RADIO
Nicklaus Gaut looks at the most added and dropped players of the week on Fleaflicker's waiver wire transactions list to help fantasy football owners evaluate player values and who to stream in Week 11.
When you can't even get tanking right, you know your football team is bad. Such is the case for Miami Dolphins fans, who not only saw their gutted team somehow win their second-straight game, they also had to watch an entire game of Ryan Fitzpatrick battling Brian Hoyer in an epic 16-12 snoozefest.
With the win, Miami is now two games behind a Cincinnati Bengals team that just keeps trucking their way towards making the wrong first pick in the 2020 draft. Led by rookie Ryan Finley, Cincinnati left nothing to chance in Week 10 by getting blown out by the Baltimore Ravens 48-13, putting the Bengals in the catbird's seat for 2019's battle to be the worst. Can Bengals fans even get excited about the prospect considering the franchise's infamous track record for drafting busts? Can the Red Rifle convince Bengals brass that what the team really needs in the first round is a defensive lineman? Did the Ickey Shuffle put a curse upon the franchise from which they can never recover?
None of these questions will be answered today because it looks like we've already reached our allotted limit for Bengals talk, so let's instead look back at last week's action before taking a glance at some of the biggest risers and fallers in Fleaflicker leagues entering Week 11.
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Last Week's Recap
Another week, another fire performance by Lamar Jackson, as the second-year quarterback was again the personification of electricity, dazzling in a blowout win over the Bengals, with four total touchdowns and 32 fantasy points. Jackson continues to play like a videogame character set on "expert," refusing to stop his assault on opposing offenses, whether by land or by air. You did see him pull that ridiculous spin move, right? If not, take a quick moment to Google "Lamar Jackson spin move" and try to count the combined number of ankles that get snapped and Bengals that get taken out by each other. The answer is at least seven.
Jackson's 32 points were matched by his partner in electricity, Patrick Mahomes, who returned from missing the past two weeks due to a knee injury and got right back to doing all of the things that magical unicorns of joy like to do. Namely, he threw for 446 yards and three touchdowns.
"Danny Dimes, baby!" That's what Giants general manager Dave Gettleman is probably yelling in people's faces as he swaggers through the team facilities, waggling arrogant finger-guns at anyone who doubted him moving up in the 2019 draft to take quarterback Daniel Jones, who threw for 308 yards and four touchdowns in a 34-27 loss to the listless Jets. That's his second four-score game in his past three contests but the bad news is that Jones seems to only light up scoreboards against the league's worst passing defenses, with 10 of his 15 touchdowns this season coming against the Buccaneers, Lions, and Jets. Not to mention that he's been treating the football like a greased pig as of late, with 10 fumbles in his past four games.
Speaking of that bad Buccaneers pass-defense, it was a predictable fantasy-fiesta in Tampa Bay, with Arizona's Christian Kirk claiming the crown for most points by a wide receiver in Week 10, racking up 33 standard league points on 138 yards and three touchdowns. The aforementioned Daniel Jones spent a lot of attention on Darius Slayton, with the rookie wide receiver catching 10 balls for 121 yards and two touchdowns. Amari Cooper also went off for 147 yards and a score. Will you look at that? Michael Thomas caught 13-of-14 targets for 152 yards, which trailed only Tyreek Hill's 157 yards for the most by any receiver in Week 10.
When scoring 20 points in standard leagues is seen as disappointing, then you're officially a fantasy god. That was the case for Christian McCaffrey in a 24-16 loss to the Packers, with CMC's performance seeming relative ho-hum compared to the 36 points he put up the week before. It was Derrick Henry who was the king of the running back mountain this week, as the Alabama product rolled over Kansas City for 188 yards rushing and two touchdowns in a 34-31 upset win. Going back north to Green Bay, running back Aaron Jones rebounded from his three-point stinker in Week 9, scoring three touchdowns and 27 standard league points.
Now, let's take a look at three of this week's biggest risers and fallers on Fleaflicker.com. A full list of the most added and dropped players on Fleaflicker can be found here.
Most Added in Fleaflicker - Week 11
Brian Hill (RB, ATL @ CAR), 7,209 Adds – 52% Owned
The constant threat of injury in football allows players to quickly go from anonymity to the belle of the fantasy ball. Enter Brian Hill, who is now virtually Atlanta's only option out of the backfield with incumbent starter Devonta Freeman unlikely to suit up after spraining his foot in Week 10 and former backup Ito Smith already out for the season with a neck injury. Hill impressed in the preseason for the Falcons, rushing for 99 yards and two touchdowns, but had remained buried on the depth chart prior to the aforementioned injuries to those ahead of him.
Built to handle a three-down load, Hill should face little competition for touches in Week 11 when Atlanta travels to Carolina to face one of the league's worst run defenses, allowing the third-most fantasy points to running backs in 2019. With an almost guaranteed high rate of usage and facing such a poor defense, Hill is an RB2 with top-five upside.
Jacob Hollister (TE, SEA, BYE), 2,040 Adds – 25% Owned
In a year where top tight ends continue to either disappoint or cycle on and off of the injury report, any sign of life is will surely be snatched up quickly. Such is the case with Hollister, who even on a bye is the second-most added player on Fleaflicker.com this week. Hollister has emerged since Will Dissly went down with a ruptured Achilles tendon, blowing up for three touchdowns in his last two games. Along with the scores, Hollister had 99 yards on 12 catches and has become quarterback Russell Wilson's go-to guy in the red zone.
Having scored 27 fantasy points in standard leagues over the last two weeks, it's no surprise to see Hollister snatched up so quickly, particularly with leading scorer Austin Hooper likely out for a month and George Kittle sidelined this week. When the Seahawks return to action in Week 12, Hollister will have a tough test facing a Philadelphia Eagles Defense that's allowing the 11th-fewest points to tight ends this season, but in a positional landscape almost completely sucked dry, he needs to be added in most leagues.
Deebo Samuel (WR, SF vs. ARI), 1,832 Adds – 41% Owned
A preseason sleeper, Samuel has mostly disappointed this season and hasn't scored a touchdown since Week 2. That changed last week, with Samuel going off for 112 yards on eight catches. His 11 targets were a season-high, as he was quarterback Jimmy Garappolo's go-to target after Emmanuel Sanders left with an injury in a game where George Kittle was already inactive. With Kittle again unlikely to be able to go and Sanders looking questionable at best after again missing practice this past Thursday, Samuel looks again to be the main option in the San Francisco receiving corp. That makes him a prime candidate for a big day facing an Arizona Cardinals Defense that's allowing the 12th-most points to wide receivers this season and seems to be involved in a shootout every week.
At 41%-ownership and rising, grab Samuel for production now but also for his favorable schedule in the fantasy playoffs, as San Francisco will face the Saints and Falcons in Week 14 and 15, who are respectively allowing the 10th and seventh-most fantasy points to wide receivers in 2019.
Most Dropped in Fleaflicker - Week 11
Ty Johnson (RB, DET vs. DAL), 1,254 Drops – 31% Owned
One of the hottest waiver-wire pickups this year after starter Kerryon Johnson was lost for the season to a knee injury, Ty Johnson has been an utter flop in the three since weeks since, rushing for just 70 yards on 21 carries. After rushing for just 16 yards last week, Johnson's ownership continues to plummet, surely held on to by only those who put their FAAB budget into the red when they gambled on his supposed upside.
With J.D. McKissic out-touching him 17-to-6 in Detroit's Week 10 20-13 loss to the loss to the Bears, it appears that the final nails are being hammered into the fantasy-coffin of yet another Lion named Johnson, ahead of a matchup at home with the Dallas Cowboys. For as this Johnson has yet to find the endzone in 2019, starting him in Week 11 is little more than a dart thrown blindfolded by the truly desperate.
Chris Herndon (TE, NYJ, @WAS), 1,159 Drops – 28% Owned
Remember when Herndon was a breakout candidate and a sleeper supreme? Well, after having his season ended by placement on the injured reserve list, Herdon officially has zero chance of waking up in 2019. Suspended for the first four games of the season due to an offseason DWI, people held on to him through the suspension, betting on the upside of the second-year tight end. However, once Herdon's suspension ended, his hamstring trouble began, costing him the next five games. Herndon completed the lost-season hat trick when he fractured a rib while making his season debut in a 34-27 win over the New York Giants, finishing his year with just one catch for seven yards.
While he's obviously droppable in redraft leagues, Herdon remains a strong dynasty asset given his 2020 upside at a position that may not see much improvement over the pit that tight end has been in 2019.
Matthew Stafford (QB, DET, vs. DAL), 759 Drops – 79% Owned
Though he's the eighth-highest scoring quarterback in 2019 - even including last week's missed game - cracks have started to show in Stafford's ownership after the Lions quarterback has yet to return to practice as he recovers from a broken back. A controversial late-scratch in Week 10, head coach Matt Patricia confirmed that Stafford will miss his second-straight and be replaced by Jeff Driskel for the Lions matchup versus the Cowboys at home on Sunday. Since a broken vertebra apparently isn't a season-ending injury in the NFL, Stafford is certainly worth holding onto, but be wary that the Lions haven't exactly been forthcoming about what Stafford's status actually is and any day could come with news of his placement on the IR. Or early retirement, given that he is a Lion.
