Carolina Panthers. Cam is an absolute icon in the Carolina area, and it showed the moment he stepped back onto the Panthers field. During Cam’s first two plays in his return, he was able to find the end zone twice. I am sure most of you saw it as well but once the Panthers signed Cam, it spelled the end of the Sam Darnold era in Carolina. Shortly after the game, Panthers coach Matt Rhule came out and said the Panthers would be preparing Cam to be the starter heading into Week 11. As fun as this scenario is, I feel bad for P.J. Walker who has done nothing but play well, regardless of the league he is in and just has not gotten a full chance yet. I jumped the gun and picked up Cam the day he signed with the Panthers and while he is still available in some leagues, he is going to cost more than a few Dynasty Dollars to acquire. I know Cam is over the technical roster requirements, but as a football fan I just couldn’t leave him off of this list.
2. Marcus Johnson (WR – TEN) 1 year/$1,127,500 – 0.59% Rostered
The Titans are one of the most banged up offenses in all of football and you can easily tell by looking at this list. Marcus Johnson stepped into the Julio Jones role on Sunday and shined catching 5 passes for 100 yards in his first start of the season. In a game the Titans struggled to generate much offense, Johnson was a calming presence who seemingly made every big play needed to win the game. After a performance like the one Johnson just put up, I would not be surprised to see him receive a big workload until Julio is back in the lineup healthy. If you only have one roster spot left and want more of a sure thing at the wide receiver position, be sure to read further in the article.
3. D’Onta Foreman (RB – TEN) 1 year/$920,000 – 37.87% Rostered
I have D’Onta Foreman on the list for a second consecutive week in a row and I am expecting to see his roster percentage go up dramatically after this Free Agent Auction run. In Week 10, Foreman and the Titans went up against a tough Saints defense and when given the opportunity Foreman looked much better than any of his counterparts on the Titans offense. D’Onta Foreman finished Week 10 with 11 carries for just 30 yards but caught 2 passes for 48 yards. The next closest running back to Foreman in terms of carries in the game was Adrian Peterson who had 8 carries for just 21 yards and has not looked good in either outing this season. If Foreman continues to be the only player producing big plays out of the Titans backfield, he should start to lock down more work each week until King Henry returns.
4. Kendrick Bourne (WR – NE) 3 years/$5,000,000 – 53.85% Rostered
I have had Kendrick Bourne on this list three times now, yet he is still just 53.85% rostered. Bourne has been a consistent presence for several weeks now and after seeing how many empty Bench spots there are each week, I find it confusing Bourne is not rostered more at this point. In Week 10, Bourne was used in both the running game and passing game putting up 43 rushing yards on just 3 carries and catching all 4 of his targets for 98 yards and a touchdown. If you take out the first two weeks of the season, Bourne has scored double digit Dynasty Owner fantasy points five times while scoring in the single digits just three times. If you are contending grab this guy as a Bench, or depth play.
5. Wayne Gallman (RB – ATL) 1 year/$990,000 – 63.31% Rostered
Finally, we have Wayne Gallman, and I am sure some of you are wondering why? In Week 10, Gallman had 15 carries and he turned those 15 carries into 55 yards. I know what you’re thinking, all those carries came because of game script. While this may the case, we have seen the role of Mike Davis continuously shrink as this season has progressed opening the door for Gallman to get more work. The other thing Gallman has going for him is that Cordarrelle Patterson went down with an ankle injury and may not be ready to go with the Falcons playing on short rest in the Thursday night game this week. If Patterson is unable to go, or the role of Mike Davis continues to fade away, Wayne Gallman could be someone that helps your team over the final weeks of the season. It is time to start thinking ahead Dynasty Owners!
Please do not forget about Steve Van Tassell’s weekly 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 for reading and as always good luck on your 2021 Chase for the Ring!