Free Agent Targets – Week 2

By: Jay Pounds (@jaypoundsnfl)

Dynasty Owners, football is back! I am typically one who overreacts to Week 1 football but it’s hard not to do after seeing real game action for the first time since the Super Bowl. Are you a Week 1 overreactor, or do you stay cool, calm, and collected until a few weeks have passed? Let me know on X (formerly known as Twitter) what side you fall under. While were waiting on you to @ me, let’s cover the crazy Week 1 that just happened.

Injuries! Injuries were a huge part of Week 1 after not seeing many during the off-season. It’s football, injuries are always going to happen, but watching Aaron Rodgers ($37,500,000) go down to a season ending injury just four snaps into the season felt like some sort of cruel joke that made me not even want to watch the game. All the excitement of Rodgers to the Jets was over before it even began. While injuries were a huge part of Week 1, my biggest takeaway was the horrible starting quarterback play we witnessed to start the season. After seeing so many big-name starters have rough outings, I am now advocating that we see more starters play in the pre-season, so we don’t have to feel as if we are watching pre-season football in Week 1. Heck, it really looked like the Tampa version of Jameis Winston ($4,000,000) was out there starting for every team as most were scoring a bunch of points, while also throwing a bunch of interceptions. I don’t know what the weekly average is in the NFL for interceptions thrown, but I would be willing to bet my savings that’s it’s a lot less than the 25 we saw to start the season. I know I am not talking like a man with much hope, but I assure you there are still some diamonds in the rough to be had!

Hello folks, I will be bringing all of you a free agent article every week this season just as I have done the past few seasons. If you are new to this series of articles there is a small list of requirements with the main one being the player must be 75% 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 2. 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.

  1. Tutu Atwell (WR – LAR) – 2 years/$1,477,175 – 64.37% Rostered

Did anyone see this coming? I know I sure didn’t. Tutu Atwell was a second round draft pick that many of us expected the Rams to use quite a bit, but it just never happened for the Louisville product. Cue the start of the youngster’s third NFL season with superstar teammate Cooper Kupp ($26,700,000) getting placed on IR and Van Jefferson ($1,402,784) failing to take a step forward, it ended up being the perfect storm for Atwell to shine. Atwell seized the moment and produced a stat line of 6 catches for 119 yards (17.9 Dynasty Owner fantasy points). Atwell will take a step back whenever Kupp returns but for now it seems as if the passing game is going to run through Atwell and rookie Puka Nacua ($1,021,244). Nacua had an excellent debut, but rookies are almost always up and down in terms of fantasy production which leads me to believe Atwell is the player you want in the Rams offense until Kupp is back. Nacua is also rostered in 98.47% of Dynasty Owner leagues, so few Dynasty Owners can get him in the Free Agent Auction anyways. Matthew Stafford ($40,000,000) seemed to be healthy and if that is the case you will definitely want pieces of this Rams offense on your Dynasty Owner roster, especially cheap ones.

                Bid – $4,000,000

  • Zach Wilson (QB – NYJ) – 2 years/$8,787,670 – 36.02% Rostered

Alright let me be clear, I am no Aaron Rodgers fan but the injury he suffered last night sucked and was bad for football fans in general. As I mentioned above, this Jets team had so much excitement surrounding them, and it was gone after just four snaps. Yes, they won and the man this section is about was a part of that, but the Super Bowl hopes this team had are now Wild Card hopes. Now to what we are here for, a cheap quarterback in Dynasty Owner. Top 10 draft pick quarterbacks that are going to start basically the entire season on rookie deals almost never come available on the Free Agent Auction, but today that scenario has happened. Zach Wilson didn’t look like a top 10 quarterback by any means, but he will get you points as a Bench option, or he can be quality depth for your roster. Either way, this is a player almost everyone should be bidding on.

        Bid – $9,000,000

  • Kendrick Bourne (WR – NE) – 1 year/$5,000,000 – 21.84% Rostered

Alright this one feels like Déjà Vu! It seems like every season the Patriots have an offensive coordinator; I end up putting Kendrick Bourne on this list. Bourne has been and still is a very underrated player and could easily end up as the number 1 receiver in this offense when all is said and done. In Week 1, Bourne posted a stat line of 6 catches for 64 yards and 2 touchdowns (24.4 Dynasty Owner fantasy points) with a team high 11 targets, four more than any other Patriot. I am not a huge Mac Jones ($3,896,588) believer, but he did play very well and should only get better as the season goes and he gets more familiar with coach Bill O’Brien’s offense. The good part about targeting Bourne is the fact he is a little more expensive than the average Dynasty Owner can afford so, you shouldn’t have a ton of competition bidding against you.

        Bid – $3,000,000

  • Melvin Gordon (RB – BAL) – 1 year/$1,165,000 – 23.75% Rostered

I am certain this take will be met with debate, but I feel I will be on the right side of things by the end of Week 2 with Gordon leading the Ravens’ running backs in carries. Gordon’s teammate J.K. Dobbins ($1,432,359) suffered another season ending injury this past week and the Ravens are now left with question marks at the running back position once again. Gus Edwards ($4,500,000) is a candidate to lead the way, but he did not see a huge role after Dobbins went down and finished tied with Justice Hill ($2,255,000) as each got 8 carries. Heading into Week 2, Gordon will be the most experienced back on the Ravens roster while also being the best pass catcher/blocker. If I am right and Gordon sees a significant role in this offense, he could easily end up as a top 24 running back this season. Picking up Gordon is definitely a gamble, but with such a low salary it’s one I am more than willing to take.

        Bid – $2,000,000

  • Kylen Granson (TE – IND) – 2 years/$1,046,592 – 45.21% Rostered

In all honesty, I did not love any of the most available tight ends in Week 1, but someone has to make this list. Right? The tight end position has become such a wasteland that I am stuck between recommending Adam Trautman ($1,124,851) once again or the player I chose, Kylen Granson. Neither player scored a touchdown nor finished the week with double digit Dynasty Owner fantasy points (8.4 for Trautman and 7.9 for Granson), but that pretty much sums up the tight end position in 2023. I ended up going with Granson here simply because I think we all know what Adam Trautman is at this point in his career whereas Granson is still very young and might finally be getting his chance. Another factor working in Granson’s favor is the fact that he could end up as the Colts number 2 receiving option this season behind teammate Michael Pittman ($2,153,213). If this is the case and rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson ($8,498,508) improves on his Week 1 start, Granson could sneak into the top 12 tight ends this season.

      Bid – $2,000,000

Thank you all for reading! Be sure to check out all of the upcoming article from me and Steve plus the Dynasty Owner Livestream every Wednesday afternoon. Stay safe out there and good luck on your 2023 Chase for the Ring!

Remaining 2023 NFL Free Agents

– aka the Leftovers

By Steven Van Tassell (@SteveVT33)

Almost all of the recent news has been about the free agents who have signed with NFL teams so far this off-season. Outside of QBs, there haven’t been a lot of big contracts handed out to free agents and some players have had to settle for one-year contracts. Not every NFL free agent has signed yet and these “leftovers” are the focus of this article.

I’m trying to focus on the most desirable “leftovers” remaining, so not every free agent player will be listed here. First, I’ll have the list of the top currently available NFL free agents. After that, I’ll scope out which teams could use one of these remaining veteran free agents. If a team has a need at a position, but is more likely to fill that need via the upcoming NFL Draft, such as Carolina, Houston and Indianapolis are likely to do at the QB position, then they will be left out. You may have a different opinion and if so, feel free to tag me on Twitter and tell me what I got right or, more importantly, got wrong.

This is likely one of the few opportunities to look at the available NFL free agents as many of them will likely sign in the next few days. They may even sign after this article is finished, but before it gets published, or maybe by the time some of you read this, certain players will no longer be unsigned. Kickers are not included, just QBs, RBs, WRs and TEs, with one exception because a top rated kicker from last season was recently re-signed. Since we don’t have his contract details yet, he’s still listed as a Free Agent on the Dynasty Owner platform. The most recent contract updates were processed on Monday night (March 27th), so anyone listed in this article was still a free agent at that point.

While it may seem unimportant, every season there is at least one free agent who signs late and ends up being a productive NFL and Dynasty Owner player. Free agency opened last year on March 16th, but Geno Smith ($25,000,000) didn’t sign with Seattle until almost a full month later (April 14th). All he did was finish as QB6 and average nearly 23.7 Dynasty Owner fantasy points per game. Super Bowl Champion Jerick McKinnon ($1,272,500) was available until mid-June last year and he finished as the RB21 for the 2022 Dynasty Owner season. Finally, Kenyan Drake ($1,035,000) was cut by the Raiders during training camp and wasn’t signed by Baltimore until August 31st, but he finished as RB46 for the season with two games of more than 20.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points in the middle of the season (Week 6 and Week 9).

All stats cited are based on the Standard Dynasty Owner scoring system as outlined in the updated Dynasty Owner Constitution. Standard Dynasty Owner scoring gives you .1 points for every yard rushing or receiving, .1 point for every 2 yards passing, 1 point per reception, 6 points for a rushing, receiving or passing touchdown and 2 points for a successful 2-point conversion (rushing, receiving, or passing). Interceptions or fumbles lost cost you 3 points, while a fumble that is recovered by the player’s team is a loss of only 1 point. Bonus points are available for 100-199 yards rushing (2 points), 200 yards rushing or receiving (6 points), 300-399 yards passing (1 point) and 400 yards passing (4 points). There is also a 3 point bonus for clutch scoring, which is a score that results in a lead change in the final two minutes of the 4th quarter or overtime. Kickoff and punt return touchdowns are worth 6 points for the player and kickoff and punt returns are worth 1 point for every 40 yards.

Contract information for all players can be found on the Dynasty Owner platform. Just go to the player’s profile page and click Contract to see if there is any new contract news.

For the purposes of this article, salaries and roster percentages were current as of the morning of March 28th.

Players Who Have Signed but No Contract Information Yet

Right now, we have a small list of players who have reportedly signed a contract for the 2023 season, but no information has been posted about the contract yet (other than the player’s new team and contract length in some cases). Prior to the weekend, there were 17 of these players, but many of them had their contract information posted on Spotrac over the weekend and updated Monday night on the Dynasty Owner platform.

Here are the remaining players who have signed, but have not been updated on the Dynasty Owner platform due to lack of contract information (ranked by roster percentage).

PlayerPositionTeamRoster %Current Salary2022 Rank2022 DOFP
Eddy PineiroKCAR88.94%$895,000K8119.0
D’Ernest JohnsonRBJAC76.60%$1,216,500RB1356.1
Tony JonesRBDEN17.87%$825,000RB12110.4
Nate SudfeldQBDET2.55%$1,035,000QB200-0.4
Tommy SweeneyTENYG1.70%$750,000TE1121.7
Keelan ColeWRLV0.85%$1,278,500WR13629.6
Blake BellTEKC0.85%$1,272,500TE938.7
Brandon PowellWRMIN0.43%$1,035,000WR10362.5

This list is not very exciting to be honest. Eddy Pineiro is easily the most desirable player here as Carolina traded Zane Gonzalez ($2,250,000) to the San Francisco 49ers after re-signing Pineiro. Pineiro was the 8th ranked kicker in Dynasty Owner last season and only missed four kicks all season (2 FGs and 2 PATs). His contract is likely to be much higher than $895,000, but unless it’s $4 million to $5 million for multiple seasons, he should be worth keeping around on your Dynasty Owner roster.

Don’t let the 2022 ranking and Dynasty Owner fantasy points distract you from the fact that D’Ernest Johnson had 110.6 Dynasty Owner fantasy points and three games with over 20.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points in 2021 for the Browns. He could be a reliable backup to Travis Etienne ($3,224,526) for the Jaguars.

The rest are likely depth for their new team and likely will end up getting a minimum salary contract based on their years of service. According to this handy chart on Spotrac, those minimum salaries are as follows:

  • $750,000 for players with less than 1 year of service
  • $870,000 for players with 1 year of service
  • $940,000 for players with 2 years of service
  • $1.01 million for players with 3 years of service
  • $1.08 million for players with 4 to 6 years of service
  • $1.165 million for players with 7 or more years of service

Free Agent Quarterbacks

If you thought the players who have signed list was devoid of quality free agents, then I suggest you avoid looking at the list of NFL free agent quarterbacks below. While probably all of them will end up on a NFL roster in 2023, most will have no value to Dynasty Owners unless they sign for cheap and your roster has space, salary cap room and you want the backup QB for a starter already on your roster.

PlayerAge2022 TeamRoster %2022 Salary2022 Rank2022 DOFP
Matt Ryan37IND5.53%$30,000,000QB27194.5
Carson Wentz30WAS2.98%$32,000,000QB30143.0
Joe Flacco38NYJ9.36%$3,500,000QB4065.5
Teddy Bridgewater30MIA11.91%$6,500,000QB4549.7
Bryce Perkins26LAR7.66%$750,000QB5717.0
John Wolford27LAR10.64%$895,000QB6214.7

There’s no team that needs a starting QB who isn’t likely to draft one in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft. As mentioned earlier, the teams that definitely appear positioned to grab a QB in the first round right now are Carolina with the top pick, followed by Houston with the second pick and the Colts with the fourth pick. None have more than a veteran backup on their current roster and the meager options left in free agency combined with their high draft position scream drafting a franchise QB. The only questions are who will they draft and will that QB turn out to be a franchise QB like Joe Burrow ($9,047,534), or a bust after a couple of seasons like Zach Wilson ($8,787,670)?

Arizona has the third pick but with Kyler Murray ($46,100,000) signed through the 2028 season, they seem unlikely to draft a QB. However, they do need one for at least the start of the season unless they believe that Colt McCoy ($3,750,000) or David Blough ($1,232,500) are the answer for the start of the 2023 season. Those are the only two QBs besides Murray currently on the Cardinals’ roster. Wentz or Bridgewater could be options for the Cardinals, or another team in need of a backup QB. Those other teams who appear to be currently in need of a backup QB include:

  • Baltimore: If Lamar Jackson ($32,416,000) does get traded, it would seem that a likely trade partner would be one of the teams with a high first round draft pick who need a QB, so the Ravens can take Lamar’s replacement with the first round pick they receive. If not, then it could be Tyler Huntley ($2,627,000) under center in Baltimore. If Jackson isn’t traded and pulls a Le’Veon Bell by not signing his franchise tag offer, the Ravens would definitely need a backup for Huntley.
  • Green Bay: Once the Packers finally trade Aaron Rodgers ($50,271,667) to the Jets since he “intends” to play for them, it would seem logical that they would sign a veteran to back up Jordan Love ($3,095,863). Any of the veterans on the list above would seem to fit the bill.
  • Kansas City: With the retirement of veteran backup QB Chad Henne, the Chiefs are likely a prime candidate to pick up one of these veteran backups.
  • Las Vegas: The Raiders really only have Jimmy Garoppolo ($24,250,000) as a viable NFL QB currently on their roster and with his injury history, it would seem like a good idea to get at least one more QB via the draft or free agency.
  • Los Angeles Chargers: Chase Daniel ($2,000,000) hasn’t retired yet. However, since he had a second job with the NFL Network last season, it would appear to be a matter of time. The Chargers did re-sign Easton Stick ($1,800,000) already for the 2023 season, but if Daniel were to retire, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Chargers signed a veteran backup for Justin Herbert ($6,644,688).
  • Los Angeles Rams: Both John Wolford and Bryce Perkins played for the Rams in 2022, but are listed as restricted free agents on the Rams website. With their experience in the Rams’ offense, it’s likely that either one or maybe both of them could return to back up Matthew Stafford ($40,000,000).
  • New York Jets: If somehow the trade for Aaron Rodgers falls through or Rodgers retires because the Jets didn’t trade for Randall Cobb ($9,000,000) or bring back Jordy Nelson, then the Jets will desperately need a QB. They let Mike White ($4,000,000) go to Miami in free agency and seem committed to moving on from Zach Wilson. Stranger things have happened, but I think it’ll work out eventually for Rodgers and the Jets, so Rodgers can continue to emulate his predecessor in Green Bay, Brett Favre.

Free Agent Running Backs

We finally have our first “big name” free agents to discuss as Leonard Fournette ($7,000,000), Jerick McKinnon, Ezekiel Elliott ($15,000,000) and Kareem Hunt ($6,000,000) are still looking for work. McKinnon and Hunt had their contracts expire, while Elliott was let go by Dallas and Fournette was cut loose by Tampa Bay. Barring an injury, none of them is going to be a workhorse RB (not even Uncle Lenny), but all four should have a solid role on the right team. The rest of the list looks like minimum salary veteran depth pieces right now.

PlayerAge2022 TeamRoster %2022 Salary2022 Rank2022 DOFP
Leonard Fournette28TB94.89%$7,000,000RB12227.1
Jerick McKinnon30KC95.74%$1,272,500RB21189.7
Ezekiel Elliott27DAL95.32%$15,000,000RB22187.8
Latavius Murray33DEN62.55%$1,120,000RB35140.4
Kareem Hunt27CLE97.02%$6,000,000RB39126.8
Kenyan Drake29BAL51.49%$1,035,000RB46105.1
Dontrell Hilliard28TEN49.79%$1,187,500RB5777.9
Justin Jackson26DET25.11%$1,035,000RB6366.5
J.D. McKissic29WAS43.83%$3,500,000RB7055.8

What NFL team doesn’t want more depth at RB? Only about 30 RBs played either 16 or 17 regular season games last season so every team needs it. We are also only one season removed from Baltimore losing its top three RBs to injury before Week 1 of the regular season. Injuries happen at RB so teams will want more depth and these players can provide that.

In terms of teams that might need a RB to shoulder some of the load in the running game or play a major role on third down, the list is smaller and includes:

  • Arizona: The Dynasty Owner in me who has James Conner ($7,000,000) rostered wants the Cardinals to not add anybody in either the NFL Draft or free agency and maybe they won’t. However, it seems likely that they will add someone because a 4-13 rebuilding team with a new coach and a franchise QB out for half the season seems exactly like the type of team that will look at additional options at every position this year.
  • Cincinnati: With the departure of Samaje Perine ($3,750,000) to Denver, the Bengals are pretty much left with Joe Mixon ($12,000,000) and a bunch of guys who didn’t play much in 2022, such as Chris Evans ($913,222) and Trayveon Williams ($1,232,500). Could the Bengals draft Bijan Robinson with the 28th pick, draft another rookie RB then or later? If not, they seemingly need another RB and should add one of the veteran free agent RBs still out there.
  • Cleveland: See the above write-up on Cincinnati and replace Joe Mixon with Nick Chubb ($12,200,000). The Browns have drafted a RB late in the NFL Draft in each of the past two seasons, Demetic Felton ($910,285) in 2021 and Jerome Ford ($995,537) in 2022. Neither played much last year and will the Browns trust one of them to back up Chubb in 2023? They might need to because they don’t have a pick until the third round of the NFL Draft.
  • Indianapolis: Both Zack Moss ($1,153,079) and Deon Jackson ($825,000) return to back up Jonathan Taylor ($1,957,287). Taylor will be a free agent in 2024 and it’s possible that they draft another RB, but it doesn’t seem like a position of need for the Colts. A veteran backfield presence in addition to Taylor could be particularly helpful with a rookie QB.
  • Los Angeles Rams: Cam Akers ($1,543,258) was the only notable RB on the team after they dumped Darrell Henderson ($1,053,001). They did draft Kyren Williams ($992,601) last year in the fifth round, but he was injured for the start of the season and only had 44 touches and 215 yards of total offense. Signing a veteran on a minimum salary contract to help out Akers and Williams seems likely.
  • Philadelphia: The Eagles remind me of someone who is really into collecting things – trading cards, coins, rookie draft picks in dynasty leagues, etc. That’s why they could add another RB to the team to compete with returning RBs Kenneth Gainwell ($953,882) and Boston Scott ($2,000,000) plus free agent signee Rashaad Penny ($1,350,000). I can’t imagine Penny being the only replacement for Miles Sanders ($6,350,000).
  • Seattle: After spending a high draft pick last season on Kenneth Walker ($2,110,395) and seeing him blossom into a solid starter, it would seem the best move for the Seahawks would be to find a veteran backup to replace Rashaad Penny and Travis Homer ($2,000,000) who both departed the Pacific Northwest this off-season.
  • Tennessee: The Titans should bring back Dontrell Hilliard since he’s been productive in each of the past two seasons as Derrick Henry’s ($12,500,000) backup. They also have Hassan Haskins ($1,088,055), but he didn’t play much last year. There are trade rumors surrounding Henry that would throw a huge wrench into the Titans’ backfield plan, but I don’t believe them.

Free Agent Wide Receivers

This list is 10 players long and I feel like I left out a few since Spotrac had 37 WRs listed as free agents. However, I think the ones below are the top ones who could help out a NFL team and provide depth for your Dynasty Owner roster at the right price. It’s surprising that only a few of them played last season on a veteran minimum salary contract. More of them should get one of those contracts if they want to play during the 2023 season.

PlayerAge2022 TeamRoster %2022 Salary2022 Rank2022 DOFP
Richie James27NYG51.06%$1,065,000WR48133.9
DeAndre Carter29LAC51.06%$1,135,000WR53125.0
Marvin Jones33DET34.47%$6,250,000WR59116.9
Olamide Zaccheaus25ATL35.74%$2,433,000WR64109.0
Demarcus Robinson28BAL39.57%$1,035,000WR71101.8
Julio Jones34TB21.28%$6,000,000WR9870.4
Jarvis Landry30NO35.74%$3,000,000WR10559.6
Robbie Anderson29ARI4.26%$14,750,000WR11451.2
Kenny Golladay29NYG4.68%$18,000,000WR14920.1
Odell Beckham Jr.30None98.3%$1,250,000N/AN/A

Obviously the last name on the list is the most intriguing. Odell Beckham Jr. is almost universally rostered in Dynasty Owner despite not playing a down in the NFL in 2022. His $1.25 million salary was easy to hold when it looked like he was going to play at the end of last season and there’s little upside to dropping him now when he could sign with a NFL team soon. When that happens, he’ll be worth having on your roster or trading to another Dynasty Owner who wants him.

Probably every NFL team needs another WR. Maybe not Cincinnati with Ja’Marr Chase ($7,704,910), Tee Higgins ($2,171,696), and Tyler Boyd ($10,750,000) who finished as WR8, WR14 and WR31 respectively in Dynasty Owner last season. The other 31 NFL teams could be listed here with these teams being the ones most in need of a veteran WR.

  • Baltimore: Yes, I realize that the Ravens just signed Nelson Agholor ($3,250,000). He’s their highest paid WR and makes over $2 million more than any other Ravens WR not named Rashod Bateman ($3,149,853). However, not only do they need another veteran WR, but they should take one with the 22nd pick in the NFL Draft too. Otherwise, the double and triple-teaming of Mark Andrews ($14,000,000) on obvious passing downs will continue.
  • Detroit: The Lions are only listed so I can point out that Marvin Jones returning to Detroit to be the WR3 and mentor Amon-Ra St. Brown ($1,066,313) and Jameson Williams ($4,365,448) makes a lot of sense.   
  • Kansas City: Which veteran WR wants to compete for a Super Bowl and signs with the Chiefs? They obviously need someone to help out Travis Kelce ($14,312,500), the undisputed WR1 in Kansas City one who happens to be a TE. It worked out perfectly for JuJu Smith-Schuster ($8,500,000) who got a one-year deal with them last year, won a Super Bowl ring, then got paid by New England.
  • Los Angeles Chargers: With both Keenan Allen ($20,025,000) and Mike Williams ($20,000,000) missing multiple games last season and their third best WR (Deandre Carter) from last year still a Free Agent, the Chargers are an obvious team to take one of the top WRs in the NFL Draft. They could also use someone else to help out Justin Herbert if Allen and/or Williams gets hurt again.
  • New Orleans: Dynasty Owners with Michael Thomas ($10,000,000) are rejoicing that his contract was finally completely restructured by the Saints and isn’t $19.25 million anymore. While Saints’ fans are also happy, they should also see the need for another veteran WR to help out Chris Olave ($4,817,969) in case Thomas isn’t healthy (again). They tried out Jarvis Landry for that role last year, but he only played in nine games.
  • Tennessee: Treylon Burks ($3,592,398) becomes the Titans WR1 this season and replaces the recently departed Robert Woods ($7,625,000) who led the team in receptions and receiving yards last year. Nick Westbrook-Ikhine ($1,260,000) is entering his fourth season and is the WR with the most NFL experience on the current roster. It’s between them and Baltimore as the team most in need of a veteran WR.

Free Agent Tight Ends

Until he signed with Houston, Dalton Schultz ($9,000,000) was the biggest free agent TE available and one of the biggest free agent players overall. Without Schultz and with the recent retirement of Foster Moreau ($752,098) due to a cancer diagnosis, the list of Free Agent TEs is sparse to say the least.

PlayerAge2022 TeamRoster %2022 Salary2022 Rank2022 DOFP
Irv Smith24MIN80.43%$1,449,609TE4354.2
Cameron Brate31TB19.15%$6,800,000TE5637.4
Mitchell Wilcox26CIN4.26%$825,000TE5736.9
Geoff Swaim29TEN0.43%$3,500,000TE7123.8
Anthony Firkser28ATL3.83%$1,187,500TE8019.0

Irv Smith has reportedly signed with Cincinnati as first reported late Monday night by Peter Schrager. However, I’m leaving him here for now since the rest of this list is pretty lousy.

It stands to reason that NFL teams might try to find another third round pick who blossoms into a top TE like Mark Andrews or George Kittle ($15,000,000) did in recent years instead of picking up one of these veterans. However, some teams will still need or want a veteran presence at the position, including these two teams.

  • Dallas: The Cowboys lost Dalton Schultz to the Texans and now have a TE depth chart led by two players who were rookies last season, fourth round draft pick Jake Ferguson ($1,091,221) and undrafted free agent Peyton Hendershot ($858,333). As both of them are entering their second NFL season, a veteran TE seems like a must have for Dallas.
  • Green Bay: Their leading TE in 2022 was Robert Tonyan ($2,650,000) who signed with the Bears as a free agent. Marcedes Lewis ($2,960,000) is 38 years old and Josiah Deguara ($1,136,941) only had 13 receptions despite playing in all 17 games. They could use both a rookie TE and a veteran safety value for new starting QB Jordan Love.

A few other teams, such as Las Vegas and Miami have already signed a veteran TE to a minimum salary contract this season, but could add another player. Cincinnati would have been listed, but I removed them with the reported Irv Smith signing. Even if the Bengals do officially sign Smith, drafting a TE with the 28th pick seems likely as the only TE on the current Bengals roster who caught a pass in 2022 is Devin Asiasi ($1,145,705) who has 4 receptions for 44 receiving yards in his NFL career.

Indianapolis had three TEs on their roster last year with both Jelani Woods ($1,343,118) and Mo Alie-Cox ($5,850,000) having a 2 TD game and Kylen Granson ($1,046,592) finishing the Dynasty Owner season as TE39 despite no TDs. However, none of them set themselves apart from the others so maybe there’s more room for another TE to help out either Gardner Minshew ($3,500,000) or whoever they draft with the fourth pick.

Conclusion

While it may seem that every NFL free agent signed when free agency opened back on March 15th, that’s definitely not the case. There are plenty of veterans who might sign before the NFL Draft, while some of them will still be available afterwards. Injuries will inevitably happen during Organized Team Activities (OTAs) and training camp which will let those remaining players without a NFL team find a place to play.

For Dynasty Owners, most of these NFL free agents are also free agents in a majority of Dynasty Owner leagues. If you are interested in one of these NFL free agents, picking him up before he signs a new contract is a good strategy. You’ll likely have less competition in the Free Agent Auction. If he gets a veteran minimum salary contract, your Dynasty Owner team might have additional salary cap room once the contract is updated. If you don’t like the contract, you can always try to trade him for something, or just drop him for free once the contract gets updated.

Thanks for reading and being a Dynasty Owner. Even though we are around two weeks into the 2023 Dynasty Owner league year, we are still on our off-season content schedule right now. In addition to this article, Matt Morrison – The Jerk has an article that will be available this week, while Nate Christian and Jay Pounds are on tap with articles next week.

Jay and I will have a new Dynasty Owner podcast this week and hopefully there is a Livestream on Friday at lunchtime. We didn’t have a Livestream last Friday, but you can check out previous ones on the Dynasty Owner YouTube channel. Finally, don’t forget to follow Dynasty Owner on Twitter. Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Steven Van Tassell is the Head of Content for Dynasty Owner

Follow us on Twitter: @SteveVT33 and @Dynasty_Owner

Week 13 Recommendations – Gifts

By Steven Van Tassell (@SteveVT33)

It’s a little early in December, but the holiday season (Christmas, Hannukah, and Kwanzaa) is right around the corner and that means gifts. I’m expecting a lot of packages to arrive on my doorstep over the next couple of weeks and frankly, it’s already started. In honor of the holiday season, we can think about all of the players who have been gifts for their NFL and your Dynasty Owner team this season.

There’s no set definition for these gifts, but I’ll give at least one at each position for you and mix it up as I can. Without further ado, here they are:

  • Geno Smith (SEA – QB – $3,500,000): For Seahawks’ fans, they got a gift when coach Pete Carroll chose Smith as his starting QB instead of Drew Lock ($1,752,704). For Dynasty Owner, they got QB6 for a late round startup draft pick (ADP 246.3) or potentially $1 million Dynasty Dollar bid in the Free Agent Auction at some point either last year, during the off-season or maybe even earlier this season.
  • Josh Jacobs (LV – RB – $2,983,350): That performance last week of 57.3 Dynasty Owner fantasy points was a gift for his Dynasty Owners. It was capped by an 86-yard TD run in overtime that was a gift for Raiders’ coach Josh McDaniels and his job security in Vegas.
  • Rhamondre Stevenson (NE – RB – $1,057,264): The true gift for Dynasty Owners is Stevenson has played so well and fellow Patriots RB Damien Harris ($907,784) has been injured enough at times this season to prevent Bill Belichick from making the Patriots’ backfield a dreaded Running Back by Committee (RBBC). Stevenson has also scored double-digit Dynasty Owner fantasy points in 10 straight games with six of them in excess of 20.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points.
  • Travis Kelce (KC – TE – $14,312,500): Almost 100.0 more Dynasty Owner fantasy points than any other TE from Kelce. He and Mark Andrews ($14,000,000) are so close in salary and startup draft ADP (31.6 for Andrews and 31.8 for Kelce). If another Dynasty Owner took Andrews before Kelce and you got Kelce, you owe that person a gift and maybe part of your prize money in cash prize pool leagues.
  • Christian Kirk (JAC – WR – $18,000,000): As WR10 for the season, Kirk is the overpriced gift that you’re not happy with when you open it, then end up wearing or using all year.
  • Tyler Lockett (SEA – WR – $17,250,000): Same as Kirk, but with the added bonus of consistency this season since he’s scored double-digit Dynasty Owner fantasy points in nine out of 11 games. He’s an upgrade over your old TV, iPhone or other electronic device with a new feature that you end up using and loving.
  • Patrick Mahomes (KC – QB – $45,000,000): Mahomes is the top scoring player in Dynasty Owner with 378.4 Dynasty Owner fantasy points (34.4 points per game). I imagine it’s like finding a brand new sports car or tricked out truck with a bow on it as your gift in the driveway (as seen on TV, but never in real-life). So expensive, but totally worth it.

If there’s a player who has been a gift to your Dynasty Owner team, let me know on Twitter (@SteveVT33). Think of it as the gift you buy for your grandmother or an aunt who always buys you a gift. You don’t really want to, but it makes them so happy that you have to do it.

For the purposes of this article, all statistics, ADP and Dynasty Owner roster percentages were current as of the morning of December 3rd.

These Guys Should be Starters This Week

First, we’ll check on how my Week 12 recommendations fared (Good, Bad or Just Ok). These four players were the ones that I predicted would have Dynasty Owner Starting lineup worthy performances in Week 12.

QB: Marcus Mariota (ATL – $9,375,000) – 16.6 (Bad recommendation)

RB: Rachaad White (TB – $1,282,500) – 19.9 (Good recommendation)

WR: Alec Pierce (IND – $1,650,336) – 0.0 (Bad recommendation)

TE: Dawson Knox (BUF – $880,400) – 3.7 (Bad recommendation)

For the second straight week and the third time in four weeks, I had one Good recommendation and three Bad ones. It’s getting to be my usual to have only one Good and at least two Bad recommendations per week and as a result, my overall recommendations record didn’t change much. It’s now 31% Good, 56% Bad and 10% Just Ok. On the positive side, my streak of having one or more Good recommendations has been extended to nine weeks in a row.

Let’s start with the Good recommendation. Rachaad White had 19.9 Dynasty Owner fantasy points (64 rushing yards, 9 receptions, 45 receiving yards). It was a career high in receptions for White with Leonard Fournette ($7,000,000) out of the Tampa Bay lineup. Marcus Mariota was a low-end Bench QB with 16.6 Dynasty Owner fantasy points so that recommendation was Bad. Dawson Knox only had 3.7 Dynasty Owner fantasy points and Alec Pierce had a Blutarsky (0.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points) which means both of those recommendations were Bad. Zay Jones ($8,000,000) was my hedge and would have been a far better choice at WR and a Good recommendation as he had 27.5 Dynasty Owner fantasy points (11 receptions, 145 receiving yards). On the other hand, Tre’ McKitty ($11,96,463) was another hedge and had a Blutarsky just like Pierce so that hedge wouldn’t have changed the results.

Another week, another solo Good recommendation, but these recommendations should be better. Hopefully these players who I think should be in your Week 13 Dynasty Owner Starting lineup will give me an early holiday gift and get enough Dynasty Owner fantasy points to actually be worthy of a spot.

Jared Goff (DET – $33,500,000): On Thanksgiving against Buffalo, Jared Goff had 24.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points with 240 passing yards and 2 TDs. He also had his third straight game without an interception after throwing seven in the first eight games of the season. This week, he gets to face a Jacksonville Jaguars defense allowing 248.1 passing yards per game (eighth most in the NFL). They have only 1 INT total in the past three games. Both of those things work in Goff’s favor this week, so even though he only has four games with more than 20.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points, I think he can do it again. If he does get more than 20.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points this week, consider it the gift of a low-end QB for your Dynasty Owner Starting lineup.

Kyren Williams (LAR – $992,601): In his first three games since returning from a high ankle sprain he suffered way back in Week 1, Williams has seen his snap share increase from 27% in Week 10 to 55% in Week 11 to 70% in Week 12. His touches have also increased from 4 in Week 10 up to 14 in Week 12. The results have been mediocre at best with a total of 21.3 Dynasty Owner fantasy points (80 rushing yards, 7 receptions, 63 receiving yards). That’s an average of only 7.1 Dynasty Owner fantasy points per game. However, in a Rams’ offense being led by QB Bryce Perkins ($742,500) and without WRs Cooper Kupp ($15,750,000) and Allen Robinson ($15,500,000), somebody has to step up on offense for the 3-8 defending Super Bowl Champions.

Williams is as good of an option as anyone with their Week 13 opponent, the Seattle Seahawks, allowing an average of 116.6 rushing yards, 6.2 receptions and 54.3 receiving yards per game to RBs. That would be 24.3 Dynasty Owner fantasy points and if Williams can get barely over half of those points, it would be 12.2 Dynasty Owner fantasy points. A TD would be an extra gift if he got one. The Seahawks gave up 303 yards to Josh Jacobs last week and over 100 yards rushing to Rachaad White in Week 10 before their bye, so they are in the giving mood this holiday season. I like Williams’ chances to lead the Rams’ offense this week and think he should be in your Starting lineup.

Drake London (ATL – $5,383,617): London is the Falcons’ leading receiver, but even so he’s only WR45 for the 2022 season because of how run-heavy the Falcons’ offense has been. They run the ball 56.3% of the time, which ranks second in the NFL behind only the Bears at 59.2%. So why in the world is London in this spot if the Falcons run the ball a majority of the time?

It’s definitely not volume as he’s only caught more than 5 passes once all season and that was way back in Week 2 when he had 8 receptions versus the Rams. As usual, it goes back to their opponent. In this case, it’s the Pittsburgh Steelers who have the third worst pass defense in the NFL, allowing 263.7 yards passing per game. They let both Michael Pittman ($2,153,212) and Jelani Woods ($1,343,118) have big games on Monday Night Football with 19.1 and 16.8 Dynasty Owner fantasy points respectively. Without a lot of other reliable options at WR, I expect Falcons’ QB Marcus Mariota to target London frequently when he drops back to pass and London to respond with his best game since Week 2 when he had those 8 receptions and 24.6 Dynasty Owner fantasy points. Dynasty Owners who drafted London early this season (rookie draft ADP of 3.4 and startup draft ADP of 49.8) should get London into their Starting lineups.

Brock Wright (DET – $825,000): Arizona is on bye and Seattle plays the Los Angeles Rams who have TE14 Tyler Higbee ($7,250,000) so my top two opponent choices for Starting lineup TEs are out of the picture. My strategy is to find the team that has let up the most TD to TEs this season who isn’t facing a top 15 TE (because TE6 to TE15 are so close and three top TEs are out with injuries) and take that team’s best TE. This is like spinning a roulette wheel, but here goes.

And the winner is: Brock Wright! You already knew that, but it seemed suspenseful, didn’t it?

This obviously isn’t a volume play as Wright has only 7 targets in four games since Detroit traded away T.J. Hockenson ($4,955,306) to Minnesota. Even though Jacksonville has only allowed 4 TDs by TEs, they are ranked in the middle of the pack and were the best option of the teams in that range.

I’ll predict that Wright barely gets there with something around 3 receptions for 18 yards and a TD (10.8 Dynasty Owner fantasy points) for his third ever game with over 10.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points. His first was back last year in Week 13 against Minnesota, so I’ll take the chance that he can do it again in Week 13 this year and recommend getting Wright into your Dynasty Owner Starting lineup. If you don’t have one of the top 3 TEs in Travis Kelce, Mark Andrews or T.J. Hockenson, it’s as good of an option as anyone else. Kind of like getting scratch tickets as a gift, you might win $1 or $20, but for no draft capital and only $825,000 in salary, any Dynasty Owner fantasy points you get from Wright should be considered a gift.

These Guys Should Be on the Bench (or Practice Squad) This Week

Now it’s time to look at how my Week 12 Bench recommendations worked out (Good, Bad or Just Ok). My gift to you has been being up front about how I’ve been better at making Bench recommendations than Starting lineup recommendations this season.

QB: Aaron Rodgers (GB – $33,500,000) – 12.9 (Good recommendation)

RB: Nick Chubb (CLE – $12,200,000) – 25.2 (Bad recommendation)

WR: D.J. Moore (CAR – $20,628,000) – 20.3 (Bad recommendation)

TE: Cole Kmet (CHI – $1,894,444) – 4.7 (Good recommendation)

Both of my Good recommendations were early holiday gifts. Rodgers keeps on giving by saying ridiculous things and playing mediocre at best. The fact that he thought he could play last week was a gift for me and an easy Good recommendation when he reinjured himself and finished as one of the worst QBs of the week with only 12.9 Dynasty Owner fantasy points. Cole Kmet moved into the top 12 TEs with just two great games and without Justin Fields ($4,717,989) was highly unlikely to replicate. To be able to recommend him for your Bench was another early holiday gift for me in the form of a Good recommendation. The fact that I picked Nick Chubb and D.J. Moore and both of them played so well was a holiday gift for Tim Peffer with the bonus of a Browns’ win in overtime over the Buccaneers to go with it.

With two Good and two Bad recommendations, my overall Bench record improved very little and is now 42% Good, 50% Bad and 8% Just Ok. It’s still better than my Starting lineup recommendations. All I want this holiday season is four Good Bench recommendations. That and Peace on Earth. I’m not asking for too much.

Lamar Jackson (BAL – $23,016,000): After last week, I probably should put “no one” here and move on, but that’s not in the spirit of these recommendations so I’ll make a pick and go with Lamar Jackson. This choice is a combination of a couple of factors. First, Jackson’s play has taken a nosedive since the first three weeks of the season. He’s still QB5 but it’s all built on those first three weeks in which he averaged 43.9 Dynasty Owner fantasy points per game. In his last eight games, he’s averaging only 19.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points per game. In starker terms, he has scored 283.9 Dynasty Owner fantasy points for the season with 131.7 of them in the first three games and 152.2 Dynasty Owner fantasy points in the last eight games. Part of the reason for his poor recent play is a lack of quality WRs for him to throw the ball. The Ravens’ WRs only have 82 receptions for the entire season for 1,090 yards and 6 TDs. Stefon Diggs ($14,400,000) has more of each of those stats by himself (91 receptions, 1,202 receiving yards, 10 TDs). Finally, the Ravens have to play against Denver and the Denver defense has only allowed 9 passing TDs and 1 rushing TD by QBs all season. They allow just 184.7 passing yards and 17.6 points per game. It’s going to be difficult for Jackson to get into the end zone. His rushing floor (average of 68.6 rushing yards per game) will likely keep him from having a truly awful game, but I think he’ll be held to less than 20.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points, as has happened six times already this season. That’s not enough to make him worth putting in your Starting lineup.

Travis Etienne (JAC – $3,224,526): Etienne is questionable for the Jaguars’ Week 13 game against the Detroit Lions after only two carries for 3 yards (0.3 Dynasty Owner fantasy points) last week. He’s practiced in limited fashion all week, but is expected to be “good to go”. Even if he’s healthy enough to play, I would worry about how much he plays. After all, Jacksonville is 4-7 and highly unlikely to make the playoffs. Playing other RBs, like newly acquired Darrell Henderson ($1,053,001), would seem to be a good idea for a non-playoff team. Etienne is the shiny new toy you got when you were a kid that broke almost immediately then you forgot that you had it. It got fixed, but then you didn’t play with it again for a few months and when you did, you almost broke it again and then were more cautious playing with it in the future.

Before Week 12, Etienne played 50 or more snaps in each of the past four Jaguars’ games. He played about 80% of the snaps overall (220 out of 276 snaps) and in each individual game. That seems like a lot of work for a player who missed the entire 2021 season with a Lisfranc injury. The Week 12 injury was a sprain of the same foot he injured last year. The Jaguars are likely to exercise caution with Etienne this week and for the rest of the season. That should mean fewer snaps, fewer touches and fewer Dynasty Owner fantasy points for the RB19 on the season. To be safe, I’m recommending that Dynasty Owners keep Etienne on their Bench this week.

Michael Pittman (IND – $2,153,212): Dallas cornerback Stefon Diggs has shadowed his opponent’s best WR in Weeks 10 and 11 and done an excellent job of shutting them down. I guess there was no “best” Giants’ WR which is why he didn’t do it last week. In Week 10, he held Allen Lazard ($3,986,000) to just 7.5 Dynasty Owner fantasy points (3 receptions for 45 yards). He was even better in Week 11 as it was Justin Jefferson ($3,280,701) who he shadowed, and Jefferson only had 6.3 Dynasty Owner fantasy points (3 receptions for 33 yards). A shutdown corner is the gift that every NFL defensive coordinator probably asks for every holiday season.

Pittman is clearly the best WR on the Colts and ranked WR14 for the season with  155.9 Dynasty Owner fantasy points. He gets his points on volume with an average of 9.4 targets per game, not yards per catch (10.0 average) or TDs (only 2 TDs for the season). If Diggs is Pittman’s shadow and prevents him from getting open, then Matt Ryan ($30,000,000) won’t throw him the ball. This seems likely and because of that, I’m going with Pittman as my Bench WR recommendation.

Taysom Hill (NO – $10,000,000): Hill is still TE8 for the season, so if you go strictly by the season-long rankings, he should be in your Dynasty Owner Starting lineup. He’s only really been worth starting three times, especially his 39.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy point game in Week 5 versus Seattle, but that’s similar to other TEs in the TE6 to TE15 range. Cole Kmet is TE12 but only has two games with over 10.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points. Hayden Hurst ($3,500,000) is one spot behind Hill at TE9 and has only four games with over 10.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points.

The Saints play Tampa Bay on Monday Night Football this week. Tampa is a better than average defense at stopping the run. Two weeks ago, they held Seattle to only 39 yards rushing. Since Hill gets almost three-quarters of his Dynasty Owner fantasy points (72.9 out of 99.4) running the ball, I’m thinking the Saints don’t utilize his rushing ability much and if they do, he won’t be very effective.

The fact that the TE6 to TE15 are less likely than not to have a Starting lineup worthy performance probably explains why recommending Bench TEs is one of my best position recommendations. So far this season, I’ve had 6 Good recommendations and 1 Just Ok recommendation. I’m going to go with Hill this week as my Bench TE recommendation this week and expect to improve my record as a result.

Conclusion

Hopefully these recommendations are my holiday gift to you. If you make a lineup decision based on them and win your Dynasty Owner match-up this week, please consider sending me a small gift, or donating in my name to charity. If you take one of these recommendations and lose your Dynasty Owner match-up, then it was a gift for your opponent.

Great Dynasty Owner content and the best platform and game in all of fantasy football is Dynasty Owner’s gift to all of our Dynasty Owners. There are plenty of gifts every week and like Hannukah, you got at least one every day this week (Sunday counts since it’s game day). Hannukah is eight days long and if you waited to read an article, listen to the podcast or watch the Livestream, then you can stretch out a week’s content to eight days.

We have articles from me, Jay Pounds and Matt Morrison – The Jerk to help you evaluate players and whether you pick them up off the Free Agent Auction, should have them in your Starting lineup or keep them on your Bench. Jay and I also do the Dynasty Owner podcast which you can listen to every week starting on Friday morning.

We also have our mid-week lunchtime gift to our Dynasty Owners in the form of the Dynasty Owner Livestream. It’s on live at 12:30 PM (Eastern) on Wednesday. You can watch it on the Dynasty Owner YouTube channel and if you can’t watch it live, then go there when you can and watch it. Finally, don’t forget to follow Dynasty Owner on Twitter as well. Thanks for reading and have a great day!

Steven Van Tassell is the Head of Content for Dynasty Owner

Follow us on Twitter: @SteveVT33 and @Dynasty_Owner

Thursday Night Football: Week 9

Eagles @ Texans

By: Matt Morrison (@dynastyjerk)

Tonight ,we have Week 9 of Thursday Night Football. In this game, the Eagles will travel to Houston to play the Texans. I don’t expect this to be the most competitive game of the year, but it still has quite a bit of fantasy implications. The visiting team (Eagles) are a 14 point favorite with a 45 point Over/Under. This is a pretty standard and expected line considering the Eagles have not lost a game this year, and the Texans have only won a single game.

What To Watch For

I will be watching a player who I mentioned in my Value of the Year Candidates article yesterday. That player is Miles Sanders. Sanders is not only one of the most efficient players in Dynasty Owner, but he has a very solid schedule over the second half of the Dynasty Owner season. These great matchups start with Houston tonight. The Texans just gave up 228 yards and two touchdowns to Derrick Henry ($12,500,000) in Week 8. In Week 7, they gave up 143 rushing yards and three touchdowns to Josh Jacobs ($2,983,350). I think you’re starting to see the pattern here. All starting running backs should be started against the Texans.

I actually traded for Miles Sanders in one of my Dynasty Owner leagues on Friday because his upcoming schedule is so juicy. He is a Top 10 player this week.

Value Of The Game Recap

Week 8 ProjectionSalaryReceptionsTotal YardsTDsDOFP
Devin Duvernay$1,143,952550116.0

Devin Duvernay was my selection for Value of the Game (VOTG) last week. He is a player who has a very low salary, but also has the potential for a high upside game. For unfortunate reasons, this started to look like a solid pick early. Both Mark Andrews ($14,000,000) and Rashod Bateman ($3,149,853) were injured in the Week 8 game early on. This is what Duvernay put up one week ago…

Week 8 ActualSalaryReceptionsTotal YardsReturn YardsTDsDOFP
Devin Duvernay$1,143,95246499118.9

While my prediction was spot on, there were two players with very efficient game along with Duvernay. They were Kenyan Drake ($1,035,000) and Isaiah Likely ($1,041,085). In the end, Isaiah Likely was the VOTG with six receptions, 77 yards and one touchdown (19.7 Dynasty Owner fantasy points). He had a fantastic game in the absence of Mark Andrews and a lower Dynasty Dollars per Fantasy Point (DD/PT) value than Duvernay and Drake.

Week 8 ActualSalaryReceptionsTotal YardsTDsDOFPDD/PT
Isaiah Likely$1,041,085677119.7$52,847
Devin Duvernay$1,143,952464118.9$60,527
Kenyan Drake$1,035,000467116.7$61,976

I’m 3 – 5 on the season.

Overall Record: 3-5

Starters

All the players on this list are ones who I would feel comfortable starting in Dynasty Owner this week. Originally, Brandin Cooks ($16,200,000) was on this list despite a lackluster season so far. It was announced early on Thursday afternoon that he would not play tonight.

Jalen Hurts ($1,506,292)

Hurts is a Top 5 quarterback, and his team is a 14 point favorite in this game. He is an auto start every week. The only thing I’d be concerned about is the lack of work in the second half if this game becomes a blowout.

Miles Sanders ($1,337,544)

Sanders is my MVP for this game. He should be over 100 total yards and have at least one touchdown. I would actually be disappointed if he didn’t hit both of those predictions.

Dameon Pierce ($1,118,858)

Pierce should have a solid game as he always does. He has five straight games of at least 14.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points. This is a tough matchup, but he will get enough volume.

A.J. Brown ($1,413,092)

DeVonta Smith ($5,035,348)

I’d be very comfortable starting both top Eagles wide receivers in this game.  Again, my only major concern is that they may not be needed much in the second half.

Dallas Goedert ($14,250,000)

Goedert is the TE6 for the season. He is well behind the top two, Travis Kelce ($14,312,500) and Mark Andrews, but he is one of the most involved tight ends in the league. I would love to roster and start him in Dynasty Owner.

Bench

Here at Dynasty Owner, you not only get points from your Starting lineup, but also from your Bench. Your Dynasty Owner teams get 25 percent of the points scored from players on your Bench added to the total final score. This means that Bench scoring could (and often does) affect the outcome of individual matches as well as championships. Here are the players I would be okay putting on my Bench.

Davis Mills ($1,304,383)

Mills is a player who should not be trusted in a Starting lineup, but he could be necessary for your Bench if you don’t have many options at QB with this six-team bye week. Nico Collins ($1,217,879) would have been listed here, but he was ruled out with a groin injury.

Value of the Game

I’m calling this to be a Miles Sanders game. I already mentioned it above. I have him going for over 100 total yards and at least one touchdown. Sprinkle in a few targets and receptions, and he should be close to the VOTG.

Week 9 ProjectionSalaryReceptionsTotal YardsTDsDOFP
Miles Sanders$1,337,5443112226.2

Even with this prediction, I can’t go away from the smart choice here. The smart and most logical choice is the player who will likely be the Value of the Year for 2022, Jalen Hurts.

Week 9 ProjectionSalaryRushing YardsPassing YardsTDsDOFP
Jalen Hurts$1,506,29262228229.6

With this line, Hurts barely beats out Sanders for the Value of the Game by only $163 DD/PT.

Week 9 ProjectionSalaryDOFPDD/PT
Jalen Hurts$1,506,29229.6$50,888
Miles Sanders$1,337,54426.2$51,051

Thank you all for reading.  Take care and be safe.

TheJerk

Week 12 Recap: Running Back Injury Woes

By Steven Van Tassell (@SteveVT33)

Week 12 is finally over and it’s getting to be a last man standing situation at RB for some NFL and Dynasty Owner teams. Out of the seven “first round” RBs in Dynasty Owner start-up drafts (ADP 12.0 or lower), only two (Jonathan Taylor and Najee Harris) have played in all of their team’s games this season. The other five have missed at least two games each. Two of them (Christian McCaffrey and Dalvin Cook) will be out for the rest of the Dynasty Owner regular season with McCaffrey missing the Dynasty Owner playoffs too.

It doesn’t get much better if you expand things to all of the “first and second round” RBs (ADP 24.0 or lower). Derrick Henry who played in the first eight games, but is now out for the rest of the Dynasty Owner season, plus J.K. Dobbins who has missed all season, can be added to the injured RB pool. Clyde Edwards-Helaire just came back after missing five games and Aaron Jones missed one, leaving just Antonio Gibson, Austin Ekeler and Ezekiel Elliott as having played in every game. Both Gibson and Elliott haven’t been 100% healthy, but still haven’t missed any games yet.

In Week 12, a Top 30 RB in Dynasty Owner fantasy points got injured every day that games were played. D’Andre Swift got injured on Thanksgiving, followed by Dalvin Cook and Christian McCaffrey on Sunday with J.D. McKissic getting carted off late in the fourth quarter of Monday Night Football. I’m not even counting WR Deebo Samuel who has operated more like a RB recently with 19 carries for 181 rushing yards and 4 rushing TDs in the past three weeks. He’s expected to miss a week or two after injuring his groin on Sunday.

On the positive side, Week 12 did feature the return of two injured RBs (Cordarrelle Patterson and Elijah Mitchell) who produced plenty of Dynasty Owner fantasy points. Both Kareem Hunt and Aaron Jones returned as well, but neither did much and now they are on bye in Week 13, so they won’t be helping your Dynasty Owner team until Week 14. At least they are back and healthy.

The injuries have been piling up for the top RBs, but not really for players at other positions. The top drafted QB out on Injured Reserve right now is Sam Darnold (ADP 111.0). Kyler Murray (ADP 10.5) has missed the last three games, but other than that most of the other top QBs have missed either zero games or only one. There are three Top 100 WRs on Injured Reserve (A.J. Brown – ADP 22.0, D.J. Chark – ADP 80.5 and Robert Woods – ADP 88.0) and all of them will miss the rest of the Dynasty Owner regular season. Calvin Ridley was also a high draft pick (ADP 22.8) and is out indefinitely as well. At TE, Darren Waller is “week-to-week”, but the only TE drafted in the Top 100 on Injured Reserve is Irv Smith Jr. (ADP 94.5). Not that those aren’t serious injuries and that other top players at those positions aren’t hurt now or been hurt for at least part of the season, but these positions haven’t experienced same level of injuries as the top RBs.

How did the remaining undefeated Dynasty Owner teams do? Did any of them have those RBs who got injured in Week 12 and did that cost them their undefeated season? Let’s look and see:

Team NameLeagueWeek 11 ResultChase PositionChange
DynastyTradeSchool (Mad Minshew)27458Win3rdNone
Detroit’s Finest74733Win23rdDown 1
The HipHopOpatomus70068Win52ndUp 42
Miami Crypt Keepers59074Loss93rdDown 22

More important than injuries, three out of our four undefeated teams won their Week 12 match-up. Only Miami Crypt Keepers lost, by 10.63 points to the 5-6 Rougelephants who are now 6-6 and moved into the last playoff spot (sixth place) in League #59074. It was a poor performance by Cam Newton as their starting QB and bye weeks for Kyler Murray and Travis Kelce, not injuries, which cost Miami Crypt Keepers their undefeated season.

Out of the other three teams, none were in serious jeopardy of losing their game, even DynastyTradeSchool (Mad Minshew) who had both D’Andre Swift and Darren Waller in their Starting lineup go down with injuries. The HipHopOpatomus has Dalvin Cook and will miss him in their lineup. Only Detroit’s Finest finished the week without a major injury to a top player. Detroit’s Finest are also in the best spot in terms of salary cap room to replace an injured player, if something bad happens this week.

Two out of the three undefeated teams face a team in playoff contention in their league this week so it’s possible that another undefeated team will fall from the ranks. We’ll look at all three of these teams next week and see how they did. In addition, we’ll also find a couple of teams in a compelling match-up to feature as the Week 13 Match-up of the Week. If you have a team fighting for a playoff spot against another team in playoff contention, then let me know on Twitter (@SteveVT33) and maybe your team can be in the spotlight.

All stats cited are based on the Standard Dynasty Owner scoring system as outlined in the updated Dynasty Owner Constitution. Standard Dynasty Owner scoring gives you .1 points for every yard rushing or receiving, .1 point for every 2 yards passing, 1 point per reception, 6 points for a rushing, receiving or passing touchdown and 2 points for a successful 2-point conversion (rushing, receiving, or passing). Interceptions or fumbles lost cost you 3 points, while a fumble that is recovered by the player’s team is a loss of only 1 point. Bonus points are available for 100-199 yards rushing (2 points), 200 yards rushing or receiving (6 points), 300-399 yards passing (1 point) and 400 yards passing (4 points). There is also a 3 point bonus for clutch scoring, which is a score that results in a lead change in the final two minutes of the 4th quarter or overtime. Kickoff and punt return touchdowns are worth 6 points for the player and kickoff and punt returns are worth 1 point for every 40 yards.

Standard Dynasty Owner scoring for kickers gives you 1 point for every extra point, while a missed extra point will cost you 1 point. It’s 2 points for a field goal of between 0 and 39 yards, 4 points for a field goal between 40 and 49 yards and 5 points for a field goal of 50 yards or longer. A missed field goal of between 0 and 39 yards will cost you 3 points, while a miss of 40 yards or more is a loss of 2 points.

For the purposes of this article, ADP and Dynasty Owner rostered percentage statistics were current as of the morning of November 30th.

Dynasty Owner Player of the Week

Our twelfth Dynasty Owner Player of the Week for 2021 is one of the few top RBs who has not been injured at all this season. Our winner this week is: Leonard Fournette

Some people call him Playoff Lenny, while others call him Uncle Lenny, but this week, we’ll call him the Dynasty Owner Player of the Week Lenny. The Jacksonville Jaguars called him expendable during training camp last season and by the end of the season, he was hoisting the Lombardi Trophy with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. This week, he had the first 4 TD game of his NFL career, his first 100 yard rushing game of the 2021 season and a week high 49.1 Dynasty Owner fantasy points (100 rushing yards, 3 rushing TDs, 7 receptions, 31 receiving yards, 1 receiving TD). His final TD of the game came with 20 seconds left and put the Buccaneers ahead to give his Dynasty Owners an additional 3 point bonus, his first Dynasty Owner clutch scoring bonus. Prior to this week, he was averaging 15.1 Dynasty Owner fantasy points per game and ranked as the RB12 in Dynasty Owner. He’s now the RB6 and averaging 18.2 Dynasty Owner fantasy points per game. He’s been on quite the roll since the start of the 2020 playoffs and doing even a little bit better than back in 2019 when he was the RB7 in Dynasty Owner and averaged 17.9 Dynasty Owner fantasy points per game.

Week 12 Points: 49.1

2021 Salary: $3,250,000

Cost per Point: $66,191

Congratulations Leonard (aka Playoff Uncle Lenny) on winning the first Dynasty Owner Player of the Week honor of your career.

Dynasty Owner Value Player of the Week

Because this is Dynasty Owner and we’re all looking for value from the players on our roster, we also have the Value Player of the Week. The twelfth Dynasty Owner Value Player of the Week for the 2021 season is: Elijah Mitchell

The sixth round rookie draft pick from Louisiana had a start-up draft ADP of 234.2 and rookie draft ADP of 31.3. While that’s a solid draft position, he was still drafted after fellow sixth round rookie RB picks Khalil Herbert from the Bears (ADP 189.2), Larry Rountree from the Chargers (ADP 207.4), and Chris Evans from the Bengals (ADP 212.2), as well seventh round rookie RB picks Jake Funk from the Rams (ADP 207.4), Jermar Jefferson from the Lions (ADP 211.7), Kylin Hill from the Packers (ADP 228.0) and undrafted RBs Javian Hawkins (ADP 205.0) and Jaret Patterson (ADP 225.8). Despite the lower draft stock, Mitchell has scored more Dynasty Owner fantasy points than all eight of those RBs, as well as fellow 49ers rookie third round RB pick Trey Sermon (ADP 52.4). This week, Mitchell had 29.8 Dynasty Owner fantasy points (133 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD, 5 receptions, 35 receiving yards), which were more points this week than all of those players, except Herbert (65.4 Dynasty Owner fantasy points) and Evans (33.8 Dynasty Owner fantasy points), have scored for the entire season. Mitchell has missed three games due to injury, but is still ranks third among rookie RBs in Dynasty Owner fantasy points with 126.1 and his 15.8 Dynasty Owner fantasy points per game average is the second best among rookie RBs. With a salary of only $915,892 for three more years, Mitchell should appear frequently as Dynasty Owner Value Player of the Week for the foreseeable future.

Week 12 Points: 29.8

2021 Salary: $915,892

Cost per Point: $30,735

Congratulations Elijah on your first Dynasty Owner Value Player of the Week honor of your career. Time will tell how many more you rack up in the next few seasons.

Honorable mention this week to Las Vegas WR Hunter Renfrow. Despite a salary of only $708,987 and having finished with over 20.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points on a few occasions, he’s never been able to be the Value Player of the Week. This week, he had 22.5 Dynasty Owner fantasy points (8 receptions, 134 receiving yards, 2 rushing yards, 34 return yards). He set career highs in receptions and receiving yards, but his cost per point was $776 more than Elijah Mitchell. All Renfrow needed was just an additional six receiving or rushing yards to have been the winner this week. Even if he wasn’t the Value Player of the Week, his Dynasty Owners were still likely thankful that they had him on their roster this Thanksgiving week. With the rest of this year plus another full season at his current salary, Renfrow still has plenty of time to secure his first Value Player of the Week honor.

Week 12 Points: 22.5

2021 Salary: $708,987

Cost per Point: $31,511

Players Who Should Have Been Starters This Week

Next, we look at those players who should have been one of your Starters based on their performance in Week 12. These are players who might normally be on your Bench or Practice Squad (or even not on many Dynasty Owner rosters), but likely weren’t Starters in Week 12 when they should have been.

QB: Mac Jones (NE) – 29.6 points

While Mac was the fifth QB taken in the first round of the NFL draft, he’s easily been the best rookie QB this season. Both Mac and #1 overall pick Trevor Lawrence have started every game this season, but the Patriots are 8-4 with Mac at QB, while the Jaguars are only 2-9. In terms of Dynasty Owner fantasy points, Jones is averaging 19.9 points per game, while Lawrence is averaging 15.4 points per game. Jones scored 29.6 Dynasty Owner fantasy points this week (310 passing yards, 2 passing TDs, 11 rushing yards) to rank as the QB5 for the week. None of the other first round QBs have scored that many Dynasty Owner fantasy points in a single week. To be fair, Texans rookie third round draft pick QB Davis Mills did have 34.8 Dynasty Owner fantasy points in Week 5 to have the best rookie QB week of the season so far. Even with this performance, Jones is still only QB18 for the season in Dynasty Owner, but that’s six spots ahead of Lawrence. If you ended up starting Jones this week, it was a good decision as he easily performed well enough to be in your Starting lineup.

RB: Dontrell Hilliard (TEN) – 20.4 points

In a rarity, we have a repeat winner here as Dontrell Hilliard was the choice in Week 11 as well when he had 16.8 Dynasty Owner fantasy points. In place of the injured Derrick Henry, Hilliard improved on last week’s outing by running for over 100 yards and scoring 20.4 Dynasty Owner fantasy points (131 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD, 1 reception, 2 receiving yards, 42 return yards, 1 fumble lost) this week. He’s still only rostered in 58.6% of Dynasty Owner leagues, up from 0.59% before last week’s games. Only Joe Mixon and Elijah Mitchell had more rushing yards than Hilliard did this week. He’s definitely not going back to the Practice Squad for Tennessee and shouldn’t have been on it for your Dynasty Owner team either. Hopefully if you picked him up, it was because you had plans on putting him in your Starting lineup and did so to reap the full benefit of his second straight impressive outing.

WR: DeSean Jackson (LV) – 19.2 points

Since requesting and receiving his release from the Los Angeles Rams, DeSean Jackson had played two games with the Las Vegas Raiders and scored only 2.2 Dynasty Owner fantasy points (1 reception, 38 receiving yards, 4 rushing yards, 1 fumble lost). Due to his speed, Jackson is always a threat to catch a long TD pass and make him worth having on your team. However, he had only done that once this season (a 75-yard TD reception versus Tampa Bay in Week 3). However, for the second time this season and first time as a Raider, Jackson caught a long TD pass (56 yards). That one catch was worth 12.6 Dynasty Owner fantasy points and he added two more receptions for a final stat line of 19.2 Dynasty Owner fantasy points (3 receptions, 102 receiving yards, 1 receiving TD). He is only rostered in 13% of Dynasty Owner leagues, but hopefully a few of those Owners were confident in his ability to break a big play and had him in their Starting lineup.

TE: Jack Doyle (IND) – 20.1 points

There are quite a few similarities between Jack Doyle and Rob Gronkowski. Both of them are over 30 years old (Doyle is 31 and Gronkowski is 32), both played a NFL game in Indianapolis in Week 12, and both are TEs. That and the fact that they were the top two TE scorers in Dynasty Owner this week are about it for similarities. Doyle edged out Gronkowski for the TE1 designation this week with 20.1 Dynasty Owner fantasy points (6 receptions, 81 receiving yards, 1 receiving TD) compared to 19.3 Dynasty Owner fantasy points for Gronkowski. Doyle also set his season high for receptions, receiving yards and Dynasty Owner fantasy points in the game. The 20.1 Dynasty Owner fantasy points were also a career high for Doyle who was the TE15 in Dynasty Owner back in 2019, but is only rostered now in 8.3% of Dynasty Owner leagues because of his $7.1 million salary, which runs through the 2022 season. They also have one other thing in common. Both should have been in your Dynasty Owner Starting lineup this week.

K: Daniel Carlson (LV) – 24.0 points

Carlson had the most points from a kicker this season with 24.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points in Week 12. He made all eight of his kicks (5 FGs and 3 PATs) plus had two 3-point clutch scoring bonuses. He successfully made FGs from 22 yards, 29 yards, 30 yards, 46 yards and 56 yards with the 56-yard FG coming with just under two minutes left in the game to give Las Vegas the lead and the 29-yard FG coming in overtime to give them the victory over Dallas on Thanksgiving Day. This ended a seven week drought in which Carlson didn’t have a double-digit Dynasty Owner fantasy point game after starting the year with three of them in a row. The tough stretch of games had moved him down to the #12 ranked kicker in Dynasty Owner, but with the downward trend it’s possible that his Dynasty Owners put someone else in their Starting lineup. If they did have him on their Bench or Practice Squad, they missed out on a big kicker scoring week.

Players Who Should Have Been on the Bench or Practice Squad

For every player who should have been in your Starting lineup but wasn’t, we have at least one highly drafted or highly ranked player who probably was in your Starting lineup, but would have been better left on your Bench or Practice Squad. Here are some likely Starters who scored either negative or only a few Dynasty Owner fantasy points in Week 12. All of them should have been riding your Dynasty Owner Bench or hanging out on the Practice Squad.

QB: Jalen Hurts (PHI) – 5.1 points

This is the first appearance for Jalen Hurts in this space as he was QB5 in Dynasty Owner coming into the week with only one game of fewer than 20.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points (12.2 points in Week 8 versus Detroit). His solid rushing floor has been sustaining him for several weeks as he has thrown for under 200 yards in seven out of the past eight weeks and thrown zero TD passes in four of those eight games as well. This week, Hurts added 3 INTs to his passing stats line of 129 passing yards and zero TD passes which gave him -2.6 Dynasty Owner fantasy points from throwing the ball. His 77 rushing yards were slightly above his 56.0 rushing yards per game average, but still weren’t enough to offset the negative points from passing and so he finished Week 12 with only 5.1 Dynasty Owner fantasy points. Hurts should have been on your Bench this week.

Honorable mention to Cam Newton who also had 5.1 DOFP (92 passing yards on 5 of 21 passing, 5 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD, 2 INTs). Similar to Hurts, Newton had negative Dynasty Owner fantasy points from passing (-1.4) and 6.5 Dynasty Owner fantasy points from his 5 rushing yards plus the rushing TD. He got his negative passing points since he only had 92 passing yards and 2 INTs. With the season ending injury to Carolina QB Sam Darnold, Newton has been pressed into duty as the starting QB despite being on the roster for less than a month. He is rostered in over 94% of Dynasty Owner leagues and it’s likely that many Dynasty Owners pressed Newton into duty in their Starting lineups with both Patrick Mahomes and Kyler Murray on bye. Hopefully they didn’t and left Newton on their Bench or Practice Squad.

RB: Kareem Hunt (CLE) – 2.0 points and Aaron Jones (GB) – 2.3 points

This pair of top RBs coming off injury a week before their team goes on bye were hopefully not in your Starting lineup. Both Kareem Hunt and Aaron Jones had a decent number of rushing attempts (10 for Jones and 7 for Hunt), but no receptions and few Dynasty Owner fantasy points. Hunt had only 20 yards rushing (2.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points), while Jones had just 23 yards rushing (2.3 Dynasty Owner fantasy points). Both of them will get a week of rest with Cleveland and Green Bay on bye in Week 13. Dynasty Owners with Hunt and Jones hopefully used other RBs in their Starting lineup since neither one was guaranteed to play and had games in the late Sunday window (Jones) and on Sunday night (Hunt). Before Week 12, Jones was averaging 16.1 Dynasty Owner fantasy points per game, while Hunt’s average was slightly higher at 17.4 points per game. Neither one of them got close to those season-long averages and should have been on your Bench.

WR: DK Metcalf (SEA) – 2.3 points

As the first WR taken on average in Dynasty Owner start-up drafts this year (ADP 14.8), DK Metcalf was expected to be a fixture in Dynasty Owner Starting lineups. He’s avoided injury this season, but ever since Russell Wilson returned from his finger injury, Metcalf has not been worth having in your Starting lineup. In Week 10 against Green Bay, he only had 5.6 Dynasty Owner fantasy points and he followed that performance up with just 7.1 Dynasty Owner fantasy points in Week 11 against Arizona. Week 12 was expected to be better against the Washington Football Team’s low rated passing defense, but it was actually worse as Metcalf only had 2.3 Dynasty Owner fantasy points (1 reception for 13 yards). Until Wilson starts throwing the football better, Metcalf might need to have a seat on your Dynasty Owner Bench. Hope you had him there this week.

Honorable mention to a trio of top WRs who have also been healthy and productive all season. However, each of them had fewer than 5.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points in Week 12. Mike Evans from Tampa Bay was the high scorer of the trio with 4.6 Dynasty Owner fantasy points (3 receptions for 16 receiving yards), followed by DeVonta Smith from Philadelphia who had 4.2 Dynasty Owner fantasy points (2 receptions for 22 receiving yards). Chris Godwin had the most receptions and yards, but the fewest points with only 3.7 Dynasty Owner fantasy points (4 receptions, 24 receiving yards, 3 rushing yards, 1 fumble lost). All of them were averaging double-digit Dynasty Owner fantasy points per game, underproduced by quite a lot and should not have been in your Dynasty Owner Starting lineup.

TE: Dallas Goedert (PHI) – 1.0 points

It’s a good thing that Dynasty Owner is a points per reception (PPR) league because if it wasn’t then Dallas Goedert would have had a Blutarsky (0.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points). Goedert had one reception for no yards, so he only scored 1.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy point in Week 12. When your QB only completes 14 passes for 129 yards and your offense scores only once, it’s not surprising to find a player or two on the Bench list. Goedert hasn’t been great this year, with only five games of 10.0 or more Dynasty Owner fantasy points and a high score of just 15.6 points. However, he was still the TE12 in Dynasty Owner coming into the week, so he was likely to be a Starting TE. Hopefully your team had a higher ranked TE or you made a calculated risk to start someone else lower in the rankings and left Goedert on your Bench.

K: Randy Bullock (TEN) – -2.0 points

Prior to Week 11, Randy Bullock had been a steady source of Dynasty Owner fantasy points for everyone who has him on their roster. He had scored 77.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points in nine games for an average of 8.6 points per game with four games of 10.0 or more Dynasty Owner fantasy points. Not too bad for someone who wasn’t on a NFL team active roster for Week 1. However, in Week 11, he missed one out of two PAT attempts to score zero points, then followed it up in Week 12 with another missed PAT and a missed FG from 44 yards. Both of them hit the right upright and made quite the loud noise on TV when doing so. He did make his second PAT attempt, but the two missed kicks left Bullock with -2.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points for the week. Hopefully you have three kickers and Bullock was on the Practice Squad. If you only carry two kickers, then leaving him on the Bench would have been for the best.

Dishonorable mention to Dustin Hopkins who had -1.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points as he missed a 52 yard FG and made his only PAT attempt. Hopkins started the season kicking for the Washington Football Team, but was released and signed with the Chargers prior to Week 8. In his first four games with the Chargers, Hopkins had scored 33.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points (4 of 4 on FGs of 39 yards or less, 3 of 3 on FGs of 40-49 yards and 11 of 12 on PATs) with one clutch FG. He was a top 10 kicker, but falls out with his Week 12 performance. Just like Bullock, hopefully he was on your Practice Squad or at least the Bench, but not in your Starting lineup.

Dynasty Owner Match-up of the Week Recap – Doritos Cheese Ninja Squad vs. 36 Chambers

In a low-scoring game, Doritos Cheese Ninja Squad defeated 36 Chambers to improve their record to 6-6 and keep their playoff hopes alive in League #76065 (the Polian league). Doritos Cheese Ninja Squad sits in seventh place, a little over 100.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points out of a playoff spot, while 36 Chambers is not out of contention, but their 5-7 record keeps them in tenth place and in need two victories plus a lot of help to get to the playoffs.

On Monday Night Football, Russell Wilson, Terry McLaurin and Jason Myers combined for 36.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points to give Doritos Cheese Ninja Squad enough points to win 123.36 to 117.11 over 36 Chambers. Russell Wilson led Doritos Cheese Ninja Squad with 25.9 Dynasty Owner fantasy points, while their Starting RBs (Javonte Williams and Jonathan Taylor) had 20.1 and 19.7 Dynasty Owner fantasy points respectively. Odell Beckham Jr. in the FLEX position also contributed 19.1 Dynasty Owner fantasy points for Doritos Cheese Ninja Squad. Those players overcame the top two scorers in the game from 36 Chambers, Aaron Rodgers who had 34.3 Dynasty Owner fantasy points and Jaylen Waddle who had 28.88 Dynasty Owner fantasy points.

Both teams escaped major injuries with just Doritos Cheese Ninja Squad Bench TE Dan Arnold getting hurt. Neither team had a lot of Bench points with less than 8.0 Dynasty Owner fantasy points added to each team’s score from the Bench (7.56 additional points for Doritos Cheese Ninja Squad and 7.53 additional points for 36 Chambers).

Chase for the Ring Leaderboard

Neither team in the Match-up of the Week was battling to stay in the Chase for the Ring as making their League playoffs remains their top priority. However, many other teams are still in contention and stayed there with little movement within the Top 10 this week. The top six teams stayed in place and only one team dropped out.

While The Road Warriors took their third regular season loss by a score of 138.15 to 124.0 to Furious Ferrets, their lead in the Chase standings only dropped by 1.2 points over SKOL Vikings (League #31927). Both DynastyTradeSchool (Mad Minshew) and Havana Club 79 won, remain in third and fourth place and join The Road Warriors and SKOL Vikings as the only teams with over 2,000 points so far this season.  The only new team to this week’s Top 10 is a returning team as John Boy’s Bolts are back and in eighth place, up four places from last week. THE DOTHRAKI won their game, but it was low scoring and caused them to fall from ninth place down to 14th place in the Chase for the Ring standings. The remaining five teams in the Top 10 all return from last week.

Half of the Top 10 had one of the top RBs in their Starting lineup get injured and will have their roster depth challenged over the next couple of weeks. Three more had either Deebo Samuel or Darren Waller get injured and may be without their services for some time. Only The Road Warriors had Christian McCaffrey and will be without him for the remainder of the season.

Conclusions

With Week 12 in the books and Week 13 drawing near, Dynasty Owners are in the home stretch of the regular season and can see the playoffs (or Loser’s Bracket) on the horizon. There are less than two weeks left to pick up replacement players in the Free Agent Auction to bolster your roster before the freeze at the end of the regular season. It’s time to make , so make those bids for players to replace the RBs on your team who got injured in Week 12. Once the regular season is over, your Dynasty Owner roster is frozen and if one of your star players gets hurt in the Dynasty Owner playoffs, you won’t be able to replace him until the season is over. Hopefully that doesn’t happen, and nobody gets injured this week, or least not enough players to make injuries the topic for the Week 13 recap.

Every week, Dynasty Owners get the following content to help them in their quest to win their League and compete in the Chase for the Ring. First, we have Jay Pounds doing the Monday Night Football preview on Monday afternoons. His Free Agent Auction targets article and video appears on Tuesdays to help you replace all of those injured RBs. Matt Morrison – The Jerk continues his Wednesday article and video series and then is back on Thursday afternoon with his Thursday Night Football preview. Finally, my article and video previewing the rest of the weekly slate of games will appear on Friday. Check it out to see how my Week 12 recommendations fared and what teams are featured in the Match-up of the Week.

Please read all of our articles, watch our videos on YouTube or listen to them wherever you get your podcasts. Don’t forget follow all three of us plus Dynasty Owner on Twitter as well. Thanks, and have a great day!

Steven Van Tassell is the Head of Content for Dynasty Owner Follow us on Twitter: @SteveVT33