Week 4 Street FA Report
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
Taylor Gabriel, WR – CHI (Owned 44%)
Week 3: 6 Rec/75 yards, 3 TDs
Taylor Gabriel had himself a game on Monday night scoring three touchdowns in the first half! Unfortunately, he left the game early with a concussion that he is still dealing with at the mid-week point. It is unclear if he will be available for an encore against the Vikings this Sunday. Regardless, only Allen Robinson (27 targets), Tarik Cohen (19), and Gabriel (14) are being featured in the Bears’ offense through three weeks, with Gabriel being the only one with a touchdown reception thus far. When he is back on the playing field he is at least rosterable in all but the shallowest of leagues and can be a flex option in deep starting lineups.
Suggested Bid: $2,000,000
QB Add
Gardner Minshew, QB – JAX (Owned 50%)
Week 3: 20 for 30, 204 Pass yards, 2 TDs, 4 Car/18 yards
Looking back at last year’s Week 3 Street Free Agent Report it was the chest protruding, big baller swagger of Ryan Fitzpatrick that was being recommended as a must-add quarterback. Fast forward to this year and history is repeating itself with the latest cult hero, rookie Gardner Minshew, who is the quarterback to own. After taking over for Nick Foles in Week 1, Minshew has looked at worst serviceable to fantasy owners that have been ravaged by early-season injuries. He is consistently putting up 17 points per game, good enough for 17th at his position. It will be interesting to see if the Jaguars return to Nick Foles when he becomes healthy again later in the season based on the success of Minshew as well as the fan base loving every minute he’s in the spotlight. With Reality Sports Online “resign” feature Minshew is also an interesting character to see where his future value hits after next week. Especially in Superflex leagues he could be a sneaky resign candidate for many teams who usually stream the position.
Suggested Bid: $2,000,000
RB Add
Jeff Wilson Jr, RB – SF (Owned 36%)
Week 3: 8 Car/18 yards, 2 TDs
I recommended Raheem Mostert two weeks ago as a 49er running back to add and I’m going back again for another, Jeff Wilson Jr. Wilson has four touchdowns in the last two games on only 18 carries putting him in a Mike Tolbert, Matt Asiata-like touchdown vulture role. We don’t yet know where Wilson will fit once Tevin Coleman returns after the team’s bye this week but he’s at least worth a stash for now. There are suggestions that he may be waived to try and put on the team’s practice squad but it is likely another team would sign him before he ever got there. This might actually be the best-case scenario for those who invest in Wilson as a team would likely have a role for him if they were to sign him. For now we can just monitor what his situation is and adjust our expectations accordingly.
Suggested Bid: $500,000
WR Add
Paul Richardson, WR – WAS (Owned 44%)
Week 3: 8 Rec/83 yards, 1 TD
“Scary” Terry McLaurin (F1) has been the darling of the fantasy community and is looking like the most valuable piece of this woeful Washington offense for 2019 and beyond. If the team struggles as much as it did on Monday night though, another name to watch is Paul Richardson. The sixth-year receiver has been an afterthought for most of his Washington career after being a deep sleeper candidate last year but the team is likely to be down in many more games this season so the passing offense will be featured plenty. The team has featured three (3) receivers on 56 percent of their plays through three weeks so regardless of whether it’s Richardson or Trey Quinn sharing the WR2 role both should continue to see their share of targets behind Terry McLaurin and scatback Chris Thompson.
Suggested Bid: $500,000
TE Add
Ben Watson, TE – NE (Owned 13%)
Week 3: N/A
Ben Watson is suspended for another week before he can make his Patriots return but that shouldn’t stop those with tight end problems from adding him this week. The Patriots have a long history of featuring their tight ends and Tom Brady also loves to feature players that he has a rapport with; Watson was with the Patriots from 2004-09. He will never replace Rob Gronkowski’s production both as a pass-catcher or a blocker but similar to Jason Witten with the Cowboys and Greg Olsen with the Panthers there is something about having a veteran tight end who knows how to read defenses and get open for their quarterback. Of course, neither of those teams have a Swiss army knife quite like Julian Edelman but we have seen both Edelman and a New England tight end be fantasy relevant at the same time. It is pure speculation at this point to assume any fantasy relevancy for Watson but he could be the next hot waiver add in week six if he has a big game upon returning. Get ahead of the curve now and stash him.
Suggested Bid: $500,000
Sleeper Add (<10%)
Auden Tate, WR – CIN (Owned 5%)
Week 3: 6 Rec/88 yards
A surprising change last week to the Bengals’ offense was Auden Tate being on the field for 89 percent of the plays in week 3 against the Buffalo. This came at the apparent benching of Damion Willis who was said to be the replacement outside receiver during A.J. Green’s absence coming out of preseason. The Bengals have run three-receiver sets on 68 percent (5th most) which is likely a contributor to his high usage rate which is also a good indicator of things moving forward in the season. We don’t yet know when Green will be returning or how effective he will be when he does so Tate could continue to see an uptick in snaps played. We do know that Tate has the ability at 6’5” to be a better red zone and jump-ball threat than either Tyler Boyd (6’1”) or John Ross (5’11”). If he can continue to see the field at the rate he saw last week and the Bengals can get more scoring opportunities Tate may become a sleeper each week with touchdown upside.
Suggested Bid: $500,000
