RSO Staff Picks: Week 13

Updated: November 28th 2019

Week 12 Results & Overall Standings

1. English – Week 12 11-3 // Overall 116-59-1

2. Papson – Week 12 10-4 //Overall 115-60-1

3. Wendell – Week 12 9-5 // Overall 109-66-1

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you GMs. We are especially thankful for your support and enthusiasm to our platform. Our CTO Kyle English retook the lead in the year long picks challenge by going on an island picking Seattle and the 49ers, both of whom dominated their opponents. Pappy had a decent week as well and my mediocre 9-5 has me seven games back of Kyle (it does not look good for me this year). Our picks for this week, including today’s Thanksgiving slate are below. Best of luck to all of you on the playoff bubble punching your ticket this week. Enjoy the games and the holiday weekend.

NFL Game Picks

Game

Wendell

Papson

English

CHI @ DET

BUF @ DAL

NO @ ATL

NYJ @ CIN

TEN @ IND

PHI @ MIA

GB @ NYG

CLV @ PIT

WAS @ CAR

TB @ JAX

SF @ BAL

LAR @ ARI

LAC @ DEN

OAK @ KC

NE @ HOU

MIN @ SEA

   

 

More Analysis by Stephen Wendell

RSO Staff Picks: Week 12

Updated: November 24th 2019

Week 11 Results & Overall Standings

T1. Papson – Week 11 10-4 //Overall 105-56-1

T1. English – Week 11 11-3 // Overall 105-56-1

3. Wendell – Week 11 12-2 // Overall 100-61-1

Big week by all of us, but I make the biggest move going 12-2, just missing the Falcons continued awakening over the Panthers and my Birds long shot against the Pats. With six weeks to go, we are dead even at the top, and I trail Papson/English by five games…not impossible. A fairly mediocre slate of games this week for Week 12, but it ends well with the late game on Fox (Cowboys @ Patriots), the SNF NFC classic (Packers @ 49ers), and a MNF classic that will show us how good Lamar Jackson really is (Ravens @ Rams). With two weeks to go in most fantasy regular seasons, best of luck as you look to make that final playoff push! Our picks for the week are below:

NFL Game Picks

Game

Wendell

Papson

English

IND @ HOU

TB @ ATL

DEN @ BUF

NYG @ CHI

PIT @ CIN

MIA @ CLV

CAR @ NO

OAK @ NYJ

SEA @ PHI

DET @ WAS

JAX @ TEN

DAL @ NE

GB @ SF

BAL @ LAR

 

More Analysis by Stephen Wendell

Week 11 Street FA Report

Updated: November 18th 2019

Each week we will recommend a group of players that are owned in less than 50% of RSO league that should be rostered. Depending on roster and league sizes not all of these players may be available. For that, we will offer 1 player that is owned in <10% of leagues as our Sleeper add.

Add of the Week

Jay Ajayi, RB – PHI (Owned 46.5%)

Week 10: N/A

Weeks after it was being reported that Jay Ajayi is ready to return to football after tearing his ACL last season he has finally found a home with a familiar team. The Eagles announced that Darren Sproles is done for the season and Jordan Howard is nursing his own injury so it made sense that the team brings in a veteran that both knows the offensive playbook and has shown success in recent times. Ajayi is unlikely to make a big impact immediately unless an unforeseen injury to rookie Miles Sanders forced him to be, so it will be cautious optimism at this point to add him to your roster. Still, any running back that could have potential goal-line opportunities is worth the roster spot for the stretch run of the season.

Suggested Bid: $3,000,000

RB Add

Jalen Richard, RB – OAK (Owned 37%)

Week 10: 2 Car/0 yards, 4 Rec/43 yards

Whether it has been game script or Josh Jacobs’ injury, Jalen Richard has been an under the radar option in PPR leagues for RBs during these past two heavy bye weeks. Used primary in a Darren Sproles-esk capacity, Richard has had 10 and 8 points the last two weeks on the back of seven (7) receptions and just less than 100 yards receiving. He will not be stealing many carries away from Jacobs, never having more than four (4) carries in a game, but his receiving ability does give him upside in spreads that don’t favor the Raiders moving forward. Deep leagues that are in a pinch for running back help can look to Richard as an alternative option to the Ajayi sweepstakes.

Suggested Bid: $500,000

WR Add

Josh Reynolds, WR – LAR (Owned 39%)

Week 10: 3 Rec/49 yards

It appears that Brandin Cooks will be out again for week 11 and his status for future weeks with his concussion are up in the air. Meanwhile, Josh Reynolds stepped in last week as he did with Cooper Kupp’s injury last season as the team’s WR3 and had a so-so performance. He was, however, the second most targeted receiver (5) on the team. He’s not a flashy play like Brandin Cooks but looking at the raw numbers Reynolds produced about the same fantasy production as Cooks was before his injury. With the Rams not beating down on teams anymore and games against Baltimore, Seattle, Dallas and San Francisco remaining on the schedule, game scripted passing opportunities are going to be there for Reynolds and other Jared Goff targets.

Suggested Bid: $2,000,000

TE Add

Ryan Griffin, TE – NYJ (Owned 27%)

Week 10: 1 Rec/-2 yards

I know I recommended Griffin last week and he did absolutely nothing against the Giants but my prediction of Chris Herndon reinjuring himself came true so now Griffin is once again the clear TE1 for the Jets.  He’s not a stud option at the position but opportunities and red zone possessions are the name of the game for streaming tight ends and without another real threat to his snaps that’s all fantasy players can ask for. An upcoming schedule of Washington, Oakland, Cincinnati, and Miami should allow the Jets to have plenty of scoring and red zone opportunities for Griffin to grab a touchdown or two and hopefully he can gain some yardage between the 20’s as well. If there are upcoming weeks that you don’t like your starting tight end’s matchup Griffin is another option to bring off the bench to pinch-hit.

Suggested Bid: $500,000

 Sleeper Add (<10%)

Chester Rogers, WR – IND (Owned 9%)

Week 10: 2 Rec/31 yards

T.Y. Hilton and Parris Campbell have already been ruled out but Jacoby Brissett looks to be returning for Week 11’s game against the Jaguars. That is an upgrade at the quarterback throwing the ball and the removal of potential target obstacles for Chester Rogers. As it stands only Zach Pascal is ahead of Rogers on the depth chart for wideouts but we know Eric Ebron and Jack Doyle will also be involved from the tight end position. Still, teams truly desperate for a WR4/5 this week could hope that Rogers gets around five or six targets and gets over 50 yards receiving. It could also be another week or two before Hilton returns so one could roll the dice again next week against Houston if needed.

Suggested Bid: $500,000

More Analysis by Nick Andrews

Week 11: Prepping for the Playoffs

Updated: November 14th 2019

We are at the stage in the fantasy football season where most teams know if they are contenders.  If you are a contender, the time is here where playoff matchup considerations need to be examined.  The trade deadline is coming up for many leagues.  Below the reader finds a look at some NFL defenses worth targeting for your fantasy players and teams with good fantasy playoff schedules.  Now go win your league!

Target the pass and run defenses

Cincinnati

Things obviously did not go as planned when your team boasts a 0-9 record.  This is a team that failed in virtually every area of the field in 2019.  The Bengals give up the most total and rushing yards per game while giving up the fourth-most points per game.   The pass defense is not giving up as many yards but not because it is good.  Cincinnati ranks dead-last in Football Outsider’s DVOA against the pass.  Feel confident starting your fantasy players against Cincinnati weekly.

Miami

Miami mirrors Cincinnati in many ways.  Their efficiency metrics place them in the bottom-3 in the NFL for rushing and passing both for offense and defense.   They rank second to last in scoring.  Like the Bengals, game script may limit the total passing volume in some games because of how bad Miami is.  Do not worry.  The Dolphins play like a team which traded many top assets and clearly in rebuilding mode.

Others: Arizona gives up the second-most yardage and sixth-most points thanks to a sieve defense and a speedy high-volume offense.  Detroit has no real strength to their defense ranking bottom half of the league in yardage, scoring, and efficiency.

Target the pass defenses

Tampa Bay

The Buccaneers might exhibit the most polarized defense in the league.  They allow practically nothing on the ground as FO’s number one rushing defense.  Unfortunately for Tampa Bay, the passing defense has not held out up well.  FO’s 27th ranked passing defense lets quarterbacks go wild, leading to the most points allowed for any team.  The Tampa Bay offense also typically does enough to keep pressure on opposing offenses.  Fire up your quarterbacks against the Bucs.

New York Giants

The 28th ranked passing efficiency defense giving up the third-most points makes for an enticing opponent.   Rookie, Dexter Lawrence, helped solidify the Giants run defense.  The defensive backs in New York have struggled all season on the other hand, particular rookie DeAndre Baker, and that is unlikely to change this season.  This passing defense is one to target.

Others: The Raiders have not solved their pass rush issues.  Happily start your passing game fantasy assets against a team giving up the third-most passing yards in the NFL.  The league gouged Atlanta, another team with problems putting pressure on the quarterback, for 8.2 yards per passing attempt so far.  We will see if the play-calling change after the bye helps moving forward.

Target the run defenses

Kansas City

The Chiefs made big acquisitions helping the pass defense including Frank Clark.  The defensive scheme invites runs over more efficient pass plays.  As a result, Kansas City allows over five yards per carry and the second most rushing yards while also giving up the second most rushing touchdowns.  The only questions for opposing offenses is whether they will be able to stick with the run long enough with Kansas City putting up their typical high-output points.

Carolina

Copy and paste the information from Kansas City.  The Panthers allow lots of rushing yards and lots of rushing scores while shutting down the passing game.  Most teams should stay competitive against Carolina to be able to utilize the run game significantly.

A few teams with good fantasy playoff schedules (Weeks 14-16)

Philadelphia (The Giants, Washington, Dallas)

The Eagles play all NFC East teams in the fantasy playoffs.   They even get Miami in week 13 as a bonus. None of these represent teams you should be afraid of starting your fantasy assets against in either the pass or run games.  Wentz, Ertz, Howard, and other Eagles have the chance for big performances during the fantasy stretch.

Cleveland (Cincinnati, Arizona, Baltimore)

The passing game for the Browns has not exactly worked according to plan.  With that being said, there is no better week 14/15 combo than Cleveland facing the Bengals and Cardinals defenses.  Nick Chubb is set up for a monster fantasy finish to the season and the Mayfield/Beckham/Landry combo possesses immense upside to take you into the championship week.

Miami (The Jets, Giants, Cincinnati )

No really feels comfortable starting any Miami player this year.  Quarterback Ryan “Fitzmagic” can turn into Ryan “Fitztragic” any game and the possibility of benching always exists.  The run game and offensive line are possibly the worst in the league.  Still, Miami faces maybe the easiest fantasy playoff schedule of any team against the pass.  Fitzpatrick and receiver DeVante Parker make for very cheap gambles in deeper leagues with great matchups every week of the playoffs.

Others:  New York Giants (Philadelphia, Miami, Washington); Jacksonville(Chargers, Oakland, Atlanta)


Bio:  Bernard Faller has degrees in engineering and economics.  He currently lives in Las Vegas and enjoys athletics, poker, and fantasy football in his free time.  Send your questions and comments (both good and bad) on Twitter @BernardFaller1.

More Analysis by Bernard Faller

RSO Staff Picks: Week 11

Updated: November 14th 2019

Week 9 & 10 Results & Overall Standings

1.  Papson – Week 9  12-2 // Week 10 8-5 //Overall 95-52-1

2. English – Week 9  9-5 // Week 10 6-7 // Overall 94-53-1

3. Wendell – Week 9  9-5 // Week 10 7-6 // Overall 88-59-1

With strong performances in Week 9 and a winning record last week where some major upsets occurred, Papson has taken a one game lead over Kyle heading into his honeymoon week! I am seven games out and will look to make a push here the final seven weeks of the season. The week gets off to a great start with a must win game in the AFC North. The Browns are going to have to run the table to make my playoff prediction for them a reality, and Tomlin has done the unimaginable in Pittsburgh, as that team could go to 6-4 tonight and be only one game back for the time being in the win column from the Ravens and still very much alive in the wildcard race. The game of the week is certainly the Texans vs Ravens game, where Deshaun Watson and Lamar Jackson will be on full display in all their athletic glory. It is a must watch for sure! Our picks for the games are below. Good luck to all of you as you make a final playoff push in your RSO leagues.

NFL Game Picks

Game

Wendell

Papson

English

PIT @ CLV

DAL @ DET

JAX @ IND

BUF @ MIA

DEN @ MIN

NO @ TB

NYJ @ WAS

ATL @ CAR

HOU @ BAL

ARI @ SF

CIN @ OAK

NE @ PHI

CHI @ LAR

KC @ LAC

 

More Analysis by Stephen Wendell

Week 10 Street FA Report

Updated: November 9th 2019

Each week we will recommend a group of players that are owned in less than 50% of RSO league that should be rostered. Depending on roster and league sizes not all of these players may be available. For that, we will offer 1 player that is owned in <10% of leagues as our Sleeper add.

Add of the Week

Zach Pascal, WR – IND (Owned 46.5%)

Week 9: 5 Rec/76 yards, 1 TD

T.Y. Hilton is going to be out for what is being reported as a month so everyone should be signing up to acquire Zach Pascal for the rest of the fantasy regular season. With Hilton out last week Pascal played 92% of the team’s snaps and had just under 19PPR points with backup Brian Hoyer in for most of the game. He is the top option for however long Hilton is out and the Colts play the Dolphins next week. He’s going to be a WR2 option in a week of heavy receiver byes. Don’t be cheap, empty your cap space for Pascal.

Suggested Bid: $10,000,000 (or 70% of your cap space)

RB Add

J.D. McKissic, RB – DET (Owned 29%)

Week 9: 4 Car/32 yards, 3 Rec/40 yards, 1 TD

It was probably overblown that Ty Johnson was going to have a major role replacing Kerryon Johnson but 10 points in two weeks is worse than even the biggest skeptics would have predicted. The Lions seem to be reverting back to their gameplans of the early 2010s where they let Matthew Stafford drop back and throw it all game, mixing in a run here and there just to keep defenses honest. This bodes well for J.D. McKissic who acts primarily as the receiving back for Detroit. The Lions have above average RB matchups against Dallas (17th) and Washington (25th) bookended by two games against the suddenly spiraling Chicago Bears (24th) for the remainder of the fantasy regular season. If you are hampered by injuries and byes McKissic is a strong Hail Mary play for those truly desperate.

Suggested Bid: $1,500,000

WR Add

Adam Humphries, WR – TEN (Owned 42%)

Week 9: 4 Rec/65 yards

The Titans have shown faith in Ryan Tannehill as a passer since taking over the starting job in week 7. He is averaging 20PPG and 34 pass attempts over three (3) weeks which has opened up the viability of guys like A.J. Brown and Adam Humphries as fantasy receivers. The latter is available in just over half the leagues so he is more than likely an option for you to grab this week for a spot start. Humphries hasn’t put up the numbers that he was having at the end of last season but compared to how he started this season with Marcus Mariota (5.9 vs. 8 PPG) things are at least trending in the right direction. The Titans should be in “keep up” mode against the Chiefs in week 10 so there is plenty of opportunities for passes to be spread around once again.

Suggested Bid: $500,000

TE Add

Ryan Griffin, TE – NYJ (Owned 11%)

Week 9: 6 Rec/50 yards

Everyone has been waiting for Chris Herndon to return to action after he was suspended for the first four (4) games and then has missed the last month with an injury. Meanwhile, journeyman Ryan Griffin has put together back-to-back solid performances with 35.5PPR points and may have made enough of an impression to keep his role as the Jets TE1. There is no guarantee that Herndon will be back from his injury soon and even if he does hamstring injuries have a funny way of flaring up at any point during a game forcing him back to the sideline without notice. The Jets are a team that has to throw late and come back often in games and with Le’Veon Bell’s recent injury news (more on that in a second) Griffin may find himself as Sam Darnold’s primary option in the red zone.

Suggested Bid: $1,000,000

Sleeper Add (<10%)

Bilal Powell, RB – NYJ (Owned 5%)

Week 9: 2 Car/16 yards

The Jets have been using Le’Veon Bell as much as a bell cow can be used in 2019 so usually, his backups’ fantasy value would be next to zero at any given time. But he suddenly was added to the injury report on Tuesday and the team promoted Josh Adams from their practice squad which raised some eyebrows about Bell’s health. The team has stated that they did this more so that Adams wouldn’t be claimed by another team but they have already ruled Bell out for Wednesday practice so call me skeptical. Most people will rush to add Ty Montgomery if Bell was to miss time but in the limited amount of snaps that Bell hasn’t been on the field it has been Bilal Powell not Montgomery as the second option. There likely would be a committee between the two in absence of Bell but Powell will be much cheaper and more readily available in leagues. Stash him away for the weekend until we find out the full story from the Jets on Le’Veon Bell’s status.

Suggested Bid: $500,000

More Analysis by Nick Andrews