Week 2 Street FA Report
The Free Agent (FA) Report is back for another season. Due to the addition of the Practice Squad last year increasing the percentages of player ownership we will be making slight changes to the criteria for 2020. Each week we will recommend a group of players that are owned in less than 75% of RSO leagues 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 <25% of leagues as our Sleeper add.
Add of the Week
Malcolm Brown, RB – LAR (Owned 56%)
Week 1: 18 Car/79 yards, 2 TDs, 3 Rec/31 yards
I went back and forth on who should be the most added player this week between Benny Snell, Nyhiem Hines, and Malcolm Brown. In the end, Brown is available in more leagues and therefore felt more relevant to what this series is here for. Despite it being suggested that the Rams backfield was going to be fairly evenly split between the three running backs it was only Brown with 21 touches and rookie Cam Akers (15) who saw any significant playing time in week 1. Akers may earn more of a role as he becomes more comfortable in the offense but Brown will likely keep the goal line work as he had with Todd Gurley in years past. This, along with continuing to see the majority of carries bodes well for his fantasy production floor as an RB2/Flex. He is the big fish that will require spending a good amount of your available cap space on to acquire but he will be worth it if you are finding yourself thin at the RB spot.
Suggested Bid: $8,000,000 – $10,000,000
RB Add
Benny Snell, RB – PIT (Owned 73%)
Week 1: 19 Car/113 yards
As it turns out all Pittsburgh needed to return to fantasy relevance really was Ben Roethlisberger as the Steelers looked back to their 2018 selves on MNF. Unfortunately for James Connor owners they may be left holding the bag as he once again will be sidelined with an injury. In his spot, Benny “The Snail” Snell stepped up in a big way as he currently sits third in rushing yards after week 1 (113). Much like Le’Veon Bell after his rookie season, Snell seems to have trimmed down and added some burst that was missing last season which may result in him losing his “snail” nickname. If the owner who drafted him either bailed after year one or is willing to move on, Snell is a plug and play flex player right now with Connor out. Even when Connor returns to the lineup there is no guarantee that he will be walking back into his old job now. We will have to re-evaluate the situation once it becomes more clear who Mike Tomlin will use as his primary back once Connor is healthy but if last night showed us who fits better with this offense the safer bet might be Snell.
Suggested Bid: $5,000,000
Nyheim Hines, RB – IND (Owned 71%)
Week 1: 7 Car/28 yards, 1 TD, 8 Rec/45 yards, 1 TD
Marlon Mack is out for the season with an Achilles injury but even before he was ruled out surprisingly Nyheim Hines was working better in tandem with the rookie running back Jonathan Taylor during the Colts’ opener. Hines scored twice, once on the ground and once through the air and also had eight (8) receptions to lead all running backs in week 1. We know that Philip Rivers likes to get his running backs involved in the passing game. Guys like Darren Sproles and Austin Ekeler were fantasy relevant even when not being the primary ball carrier. Hines isn’t likely to be a free agent in your league but if he is he is worth dropping a large percentage of your remaining cap space on. He could see upwards of 70-80 targets by the time the season is over and be a weekly flex option through the bye weeks.
Suggested Bid: $8,000,000 – $10,000,000
WR Add
Russell Gage, WR – ATL (Owned 26%)
Week 1: 9 Rec/114 yards
The Falcons were boat raced in their first game of the season, resulting in Matt Ryan throwing 54 pass attempts and having three (3) different receivers going over 100 yards. If this trend continues, and in a division that features both the Saints and Bucs it very well could, that will make Atlanta’s WR3 Russell Gage a savvy depth receiver to have. With Calvin Ridley out to end last year, Gage quietly had a good closeout to the 2019 season with an average of eight (8) catches and 50 yards over his final six (6) games. He may not put up the numbers he did in week 1 consistently but he should be a player to monitor each week based on the matchup. If anything was to happen to either Julio Jones or Calvin Ridley, Gage would immediately step into a WR2/3 amount of targets and be a flex option each week.
Suggested Bid: $2,000,000
Quintez Cephus, WR – DET (Owned 36%)
Week 1: 3 Rec/30 yards
Kenny Golladay was a late addition to the injury report last week and missed the season opener for Detroit. In his absence the rookie 5th round pick, Quintez Cephus, had a shocking 10 (!) targets to lead all Lions’ receivers. He was also on the field for 80 percent of the team’s offensive snaps as well showing the confidence that the team already has in him. Unfortunately, he was only able to have three (3) catches but we know volume is the stat to be chasing when it comes to upside. Golladay’s return will surely limit the opportunities that Cephus will have moving forward but we know the Lions have leaned on Matt Stafford in the past and with their up-and-down running game, Cephus may earn the WR2 role sooner than expected over Marvin Jones. Compared by some to Anquan Boldin, Matt Waldman listed Cephus as one of his under the radar rookies which is a good enough excuse to start stashing him everywhere.
Suggested Bid: $1,000,000
TE Add
Logan Thomas, TE – WAS (Owned 14%)
Week 1: 4 Rec/37 yards, 1 TD
There were plenty of options to choose from at the tight end position as free agent targets for week 2 with honorable mentions to Jimmy Graham and C.J. Uzomah. However, I am going with Logan Thomas as he was the second most targeted tight end (8) in week 1 and there just isn’t the same receiver talent around him as there is in Chicago or Cincinnati. Other than Terry McLaurin there isn’t much that would suggest Thomas will see any less volume than what he saw in week 1 which should give him a safer floor than most third-tier tight ends. Thomas was a sleeper pick leading into the season so hopefully he can build off this performance to earn even more scoring opportunities.
Suggested Bid: $1,000,000
Sleeper Add (<25%)
Scotty Miller, WR – TB (Owned 21%)
Week 1: 5 Rec/73 yards, 1 Car/6 yards
There are a lot of question marks surrounding the Tampa Bay Buccaneers heading into week 2. One question that was answered however was who would be the third receiver in the slot for Tom Brady to feed targets too? In week 1 that was Scotty Miller who finished second on the team with five (5) receptions and looked the part of every slot receiver that Brady had leaned on in New England. It remains to be seen how much of his usage was simply because of Mike Evans’ injury and how much was on Brady falling back onto old habits. The Bucs have a much easier matchup this week against Carolina which could provide a spark for the offense. They looked unstoppable after the opening drive and then rather pedestrian throughout the rest of the game. Either way, he should be rostered for now while we see how this offense grows during the season and into the bye weeks.
Suggested Bid: $500,000
