It’s championship week in fantasy football! Hopefully, those of you who are reading this column have a chance at a title. If that’s the case, you’re probably not looking to make too many moves this week since your team has more than likely been performing at a high level. Although, if you do have some holes at the end of your bench for this year or heading into next, now is a great time to grab them as some of your league mates may be taking a couple of weeks off after a long season. If you manage a roster that didn’t make it to the big game, don’t be one of those teams mailing it in for the next couple of weeks. You need to be as vigilant as ever on the wire to keep adding pieces that will give you a shot next year.
Chad Kelly, QB – Denver Broncos
Despite winning this week against the Indianapolis Colts, the Denver Broncos are clearly going nowhere this season and their quarterback carousel needs to stop. We’ve seen all three of the quarterbacks on their current roster struggle, and while they may take one in the Draft, it could be another prospect requiring time to develop. Now is the time to take a flier on a guy the Broncos took a flier on as the last pick in the draft, Chad Kelly. Kelly is a project and has spent the entire season on injured reserve dealing with a torn ACL. Scouts have all said the arm talent is spectacular but he’s very raw and his off-field baggage could be an issue. Even with those issues though, I don’t see any reason the Broncos won’t give him a shot to come in and compete for the starting job next year. Considering what his current competition would be, there’s a chance he wins the job.
Mike Gillislee, RB – New England Patriots
Mike Gillislee was such a hot prospect in the preseason and then looked great in his first two games as a Patriot when he scored four touchdowns. It was all downhill from there though as his workload never took off and he stopped scoring touchdowns, culminating in being inactive from Week 9 through this past weekend. The Patriots have been using a two-headed running back tandem with Dion Lewis and Rex Burkhead getting most of the carries while Gillislee was inactive. Unfortunately, Burkhead injured his knee this Sunday and it looks like he will miss the rest of the regular season. While I do expect Lewis to see some additional work and James White to be factored in on the passing game a bit more, Gillislee should be active and could resume that goal line role which at least gives you touchdown potential. I also don’t expect Gillislee to be cut by the Patriots in the offseason, so he could have some sneaky value for 2018 depending on how the depth chart looks.
Elijah McGuire, RB – New York Jets
The Jets are in the same boat as the Broncos about their finished 2017 season. That means they need to start giving some of their young players opportunities in an attempt to understand the level of talent they have heading into 2018. Bilal Powell is currently 29 years old and Matt Forte is 32 so those guys aren’t long-term answers. Elijah McGuire was a sixth-round draft choice this year and many people thought he should’ve gone a little higher. The Jets gave him four carries and four targets this week against the Saints and he turned those into 72 total yards and touchdown. They need to continue giving him work and see if he is good enough to allow them to use draft capital elsewhere.
Geronimo Allison, WR – Green Bay Packers
I wrote about Geronimo Allison when Davante Adams had a concussion earlier in the season and it looked like he was going to miss the game. Unfortunately for Adams, he suffered another concussion on Sunday and his status for this week is up in the air. It’s also unknown as to whether Aaron Rodgers is going to play this week after the Packers were eliminated from playoff contention. The thing is, you’re not grabbing Allison for this week, but instead considering the addition as a long-term play because he Packers will certainly have to address the wide receiver position this offseason in an attempt to not have too much money tied up at the position. You want to pick up Allison now in case he does get some extra volume this week and blows up because then everyone will be looking to add him next week.
Eli Rogers, WR – Pittsburgh Steelers
I really liked Eli Rogers coming into this season because I thought he looked good at the end of 2016. Unfortunately for him, the Steelers have the greatest wide receiver on the planet right now in Antonio Brown and an up-and-coming rookie in JuJu Smith-Schuster. Add in the fact that Martavis Bryant was finally reinstated and has been active most of the season and there just aren’t enough targets to make Rogers relevant this year. It’s worth noting that with Brown suffering a torn calf muscle in the game against the Patriots on Sunday, Rogers could get some extra looks in the game against Houston. Rogers is also a free agent at the end of the season and has shown the ability to be a good slot receiver in the right offense.
Garrett Celek, TE – San Francisco 49ers
Garrett Celek has only 32 targets all year that have amounted to only 308 yards, but he does have four touchdowns and two of those have come in the last two weeks with Jimmy Garoppolo as the 49ers’ starting quarterback. It’s clear that Garoppolo has his eye on Celek when they get down into the red zone and sadly a three catch, 63-yard day with a touchdown is TE1 production in today’s world. I still like George Kittle a little bit more long-term but if this connection with Garoppolo continues you could see Celek getting some looks next year as well.
