Week 5 Street FA Report

Updated: October 4th 2023

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 one (1) player that is owned in <25% of leagues as our Sleeper add.

 

Add of the Week

Michael Wilson, WR, ARZ (Owned 59%)

Week 4: 7 Rec/76 yards, 2 TDs

One (1) month into the 2023 season and already we have had two (2) players move from the “Positional Adds” to the must Add of the Week slot. Hopefully, those who have been following this year have been successful in adding these players before their FAAB blow up week. Anyways, after some under the radar performances in weeks 1 through 3, Michael Wilson finally had his rookie campaign’s breakout game scoring two (2) touchdowns against an elite 49ers defense. Wilson is the Cardinals only big receiver when compared to Marquise Brown and Rondale Moore so the opportunities to score red-zone touchdowns will continue to be there as well. Will Wilson be the weekly WR6 again this season, probably not, but a WR3/4 most weeks? Probably.

Suggested Bid: $3,500,000

RB Add

Jaleel McLaughlin, RB, DEN (Owned 27%)

Week 4: 7 Car/72 yards, 3 Rec/32 yards, 1 TD

Denver’s week 4 game started off with another vulture touchdown by McLaughlin and ended with a “I should probably pick this guys up” type of performance once Javonte Williams left the game with a hip injury. The reports on the severity of Williams’ injuries have been all over the map; some believing he could be back right away and others saying to expect he will miss 2-3 weeks and it will linger for the rest of the season. In any case, once Williams went out it was clear between Samaje Perine and McLaughlin who appeared to be the back that helped his team the most. Any amount of time that Williams is out McLaughlin is a RB3/Flex play.

Suggested Bid: $1,500,000

WR Add

Terrace Marshall Jr, WR, CAR (Owned 58%)

Week 4: 9 Rec/56 yards

Averaging nine (9) targets and seven (7) receptions the last two (2) weeks, Terrace Marshall has started to finally show results for those who have held onto him into his third season. The Panthers as a team have been awful which has helped both Marshall and Adam Thielen thrive in the targets department thus far. They also have matchups that could become shootouts, or in the Miami case long periods of garbage time over the next month, so there will continue to be plenty of opportunities to see large amounts of targets. The Panthers have been rumored to be looking for another receiver on the trade market but unless they secure a superstar I doubt it has a large effect on Marshall weekly expectations.

Suggested Bid: $1,500,000

TE Add

Tyler Conklin, TE, NYJ (Owned 26%)

Week 4: 4 Rec/58 yards

Find a person that loves you as much as Zach Wilson loves throwing to Tyler Conklin. Since taking over officially four (4) snaps into the season only Garrett Wilson has had more targets and receptions than Conklin. As well for the first time all year the Jets finally looked like they could sustain drives on Sunday night. Whether that momentum continues into the subsequent weeks may be a betting fallacy but at least we know that Conklin will be involved thick or thin. Sometimes it just feels nice to not take a doughnut at your starting tight end spot and Conklin can help with that.

Suggested Bid: $500,000

 

Sleeper Add (<25%)

Braxton Berrios, WR, MIA (Owned 12%)

Week 4: 1 Car/11 yards, 6 Rec/43 yards, 1 TD

Even when the Dolphins are not scoring 70 points in a game the offense still has enough scoring power to feed several mouths in a given week. With the slow start to Jaylen Waddle’s season, Braxton Berrios has emerged as the Dolphins clear WR3 receiving 11 targets thus far. If you like holding players on offenses that score lots of points Berrios could be a WR5 option through the lean bye weeks at wide receiver.

Suggested Bid: $500,000

More Analysis by Nick Andrews

Week 2 Street FA Report

Updated: September 13th 2022

Welcome back to year five (!) of the street FA report. 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 one (1) player that is owned in <25% of leagues as our Sleeper add.

 

Add of the Week

Jeff Wilson, RB, SF (Owned 60%)

Week 1: 9 Car/22 yards, 2 Rec/8 yards

As with every week 1 there is always one big ticket free agent, usually at running back, that everyone will put in most of their remaining cap space to acquire. This usually occurs because of a big injury to a starter, a mutled backfield becoming more transparent after pre-season or a player having a big breakout week 1. Jeff Wilson is the beneficiary of what is expected to be at least a two (2) month absence from Elijah Mitchell in San Francisco. The 49ers’ backfield is well known as one that fantasy managers want to have a piece of and with Mitchell out of commission, Trey Sermon recently released, and rookie Tyrion Davis-Price inactive for week 1 this leaves Wilson as the de facto number one option in San Francisco. Like Cordarrelle Patterson last year, Wilson could become a staple for many team’s lineups if his expected role continues for half of the remaining season.

Suggested Bid: $7-10,000,000

 

RB Adds

Dontrell Hilliard, RB, TEN (Owned 34%)

Week 1: 2 Car/8 yards, 3 Rec/61 yards, 2 TD

Realistically will I be surprised when Hilliard plays less than 10 snaps and sees two (2) touches in week 2? No. But there is a chance that Mike Vrabel is looking to offload some of Derrick Henry’s usage so that they can maintain his health throughout a 17-game season. If nothing else Hilliard should see more passing down snaps which increases his value in PPR leagues where a handful of checkdown passes could lead to a steady 3-5 targets per week. Scoring two (2) touchdowns like in week 1 is definitely above the ceiling for what is to be expected from Hilliard, but if Henry was to be sidelined at any point this season, Hilliard would be a great stash to have.

Suggested Bid: $1,000,000

Jerick McKinnon, RB, KC (Owned 37.5%)

Week 1: 4 Car/22 yards, 3 Rec/27 yards

There was a lot of discussion this pre-season about the emergence of Isiah Pacheco and his threat to Clyde Edwards-Helaire in Kansas City. While CEH scored his two (2) touchdowns and Pacheco came in and scored his own in cleanup duties, Jerick McKinnon actually co-led with CEH for total offensive snap shares at 39 percent. Ownership of all three (3) running backs are a must at this point until more is known about how these usages will translate into games where KC is not running away from the start. If you are missing out on the other two (2) runners, or want to take a 50/50 handcuff to your other shares, add McKinnon before week 2 and see where their game plan goes.

Suggested Bid: $500,000

WR Add

Kyle Philips, WR, TEN (Owned 36%)

Week 1: 6 Rec/66 yards

There was a lot of buzz about rookie wide receivers heading into the 2022 season but after week 1 the biggest rookie surprise performance is Kyle Philips. A fifth-round selection, Philips has shot up the depth charts to be the Titans primary slot receiver and in week 1 actually saw more snaps (31) than first-round selection Treylon Burks (24). He has had nine (9) targets to lead the Titans. All this to say that Philips was considered a Hunter Renfrew clone that could be a long term stash for 2023 and beyond. It appears that his development has accelerated even past anyone’s best estimates and he should be rostered as a suitable PPR flex option going forward.

Suggested Bid: $1,500,000

TE Add

Tyler Conklin, TE, NYJ (Owned 23%)

Week 1: 4 Rec/14 yards, 1 TD

Tight end usage is usually the key to finding sustained success at the position and while some may be quick to jump on OJ Howard with his two (2) touchdowns in week 1, he only played on 12 snaps behind both Brevin Jordan (42) and Pharoh Brown (46). Instead, look to someone like Tyler Conklin who played on 92 percent of the Jets’ offensive snaps and saw seven (7) targets. Honorable mention goes to Taysom Hill who has now been designated as a tight end in default RSO leagues meaning that if you want to get tricky with the position he could offer boom/bust weeks that he is featured in multiple positions on the field.

Suggested Bid: $500,000

 

Sleeper Add (<25%)

Olamide Zaccheaus, WR, ATL (Owned 10%)

Week 1: 4 Rec/49 yards

Rightfully so, the only pieces of the Atlanta Falcons offense that people wanted to roster in 2022 was Kyle Pitts and Drake London. There was not a lot of confidence that much else would be able to have consistent fantasy production to afford holding a bench spot for. While he may not be a viable starter for many leagues there is likely no option with under 25 percent ownership that has a better expected target opportunity than Olamide Zaccheaus. He will hover around the WR5/6 range for most weeks but in deeper leagues he is worth a stash to use during the heavy bye weeks.

Suggested Bid: $500,000

More Analysis by Nick Andrews

Week 7 Street FA Report

Updated: October 19th 2021

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 one (1) player that is owned in <25% of leagues as our Sleeper add.

Add of the Week

Demetric Felton/D’Ernest Johnson (Owned 38%/8%)

Both backup Cleveland running backs are likely to be utilized heavily on Thursday night as both Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt will miss at least this week’s game against the Broncos. Hunt has already been put on the IR as well which means even as Chubb works his way back into the lineup, Demetric Felton and D’Ernest Johnson will continue to see several opportunities in relief. If you are in PPR leagues I would lean more towards Felton, who acts primarily in James White-style of pass-catching back. In standard leagues, Johnson is the more prototypical running back that should see the goal-line and early-down carries. In a big week for byes, both players are likely to be scooped up with big bids this week.

Suggested Bid: $3,500,000

RB Add

Jaret Patterson, RB – WAS (Owned 40%)

Week 6: 1 Car/5 yards, 1 Rec/-2 yards

Each week that Antonio Gibson plays through his injury Jaret Patterson’s ownership should be steadily increasing. At times in week 6, Gibson needed to be subbed out for his lower-body injury and eventually was taken out of the game for good late in the 4th quarter. We will know more about his injury and availability later in the week but expect Patterson to see more touches in upcoming games if anything serious is diagnosed. A strong pre-season allowed the rookie to earn a spot on the roster and like Khalil Herbert for the Bears, could be one moment away from his opportunity to start.

Suggested Bid: $1,000,000

WR Adds

Donovan Peoples-Jones, WR – CLE (Owned 42%)

Week 6: 4 Rec/101 yards, 2 TD

It is not just the backfield that is hurting in Cleveland as Odell Beckham Jr. was also missing snaps last week nursing his injury. Meanwhile, Donovan Peoples-Jones had a monster game, catching a halftime Hail Mary attempt and scoring another touchdown in the second half. Again on a short week, there is a change that OBJ is not able to play this week opening up plenty of targets for both Peoples-Jones and potentially Rashard Higgins. Watch for Baker Mayfield’s status though. If he is out as well Case Keenum is sure to leave the Browns’ coach staff playing more conservatively with their passing game.

Suggested Bid: $1,000,000

Mack Hollins, WR – MIA (Owned <1%)

Week 6: 4 Rec/61 yards

The Dolphins are avoiding the post-International Game bye week and heading straight back to the US for a game in week 7. They were without DeVante Parker, Preston Williams, and Will Fuller which allowed for former Eagle Mack Hollins to play on 97 percent of the Dolphins’ snaps. With the aforementioned bye-pocalypse upon us, there may be an incentive for some of us to start less than stellar options heading into this week. If opportunity is the foreshadowing to success then at least Hollins has a shot at being the WR2 again this week. A game against the Falcons is also a plus matchup in terms of potential scoring chances.

Suggested Bid: $500,000

TE Add

Tyler Conklin, TE – MIN (Owned 44%)

Week 6: 3 Rec/71 yards

Tyler Conklin has quietly been one of the more heavily utilized tight ends in the NFL in terms of team snaps this season. The veteran played the fifth-highest percentage of snaps in week 6 (85%) and eighth-most (78%) for the season. While a lot of Conklin’s usage can be found in Minnesota’s running game, his dominance over the rest of the position for his team is evident. No other tight end is averaging over 17% on the Vikings so it is clear who is going to be out there when they take the field. Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen are of course going to limit his upside as those two account for nearly 60 percent of the target shares. Still, Conklin stands as the PPR TE14 currently and will continue to see his opportunities as the season rolls along.

Suggested Bid: $500,000

Sleeper Add (<25%)

Jamal Agnew, WR – JAX (Owned 5%)

Week 6: 5 Rec/78 yards

Jamal Agnew is on a bye after playing in London last week which is why he is more of a sleeper add than Mack Hollins who can be used right away in week 7. The Jacksonville kick returner has been used more than most would expect over the last two weeks since D.J. Chark was lost for the season. This has led to 11 receptions for 119 yards. A gadget option for a college coach, Agnew might not be the option most fantasy players want Urban Meyer to be using but reality is often not what we want it to be. I still would want to see what the Jaguars do after their bye week for offensive gameplans but another big PPR game from Agnew should put him on the radar for deeper leagues.

Suggested Bid: $500,000

More Analysis by Nick Andrews

Updated 2018 Positional Rookie Rankings

Updated: March 15th 2018

Back in November, I released the first draft of my 2018 positional rookie rankings. Today, I will revisit the rankings and go deeper than before (TWSS?). Before we get started, please remember that we are still early in the draft process. All of these players just completed the combine and as of this writing, none have yet had a pro day or an individual workout. We’ll likely learn more about some prospects before this article even gets published; we’ll surely know a lot more a month from now. As in November, I did struggle at times as to whether the rankings should be based on my perceived fantasy value or in what order I believe players will be drafted. Ultimately, I am ranking based more so on expected fantasy value than predicted draft order but the two are highly correlated. I’ll post separate fantasy and NFL mock drafts in April so you’ll be able to see where the two values diverge. I have included brief notes on interesting players for each position and designated tiers. For more detailed analysis follow me on Twitter @robertfcowper and check out my “RSO Rookie Rundown” series.

Note: this was written prior to the retirement of Adam Breneman.

Quarterbacks

My quarterback rankings are likely more controversial than my rankings at other positions. I truly believe that Josh Rosen is the most NFL-ready of the top prospects and as such I still rank him first. I don’t think he will be drafted first at that position but honestly that might do more to help his fantasy stock than hurt it. I have been low on Sam Darnold and Josh Allen since October so their rankings should come as no surprise. The more I watch and read about Lamar Jackson, the more impressed I am with him as a quarterback; don’t believe the WR narrative. I am much higher on Mason Rudolph than many analysts. He may be a little stiff but he was highly productive, excelled in some advanced metrics and was a quiet leader in Stillwater. I think Rudolph will get drafted by a team who benches him for Year One only to give him the keys to the car to start Year Two (i.e. Pat Mahomes). Luke Falk and Mike White find themselves ahead of the next tier due to their elite size and above average production. Of the rest, my picks for guys who may move up the rankings are JT Barrett and Chase Litton. Barrett was a proven winner at one of the nation’s best programs so I won’t count him out yet. Litton threw too many interceptions in college but is one of the biggest quarterbacks in the class and as such will get a shot somewhere.

Running Backs

No change at the top for me. It’s Barkley well above Guice and Chubb. Jones, Penny and Michel are the next tier and are all very close. I have not elevated Sony Michel as high as some others because I am wary of the recency effect. Michel was in the RB5-10 range all season and one great game against Oklahoma shouldn’t really change that. All of the things we “learned” against Oklahoma were already baked into Michel’s ranking. We knew he could catch the ball, we knew he was explosive, we knew he didn’t need 20 carries to make a difference, etc. To bump him higher based off that one game is essentially a double counting accounting error. Freeman (early in the season), Balage (at the combine) and Johnson (late in the season) are an interesting tier as they all flashed at different times. I’m intrigued by Balage and his combination of size and athleticism; I want to study him more and could slide him up into the third tier. Two big names that have slid down the rankings are Josh Adams and Bo Scarborough. Both concern me because of their size: running backs as tall as they are just don’t often succeed in the NFL (which is also a concern for Balage). There are three FCS prospects on the list (Martez Carter, Chase Edmonds, Roc Thomas). My favorite of that group is Martez Carter. He is short and stout and is a dynamic pass catcher. Edmonds showed out at the combine and will likely move up NFL Draft boards. I’m not a fan of John Kelly because he has a lack of production, size and speed that worries me even though he’s starting to get some buzz. If I had to pick one mid- to late-round pick that will have the biggest immediate impact in the NFL, it might be Ito Smith. Smith was a very good blocker according to PFF’s metrics and is a fantastic receiver (40+ catches each of the last three seasons).

Wide Receivers

I have had Calvin Ridley as my WR1 since the start of the year and I have not been discouraged by the mediocre stats or his middling combine performance. I still believe in Ridley’s raw ability and think that he’s the best of this class. Unlike last year, this class lacks a Top 10 talent so Ridley may be artificially moved up draft boards simply because he may be the best at a position of need. Many other analysts have either Washington or Sutton at WR1 and I can’t really argue with that. They both out-produced Ridley over their careers and each have their own athletic attributes. Ironically, both Washington and Sutton are the only two to have a teammate also make this list so maybe I’m undervaluing just how dominant they could have been on another team. I love all of the guys in my second tier and I don’t think NFL teams will go wrong with any of them. If I was an NFL GM I would probably pass on Ridley in the first and instead grab one of Miller, Moore, Kirk or Gallup in the second. All four have a similar profile: they are versatile, quick and can make spectacular catches. Auden Tate is a big, pun intended, wildcard for me because his sample size is so small (just 65 career catches). However, he has the size and body control to be a true X receiver in the league. Dante Pettis is being too undervalued right now in my opinion. Many analysts seem to have forgotten all about him. He was a four year contributor on a championship contending team. He’ll get on the field early with his punt return and run after catch ability, maybe like how Tyreek Hill started his career, and could be a late round steal in fantasy drafts. Allen Lazard has fallen far down my rankings, mostly because he just failed to impress me at points this past season. There is talk of him moving to TE which would do wonders for his fantasy value. There are three guys in the bottom tiers who are more talented than their rankings: Cain and Callaway (off the field issues) and James (injury). I ended up watching a number of Syracuse games this year and became a fan of Steve Ishmael. He had a fantastic 105-1,347-7 line while playing for a bad Orange team. He has good size and made a number of big-time catches in the games I watched him play against Florida State and Clemson.

Tight Ends

The consensus opinion currently states that Mark Andrews is the best player at the position but I strongly disagree. I did not see enough out of Andrews for me to think he could be a starting NFL tight end. I would feel much more confident drafting one of the other top four for my squad. Goedert is the most well rounded player in the group and he’s such a likable person to boot. Gesicki and Hurst are right with Goedert. Gesicki is an incredible athlete but has a wrap for being a poor blocker. Hurst is underrated because he doesn’t score much (just 3 career TDs) but catches a lot of balls and can block better than most in the class. Adam Breneman has serious injury concerns which drags down his potential – if it weren’t for his history of knee injuries he could be atop this group (Editor’s Note: Breneman has since retired from football). Tight end was a difficult position to rank for me because there were few prospects I had a great feel for. Admittedly, everybody past Troy Fumagalli is a dart throw. Chances are that your fantasy league won’t need to draft the position deeper than that but if you do, I provided a bunch of names of guys to keep on your radar. I prioritized players with either great size or great production – very few had both – and left off some players who might be selected in the NFL Draft but likely have no shot at factoring in fantasy-wise. If you have to go deeper, take the guy who gets drafted highest, regardless of where he ended up in my ranking because there’s so little between TE7 and TE13. The two at the bottom, Yurachek and Akins, are truly deep sleepers. Both are undersized, “move” tight ends who could see a hybrid TE/WR role in the NFL. Teams may be less hesitant to draft somebody of their size and speed after the success of Evan Engram in 2017.


Note: When watching film for a player in the offseason, I typically pick two games at random to watch. If game film is not available I will search for highlight reels, but keep in mind these are the best plays that player had all season so they really need to jump off the screen. I do not necessarily want to watch games where they did very well or very poorly as that may not be a great illustration of their true ability. If possible, when comparing players at the same position I also like to watch film against common opponents. Full disclosure, I am not watching film of every single game any player plays, instead I am looking for a representative sample. When researching college players I use a number of resources, I would recommend bookmarking the below sites…

  • Stats: espn.com, sports-reference.com, cfbstats.com, herosports.com, fcs.football, foxsports.com
  • Film: 2018 NFL Draft Database by @CalhounLambeau, youtube.com (but be wary of highlight only reels)
  • Draft info and mocks: draftcountdown.com, nfldraftscout.com, walterfootball.com, mattwaldmanrsp.com, draftek.com, ndtscouting.com
  • Draft history: drafthistory.com
  • Combine info: pro-football-reference.com, espn.com, nflcombineresults.com
  • Season preview magazines: Phil Steele, Lindy’s, Street and Smith’s
  • Podcasts: ESPN’s First Draft, Strong as Steele with Phil Steele, The Audible by Football Guys (specifically episodes w/ Matt Waldman), UTH Dynasty, Draft Dudes

Robert F. Cowper is a freelance writer who lives in New Jersey. Robert works as a recreation professional, specializing in youth sports, when he isn’t acting as commissioner for his many fantasy sports leagues.

More Analysis by Bob Cowper