The Hype Train Station - Week 13

Apologies for the Hype Train Station being delayed itself this week. It’s arrived now and with Bye weeks done and dusted now, playoff season is upon us so hopefully, your teams are rolling. Speaking of things rolling it’s time to look at the departure board to see which trains are ready to roll and which have square wheels.


Standing Room only - Phillip Lindsey (DEN)
I suspect a lot of victorious teams (or at least playoff teams) caught the Phillip Lindsey Train very early and have ridden it all the way to the end. He’s been a sensation and put Royce Freeman a little bit into the shade. Freeman hasn’t been bad but Lindsey has made the most of each chance he’s been given. 780 yards on the ground and 24 receptions for another 187 yards have not only kept fantasy owners happy, but it’s given Denver a good shot at the playoffs.

Reservations Recommended - Amari Cooper (DAL)
Cooper needed to move on from Oakland and while the price tag was steep it would appear it was a draft pick well spent by the Cowboys. Dak now has a primary target again and the offense has a focal point and they aren’t afraid to use him. He’s had 32 targets in the 4 weeks he's been a Cowboy and Cooper has brought in 69% of them. The Cowboys are going on a late run for the playoffs and with the Redskins and Eagles injury woes and the Giants almost looking like they are tanking, they should make it.

Ready to depart - Josh Reynolds (LAR)
With Cooper Kupp out for the rest of the season, Reynolds has already made strides towards being the 3rd receiver behind Woods and Cooks. He has every chance to shine in the high powered Rams offense and his performances could make next season very interesting indeed.

Delayed - Marquez Valdes-Scantling (GB)
MVS has had 2 particularly bad weeks either through the game script or Aaron Rodgers choosing to pepper Devante Adams. I can’t see that continuing too much longer and with Cobb still not fit and Allison on IR he’s the main alternative. With Jimmy Graham nursing an injured Thumb as well he has to see use soon otherwise the Packers slim hopes are done.

Canceled - Alston Jeffrey (PHI)
I could have put Golden Tate here too but Jeffrey has more hype and has had the bigger fall. None of the Eagles wide receivers seem to have been consistent or even startable in recent weeks. Unless you own Zach Ertz it’s almost an offense to completely avoid. Trading for Tate was meant to sure up the receiving corps but with him, Jeffrey and Agholor its all become rather confused and Carson Wentz still doesn’t seem 100% either.

The Sleeper Train - Matt LaCosse (DEN)
Now, this is a desperation move but with Jeff Heuerman on IR LaCosse is the only tight end left on the Broncos roster and he seemed to do well against the Steelers. It’s not the deepest receiving group so he’s going to be getting targets and in a position that can be a struggle to fill, he may be a sneaky late season option.

The Hype Train Station - Week 12

Again, the Hype Train will be my only post this week. Life has had to come first but I didn’t want to leave the blog deck totally blank. So time for another trip to the station. Here’s the bird for this week.


Standing Room only - Jared Goff (LAR)
I said at the beginning of the season that Jared Goff is easily a top 12 QB this year and he’s been consistently playing at a high level all year. Even with Todd Gurley doing a lot of the work, The Rams are so offensively powerful that Goff is putting up numbers on a weekly basis. He’s had 27 TDs to 6 INTs this season and barring something drastic he’s going to be one of the top 5 QBs off the board next year.

Reservations Recommended - TY Hilton (IND)
The Colts are looking more and more like a contender each week. Andrew Luck is on a crazy run of consecutive games with 3+ passing TDs and one big beneficiary of this is Hilton. He’s still the #1 receiver on the team and when he’s free of injury he is an elite weapon to have on your team. He had 2TDs this weekend and it would now appear he’s on his way to being a WR1 again.

Ready to depart - Keke Coutee (HOU)
With Will Fuller out and Coutee now back from injury he is set to be the #2 to Hopkins #1 which Deshawn Watson badly needs in order to be effective. Coutee has developed well in his rookie season and looks able to pick up the slack Fuller has left behind. Sure, the Texans traded for Demaryius Thomas, but as we're seeing with Golden Tate, the transitions aren't seamless and Coutee has the scheme familiarity. Despite an injury concern, Coutee's usage in week 11 gives a strong indication of how that offense is going to go.

Delayed - Sammy Watkins (KC)
He may be in the high power Chiefs offense but Sammy Watkins hasn’t been particularly consistent this year and despite playing this weekend he barely featured in a game which saw 105 points scored. Injuries are still an issue for Watkins but he has shown glimpses this season and if he can get a clean bill of health down the stretch I can see him having a few decent games. He's only had 3 games all season where he's played and scored less than 10 points so it's maybe harsh saying he's been delayed, but in case anyone was considering jumping off, my advice is don't!

Cancelled - Devin Funchess (CAR)
Usually, I pick players who are droppable and although it’s hard to drop him at this stage, Funchess isn’t far off. DJ Moore is becoming more and more of a feature and arguably has more talent. Greg Olsen is still fit and seeing plenty of action, especially in the redzone then you how Cam and CMC moving the ball a lot on the ground. It all has made Funchess rather irrelevant after having had a few weeks of looking like a must play. He's not scored double-digit fantasy points since week 7 and seeing 4 or fewer catches per game.

The Sleeper Train - Lamar Jackson (BAL)
With Flacco out for a few weeks, Jackson is going to get a chance to take that job and run with it. That can nearly be taken literally as he had more rushing yards than most RBs this week and for fantasy, that’s rather handy. If he can do enough to stake a permanent place ahead of Flacco he has the ability to be like Cam Newton but without quite the same level of quality in the supporting cast.

The Hype Train Station - Week 11

With my wife currently Ill and a project at work on the edge of happening, I’m having to cut back on the blog for a few weeks. When it returns a few things may be different but essentially I’m a bit like the Bills. Trying out a few things and preparing for next season but need some feedback and data to do it.

One thing that won’t be changing will be the Hype Train since it’s my flagship article. This week it’s a bit shorter in formation but I didn’t want to be completely silent. So who’s train should have all aboard and who is all at sea?

Standing Room only - David Johnson (ARI)
The change in coordinators seems to have released DJ back into the levels of fantasy performance we were expecting. He may end the season on a high so people are going to believe again.

Reservations Recommended - Nick Chubb (CLE)
Remove Carlos Hyde from the system and this happens. Duke Johnson was expected to win take off but Nick Chubb has totally outdone him and exceeded many peoples expectations. He and Duke are almost making the WRs look like an afterthought.

Ready to depart - Leonard Fournette (JAX)
He’s back from injury, survived a full game and scored 2TDs. If you weren’t sure whether to play him in his return or were worried about Carlos Hyde; week 10 gave you the answers.

Delayed - Golden Tate (PHI)
Mid-season trades aren’t great for fantasy production. Snaps and targets are a gamble with people not yet conversant with the playbook. Tate has a slow first game and with him fighting with Jeffrey, Ertz, and Agholor for targets it’s going to be tough. I think he will eventually have an effect but not in the same way he did with the Lions.

Canceled - Carlos Hyde (JAX)
Hyde was a decent asset in Cleveland. The trade to Jacksonville looked like a sign Fournette was going on IR. Now L4 is back and Hyde is still learning the playbook his value is basically zero.

The Sleeper Train - Theo Riddick (DET)
I didn’t want to believe this one myself at first. Riddick has been injured or irrelevant all year but with Tate not there and Marvin Jones keeping on being banged up the Lions need more than Kenny Golladay. Riddick looks set to spend the rest of the season as a pseudo WR3 which in PPR is a lovely sound. Especially without a TE of note to take targets either.

Thursday Night Fix-Up - Week 10

CAR @ PIT

My TNF articles tend not to get read but for those who do, thank you and I hope it brings you luck.

This week is a really interesting and hopefully matchup between two powerful offenses and middle of the road defenses.

Carolina:
Cam Newton is having arguably his best season to date both in reality and fantasy. His game is unlike any other QB and in reality, he and Christian McCaffrey are always their main TD threats. The Steelers are good at defending the run but with the RPO and read option in play, they (like many teams) will struggle.

McCaffrey is in Stud status right now and if you own him there’s no matchup where I wouldn’t play him. Any other running backs are irrelevant. All the pre-season hype around CJ Anderson crashed to a halt within a few weeks.

The receiving positions are a little bit trickier to call. Devin Funchess still seems to be the main WR but DJ Moore is starting to see more target and bringing them in. Greg Olsen looks to finally have had his resurgence and be back to his best so Cam does have passing options. I’d struggle to justify playing Moore and I’d only play Funchess if there isn’t a potentially better option. Olsen meanwhile is a starter, even on a short turnaround.

The Carolina defense is very much in the middle. They’re maybe a little underrated but that’s normal.


Pittsburgh:
Big Ben at home is usually a hit. The offensive line is still one of the best in the league and the Bell saga isn’t affecting their play as much as many expected. Roethlisberger is nursing a small injury but should be in for a decent game.

James Connor had a brief dip for a few weeks but has returned in some style. 107 rushing yards, 7 catches for 56 yards and a TD last week and an overall stat line of 1085 total yards and 10TDs make him a hot property.

Antonio Brown is always a given. You have to start him. JuJu is in a similar position but he has been disappointing in recent weeks with x occasions scoring less than x points. James Washington seems to be taking that WR3 role but it’s not productive enough to make him a fantasy starter. Vance McDonald might have some value, especially if the waiver wire is rather bare but with Jesse James still sniffing around and the other options the Steelers have, it’s getting harder to warrant playing a Steelers TE.

The defense started off poorly but seem to have improved into a top 10 outfit again. The run defense has been quite good so far but they’ve struggled against the pass. That’s starting to tighten up although their opponents recently haven’t been so hot on offense.


Overview:
It’s a game where you play your studs but really after that, it’s hard to justify playing anyone else. Funchess is the borderline player and with Olsen’s resurgence, I’m less keen to risk it unless there’s a big gap to my next flex option or WR. For the Steelers McDonald is maybe the turn player and his inclusion will be purely based on who else you have at TE. I’d want Austin Hooper over him but maybe not David Njoku.

The Hype Train Station - Week 10

I missed engine, engine number 9 so we move on to Week 10. I wanted to do this early so I could claim this was platform 9 3/4 but I couldn’t turn around the magic quick enough. Still, whose broomstick is a Nimbus 2000 and whose is borrowed off Doris the caretaker?

Standing Room only - Michael Thomas (NO)
MT had a huge game this week and Adam Thielen suddenly has stiff competition to be the top scoring WR in fantasy. His 12 catch, 221 yard, 1TD, and one no coverage cellphone call was a thing of beauty and finally ended the Rams unbeaten season. This is his second time as a standing room only and he seems to be a weekly scheduled service for this section and always oversubscribed.

Reservations Recommended - Dion Lewis (TEN)
It took time (enough time for me to want to drop him at times) but Dion Lewis is starting to build up steam. The Tennessee offense is starting to regain life and Mariota is becoming a streaming option again. His 60 rushing yards, 62 receiving yards and a TD made Lewis a valuable RB in week 9 and the signs have been there since the London game. Nothing like a visit to this side of the pond to kick your season into life.

Ready to depart - Maurice Harris (WAS)
Jameson Crowder is still our injured, Josh Doctson isn’t performing, Paul Richardson is now out for the season, Adrian Peterson isn’t a high volume pass catching back and Jordan Reed can do it all himself. That leaves Alex Smith and the Redskins looking for options and after two big weeks, it appears Harris is the guy. His week 9 performance would class as a breakout. He had 10 catches for 124 yards and even without a TD he had 22+ fantasy points. Over the previous 4 games, he scored between 4 and 8 points and he should really be a waiver pickup for teams in a bit of a bind.

Delayed - Kyle Rudolph (MIN)
It’s getting close to Christmas and the mast wonderfully named player for the time of year is struggling. He’s been left more red-faced than red nosed. No TD in 6 games and only 2 all season. His last 3 games have only seen him grab 6 catches for 83 yards which is a considerable drop to what has been the case. In pre-season, I saw him as a top 5 TE. Thielin and Diggs have taken nearly all of his targets and the one time he thought he had a TD the officials ruled Latavious Murray had stretched over the line first. He needs some seasonal magic and for Kirk Cousin to send a few more gifts his way. If it doesn’t happen when people like me who drafted him are being left sleighed.

Canceled - Michael Gallup (DAL)
Admittedly Gallup’s Hype Train was more based on horsepower (and puns) than performance. Drafted early and into a team with no real #1 WR the opportunity was there to make a name for himself. At this point, if you are keeping him in anything other than a deep dynasty then you’re flogging a dead horse. With Amari Cooper set to be the new Stud, Gallup will struggle to get back in the saddle (was that 3 horse puns on the trot?). I’m sad that this train isn’t rolling but maybe next season he will develop into more than a one trick pony.

The Sleeper Train - Jordan Thomas (HOU)
In the two weeks before the bye, Thomas was a TD target and brought in 3 of them. He did get a few catches against Miami and has the rapport with Watson but the addition of Demaryius Thomas maybe stunts his hype somewhat. I was going to use another TE in Jeff Heuerman here for Denver but this week was his big week so he’s not a sleeper anymore.

Week 10 Waiver Fire:

Bye Week: Texans, Broncos, Ravens, Vikings

With me skipping week 9 there’s no recap this week. Nice relaxing break. You can call it my own bye week if you wish.

This week there’s a few fewer byes but still plenty of guessing. Across 35+ games there’s a real mix of talents on the waiver wire. In some leagues, people are dropping the likes of Funchess and Rudolph so just check your waivers and see if there’s a gem. But be warned, some of those guys are being dropped for a reason. Your call to make is whether they can return to form again.

QB:
Baker Mayfield (CLE vs ATL)
38% owned
Mayfield has managed over 200 passing yards in all but one week since becoming the starter in week 3. However, with three consecutive weeks with 2 TDs and a combined 2 INTs his game is tightening up a little. He’s not really utilizing his running ability yet but the Browns won’t be in that position too often. Atlanta has adapted since losing some key defencemen so aren’t as much of a pushover. But with the QB landscape on the waiver being rather ugly, he’s maybe the one you can have some confidence in.

Eli Manning (NYG @ SF)
9% owned
I did say the landscape was ugly... San Francisco isn’t a pushover like they were before either but coming fresh off a bye week and with all his weapons available, Eli has to be an option. The defensive line for the 49ers won’t cause as many issues for the Giants OL as other teams so Manning might actually have a chance to make some plays.

Nick Mullens (SF vs NYG)
1% owned
After starting his NFL career on fire, Mullens has a matchup against the Giants who aren’t the strongest defense. He will only be a stopgap although with another good performance it may be until the end of the season and the return of Jimmy Garoppolo. The debut for the ages will be hard to repeat but every great QB has to start somewhere.


RBs:
Nyheim Hines (IND vs JAX)
34% owned
After having a week 9 bye and a less productive week 8 quite a few teams ended up dropping Hines and if you’re light at RB he may be a useful pickup. The Jags run Defense is still good but not 2017 good and Hines should probably be seen as a longer-term investment than just 1 week.
He’s had 4 weeks scoring over 10 points this season and with Jordan Wilkins not impressing it looks like it’s Marlon Mack and Hines carrying the bulk of the load.

Ito Smith (ATL @ CLE)
32% owned
Smith still hasn’t had the surge of being picked up yet although 32% is quite respectable. Like Hines, he’s a guy you may be able to plug in at times throughout the remainder of the season with Davonta Freeman on IR. In week 9 it was Tevin Coleman that took off but Smith got himself a touchdown against a strong Redskin run D. He has TD upside and possibly as well as being able to run between the tackles.

Mike Davis/Rashaad Penny (SEA @ LAR)
40/14% owned
Chris Carson’s health questions make these two more valuable to own. The Seahawks have improved their offensive line (mostly by better coaching) and the running back isn’t as irrelevant as before. Davis is splitting the bulk of the load with Carson and Penny is being sprinkled in. But if Carson misses time then the first round rookie draft pick should see more usage and Davis will be used much heavier. There’s not a lot out there at the moment so you have to hunt for the opportunities.

WRs:
Tyrell/Mike Williams (LAC @ OAK)
31/25% owned
It would appear that week to week one or both of the Williams’ are bringing in a TD or two. There are players with much higher ownership numbers yet much lower TD and point scoring ratios. Each player has 4 TDs on the season. Mike started the season on fire while Tyrell is the current form player. Both are worth a start although if you have a choice, I’d be going for Tyrell.

Marquez Valdes-Scantling (WAS @ TB)
26/20% owned
I will always be willing to have a space for the WR3 in an Aaron Rodgers offense. Randall Cobb is barely a WR2 at the moment and with the news that Geronimo Allison may need core muscle surgery, it leaves Valdes-Scantling to become the WR2. Since Allison went down MVs has never scored less than 12.5pts. The highest drafted of 3 rookie WR's in this years draft he has proved a quality backup and now his recent run in the team should get extended. With more experience should come even better play and he may become a weekly starter for some, especially in deeper leagues.

Quincy Enunwa (NYJ vs BUF)
15% owned
Enunwa returned from injury last week although in a dire game for the Jets. As he gets back up to speed he may well end up returning to the #1 receiving option for Sam Darnold who honestly needs all the help he can get right now. Prior to his injury, he was averaging over 13 fantasy points per game. He had 7 in week 9 but with neither Jermaine Kearse nor Robby Anderson really making a jump, Enunwa should be the main guy again.

TEs:
Ben Watson (NO @ CIN)
48% owned
If he’s not owned in your league and you are really struggling at TE, Watson is your guy. Even with the weapons, the Saints have he’s made 26 catches for 292yds and 2TDs. Losing Ted Ginn and a struggling Cameron Meredith has led to Watson seeing more targets and it’s working well for them. He can have dead weeks but if you ignore the Minnesota game, he’s a double-digit fantasy points player.

CJ Uzomah (CIN vs NO)
19% owned
Like Hines earlier, Uzomah may be available after having a bye last week and is a startable option each week. With 17 receptions for 184 yards and 2TDs even with Tyler Eifert active for 4 games, he’s worth a spot if you don’t have an elite option.

Chris Herndon (NYJ vs BUF)
13% owned
After posting a 4th game scoring more than 8 points and this time without the aid of a Touchdown I think it’s safe to call Herndon an option. With the wide receivers struggling they needed some help and he’s finally risen above the pack of Tight Ends and the Jets.

DSTs:
Chargers (LAC @ OAK)
44% owned

If they’re available, the Chargers are the team playing the Raiders this week. I probably don’t need to say a lot more than that. They’ve been very much boom or bust although their main busts were against the Chiefs and Rams.

Colts (IND vs JAX)
13% owned
The Jags offense has been pretty poor this season and it would appear 2016 Blake Bortles has returned. The Colts meanwhile have a good defense with good young talent and I’ve not been afraid of using them earlier in the season. That being said they have only had 1 big week and 2 good weeks so this has the opportunity to go wrong.

Bills (BUF @ NYJ)
12% owned

The Bills aren’t a conventional choice but their defense isn’t the worst. The Jets offense, on the other hand, lead the league in turnovers and Sam Darnold has only managed 2 games without at least one interception. Defenses are feasting against the Jets and the Bills are a top 16 Defense currently so this does look tasty on paper.

*Owned % based on ESPN.