By: Jay Pounds (@jaypoundsnfl)
Dynasty Owners, it is your favorite time of the week again! Time spent with yours truly is always a special experience I am sure! We have a lot to talk about today so let’s get right into Jay’s weekly recap. In Week 11, we did not see the usual craziness though there are some things we need to talk about. If you remember back to last week, I included my list of coaches I felt would be replaced and while he was not included, I must admit former Buckeye Mike Vrabel is dangerously close to joining the list. I do firmly believe Vrabel would have another coaching job within a week of being let go, but it is a real possibility Titans fans should be bracing for at season’s end should the Titans not start playing better in the coming weeks.
While we did not have many, let’s take a look at a few surprises from Week 11. The biggest upset of the week was none other than the Browns beating my Steelers with a rookie quarterback at the helm who only managed to muster up a total of 185 yards, scored zero touchdowns, and threw an interception (7.2 Dynasty Owner fantasy points). If you remember back to the recent Dynasty Owner Livestream Steve Van Tassell and I did together you will remember me saying the Steelers lose games they should win all the time with Mike Tomlin as head coach, and this is a prime example. The Steelers need to fire Matt Canada immediately and at this point I would be alright if they gave Tomlin the boot too. Sure, he has never had a losing season, but I am also sick of picking 15-20 in the NFL Draft every year. The fact that Tomlin has stuck by Matt Canada for so long is extremely worrisome as a Steelers fan. I hope I am being dramatic, but I am dumbfounded as to why Canada is still allowed in the Steelers facility. Who knows, maybe he saves his best 3-yard bubble screen play call for when he needs to sneak past security to get in the building. (Editor’s note: Jay submitted this article prior to the news about Matt Canada’s firing. Despite multiple attempts to reach him, I can only assume that he heard the news and has been celebrating non-stop since and was unable to update the article himself.)
While I am not sure I would call this game a true upset, it is a game that I fully expected one team to win despite not trusting the coach at all. Do you know what game I am talking about? If you guessed the Chargers versus the Packers, congrats, you nailed it. The Chargers let this game and likely their playoff hopes slip away to a Packers team that has struggled to win football games all season long. What makes this loss even worse is the fact that Justin Herbert had a good game, and the Chargers still found a way to lose. Brandon Staley should have been fired a long time ago, but as always, he’ll be back on the sidelines for the Chargers in Week 12.
If you are new to this series of articles, there is a small list of requirements, with the main one being that the player must be 80% rostered or below in Dynasty Owner. The only other requirement I have is that I would like the player to have a salary of $8,000,000 or less, but I will put a higher salary player on the list if I feel they are worth it. Free Agent Auction bids will process on Wednesday at 5 AM (Eastern) for this upcoming week, so there’s still time to get your bids in for Week 12. The Bid listed below is my recommended amount to secure the player for your Dynasty Owner team in the Wednesday Free Agent Auction run in a typical Dynasty Owner league.
- Tommy DeVito (QB – NYG) – 1 year/$901,667 – 74.33% Rostered
In all seriousness, was there a bigger surprise in Week 11 than Tommy DeVito? I know DeVito’s numbers won’t blow anyone away but when you look at the fact, he was sacked a total of 9 times on Sunday, it makes what he was able to do that much more impressive. In Week 11, DeVito finished the day completing 18 passes for 246 yards and 3 touchdowns, while adding just 7 rushing yards for 31.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points. What stood out to me much more than DeVito’s numbers is the fact he did all of his damage with his arm whereas I was expecting a quarterback who would try to win by beating opponents with athleticism and making throws only when necessary. My big worry with DeVito is the fact that the Giants offensive line is hardly replacement level and Week 11 was the ceiling and then some for DeVito in his current situation. Regardless of what happens the rest of this season, DeVito led an NFL team to victory, and no one can take that away from him. If you are after DeVito, be prepared to bid a little higher than usual as there will be Dynasty Owners after him with such a productive week now in the books. Then again, it was against the lowly Commanders who are now 0-2 against the Giants this season.
Bid – $8,000,000
2.Tim Boyle (QB – NYJ) – 1 year/$1,155,000 – 0.77% Rostered
I must say I am no Tim Boyle truther, fan boy, or anything else you would like to call it, but I do believe in Lions’ head coach Dan Campbell. You may be asking what in the world Dan Cambell has to do with anything and rest assured I will explain. Cambell and the entire Lions’ front office loved the talent of Boyle, and one point Boyle was looked at as the backup plan for Jared Goff ($33,500,000), though we all know how that turned out. I know this is far fetched thinking but sometimes that is what you need to hit on lottery tickets via the Free Agent Auction. I also would like to acknowledge that you should take this with a grain of salt as Boyle has struggled when he has seen game action during his short career. However, with nearly a full week of preparation and some added confidence from his teammates, Boyle may surprise some of us when the Jets hit the field on Black Friday.
Bid – $4,000,000
3.Jake Browning (QB – CIN) – 1 year/$750,000 – 12.64% Rostered
Even as a Steelers fan this one sucks to write. I know I am supposed to hate the other quarterbacks in the AFC North, but I just can’t bring myself to hate on Joe Burrow ($9,047,534). No, it’s not just because he played for Ohio State as I am a huge fan of Ravens’ quarterback Lamar Jackson ($52,000,000) as well. Now that I have that out of the way let’s talk about the former Washington product who will be taking over for the Bengals, Jake Browning. Browning had never seen meaningful regular season game action in his career before Week 11 and I must say he handled it better than I expected. In relief of Burrow, Browning was able to find the end zone once while throwing for 68 yards on 8 completions and rush 5 times for 39 yards (13.3 Dynasty Owner fantasy points). Good or bad, the Bengals seem content letting Browning run the show for the rest of 2023 and with an extremely low salary of $750,000, he is a must add for anyone in need of a starting quarterback at this point in the season.
Bid – $3,000,000
4.Joe Flacco (QB – CLE) – 1 year/$3,500,000 – 0.38% Rostered
I really should have changed the name of this article to Quarterback Free Agent Auction or something along those lines. Do any of you remember a week when so many cheap quarterbacks with potential to start the rest of season were available in the Free Agent Auction? I certainly do not. While it may be Week 13 or 14 before we see Joe Flacco take over the starting QB spot in Cleveland, I am hearing it is only a matter of time with the Browns squarely in the thick of the playoff race. The Browns have somehow managed to win football games despite atrocious play from veteran quarterback P.J. Walker ($2,075,000) and rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson ($1,045,568) but that certainly won’t last forever. The Browns currently have one of, if not the best defense in the NFL, and desperately need a veteran quarterback who won’t lose them games. That is where Joe Flacco comes into play. Could we see another appearance of Playoff Flacco? I know none of this will help out your Dynasty Owner team right now, but a player needs an opportunity before he can provide you with production. If you are going to go after Flacco and commit to fitting his current salary of $3,500,000 under your salary cap, I highly recommend doing so now as he will only cost more Dynasty Dollars if you wait until he is named the starter in Cleveland.
Bid – $2,000,000
5.Greg Dortch (WR – ARI) – 1 year/$1,010,000 – 69.73% Rostered
Well folks, Kyler Murray ($46,100,000) came back into the fantasy picture and subsequently so did Greg Dortch. We have seen this before with Dortch and Murray though it has been quite some time with Murray being injured for the final few games of last season and not playing until Week 10 this year. Dortch does come with quite a bit of concern due to the amount of talent that is technically ahead of him on the depth chart, but the one thing that is and will continue working in the favor of Dortch is the fact he has undeniable chemistry with the Cardinals’ star quarterback. In Week 11, Dortch was able to haul in 6 catches for 76 yards (and 26 return yards), in route to a 14.3 Dynasty Owner fantasy point week. If Dortch and Murray keep this up, Dortch could be a great sneaky play the rest of the season.
Bid – $3,000,000
- Tyler Conklin (TE – NYJ) – 2 years/$6,750,000 – 57.47% Rostered
Due to the unbelievable number of quarterbacks on this list I am throwing in a bonus player! I have had Tyler Conklin on this list on a few different occasions this season and despite Conklin not having his best game in Week 11, I am more optimistic about him than I have been thus far. Quarterback Zach Wilson ($8,787,670) is finally being benched in favor of a veteran option in Tim Boyle and it can only mean more opportunities for any player who catches passes in the Jets’ offense. If the passing game improves even slightly, Conklin could be a sneaky option for Dynasty Owners the rest of the way, especially as a Bench player come playoff time. Another positive working in Conklin’s favor is the fact the Jets still have Trevor Siemian ($1,317,500) waiting if Boyle happens to play poorly.
Bid – $2,000,000
Thank you all for reading! Be sure to check out all of the upcoming articles from me and Steve plus the weekly Dynasty Owner Livestream. Stay safe out there and good luck on your 2023 Chase for the Ring!