Trending Wide Receivers and Running Backs- Week 15

With a mere two weeks left of the fantasy football season, the goal remains the same in hoisting that coveted championship trophy.

While playing the matchups typically is first in the process, understanding the team dynamic will always go a very long way in your success. We are advocates of playing your top players at this point of the season, but sometimes that just isn’t enough. Fully understanding the trends can take you over the top and place you on that podium. Let’s review this week’s edition of trending players as we enter the semifinal round of the fantasy season.        

Trending Up

Devin Singletary (BUF)

As we enter the final stages of the season, we haven’t sung the praises of the Bills rookie runner Devin Singletary near enough. Heading back to around week eight, Buffalo has provided more work to Singletary and he truly hasn’t disappointed. Getting better with each passing week, it’s clear the feature role is fully in his hands.

Over the past three weeks, Buffalo has adjusted their offensive approach in attempts to become more balanced, while holding a commitment to the run. Over these last three games, Singletary has amassed a healthy 15.93 fantasy points per game, and there is no indication that will cool off anytime soon. Even as the Bills attempt to improve their pass attack, that will only help the prospects of more statistics forthcoming. Buffalo is a team on the rise and they should continue to lean on the ground game moving forward.  

Robert Woods (LAR)

While we haven’t been shy in our displeasure for the Rams and their sputtering offense, finding appreciation for Robert Woods once again can be listed with confidence. Coach Sean McVay has clearly gone back to the drawing board to reassert plays and schemes which made them so successful the previous season. Woods has placed himself back atop the leader in targets on this offense seeing a whopping 36 over the past three games. And with that abundance of passes thrown his way, Woods hasn’t disappointed.

The major issue for Woods in 2019 has been the lack of touchdowns to grace his stat line. Woods finally found pay-dirt last week in securing a touchdown reception for the first time this season. We have every belief that the workload will continue to move in his direction as the Rams continue to fight for their playoff lives. At this point, you can fully trust the game of Woods as we ride into the final stages of the fantasy playoffs.

Emmanuel Sanders (SF)

Having been huge supporters of Emmanuel Sanders basically throughout his career, we were enthralled when he found his way to the bay area to play with the 49ers. Now that many weeks have passed and Sanders appears to be over his injured ribs, the trust only continues to grow from our mind in what is now a deadly offensive power.

Last week the 49ers found themselves in an absolute dog fight with the Saints where both clubs put up 94 total points. Seeing that stat line is obviously music to the ears of all fantasy managers, but Sanders out did himself last week. Having seen a superb day in catching the ball, just for good measure, he even throw a touchdown pass in the process. While we understand 30-plus fantasy points will be the absolute ceiling, Sanders is the main focus in the pass game and the targets will always be there. Sanders should be a pivotal piece on your roster to gain that championship.  

Boston Scott (PHI)

While this could be viewed as an easy evaluation based on last week’s performance, we truly feel this could become a staple for the final three weeks of the NFL season. The Eagles find themselves playing for their playoff lives in chasing that divisional crown, and injures continue to pile up. Boston Scott is a player we liked going back to when he donned a Saints uniform, but perhaps now is the time the fruits are realized.

Scott is a smaller back with ample amounts of speed somewhat resembling the play of Darren Sproles. While it’s far too early to provide the same assessment, Scott is a clear mismatch to opposing defenses and will have a key role on this offense in the pass attack. Scott received 16-touches last week and produced over 20-points in PPR formats. With how the landscape has changed for the Eagles, Scott will become a very important playmaker. His value may never be this high again.    

Trending Down

Julio Jones (ATL)

Some may question the reasoning to place the Falcons Julio Jones on a down trend heading into the semifinals of your fantasy football leagues. Well to be perfectly honest, we took pause to think this one over more than once. While yes, teammate Calvin Ridley has been placed on injured reserve which should inflate the target share to Jones’ direction, we have many thoughts to why it may not be realized in statistical achievement.

The Falcons have been the most up-and-down talented club we’ve seen in years, and playing out the string of contests is not the norm for this team. For the most part, Jones has been a giant disappointment for his owners as the past five games saw matchup heaven go by the wayside. Over the course of those five contests, Jones has only mustered a mere 7.77-points per game. While we know Jones can breakout and generate 20-plus points at any given time, we must provide caution. Facing the 49ers this week could again bring with it more trending down numbers.    

Joe Mixon (CIN)

While it’s impossible to suggest the Bengals Joe Mixon hasn’t been a much better player over the second half of the season, this week’s matchup does leave us with a great deal of fear. With the return of Andy Dalton back behind center, head coach Zac Taylor has also provided a clear commitment to the run which has elevated the overall level of play. But like we said, this week opponent could bring with it a great deal of disappointment.

The Bengals will have the toughest of tests this week against the Patriots and we can’t envision any situation where Mixon will find room to run wild. There is the potential for garbage time points to lift the day in respects to fantasy earnings, but we’ll stay on the cautious side of things to promote a one week down trend for this talented player.

Golden Tate (NYG)

With the Giants season off the rails many weeks ago, the injury to Daniel Jones will provide more dysfunction for players like Golden Tate. Eli Manning is back behind center to potentially close out the 2019 season, and we fear Tate will become that afterthought in this offense. As the years have moved forward, Manning hasn’t been able to support the slot receiver with any great consistency.

Heading into a contest verse the Miami Dolphins, we do wonder if Tate will get back on track. Nevertheless, it’s our opinion that Coach Pat Shurmer will want to exploit his younger pass catchers in hopes to get a jump on the evaluation process heading into next season. These remaining contests have nothing to do with gaining wins, but rather to assess what this roster could have in 2020. Simply put as a byproduct of scheme, we are forced to drop the trend of Tate.  

Sony Michel (NE)

This isn’t the first time we’ve placed the Patriots Sony Michel on the list of down trends, and we have no choice but to do it again. Pegged with so much promise, the 2019 season for Michel can literally be thrown in the waste basket. New England has dealt with a great deal of issues on offense this season, as finding consistent playmakers continues to be a concern. While Michel could see an uptick in usage this week verse a weaker club, our minds still roll toward James White over Michel.

If you think we’re lying, backing up this statement can be seen through the numbers. Over the past six weeks (regardless of matchup), Michel has been underutilized and underachieving to the tune of a dreadful 5.32-points per game. Could this be the week coach McDaniels chooses to reinsert Michel into the ground attack, perhaps, but we aren’t willing to take the chance. The trend has been low for most of season, and it remains the same today.