Black Friday isn’t for another couple of weeks, but Sunday’s slate of NFL games was about as dark as they come. When you think you know everything, the NFL completely flips the script and destroys common logic. That was the case for a whole lot of chalk plays this weekend.
Some were impervious to Sunday’s jinx, however. Adam Thielen has become a full-fledged star this season. Following his eight-catch and 166-yard performance against the Washington Redskins, Thielen is now the WR3 on the season in PPR leagues. Opportunity is aplenty for Thielen. He has 47 targets over the last four games.
Joining Thielen in the unexpected echelon of fantasy receivers is Los Angeles Ram Robert Woods. Woods caught two more touchdowns on Sunday as the Rams went to 7-2 on the season. Not even Jeff Fisher could limit this team to a 7-9 record this year.
Then there was Mark Ingram running for three touchdowns on the road against the Buffalo Bills. Since the New Orleans Saints traded Adrian Peterson, Ingram has rushed for seven touchdowns in five games. Ingram is shattering his preseason ADP thus far, all while teammate Alvin Kamara continues to produce as well.
The same cannot be said about several players who were drafted with the expectation they’d be putting up those types of numbers. In PPR leagues, Devonta Freeman fits that bill. While Freeman’s dud performance on Sunday can be attributed to a concussion, he hasn’t been much of a pass-catching option this year. He has only one game where he has more than three receptions.
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Studs
Garrett Celek (TE – SF)
If you were in need of a desperation tight end play on Sunday, hopefully, you found Celek on your waiver wire prior to finalizing your lineups. Filling in for George Kittle, Celek continued the 2017 tradition of tight ends stomping a mudhole in the New York Giants.
Unfortunately for the Giants, this isn’t a new revelation. Over the next six games, the Giants face Travis Kelce, Jordan Reed and Vernon Davis, Jared Cook, Jason Witten and Zach Ertz. Oh boy.
As for Celek, the opportunity will be there if Kittle’s injury is long lasting. Once Kittle is back, however, Celek likely fades into the same fantasy nothingness as his brother Brent Celek.
Dion Lewis (RB – NE)
If you’re interested in preserving your sanity, it’s often best to avoid rostering a Patriots running back. Of course, when one does finally emerge, they can prove to be very valuable (LeGarrette Blount last season). Lewis…is beginning to emerge.
Over the last four games, Lewis has had 11, 13, 15 and 14 carries. He’s also scored a touchdown in two of those games. Five of the Patriots’ last seven games come against divisional rivals. Since 2001, the Patriots are 77-22 against the AFC East. Lewis could have a lot of opportunities moving forward to run out the clock with a lead.
Case Keenum (QB – MIN)
In what proved to be the highest scoring game of the day, the Vikings and Keenum laid waste to the Redskins secondary. Keenum threw three of his four touchdowns in the second quarter.
Much of the talk leading up to Sunday’s game was about the other quarterbacks on the Vikings roster. With Sam Bradford heading to the IR, and Teddy Bridgewater being activated from the IR, there were rumblings that Keenum could soon be back on the bench. Following the Vikings’ win on Sunday however, the team is sitting in a three-way tie for the second seed in the NFC.
Jared Goff had 355 yards and 3 TDs today. Case Keenum had 304 yards and 4 TDs today. Last year Goff and Keenum were both on the Rams, who had the worst offense in the NFL. I’m beginning to think Jeff Fisher and his staff were not a bunch of offensive geniuses.
– Michael David Smith (@MichaelDavSmith) November 13, 2017
Keenum might not be a popular name in the fantasy community, but he’s getting the job done at an efficient rate. Over the last five games, Keenum is completing 67.2% of his passes with eight touchdowns and five interceptions. The turnovers can certainly be frustrating, but with Thielen and Stefon Diggs out there, Keenum could prove valuable in deep leagues or two-quarterback leagues.
Duds
Bilal Powell (RB – NYJ)
The only good aspect of Powell’s dud was that if you rostered him in DFS, so did about 70% of your competition. In re-draft leagues, however, a deep burn was left by a Jets offense that failed to find the end zone until the final 30 seconds of the game.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense benefited from having cornerback Brent Grimes active again after a two-game hiatus. The inability of the Jets offense to convert third downs and their lack of a rushing game also helped. Powell led the Jets with just 10 rushing attempts. The Jets’ usage of Powell, or lack thereof, is mind-boggling.
Alfred Morris (RB – DAL)
The waiver wire darling of the past eight weeks finally got his moment to start for the Cowboys. When Morris actually saw the field, he disappointed. Sure, he ripped a couple good runs off early in the second half, but for much of the game, teammate Rod Smith saw action.
Per @PFF, Rod Smith played 39 snaps and Alfred Morris played 21 snaps (8 in 2H). Smith looks like the preferred passing downs/play from behind RB.
– Dave Richard (@daverichard) November 13, 2017
In the event that Smith is still available on the waiver wire, he should be scooped up this week. Given the struggles of the Dallas running game sans Zeke and the problems with their offensive line, the Cowboys could be playing from behind much of the next five games.
Jordan Howard (RB – CHI)
Notice a trend? Running backs on Sunday largely failed to deliver for their fantasy teams. On a day where winter weather began to rear its ugly head in Chicago, Howard was stifled by a tenacious Packers run defense and being a victim of circumstance.
Bears final HB snap count:
Jordan Howard 29
Benny Cunningham 28
Tarik Cohen 13
Out of 60– Nathan Jahnke (@PFF_NateJahnke) November 12, 2017
The predicted game script went out of the window quickly in this one. Mitchell Trubisky attempted a career-high 35 passes while Howard had his fewest amount of rushing attempts since Week 2. One bright side for Howard owners is a recent trend. Howard has alternated double-digit and single-digit fantasy outputs over the last six games. With the Detroit Lions on deck, maybe Howard can find himself with the studs in Week 11.
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Matt Giraldi is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Matt, check out his archive or follow him @Mgiraldi.
