Week 8 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.
Byes: CARDINALS, PACKERS, JAGUARS, RAMS, GIANTS, TITANS
Add of the Week
Austin Ekeler, RB – LAC (Owned 19%)
Week 7: 7 Car/38 yards, 4 Rec/6 yards, 1 TD
If a player doesn’t solidify themselves as the pass-catching back in their offense it’s only a matter of time before they start to lose snaps to another RB who can. We may be seeing that in Los Angeles with Melvin Gordon slowly losing snaps to rookie Austin Ekeler. Ekeler, 5’9” and under 200lbs, looks like he could fit the Danny Woodhead satellite back role that completed Gordon in his rookie season. He had 4 receptions against the Broncos last week (13 on the season) and also managed 7 carries which shows that he’s gaining a role in this offense. With tough matchups over the next month (Patriots, Jaguars, Bills, Cowboys) there’s a real chance that the Chargers need Ekeler to be available for the check down option more so than Gordon running up the middle.
Suggested Bid: $500,000 – $1,000,000
RB Add
Backup RBs
Speaking of backups, as we have seen throughout the first 7 weeks backup RBs are just players waiting to be fantasy relevant. If you have a locked in RB and his backup is sitting on the street you should add him at this point in the season. You have “roster cloggers” that you won’t be starting the next 6-8 week. Drop them and protecting yourself. If you want to be sneaky you could also pick up the backups of those that are sleeping on their claims. Nothing feels worse than going into the playoffs and losing an RB and having to fight with your league mates for his replacement.
Suggested Bid: $500,000
WR Add
D’eonte Thompson, WR – BUF (Owned 4%)
Week 7: 4 Rec/107 yards
I felt bad after recommending D’eonte Thompson as a sleeper in week 3 especially after he had a 0 catch game in week 5 and then was subsequently released by a Bears team that is starving for WR talent. But now that Thompson has been picked up by the Bills it didn’t take him long to be involved going over 100 yards in his first game. That stat is probably an anomaly but it shows me that what I thought he could be in Chicago wasn’t a farce. The Bills don’t have many pass catchers that are trustworthy which is likely the reason Thompson was added and clearly, they felt comfortable using him right away. Even when Jordan Matthews returns healthy it would be in the best interest of the Bills to use Matthews in the slot where he belongs and allow the big-bodied Thompson to work outside. I’m willing to double down and say that he should be a usable flex option if you need WR help.
Suggested Bid: $1,000,000
TE Add
Vance McDonald, TE – PIT (Owned 16%)
Week 7: 2 Rec/37 yards
It seems like forever ago that Vance McDonald was traded from San Francisco to Pittsburgh and everyone wanted a piece of him. Fast forward to before last week and he’d had 1 catch for 26 yards in 6 weeks of football, not even rosterable stats for the deepest of leagues. He only had 2 catches last week but this might be the sign that he is finally getting comfortable with the Todd Haley’s offense. Another couple of weeks under his belt and McDonald might become what fantasy enthusiasts wanted LaDarius Green to be. Unless you have Gronk, Ertz, or Kelce you’ve probably been streaming/substituting your TE position all season so why not take a shot.
Suggested Bid: $500,000
Sleeper Add (<10%)
Demarcus Robinson, WR – KC (Owned 6.5%)
Week 7: 5 Rec/69 yards
Not every Chiefs game is going to be a shootout like last Thursday but Demarcus Robinson’s usage is something that should be mentioned. He had 5 catches on 8 targets last week which was second to Tyreek Hill and well ahead of Albert Wilson and De’Anthony Thomas (1 each). He’s still behind Kelce, Hunt, and Tyreek in terms of touches but he has firmly taken hold of the WR2 on this team now with Conley out. With the Chiefs being more involved in the passing game this season the prospect of a second Chiefs receiver might not be as fantasy irrelevant as it once was. Robinson could be valuable depth to have moving forward.
Suggested Bid: $500,000
