Trending Wide Receivers and Running Backs- Week 14
The time is now as the importance of each week only magnifies that much further. Fantasy Football playoffs are upon us and if you happened to have found your way into the madness, congratulations!
Over the course of the next few weeks, understanding which players will contribute to hoisting that crown is truly the most important. Playing the matchups are always a top priority, but fully recognizing player and team momentum will be paramount to success. Let’s review this week’s edition of trending players as we enter do-or-die for the fantasy season.
Trending Up
Duke Johnson (HOU)
We must begin with a gleaming endorsement with how much we respect the game of the Texans Duke Johnson. Thus far, over his entire NFL career, Johnson has been underutilized never seeing the full realization of what he could actually become. Last week verse the Patriots was the culmination of glorious triumph when the coaching staff chooses to use his talents.
While Johnson has been a steady earner for the fantasy community in his time with Houston, that over- the-top statistical presence never comes to fruition consistently. I truly believe after last week’s showing, the coaching staff can no longer ignore the fact of how giant of a mismatch Johnson truly is. Over the last five contests, Johnson has averaged a healthy 11.47 fantasy points with a ceiling nearing the 20-point mark in PPR. In our mind, a major key to the Texans future success will go through this man. High trend up with volume risk rests here.
DeVante Parker (MIA)
In our review of positive tending players, I couldn’t remember the last time I spoke DeVante Parker’s name without a curse word behind it. While that statement is obviously an embellishment, it’s not far from the truth. Parker has been one of the biggest draft busts for any team, as his slogan became ‘the training camp star’. Never being able to translate all that ability on the field in live game action with any sort of consistency, it appears Parker may have finally turned a corner.
With Ryan Fitzpatrick continuing to sling the ball without a care in the world, Parker has found new levels to his game which is allowing him to just make plays. Since week four, Parker has been steady to provide more than enough to become a weekly flex starter regardless of matchup. With that said, last week’s absolute explosion made us turn and see the green pastures. Parker and the Dolphins have a great set of upcoming matchups leaving his value to continue to soar. We can finally trust the work of Parker.
Leonard Fournette (JAX)
Most will view the 2019 season for Leonard Fournette as underwhelming, and we have a hard time arguing that point. Fournette whose pedigree has been dependable in finding the endzone, this season tells a far different tale. Scoring a mere three touchdowns on the season (two came in week 12), the clear upside has been his reliance in the Jaguars pass game. Having secured and obliterated his career high already in targets and receptions, the only thing missing from overall bliss is finding pay dirt with regularity.
Some may also question why we’re encouraged enough to place him on a trend up heading into week 14, that is simply due to the placement of Gardner Minshew back behind center. The Nick Foles experiment is clearly a fail at this point, where Minshew will lift all playmakers on this offense. With an extremely favorable next three contests on the horizon, give us all shares of Fournette heading into the fantasy playoffs.
Tyler Boyd (CIN)
Remember when Tyler Boyd was supposed to take that next giant leap and repeat or surpass the accomplishments of last season? Well seeing how things have shaken out up to now, it’s clear the return on investment hasn’t been fruitful. While we’ve been forthright in our evaluation from the start of the season, it was our opinion and analysis which led to Boyd plummeting down our draft board with fear that this type of season would come to pass.
Now that the Bengals have been playing out the string while holding the first overall placement in next year’s draft, things could look better for Boyd. Andy Dalton has been reinserted as the team’s starting pivot which noticeably increases his trend and value. With teammate John Ross coming back from injured reserve, Boyd will see far less double teams and more room to gallop. Two of the next three contests (Browns, Patriots, Dolphins), make Boyd extremely high potential in being a catalyst to help win your league.
Trending Down
Alvin Kamara (NO)
While placing the super talents of the Saints Alvin Kamara on a list of down trends is never a popular opinion, we must remain true to the process and be unbiased at all times. No one can ignore the subpar season laid out in front of us from Kamara, and it won’t get any easier in week 14 verse the stout 49ers defensive line.
While we completely understand that a player of this caliber can break out of his current funk like a flip of the switch, the top end point potential could again be limited. To be clear, this isn’t a recommendation to place Kamara on your bench to find greater matchup appeal, this is more of a cautionary tale to point out what could be a certainty. We still believe in the Saints and their ability to be one of the best in the league, but in terms of Kamara, we are dying for that dominate performance to give us that warm feeling once again.
TY Hilton (IND)
Heading into week 14, we had every indication that the Colts TY Hilton would return to action leading all his owners to the promise land. Needless to say, this will be nothing more than a pipe-dream that will never come to pass. Hearing recent reports suggesting the Colts could place Hilton on injured reserve shutting down his campaign, the optimism for him to be any benefit to your team is fading quickly.
When the time comes to review what players were able to achieve in the 2019 season, Hilton will be on top of one list titled - the biggest busts of the year. Coming out of the gates strong without Andrew Luck, we were encouraged and had great belief that Hilton could become a draft day steal. Though injuries can never be blamed directly at the player, the value return on investment is how we gage success. This is a lost cause and a massive trend down.
Tevin Coleman (SF)
We have gone on record to support the ability of the 49ers Tevin Coleman since his days in Atlanta, but as it stands today, the water is becoming lukewarm. While we still believe in his talents as a fabulous player from the backfield and the pass game, Coleman tends to dwindle during contests of struggle, leaving his floor drastically poor.
Heading into the next three contests on the 49ers slate, all opponents hold strong run defenses which will make it a challenge to find any viable traction. Even as San Francisco is one of the best clubs in the entire league, and their commitment to the run is second to none, the trust factor for production is our greatest concern. He could have his days, but we fear the slump will continue.
Tyler Lockett (SEA)
This may be a surprise to most and that includes ourselves. But like we preach above, these evaluations are based on player performance and we can’t shy away. Tyler Lockett has been a very steady fantasy earner for most of the season, but over the past three weeks, something has gone astray. However, with Russell Wilson playing at MVP levels, a mere slump like this could be broken rather quickly.
Nevertheless, Lockett hasn’t under-performed over the past three games which included a giant goose egg last Monday Night. Clearly the Hawks have shown more love to their rookie DK Metcalf in the form of target share, while continuing to feed the ground game. As we enter week 14 and the first round of the fantasy playoffs, Lockett may have yet another abysmal contest verse the Rams stiff secondary.
Things should come back to the good books after this week as weaker competition is on the horizon. Either way, all Lockett owners could be in for at least one more down trend showing before positivity graces the stat sheet here. Buyer-beware is the notion as the trend is down.
