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By: Jay Pounds (@JayPoundsNFL)
It’s Championship Week!! Hopefully you all fared better than I this season in Dynasty Owner as I missed the championship game in all 3 leagues I made the playoffs in. I do have an undefeated home league team though that I’m hoping will finish with a zero in the loss column. I also want to take a moment to wish Dynasty|Trade|School (D|T|S) luck in his Championship matchup this week as he looks to secure the top spot in the Chase for the Ring that eluded him by 2 spots in both 2021 and 2020. I bet it will certainly be a tense Sunday for our friend Rudy. Good luck and I hope to see you in Canton soon!
Now let’s take a look into the weekly recap before we hit the last Free Agent Auction run of the 2022 Dynasty Owner season. In Week 16, two of the NFL’s most disappointing teams, the Broncos and Colts, looked horrible as they have looked for most of the season. The Broncos have finally fired their head coach and both teams will be looking for a new guy in a headset come this off-season, a far cry from what many of us expected at the start of the year. In another Week 16 shocker, we had the Cleveland Browns throw the ball more than 30 times in the team’s second coldest game in its history, while their opponent, the New Orleans Saints, ran the ball nearly three times as much as they threw it. The Saints won and eliminated the Browns from the playoffs in the process. The AFC South has a new king after the Tennessee Titans lost on Saturday, allowing the Texans just their second win of the year in the process. The Jacksonville Jaguars now sit atop the division and look like they will be a tough playoff matchup for whoever they end up playing. In the last game of the week that I wanted to touch on, we had the Lions who I was extremely high on, lay an absolute egg while letting the Panthers run the ball at will for much of the afternoon. The Lions had been one of the hottest teams in football as of late but unfortunately for me, so had the Panthers. Luckily, I nailed the Texans upset over the Titans so all should be forgiven.
The players listed below are in no order and are less than 80% rostered in Dynasty Owner with a salary of $8,000,000 or less.
- Isaiah Hodgins (WR – NYG) – 2 years/$787,500 – 49.36% Rostered
I keep putting Giants receivers on here and feeling gross because of it but if we are being honest. Three of them have played pretty well over the past few weeks and that includes the selection here, Isaiah Hodgins. In three of the past four weeks, Hodgins has put up 15.4 or more Dynasty Owner fantasy points and even his down game in Week 15 was something Dynasty Owners can live with at 7.7 Dynasty Owner fantasy points. In Week 16, Hodgins continued his hot streak against the Vikings, finishing the day with 8 catches for 89 yards and a touchdown (22.9 Dynasty Owner fantasy points). The new Giants head coach Brian Daboll has done an exceptional job with Daniel Jones ($6,416,014) and the points have started to show in the second half of the season for the hodgepodge of receivers Jones is throwing the ball. I know it is tough to trust any receiver Daniel Jones is throwing to, but he has supported more than one receiver for several weeks, making Isaiah Hodgins a great choice for your Bench in the Championship game.
- Rashid Shaheed (WR – NO) – 1 year/$705,000 – 74.04% Rostered
In the second spot, we have a repeat player from our article last week, Rashid Shaheed. As I mentioned last week, it took me quite a while to accept Shaheed was as good as he is but in the last four weeks, he has not scored less than 9.3 Dynasty Owner fantasy points and had a nice 18.5 Dynasty Owner fantasy point game during that stretch. In Week 16, Shaheed had an average week finishing with just 4 catches for 41 yards plus 47 return yards (9.3 Dynasty Owner fantasy points), but the conditions in Cleveland were horrible as I mentioned earlier. If the Saints offense decided to explode this week, Shaheed would likely be a huge factor in that and would almost certainly have a big fantasy day. If you are just looking for safe Bench points, I would look at the top option on this list, but if you are a big underdog that is needing Bench players to hit big to win you a Championship, Rashid Shaheed is a great option to consider picking up and playing.
- Greg Dortch (WR – ARI) – 1 year/$895,000 – 60.43% Rostered
In the 3 spot, we have a player I was and still am unsure of in Week 17, Greg Dortch. Dortch has been a great surprise this season and should probably be rostered in more than just 60% of Dynasty Owner leagues, but that is not the purpose of today’s article. Today, we are looking for players who can help Dynasty Owners in their Championship game, or Loser’s Bracket tournament game. Does Greg Dortch fit the bill? My biggest concern with Dortch is his quarterback, I mean the person throwing him the ball is pretty important. Right? In Week 16, Dortch had a great game finishing the day with 10 catches for 98 yards and added 3 carries for 25 yards as well (22.3 Dynasty Owner fantasy points). If Colt McCoy ($3,750,000) starts, Dortch may not be the best pickup, but if the Cardinals happen to go with Trace McSorley ($965,000) for another week, Greg Dortch could once again see a ton of work. Practice connections are a real thing and seem to be great safety valves for backup quarterbacks. A great example is Demarcus Robinson ($1,035,000) in Baltimore who has played well with backup Tyler Huntley ($895,000) at the helm despite the rest of the passing game struggling.
- Richie James (WR – NYG) – 1 year/$1,065,000 – 78.3% Rostered
What is this a love affair with Giants wide receivers? No that is not the case, but the Giants wide receivers are playing well and in Championship week, every single point matters, even those pesky Bench points. If you look at James’ stats, you will see he has scored 14.0 or more Dynasty Owner fantasy points in four of the past six weeks, making him a pretty safe bet to play well against the reeling Colts in Week 17. I know it’s Championship week and your team has got you this far, but its never too late to find improvements and I think one of these two Giants receivers listed today will be proof of that this weekend. In Week 16, James produced a stat line of 8 catches for 90 yards with 8 return yards (17.2 Dynasty Owner fantasy points) and once again proved to be a capable fantasy option. I know I have said this a million times, but things change fast in the NFL and as Dynasty Owners, we should be doing the same. It may win you a Championship.
- Shane Zylstra (TE – DET) 1 year/$825,000 – 0.43% Rostered
When you look for this player be sure you are bidding on Shane Zylstra and not his teammate and older brother Brandon Zylstra ($1,187,500). I know, I know this is an absolute crapshoot, but sometimes you need crazy upside during Championship week and any player coming off of a 3-touchdown game deserves at least a look. You read that right. In Week 16, the younger Zylstra finished with 5 catches for 26 yards and a massive 3 touchdowns (25.6 Dynasty Owner fantasy points) while he played on zero Dynasty Owner rosters during the playoff semi-final week. I would not recommend playing Zylstra in your Starting lineup as he is much too risky, but he does have better upside than many of the Bench tight ends I seen on benches the past two weeks and is a likely red zone target for the rest of the season in Detroit.
Thank you all for reading and good luck with your Week 17 playoff finals matchups! Don’t forget to check out the other articles from Steve and Matt, as well as the Livestream, Champions podcast, and the podcast with Steve and myself. Stay safe out there and good luck on your 2022 Chase for the Ring!