After a multi-week slump, last week was a major success. Garrett Celek was indeed a top 10 tight end and LeSean McCoy finished outside the top 15 running backs again, then Latavius Murray, Chris Godwin and New England’s defenses all had huge weeks. Hopefully we can follow it up with another strong performance this week. You get eight more bold predictions this week that the general public would give no better than a 1 in 10 shot of happening. Shoot me your bold predictions on twitter and I’ll let you know what I think!
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#8 Alfred Morris will not a top 40 RB this week
Morris is the lead-back in Dallas with Ezekiel Elliott suspended, and performed just fine with 53 yards on 11 carries at Atlanta last weekend. The problem here is that Philadelphia has been beyond dominant this season. Only Kareem Hunt has rushed for over 40 yards against them. If you want to bet on Morris breaking that trend, be my guest, but I won’t be joining you.
Final Prediction: 11 carries, 34 yards
#7 Tyler Kroft will be a top 5 tight end
Everyone and their dogs know that the Cleveland Browns are a piece of cake for tight ends to score double-digit fantasy points against, but no one seems to realize that the Denver Broncos, of all teams, have been even worse against the position. That is who Kroft draws this week, and while he has struggled the past two weeks with just 3 receptions, he should bounce back this time around for another strong performance. Over the four weeks previous, he had 19 receptions and 8.3 fantasy points per game.
Final Prediction: 5 receptions, 66 yards, 1 touchdown
#6 Tevin Coleman will be a top 5 RB
It seems that everyone has forgotten who the best backup running back is in football. Devonta Freeman is a top 8 back even with Coleman cutting in on his touches, but if either was a workhorse, they would be a top 5 back most weeks. That is exactly what we’ll have this weekend with Freeman out. Coleman should get another 20 touches like last week and even though they play in Seattle against that nasty defense, he is talented enough to go nuts.
Final Prediction: 16 carries, 92 yards, 1 TD, 3 receptions, 19 yards
#5 Drew Brees will be a top 2 QB
Fantasy owners have been quite disappointed this season on Brees, who hasn’t yet had a game of over 22 fantasy points. In fact, over the past three weeks, he has thrown just 80 passes! This week, the game script lines up for more of a shootout rather than getting up 30 points and coasting the rest of the game like they have been doing. If he gets back to around 40 passes against this Redskins’ defense, fantasy owners will be rejoicing.
Final Prediction: 362 passing yards, 4 TDs
#4 Keelan Cole will be a top 5 waiver wire pickup
The thought of picking up any Blake Bortles wide receiver is enough to turn your stomach, let alone one you’ve never even heard of. Cole is a tremendous athlete out of a Division 2 school and the Jags have been using him all of a sudden. Last week, even though he didn’t draw the start, Bortles tossed him 8 targets for 166 air yards. Give him a similar workload against the dreadful Browns’ secondary this week while Allen Hurns is out with an injury and he could go bonkers.
Final Prediction: 6 receptions, 77 yards, 2 TD
#3 Blaine Gabbert will be a top 12 QB
If you watched Gabbert in any other career start, you are probably laughing your head off right now, especially considering how great the Texans’ secondary has been the last few years. You obviously missed the pre-season though, when Gabbert was sensational. Likewise, the Texans’ defense has been dreadfully bad with Watt out. In fact, they are bottom three against the pass. I’m not recommending starting him, as these are merely bold predictions, and not projections, but you might be able to get away with streaming him if you need someone.
Final Prediction: 225 passing yards, 1 TD, 41 rushing yards, 1 rushing TD
#2 Devante Parker will be a top 5 WR
So far this season, Parker is the 54th best fantasy wide receiver. This issues, however, have been injuries and touchdown rate. Both of which are presumably behind him. If you pro-rate the most sustainable stat (receiving yards) out to a full 9 games, he would be top 10 in all of football, as he has at least 66 yards in each game so far. This weekend, he should continue that trend and is likely to add his second touchdown of the season against two short cornerbacks for the putrid Tampa Bay secondary.
Final Prediction: 6 receptions, 115 yards, 1 TD
#1 Austin Ekeler is a top 10 RB again
You thought last week was just a fluke, didn’t you? Ekeler had just 23 touches all season until the 15 he saw last week which he turned into 119 yards and 2 touchdowns against what may be the best defense in 15 years. The Chargers have said that they plan on decreasing Melvin Gordon‘s workload, which obviously means more of Ekeler, and seeing that they draw a bottom two run defense this week in the Bills, it only makes sense that Ekeler would do work once again with increased touches.
Final Prediction: 14 carries, 68 yards, 4 receptions, 32 yards, 1 TD
**Bonus Super Duper Bold Prediction**
Geno Smith makes an appearance: No, I am not calling for an Eli Manning injury or the Giants blowing out the Chiefs at home. Rather, I am predicting that the game script and strong winds assist Eli in throwing 3+ interceptions. Kansas City has not been a reliable DST this season to the disappointment of many, but this week they are a must-start.
Thanks for reading and happy football season!
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