I love a Monday night double header! Something feels a bit more right staying up late to watch two games instead of one. Monday Night Football hosted the Miami Dolphins vs the Tennessee Titans and the Green Bay Packers vs the New York Giants.
The Dolphins Tennessee game felt weird from start to finish. Things started off with a pick six from Zach Sielrer to put the Dolphins up early. Tyreek would exit the game for the rest of the first half after suffering a leg injury. King Henry later evened the score with a rushing TD. Things got weird again when the Titans blocked a Dolphins field goal setting them up for one of their own to end the half 10-7. D-Hop and Will Levis balled out in the second half connecting for some crazy catches. Levis even dropped the shoulder and trucked a Dolphins defender after escaping a sack. Raheem Mostert chipped in two touchdowns putting the Dolphins up 14 late in the 4th quarter. Touchdowns from Will Levis and Derrick Henry in the final minutes put the Titans up 28-27. The Titans take the win after the Dolphins failed to reach field goal range. Credit to the rookie QB for getting the win over the potential AFC East champions.
Tommy “Cutlets” Devito is quietly becoming, dare I say, a Giants legend. Between living at home with his parents to save money as a rookie, his family entourage drawing media coverage and his agent who looks like he came straight out of a mob movie, Devito is making a name for himself across the NFL. Further adding on to his legend, Devito threw for 158 yards and a touchdown (0 turnovers) while rushing 10 times for 71 yards in primetime victory over the surging Packers. Saquon Barkley put in some serious work on the ground (101 yards from scrimmage and 2 touchdowns) to keep the Giants afloat. Devito would later put together a game winning drive late in the fourth capped off with a field goal from Randy Bullock
On another note, congratulations to all of those who made it into the playoffs! Whether you made it in by a mile or just squeaked in, now is your chance to win it all. With that being said, to quote the late great Kobe Bryant, “Job’s not finished”. There are still four weeks to go and anything can happen. With fantasy managers starting their path to the championship this week, here are my top waiver wire targets of the week. Best of luck!
Waiver Wire Targets:
Tyjae Spears (Rostered in 37.8% of ESPN leagues)
I know I have been hammering this guy all year. And yes, Derrick Henry is still the starter and has more value than Spears at the moment. However, this guy is a playmaker. Spears has back to back double digit point weeks and is out snapping Henry on offense. He can make it work on the ground and through the air. For managers looking for an elite handcuff and potential flex play, Spears is your guy.
Antonio Gibson (Rostered in 44.2% of ESPN leagues)
This feels a bit weird to add Gibson to this list after Brian Robinson has dominated the Commanders back field for all of this season. However, Robinson suffered a hamstring injury against the Dolphins that is expected to cause him to miss time. Gibson would take over the RB1 role. He also has value as a pass catcher which makes him an appealing pickup in PPR leagues.
Chase Brown (Rostered in 1.4% of ESPN leagues)
The rookie has been pretty quiet all year while sitting behind Joe Mixon on the depth chart. His performance this past weekend puts him on the fantasy radar. Brown ripped off 19.5 points against the Colts with most of that coming from a 54 yard receiving touchdown. I’m not saying Brown is worth putting into lineups but he is certainly worth consideration as a handcuff if Mixon were to go down with an injury.
Romeo Doubs (Rostered in 42.7% of ESPN leagues)
Doubs has been a go to target for Jordan Love for a good chunk of the year. A large part of this is due to the time missed by Christian Watson due to a hamstring injury. While I do like Jayden Reed a bit more, Doubs is a valuable asset in the Packers passing attack and should continue to be involved. The Packers have an easy schedule to end the year which makes both wide receivers intriguing.
Jayden Reed (Rostered in 49.2% of ESPN leagues) Genius Pick of the Week
This guy should be on every fantasy roster. Period. Reed saw a whopping 10 targets against the Giants catching 8 of them for 27 yards. Not only is he a reliable receiving option, he also takes on a Deebo Samuel-esque role by getting involved in the rushing attack. Reed rushed 4 times for 28 yards and a touchdown against the Giants. Christian Watson may continue to miss time with a hamstring injury which adds value to Reed as a fantasy asset. Jayden Reed is a must add.
Zay Jones (Rostered in 27.4% of ESPN leagues)
I think many will look at Zay Jones’s 7.9 fantasy points and think he is not worth a pickup. What first drew my attention were the 8 targets he saw last week and the 14 targets he saw this week. Prior to week 13, his highest number of targets came in week 1 with 7. The common denominator here is that Christian Kirk is now out for the year with a core/groin injury. I like the chances of Jones slotting in as the team’s WR2 and eventually capitalizing on his targets.
Odell Beckham Jr. (Rostered in 50.9% of ESPN leagues)
Wasn’t sure I would be adding him to the list this year but OBJ has been balling out for the Ravens down the stretch. A 19.7 point performance against the Rams highlights his resurgence to fantasy relevance in 2023. A nice schedule to close out the year (Jaguars, Dolphins, Steelers) should lend to his value as a fantasy asset.
Isaiah Likely (Rostered in 48.5% of ESPN leagues)
Managers who added Likely in the wake of the injury to Mark Andrews should be happy with his most recent performance against the Rams. Likely popped for 83 yards and a touchdown finishing with 19.3 fantasy points. On top of that, Likely saw 7 targets and finished second on the team in yardage. Still available in the majority of fantasy leagues, Likely is a must add.
Jake Browning (Rostered in 29.5% of ESPN leagues)
The Bengals are still in it? With Joe Burrow out for the year, Jake Browning is holding down the Fort. On Sunday Browning tore up the Colts throwing for 275 yards and 2 touchdowns and rushed in an additional score. He now has 2 back to back 20+ point games putting him on the streaming radar for QB needy teams. With playmakers like JaMarr Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd, it is hard to count out a QB. Additionally, I like the Bengals schedule to close out the year with matchups against the Vikings, Steelers, Packers and Browns.
*Point totals mentioned assume full point PPR scoring
Want to tell me who I left off or needs to be added? Follow me on twitter at @The_FFGenius and let me know!