Tag: Kenny Gainwell

9 waiver-wire targets in fantasy football for Week 8

9 waiver-wire targets in fantasy football for Week 8.

Following the bye-pocalypse, fantasy football managers are going to be hounding the waiver wire in Week 8 searching for any edge they can get as the second half of the season arrives.

It doesn’t matter whether you’re 7-0 or 0-7. Well, I mean if you’re 0-7, you’re fighting demons. But not like in a cool way like Dean or Sam Winchester. You’re losing this battle pretty hard. You’ve got to get your chakras aligned or something because that’s a rough start. But, I digress.

The waiver wire is here again as it is every week even though in this rendition, there might not be as much action. That said, there are some very significant injuries that will shape the priorities on the waiver wire to go along with a pair of teams on a bye.

The only teams on a bye in Week 8 are the Baltimore Ravens and Las Vegas Raiders.

Without further ado, here are the top targets on the waiver wire for fantasy football in Week 8:

To qualify, a player cannot be rostered in more than 50% of ESPN leagues.

11 waiver wire targets in fantasy football for Week 2

11 waiver-wire targets in fantasy football for Week 2.

As Week 1 came and went, so did the roller coaster of emotions that comes with managing a fantasy football team. Or if you’re a degenerate like me, you find yourself in way too many leagues.

Regardless, it doesn’t matter whether you started off with a scoring victory or were cursing your lineup for dropping a dud. Scouring the waiver wire is vital to success in fantasy football.

To be eligible as a waiver wire target, a player cannot be rostered in more than 50% of ESPN leagues.

Here are 13 waiver-wire targets to help your fantasy football team in Week 2:

Six points with David Dorey

Friday’s quick look at six fantasy items to know

2020 is coming to a crashing conclusion soon. Losing twice in a row wasn’t enough to wake the Steelers up or convince JuJu Smith-Schuster that whipping up the opponent before the game may not be the best strategy. That pales compared to the Jet, the New York Jets, the 0-13 New York Jets beating the Rams in Los Angeles.

Christian McCaffery and Kenny Golladay finish the year as myths we remember from last year. The wave of successful rookie quarterbacks have made little sense – no time to practice or integrate into their teams this summer and yet Joe Burrow, Tua Tagovailoa, Justin Herbert, and Jalen Hurts already look like hits.

Rookie running backs started slowly in the one position that should require the least amount of practice and “team time”, and yet the last month have seen them come to life after uneven or disappointing starts to the season.

It is Week 16 and fantasy playoffs are raging across the country. We’re hoping that our players remain healthy (which means two things this year) and they don’t belong to an NFL team that is taking a late season slide.

Heading into Week 16, there’s not much to explore for the rest of the year.  Here’s my five most interesting 2021 rookies that I’ll be watching closely. And at the bottom, a listing of the remaining college bowl games and if they contain players that are among the top candidates in their position heading towards the NFL draft in April.

Time to start shopping!

  1. QB Trevor Lawrence (Clemson) – Rare that a quarterback projects to be the No. 1 overall pick as of last summer and six months later, he is still expected to be the prize of the draft, even though he missed a few games. Really all you need to know is that he’s started at Clemson for three years. He played in 39 games and the only loss he had was in the 2019 National Championship game. He won the championship in 2018. Fortunately, the Jets won’t get him now that they won a game. Lawrence couldn’t understand what losing a game is like, let alone all of them.
  2. RB Travis Etienne (Clemson) – The four-year starter is the consensus best back in the draft though once again, it may be the second quarter before he comes off the board. He’s a prototypical dual-threat back and rushed for over 1,600 yards in each of the last two years but wasn’t overworked like so many other accomplished college backs. Etiene scored as many as 26 touchdowns in a year and caught 44 passes already this season. He’ll be a difference-maker wherever he lands.
  3. RB Najee Harris (Alabama) –  What would the draft be without an Alabama running back? Do you like Alabama-alum Derrick Henry? Well, Harris is a fourth-year player for the Crimson Tide with over 1,500 total yards the last two seasons as the starter. He’s already scored 27 touchdowns this year.  Oh, and Derrick Henry is 6-3, 238 pounds. Harris is 6-2, 230 pounds and he runs a 4.45/40. Henry was run into the ground his final year there with 406 touches in 15 games and took a few years to recover. Harris hasn’t rushed the ball more than 214 times.
  4. WR  Ja’Marr Chase (LSU) – He only played for two years at LSU. He only caught 23 passes as a freshman. He did not play this year. He opted out to concentrate on his NFL career. His only season as a starter was 2019 when he set SEC records with 1,780 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns. He didn’t risk any injury this year or worry about COVID-19 impacting his career. He was the best receiver in the NCAA in 2019 and the best in SEC history. Now if he can only land on a team with a good quarterback.
  5. RB Kenneth Gainwell (Memphis) – Etienne and Harris are the consensus best two backs in the draft (for now anyway) and Gainwell is most often third, though the field naturally spreads out quickly. Gainwell is another back that opted out of the 2020 season after his family had lost four members to COVID-19. His one year as a starter at Memphis saw him run for 1,459 yards with 13 touchdowns plus catch 51 passes for 610 yards and three more scores. He too is a dual-threat but skipping 2020 will drop him in the draft maybe to a good team drafting later in rounds.
  6. College Bowl games and who to watch:

December 25 – Friday

Camellia Bowl, Buffalo vs. Marshall, ESPN, 2:30 p.m.
Buffalo RB Jaret Patterson

December 26 – Saturday

Cure Bowl: Coastal Carolina vs. Liberty, ESPN, noon

First Responder Bowl: Louisiana-Laf. vs. Texas-SA, ABC, 3:30 p.m.

LendingTree Bowl: W. Kentucky vs. Georgia State, ESPN, 3:30 p.m.

December 29 – Tuesday

Cheez-It Bowl: Miami (Fla.) vs. Oklahoma State, ESPN, 5:30 p.m.
Miami TE Brevin Jordan
Oklahoma State RB Chuba Hubbard
Oklahoma State WR Tylan Wallace

Alamo Bowl: Texas vs. Colorado, ESPN, 9 p.m.

December 30 – Wednesday

Duke’s Mayo Bowl: Wake Forest vs. Wisconsin, ESPN, noon
Wake Forest WR Sage Surratt
Wisconsin TE Jake Ferguson

Music City Bowl: Iowa vs. Missouri, ESPN, 3:30 p.m.
Iowa WR Ihmir Smith-Marsette

Cotton Bowl: Oklahoma vs. Florida, ESPN, 7:15 p.m.
Florida QB Kyle Trask
Florida TE Kyle Pitts
Florida WR Kadarius Toney
Oklahoma RB Rhamondre Stevenson

December 31 – Thursday, New Year’s Eve

Armed Forces Bowl: Mississippi State vs. Tulsa, ESPN, noon
Mississippi State RB Kylin Hill

Arizona Bowl: San Jose State vs. Ball State, CBS, 2 p.m.

Liberty Bowl: West Virginia vs. Army, ESPN, 4 p.m.

Texas Bowl: TCU vs. Arkansas, ESPN, 8 p.m.
Arkansas RB Rakeem Boyd

Janauary 1 – Friday, New Years Day

Peach Bowl: Cincinnati vs. Georgia, ESPN, noon
Cincinnati QB Desmond Ridder
Georgia RB Zamir White

Citrus Bowl: Northwestern vs. Auburn, ABC, 1 p.m.
Auburn WR Seth Williams
Auburn WR Anthony Schwartz

Rose Bowl: Alabama vs. Notre Dame, 5 p.m. 
Alabama WR Jaylen Waddle
Alabama WR DeVonta Smith

Sugar Bowl: Ohio State vs. Clemson, ESPN, 8:45 p.m.
Ohio State QB Justin Fields
Ohio State RB Master Teague
Ohio State RB Trey Sermon
Ohio State WR Chris Olave
Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence
Clemson RB Travis Etienne
Clemson WR Justyn Ross

January 2 – Saturday

Gator Bowl: North Carolina State vs. Kentucky, ESPN, noon
North Carolina RB Javonte Williams
North Carolina RB Michael Carter
North Carolina WR Dazz Newsome

Outback Bowl: Indiana vs. Mississippi, ABC, 12:30 p.m.

Fiesta Bowl: Oregon vs. Iowa State, ESPN, 4 p.m.
Oregon RB C.J. Verdell
Iowa State TE Charlie Kolar

Orange Bowl: North Carolina vs. Texas A&M, ESPN, 8 p.m.

January 11 – Monday

College Football Playoff championship game:  ESPN, 8 p.m.

49ers’ hit likeliest top need in Draft Wire 2-round 2021 mock draft

The 2021 NFL draft is well off in the horizon, but the 49ers addressed two of their likely needs in a Draft Wire 2021 mock.

The 2021 NFL draft could be among the most fascinating ever if the college football season winds up getting impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. While the 49ers have Super Bowl aspirations that’ll keep them from looking ahead to next year’s draft, it’s still worthwhile to keep tabs of the college football landscape.

The Draft Wire posted an early two-round mock draft that highlights a couple of interesting things for the 49ers. San Francisco’s picks include South Carolina cornerback Israel Mukuamu with the No. 31 overall pick, and Memphis running back Kenneth Gainwell with the No. 63 selection.

Since these players haven’t played a down of their final college seasons yet, we’ll hold off on the breakdown and instead consider the positions San Francisco targets in the mock.

Given the contract situations on the 49ers’ roster, it stands to reason cornerback will be their biggest need in the 2021 offseason. None of their top four corners are under contract beyond 2020, and Richard Sherman turned 32 this offseason. Even if either Ahkello Witherspoon or Emmanuel Moseley plays himself into a long-term deal, there’s still likely to be a vacancy on the other side.  There’s also a chance K’Waun Williams’ market rises above the 49ers’ price range.

By not addressing their looming cornerback issues in the 2020 draft, San Francisco is likely to make it their top priority next year. That player could certainly be Mukuamu, a 6-4, 205-pound behemoth who has five interceptions through two college seasons.

Running back also has a high probability of being a position the 49ers tackle in the draft. Tevin Coleman, Jerick McKinnon and Jeff Wilson Jr. are all due to hit free agency next year, and San Francisco hasn’t drafted a running back since 2017 when they used a fourth-round pick on Utah’s Joe Williams.

It wouldn’t be a surprise at all to see the 49ers break their three-year streak without selecting a running back, but it would be a surprise to see them use a second-round pick on a position where they’ve had so much success with undrafted free agents.

Gainwell is an intriguing prospect though based on his production as a redshirt freshman. Last year he racked up 1,459 rushing yards and 13 touchdowns on just 231 carries. He also hauled in 51 catches for 610 yards and three touchdowns. Another season of production like that and Gainwell may not even last to the 63rd overall pick. Even if he does, there’s a much higher likelihood the 49ers scoop up a running back on Day 3 than in the second round.

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