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For most fantasy football gamers, the fantasy playoffs are about a month away. As we have seen in 2020, a lot can happen between now and then that could impact our fantasy teams. Knowing the current player trends will allow fantasy managers to make the best decisions for their rosters.
Knowing who is about to blow up on the waiver wire is very important. We also must think about being knowledgeable about players who are trending downward could also draw red flags for our fantasy rosters. The warning signals that we see on a weekly basis can help us temper our expectations and will allow us to think more rationally. If anything, they allow us to monitor the trends a little more closely. If the negative progression continues then action must be taken for the sake of our fantasy roster.
We never want to jump off the deep end when it comes to warning signals. This is a small sample game, and a player can quickly turn things around. We also never want to stray far from the pool. Not properly acting on a player’s lack of production could drastically affect your fantasy team’s
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Quarterback
Daniel Jones, New York Giants
With just one QB1 week on the season, Jones wasn’t productive enough in week nine to create a positive impact for his fantasy managers. Washington’s defense held him in check, preventing Jones from making any sizable gains on the ground. He rushed for just four yards. This is impacted his scoring output because his rushing ability typically elevates his floor in fantasy.
The 2020 season has not been good for Jones. However, his schedule looks very favorable going forward with games against the Seahawks, Cardinals, Bengals, and rematches against his divisional rivals.
Jones is like a box of chocolates. When you insert him in your fantasy lineups you don’t know what you are going to get.
Running Back
JaMycal Hasty, San Francisco 49ers
Many were pegging Hasty take over as the lead back in San Francisco’s offense. Those duties went toward Jerrick McKinnon in Week Nine. Against the Packers on Thursday night, he touched the ball just six times, accumulating 3.30 PPR fantasy points.
Workload matters for running backs. Fantasy managers will need to monitor his usage in his next couple of games. If he’s not getting enough touches to be fantasy relevant then he will need to be released back to the waiver wire.
On the contrary, McKinnon has been plagued with injury issues in the past. There’s a chance Hasty to become the team’s lead back for a short period of time if something does happen to McKinnon. Right now, the 49ers’ offense has been a little shaky. Even with him receiving a respectable workload it may not be enough to drive the results fantasy gamers desire.
Wide Receiver
D.J. Moore, Carolina Panthers
In a favorable matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs, Moore could only produce 3.80 fantasy points. He caught two passes for 18 yards. The game-script was a shootout with plenty of passing volume to stimulate Moore’s fantasy production. Curtis Samuel was the main benefactor in this game for the Panthers. Samuel caught nine passes for 105 yards and one touchdown.
Moore has the potential to be a WR1 on any given week. He also has the potential to bottom out. There’s a lot of competition for targets in the Panthers’ offense. Robby Anderson always seems to receive a consistent workload and if another pass-catcher sees a larger share of the targets than expected then it will more than likely be a rough day for Moore.
He’s still a very talented wide receiver prospect. However, the target volume isn’t consistent enough to make a reliable fantasy asset. He has been fantasy relevant in four of his nine games this year with two WR1 contests. Moore will continue to provide a high ceiling and a low floor throughout the remainder of the season.
Tight End
Mark Andrews, Baltimore Ravens
Andrews could only reel in three of his five targets for 22 yards against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. Tight ends have been highly volatile this year. Even the best tight ends in the league will have their down-games.
The discouraging factor from this game is that we saw six different pass-catchers receive targets. Lamar Jackson only passed the ball 23 times in this game. The passing distribution has been almost even between all the pass-catchers in the offense, making it hard for anyone to stand out or provide consistent fantasy production. With the Ravens being a run-heavy team, we should only expect this trend to continue.
We shouldn't look to bench Andrews in this case. Since he is a TE1 from a talent perspective. We just have to be honest with our expectations. There's a chance on any given week that he could not be fantasy relevant.
Breakout Alert!
Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins
He didn’t go gangbusters in this game, but Tagovailoa did score 21.42 fantasy points in his 34-31 victory against the Arizona Cardinals. Not only was he more than competent through the air passing for 248 yards and two touchdowns but he was able to gain 35 yards on the ground as well.
Before injuring his hip last season at Alabama, he was considered one of the top quarterbacks in the country. There was a good chance that he could’ve been the first quarterback selected in this year’s draft. The injury created some uncertainty leading up to draft day, but that’s now in the rearview mirror.
It looks like Tagovailoa is ready to be a long-term starter in the NFL. His rushing ability will help his fantasy production. The Dolphins are still re-tooling their team and there’s a good chance they add some weapons for him in the near future. All signs are pointing up for Tagovailoa.
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