RADIO
If you've been keeping up with our weekly Warning Signals piece you'd know that I'm a lot more lenient on wide receivers than I am on running backs. I've continuously preached the idea that in general, receivers are more consistent than their RB counterpart. Even in a year that's been given us one of the most unpredictable fantasy seasons we've ever seen, that principle still holds water.
That's why I've decided to switch it up on the WR side of things as the regular fantasy season winds down. Rather than take the long-view approach we're going to be a little more short term with this week's list of players. The three receivers you'll see listed are guys who are likely to be borderline starters for you depending on the makeup of your team. Basically this will be the "start or sit" edition of Warning Signals.
Some fantasy owners probably have their minds made up on on these particular players but given their recent production or lack thereof, it's still important to at least consider your options. Like I've said before, you know your team better than I do so don't be afraid to stick with what got you this far. Just don't head into the playoffs blindly sticking to your guns without checking out some deeper analysis.
Wide Receivers Sending Out Warning Signals
Stefon Diggs – WR, MIN
I've spoken about Diggs in recent weeks and I still happen to be a big fan of his. The Minnesota wideout burst onto the fantasy scene back in Week 4, and he managed to string together four straight notable outings in a row. Over that span, Diggs racked up 419 total yards and two touchdowns, impressive numbers for a rookie who hadn't even seen the field the first three weeks of the season.
Since that stretch, however, Diggs has just 185 total yards and zero touchdowns. As I mentioned in this week's piece about running backs, you can usually deal with a scoring drought if the yardage volume is there, and that's simply not the case with Stefon Diggs right now. What was once an exciting rookie with serious upside and promise has turned into a boom-or-bust play that could easily sway a fantasy playoff matchup. With some teams still fighting for a playoff spot in Week 13, it's hard for me to advocate depending on a player with such inconsistency.
Overall I believe in Diggs as an NFL talent and I think his best days are ahead of him. He's clearly Minnesota's best receiver so he should be a fantasy commodity going forward, especially in keeper and dynasty leagues. Unfortunately for the man they call Diggsy (I'm not sure if anyone actually calls him that), now is not the time to lock him into your fantasy lineups. He's a mid-range WR3 with upside and not much else. The Vikings defense will continue to roll through Adrian Peterson so if you have better, more consistent options at WR on your bench, let Diggs sit out the next few games. After all, his next two contests are against tough defenses in Seattle and Arizona. You'd be better served waiting until the Bears and Giants come to town.
Brandon LaFell – WR, NE
Given the plethora of injuries the New England Patriots have suffered this is sort of a weird time to bring up Brandon LaFell. Nevertheless his head-scratching showings over the last two games are a cause for concern. With Julian Edelman out until the NFL playoffs, LaFell should have seen a minor uptick in targets. Instead, it was Danny Amendola who became the target monster at wide receiver. Granted, no one expected LaFell to take over Edelman's role directly, but he should have at least been a bigger factor in the offense against the Bills two weeks ago.
Fast-forward to Sunday's matchup against the Broncos, a game that saw Rob Gronkowski suffer a knee injury, and LaFell's numbers actually went down. He had four receptions in both games yet his yardage total decreased. I say this is a weird time to talk about him because his recent lack of production would dictate that he isn't worth trotting out in a fantasy lineup, but this is a situation where conventional wisdom needs to be ignored.
Scott Chandler is a decent enough tight end replacement for Gronkowski but once again there are more targets available within the New England offense. At some point the Patriots have to simply make use of what they have, so LaFell is now poised to be a legitimate WR3/flex player over the next week or two. This week's game against the Philadelphia Eagles is the perfect opportunity for LaFell to put together a big game, even with Danny Amendola set to return. The two of them should lead the team in targets so I'm willing to roll the dice on LaFell in Weeks 13 and 14.
Marvin Jones – WR, CIN
Full disclosure here, I've never really been the biggest Marvin Jones fan and I didn't think I'd ever even consider bother throwing him on this list. Yet the more fantasy questions I see and more lineups I look at I still see Jones lingering around as a starter for some people. I honestly don't get it, but given how frequently I've seen his name come up lately it's probably best we at least address him even if it is briefly.
Here are Marvin Jones' stats on the season: 42 receptions on 72 targets for 540 yards and three touchdowns. By comparison, Anquan Boldin has 44 receptions on 71 targets with 558 yards and two touchdowns. That's the level of fantasy wide receiver we're talking about here. You wouldn't want your fantasy playoff hopes clinging to the likes of Anquan Boldin, so why would you want to use Marvin Jones? All you're hoping for with either of them is a touchdown and quite frankly that's not really part of their game anyway.
Jones is a WR4 who shouldn't even really be in flex consideration unless you're truly desperate at the position. I will say that the recent injury to tight Tyler Eifer does raise some intrigue in regards to Cincinnati's target share. That said, they are playing the Browns this week so I can't imagine they'll need to throw all that much. Besides, Cleveland is deplorable against the run so you can expect that to be a heavy Jeremy Hill/Giovani Bernard game regardless of who is out there catching passes from Andy Dalton.
Updates From Last Week
Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree – WRs, OAK
We can now go back to grouping these two receivers together as both guys had bounce-back outings against the Titans in Week 12. Amari Cooper led the team in receiving yards with 115 while Michael Crabtree found the endzone even with limited receptions. The Raiders offense is going to continue utilizing both of them with frequency so you can safely ignore the crazy game out of fellow wide receiver Seth Roberts. It's a two-man show in Oakland.
Jeremy Maclin – WR, KC
Jeremy Maclin had a massive outing against the Bills on Sunday, racking up 160 yards on nine receptions. Included in that stat line was a 41-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Alex Smith. This isn't a team that likes to utilize the deep ball all that match so plays like that aren't really that repeatable and neither is the 160-yard outing but it was still nice to see Maclin get back on track. The Chiefs actually have an extremely favorable schedule down the stretch with matchups against the Raiders, Chargers, Ravens, and Browns through the fantasy playoffs. None of those secondaries scare you so you should happily lock Maclin into your lineup the rest of the way.
Willie Snead – WR, NE
The Saints were on a bye in Week 11, so here we are two weeks later talking about Willie Snead. New Orleans was absolutely smothered by the Texans in Week 12 as the team only managed to put up six points in a losing effort. Snead did have four receptions for 50 yards but his days as the team's top receiver appear to be over. I wouldn't depend on him in any format and I most certainly wouldn't want to trot him out there this week against the Panthers.
Dez Bryant– WR, DAL
Normally I wouldn't address a player who was listed in the "Updates From Last Week" section twice in a row but the circumstances regarding Dez Bryant's fantasy relevance are a lot different from everyone else's. Unfortunately for Dez, he lost his quarterback once again as Tony Romo re-injured his clavicle and is now out for the remainder of the season. That's a huge blow for a Dallas offense that has struggled mightily with Matt Cassell and Brandon Weeden under center. I don't think you can bench a player the caliber of Dez Bryant but he's not going to be anywhere near as productive without his starting QB. This is basically a lost year for Bryant which is a real shame.
