Fantasy football wavier wire targets after Week 15: An opportunity with a Vikings RB

Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison are both injured.

It’s finals week for fantasy football owners.

Most of you won’t be scouring the waiver waiver for targets, but it’s always good to be thorough — just in case a waiver wire player has to potential to beat out your flex option. It’s probably smart to trust the players on your roster, but if you dealt with an injury in Week 15 (like Dalvin Cook), it’s good to see what’s out there.

Let’s keep it tight and include players you would only consider starting — because, of course, there’s no more runout beyond this week (unless you play in the rare league that lasts through Week 17). A player like Patriots WR N’Keal Harry may have upside, but you’re (hopefully) not in a place where you’d need to start him. So here are a few names to consider.

5. Indianapolis, DEF

ESPN: 43%. Yahoo! 27%.

They’re a good defense, and they’ve got the Carolina Panthers and quarterback Kyle Allen, who has 5 INTS in the last two games, in Week 16. That’s a juicy matchup.

4. Philip Rivers, QB, Chargers

ESPN: 43%. Yahoo! 59%.

Maybe Rivers has had a lackluster season, but he’s playing the Oakland Raiders, who have allowed huge performances from opposing quarterbacks.

3. Tyler Higbee, TE, Rams

ESPN: 28%. Yahoo! 67%.

He might be Jared Goff’s top target at this point. What a weird season it has been for the Rams in 2019.

2. A.J. Brown, WR, Titans

ESPN: 67%. Yahoo! 72%.

He has been an absolute monster in 2019 — especially with Ryan Tannehill at quarterback. Brown finished Week 15 with eight catches, 114 yards and a touchdown.

1. Mike Boone, RB, Vikings

ESPN: 0%. Yahoo! 0%.

Alexander Mattison is dealing with an ankle injury. Dalvin Cook left Week 15 with a re-aggravated shoulder injury. Boone may end up the feature back in Week 16 against the Packers, who have allowed a 25th-worst 122.8 rushing yards per game going into Week 15. If Mattison is available, he would also be worth a pickup. Whoever starts at RB for Minnesota has RB1 potential.

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Tunnel Vision of Week 15

Tunnel Vision – a look back at Sunday for fantasy free agents, injuries and notable performances.

SUNDAY SALUTES
Quarterbacks	Pass-Rush	TD
Jameis Winston	458 – 4	4
Lamar Jackson	212 – 86	5
Ryan Tannehill	279 – 10	3
Patrick Mahomes	340 – 11	2
Mitchell Trubisky	348 – 29	1
Running Backs	Yards	TD
Kenyan Drake	146	4
Christian McCaffrey	175	2
Miles Sanders	172	2
Ezekiel Elliott	160	2
Saquon Barkley	153	2
Wide Receivers	Yards	TD
Breshad Perriman	116	3
Julio Jones	134	2
Jamison Crowder	90	2
DeVante Parker	72	2
Terry McLaurin	130	1
Tight Ends	Yards	TD
Ricky-Seals Jones	29	2
Travis Kelce	142	0
George Kittle	134	0
Darren Waller	122	0
Zach Ertz	61	1
Placekickers	XP	FG
Dan Bailey	3	4
Robbie Gould	1	3
Nick Folk	4	2
Dustin Hopkins	3	2
Harrison Butker	0	3
Defense	Sck-TO	TD
Vikings	2 – 7	1
Patriots	0 – 5	1
Eagles	1 – 1	1
Buccaneers	2 – 3	1
Packers	3 – 3	0

Bumps, Bruises and Bowouts

Pretty light but last week removed some important players from this Sunday already.

WR Chris Godwin – Hamstring
WR Scott Miller – Hamstring
RB J.D. McKissic – Neck
RB Dalvin Cook – Shoulder
WR Brandin Cooks – Back

Chasing Ambulances

WR Chris Godwin – The Buccaneers already missed Mike Evans and then Chris Godwin went down untouched and had to be carted to the locker room. While the prognosis isn’t available as of this writing, all such signs usually mean missing a week or more And only next week matters. Breshad Perriman (5-113, 3 TD) was the one to step up with Evans gone.

Scotty Miller also scored in his first game back from injury but then pulled his hamstring. Justin Watson turned in a touchdown in Week 14 replacing Evans for part of the game but was limited to only two catches for 17 yards. If Godwin is still out, Perriman becomes the No. 1 but he won’t surprise anyone after his three scores in Week 15.

Watson would have to play more as the only receiver with any experience left on the roster. The Bucs host the Texans and their weak secondary this week. And Jameis Winston is on a mission to post yardage and scores.

RB Dalvin Cook – He went down yet again with a shoulder injury. He was in obvious pain and seemingly more than the times before. He has to be in doubt for the homestand against the Packers and their weak rushing defense this week. Alexander Mattison would have been the backup, but he was inactive with an ankle injury.

That only leaves Ameer Abdullah (5-25) and Mike Boone (13-56, 2 TD) behind. The Vikes need a run game and whichever back starts will be fantasy relevant against the soft Packers run defense. If Cook or Mattison do not return, then expect the same sort of committee with Abdullah and Boone. Cook was injury-prone for his first two seasons and seemed to finally get over his durability issues. Until you absolutely, positively needed him for one specific game. Oh, Dalvin…

Free Agents, Flops and Other Notables

RB Christian McCaffrey – He not just the guy with the magic year in most of the league playoffs, and he’s not just the No. 1 fantasy running back but a significant margin. He is also the only Panthers player that ever produced over 2,000 total yards in one season. He’s rushed for 1,307 yards on 265 carries and added 814 yards on 94 receptions. That’s 2,121 yards. He still has two more games.

RB Chris Carson – Already had a strong season but the Seahawks just lost Rashaad Penny last week. That left Carson to run 24 times for 133 yards and two touchdowns in the win over the Panthers. Penny was getting up to 15 carries but C.J. Prosise (5-15) and Travis Homer (2-7) didn’t get in the way as much.

RB Joe Mixon – He rushed for 136 yards on 25 carries and even caught three passes for 30 yards versus the No. 1 defense versus running backs. The Bengals only passed for 151 yards and lost the game badly. But at least Mixon’s late-season push continues. He’ll be interesting in 2020 so long as the offense around him gets an upgrade.

QB Jameis Winston – Fractured thumb be damned. Winston passed for 458 yards and four touchdowns against the Lions were nicely timed for fantasy owners in their playoffs. He leads the NFL with 4,573 passing yards and that is a pace for 5,226 yards. That would rank fourth-best in NFL history. He averages 326 yards per game and his final two games are at home against the Texans and Falcons. He only needs 213 yards per game to become the eighth quarterback to throw for more than 5,000 yards.

WR Anthony Miller – He’s produced marginal stats at best this season but he gained over 100 yards in each of his last two road games and scored these last two weeks. His nine catches for 118 yards and a touchdown this week was a season-best.

WR Davante Adams – The Packers only threw for 203 yards and one score on Sunday, but Adams accounted for 103 yards on seven catches and caught the lone touchdown pass. The Packers have evolved to where there is no fantasy value in any receiver aside from Adams. No matter what happens in the Packers’ passing effort, Adams will produce and no one else will.

TE Travis Kelce – He reeled in 11 catches for 142 yards in the win over the Broncos. He now totals 1,131 yards on the year in the thinnest of fantasy positions. He also just set the record for the only tight end in the history of the NFL to record four straight 1,000 yard seasons.

WR DeVante Parker – He was a flop for his first three seasons. Parker currently totals 59 catches for 954 yards and eight touchdowns and should break 1,000 yards likely this week when they host the Bengals. He just signed a 4-year, $40 million extension. Apparently, he only comes to life when the Dolphins offense becomes completely stripped of all talent. He scored four touchdowns over the last three games.

RB Carlos Hyde – After six years and four different teams, Hyde currently stands at 224 carries for 1,030 yards for the Texans. His first 1,000-yard season. He was only paid $1.8 million this year and is a free agent in 2020. Will the Texans finally draft a talented rookie back or just more of the same by re-signing Hyde?

WR Terry McLaurin – All may not be lost with Dwayne Haskins. The speedy rookie McLaurin just scored for the second week in a row and gained a career-best 130 yards on five catches versus the Eagles.

WR Odell Beckham – He’s nursed a sports hernia all season according to recent reports. And he’s been a disappointment to fantasy owners. He did just catch a season-best eight passes for 66 yards at the Cardinals, in a game where Jarvis Landry was held to only five receptions for 23 yards. He fielded a season-high 13 targets versus eight for Landry.

TE Tyler Higbee – He led the Rams with 12 catches for 111 yards in the loss to the Cowboys. He is in his fourth season and had never gained more than 295 yards in any year. Higbee just turned in his third 100-yard game in a row. He’s suddenly reached the Top-10 for tight ends this season. Gerald Everett is out and had been the lead receiver. Higbee replaced Everett at an opportune time, but he’s been the No. 1 tight end for the last three weeks.

WR Julio Jones – The Falcons star didn’t have to share with Calvin Ridley but was facing the 49ers defense in San Francisco. He ended with 13 catches for 134 yards and two touchdowns including the game-winner. He also became the only wideout with 20 targets in one game this year. Tyler Lockett was the leader with 18 in Week 9.

Huddle player of the week

Kenyan Drake – Someone is going to be a soon-to-be rich free agent in 2020. Drake just ran for 137 yards and four touchdowns on 22 carries and added nine yards on one catch in the win over the Browns. He’s everything that you thought David Johnson would be. Timing is everything in the world of expiring rookie contracts.

Salute!

Drama 101 – Somebody has to laugh, somebody has to cry

Comedy		Yards	TDs	Tragedy		Yards	TDs
QB	Ryan Fitzpatrick	312	2	QB	Jimmy Garoppolo	206	1
RB	Miles Sanders	172	2	RB	Melvin Gordon	64	0
RB	Tony Pollard	143	1	RB	Dalvin Cook	43	0
WR	Breshad Perriman	116	3	WR	Emmanuel Sanders	9	0
WR	Jamison Crowder	90	2	WR	Julian Edelman	9	0
WR	Anthony Miller	118	2	WR	Robert Woods	17	0
TE	Ricky Seals-Jones	29	2	TE	Hunter Henry	29	0
PK	Dan Bailey	3 XP 4 FG		PK	Greg Zuerlein	1 XP
Huddle Fantasy Points = 129				Huddle Fantasy Points = 28

Now get back to work…

Vikings defense steps up big in win over Chargers

The Vikings and their defense didn’t look back in the second half and ended up finishing with seven total turnovers.

The Minnesota Vikings finished out their road schedule in Los Angeles with a dominating 39-10 win over the Chargers. The game started out close, but the Vikings started to pull away before halftime with an Ifeadi Odenigbo fumble recovery for a touchdown.

The Vikings and their defense didn’t look back in the second half, and ended up finishing with seven total turnovers. Harrison Smith had an interception and a fumble recovery, while Danielle Hunter also made a huge impact with two forced fumbles, a sack and a fumble recovery.

While Hunter and Smith had the better performances of the day, others such as Mike Hughes, Anthony Harris and Trae Waynes got in on the turnovers.

Going into this game, the Vikings defensive struggles were a main talking point around the team. Philip Rivers and the Chargers had been known to turn the ball over this season, and the Vikings took advantage of that with a get right performance on the defensive side of the ball.

While the defense had their fun, the offense started to figure things out without Dalvin Cook in the second half. Cook went down with a shoulder injury and was ruled out for the remainder of the game rather quickly.

Having one of the stars of the offense go down with an injury is never an easy thing, and it is something that Vikings fans are all too familiar with. However, Mike Boone was given his chance and he didn’t disappoint.

The preseason standout came in for Cook and finished the game with 13 carries for 56 yards and two touchdowns. Boone is in his second season with the Vikings, and his touchdowns were the first two of his career.

The offense also got their star receiver back in Adam Thielen, but he was put on a snap count and only recorded three catches for 27 yards.

The game plan was clearly focused around running the football, and after a slow start the Vikings finished with a total of 137 rushing yards.

A huge reason for the offense’s success has been due to the improved play by the offensive line. Not only did the line allow the Vikings run game to get to 137 yards, but they also didn’t give up a sack. The Chargers have two of the best pass rushers in the NFL in Melvin Ingram III and Joey Bosa, and the Vikings offensive line held them both to a quiet afternoon.

Heading into the final two games of the season against divisional opponents, this was the exact type of game the Vikings needed. The Vikings defense proved that they can still play a big factor in winning games, while the offense might have found yet another solid option at running back.

The Vikings will be back at home for their final two games, with the next game being a Monday Night Football game against the Green Bay Packers. If the Vikings defense can continue to improve, and the offense keeps playing at the level it has been since the loss in Chicago, this Vikings team could head into the playoffs as one of the hottest teams in the league.