Rookies on the Rise

Well hello Ty Chandler, welcome to the NFL!

We’re seeing rookies and backups make names for themselves down the stretch, be it running backs, receivers, or quarterbacks. It’s a fun time of year and a cool thing to see. The weird yet cool and unfortunate byproduct of the injuries we’ve had this season.

Let’s dive head-first into this past Sunday’s games!

News and Notes

• 🟣 Here’s to hoping we get another week of Ty Chandler. The Vikings running back exploded onto the scene on Saturday against the Bengals, accumulating nearly 160 scrimmage yards on 26 touches.

• 🏹 Rashee Rice is head and shoulders above every other Chief wide receiver. The Patriots are famed for taking out an opponent’s best offensive option, in this case, Travis Kelce, but Rice more than made up the difference. He’s the clear WR1 in Kansas City. That said, Mahomes desperately needs an upgrade in that wide receiver room in the offseason. Rice is good but needs a solid No.2 (or an alpha-WR) across from him and Kelce is in the twilight of his career.

• 🐅 Tee Higgins had a game! Two touchdowns is tough to count on week in and week out but it’s nice to see him get back at it. Hopefully, he can actually string together some good games to end the season.

• 🦁 As if we didn’t know this already, Amon-Ra St.Brown is good, very good. After a dud game against Chicago, the talented wideout went for over 100 yards and a touchdown against Denver.

• Also, as if we needed another reason to think Sam LaPorta is a tight-end star in the making, he gave us a three-touchdown performance. He’s firmly in the conversation for TE1 in dynasty formats with Mark Andrews and T.J. Hockenson. I like Dalton Kincaid a lot as well but I just don’t think he’s in that conversation yet.

• 🐯 Jake Browning is among the best, if not the best backup QBs in football. He had yet another strong performance against the Vikings. It’s a small sample size to be sure, but I like what I’ve seen from him thus far.

• 🛩️ It was a dud game from every single Jet. Specifically Breece Hall, Garrett Wilson, and Tyler Conklin. If you were depending on them after a promising showing last week against the Texans, I am sorry for what happened to you this week.

• 🐬 The Jets had been allowing just over four yards per carry leading up to their game against Miami. They held Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane to 3.1 yards per carry. Mostert saved his day with two rushing scores. Achane was helped by his receiving usage, but it was a disappointing day overall by the rookie.

• No Tyreek, no problem. Jaylen Waddle exploded against New York to the tune of 8-142-1. The New York defense has done a good job against wideouts this season but Waddle had over 100 receiving yards in both games against them this year. 🟢 

• 🔴 I’m not exactly sure where Trey McBride will fall in my dynasty rankings this offseason, but he’s in the top 3 tight ends for sure. He, LaPorta, and Mark Andrews are likely where I’m gonna end up with. He’s had four games of eight or more receptions in his past seven games, and at least five receptions in two of the remaining three.

• 🏴‍☠️ Rachaad White just can’t help himself. 23 touches, 139 total yards, and a touchdown. He’s just been good. The year started off slow, but he’s found his rhythm and the Bucs are rolling at the right time. He gets the Jaguars on Christmas Eve who have given up good games to the Ravens, Browns, and Bengals backs in the previous three weeks.

• 🐦️ Atlanta, Atlanta, what are you doing? Tyler Allgeier has 14 carries for 45 yards. I’m an Allgeier fan, wish Atlanta had stuck with him for at least one more season before drafting an RB. But no. Anyway, Allgeier had 15 total touches which is more than Bijan Robinson, Kyle Pitts, and Drake London had combined. 

• ⛪️ I fail to understand why Rashid Shaheed didn’t get more than four targets with Chris Olave out. You weren’t starting him unless you had to (like me), but it does cast some doubt on him for future success. Now that I’ve said that, Shaheed for 6-121-2 incoming.

• 🐈‍⬛ On the positive side Bryce Young didn’t turn the ball over and he completed 75% of his passes. The negative was he passed for only 167 yards and didn’t throw a touchdown. He desperately needs protection, weapons, and a stable coaching environment. It’s a lot to order but Carolina must do all three (or at least two) if they want to keep him ok for the long term.

• 🎖️ Supposedly Sam Howell was not benched long-term, it was merely to “protect him”. He had only taken a single sack leading up to his benching, so it’s encouraging that the line is holding up better. Hopefully, he can bounce back against the Jets on Sunday. The kid has worked so hard to get to this point.

• 🐏 Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua both had a 25% target share, but it was Kupp’s time to shine. Nacua still had a respectable 5 receptions for 50 yards, but Kupp’s 8-111-1 stole the show. Kyren Williams couldn’t manage to do a thing on his five receptions, managing only three yards. Sure he rushed 27 times for 152 yards and a score but three yards? Do better! 🤪 

• ⛏️ To no one’s surprise, Christian McCaffrey dominated the Cardinals, scoring three times. There’s not much more to say other than his greatness is reaching insane levels. Deebo Samuel got in on the action too, scoring twice but not having near the workload and yardage as McCaffrey.

• 🐶 🟠 Keep an eye on Cedric Tillman, he’s starting to become more and more involved in the Cleveland offense. His snap counts have been good for a while it has just been his receiving involvement that has been lacking. That has changed over the last few weeks. He needs to improve his catch percentage but there is a path for him to be the Browns WR2. Float some trade offers in dynasty formats and see what you can acquire him for.

• 🦬 I had a belief James Cook would be a good DFS play this week, and boy did he come through big time. Over 200 scrimmage yards and two touchdowns? I’ll take that any day. He’s finally taking over the Buffalo backfield (even if I disagree with their goalline usage of Latavius Murray) and can put up huge numbers on a given Sunday.

• Why, oh why, did we have to lose Keaton Mitchell to a torn ACL? We just can’t have good things.

Waiver Wire and Trade Targets

I’m going to skip this for the most part with playoff starting or already underway and rosters are probably going to remain fairly stable. Jake Browning and Joe Flacco are two streaming QBs I think you can plug and play. Running back is a mess. For wide receivers look at Curtis Samuel, Zay Jones, Parker Washington, and Demario Douglas as solid options. All I can say for tight ends is stream the best matchup available.

Thursday Night Preview

New Orleans Saints

Even though they played well against the Giants, I hope they get Chris Olave back. The passing game just wasn’t the same without him, and it involved a large share of very, well, fantasy-irrelevant players. The Rams shut down Washington’s rushing game on Sunday, but I feel Alvin Kamara will have more success. The wide receivers should fine a little room to operate as well, especially if Olave returns. I’m not starting any skill player confidently unless they are Olave, Shaheed, or Kamara. If you want to start A.T. Perry or Lynn Bowden, be my guest.

Los Angeles Rams

For the Rams, just start them all. It’s a shame we don’t get Kyren Williams on the main slate on Sunday for DFS, I guess that means I’ll play Rachaad White. But I digress. If Tutu Atwell returns, that pushes Demarcus Robinson out of start consideration. You don’t need me to tell you to start Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua but start them. Stay well away from the tight ends. Matthew Stafford found a new gear over the last month. In fact, he’s been the QB1 since week 12 pending Monday night football final results.

Final Thoughts

That will do it for this edition of the Ballfield Banter newsletter! It’s hard to believe that the fantasy playoffs are here! The season has flown by in the same way that it has been long. I have really enjoyed writing this for all of you, and I hope you will stick around for the offseason. But 2023 isn’t over yet, let’s finish strong. Thanks for checking it out and I’ll see you soon!