Notable Injuries from week 5:
- Omarion Hampton (Ankle)
- Darius Slayton (Hamstring)
- Kyler Murray (Foot)
- Carson Wentz (Shoulder)
- Spencer Shrader (Knee)
Teams on a BYE week:
- Houston Texans
- Minnesota Vikings
Waiver Wire Targets:
Rico Dowdle (Rostered in 58.8% of ESPN leagues)
Holy sh*t! With Chuba out against the Dolphins, Dowdle took over the Panthers rushing attack in a huge way. He was absolutely unstoppable putting up 206 yards on the ground. Dowdle is now tied for second for the Panthers single game rushing record with Jonathan Stewart and was only 4 yards shy from tying the record held by DeAngelo Williams. I was lucky enough to be in beautiful Bank of America stadium to witness his performance live. Dowdle won’t rush for 200 yards every week but he is definitely startable with Chuba out and provides top notch handcuff status.
Michael Carter (Rostered in 41.8% of ESPN leagues)
Carter popped off in a wild loss to the Titans rushing for 51 yards and a touchdown. I think a lot of the focus is on Emari Demercado and his idiotic botched touchdown but for fantasy, Carter got way more carries and was in on 58% of the offensive snaps. Benson is set to miss at least 3 more weeks so give me Michael Carter.
Hassan Haskins (Rostered in 0.3% of ESPN leagues) and Kimani Vidal (Rostered in 0% of ESPN leagues)
In Sunday’s loss to the Commanders, Chargers running back Omarion Hampton left the game with an ankle injury. It was recently reported that he will be headed to IR and will miss at least 4 weeks. The Chargers RB room that was already depleted after losing Najee Harris to a season-ending injury, is looking pretty bleak. The available options really come down to Hassan Haskins and Kimani Vidal. Amar Johnson could also be elevated from the practice squad. Hassan Haskins sounds like more of the bruiser type back that could see the bulk of goal line carries while Kimani Vidal is more of the athletic receiver type.This Chargers o-line has the potential to support some level of success so I think it comes down to who your gut tells you is likely to provide the most value based on your league scoring. It’s also totally possible that the Chargers look to trade for a fill in or look to the free agent market but with so many injuries to the running back position it’s worth taking a risk on one of these guys.
Ryan Flourney (Rostered in 0.1% of ESPN leagues)
With CeeDee Lamb out with an injury and KaVontae Turpin exiting Sunday’s game with a foot sprain, Flourney exploded for 114 yards. What’s even better is that he saw 9 targets. Next week’s matchup is against my Carolina Panthers which have been pretty lackluster defensively for a good part of the year. The good news is the Cowboys also havn’t been the best defensively which could make this game a bit of a shootout. Take a chance on Flourney if you are feeling dangerous.
Mason Taylor (Rostered in 8.2% of ESPN leagues) Genius Pick of the Week
Last week I highlighted the growing relationship between Mason Taylor and his QB Justin Fields. Taylor once again saw a higher amount of targets (12) than the previous week. He finished with 17.7 fantasy points against the Cowboys. Eventually he will catch a touchdown but right now I’ll settle for the high amount of targets. I’m bought in and I think you should be as well.
Here’s what I had to say last week:
Do we have a budding QB/TE relationship in New York? Over the past 2 weeks, Mason Taylor has seen 6 and 7 targets respectively. He has also seen his snap count increase week to week. In week 4, Taylor’s 11.5 fantasy points were good for a TE11 finish. Fields has had success with tight ends in the past, most notably with Cole Kmet during his Chicago days so hopefully the same can be done with Taylor. Taylor may be a player to stash this week.
Matthew Stafford (Rostered in 52.3% of ESPN leagues)
Old man Stafford has been balling out for the Rams this year and performing better from a fantasy perspective. A lot of that can be attributed to the overall health of the offense as I feel like in years past either Staffor or his receivers have been banged up. Stafford and company face a very disappointing Baltimore Ravens defense that has been giving up yards to just about anyone. If the Ravens can stay a bit competitive, Staffor should be able to pile up some decent fantasy points.
Dillon Gabriel (Rostered in 2.2% of ESPN leagues)
Featured in last week’s waiver wire targets, Gabriel had a productive first start against a respectable Vikings defense. The rookie attempted 33 passes which turned into 190 yards through the air and 2 touchdowns. Not bad for the guy who has been nothing but professional with all the outside noise around him and Shedeur Sanders. Pittsburgh is up next and while they are no slouch defensively, these divisional games always have the potential to get a little crazy and I like where that could lead for Gabriel offensively.
*Point totals mentioned assume full point PPR scoring
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