Congratulations to those of you who survived the first week of the playoffs. Hopefully, this article has helped you along the way, and you find yourself in a good position for a championship. For those of you with eliminated teams and those who are a week into your offseason, remember to keep working. Dynasty fantasy football has no downtime (unless of course your waivers and trading close) and you should always be working to improve your roster. The majority of the players in this week’s list will help you do just that. Most of them are long-term plays which are more likely to pan out in 2018 than 2017. If you’re into the semi-finals of your league, you probably don’t need too many players right now anyway so now is a good time to look forward.
Nick Foles, QB – Philadelphia Eagles
We saw two quarterbacks who were probably starters on a lot of championship contenders go down this week in Carson Wentz and Josh McCown. Neither of those players are expected back in Week 15, so you may be scrambling for a quarterback the deeper and superflex leagues. Nick Foles wasn’t great in relief of Wentz on Sunday, but part of that is due to having to come off the bench late in the game and take over. We’ve seen Foles be good, bad, and ugly throughout his career but ultimately he’s probably one of the better backup quarterbacks out there. Playing on a Philadelphia team loaded with offensive weapons such that include Alshon Jeffery, Zach Ertz, Jay Ajayi, and LeGarrette Blount isn’t going to hurt either. Toss in a matchup against a New York Giants team that has given up the most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this year, and you have the makings of a very good spot start.
Wayne Gallman, RB – New York Giants
It’s clear that the Giants’ season is over and with the firing of head coach Ben McAdoo we are probably going to see some different looks from them as they play out the string. One of those looks showed up on Sunday when Wayne Gallman, the fourth round rookie out of Clemson, rushed 12 times against Dallas. Even more important was his usage in the passing game where he was targeted nine times, catching seven of them for 40 yards. The volume tells me the new regime wants to get an extended look at Gallman heading into the offseason and, on top of that, they trust him in the passing game. I was excited about Gallman when he came out in the draft this year and thought the Giants were a good landing spot so if you have people like me in your league he may not be available. If you don’t, however, hop on the wire and grab him quick.
Joe Williams, RB – San Francisco 49ers
Joe Williams is a guy you may not need to act upon as quickly as you would for Gallman. Not only is he’s on injured reserve and not be returning this year, but he also still has to fight for carries with Carlos Hyde and Matt Breida. All this means to me is that he’s not on as many people’s radar. How quickly we, as fantasy football players, have forgotten that Kyle Shanahan was “pounding on the table” for this guy during the draft process. Hyde’s contract is up at the end of the year, and him looking elsewhere for a contract is expected. While the 49ers could certainly draft additional running back options this year with their stockpile of picks, I think it’s more likely they use those picks for greater positional needs. Williams will get another shot next year to see if all the table-pounding was worth it. Therefore, stash him on your roster now and be prepared for when the hype machine starts up again next August. At the very least, you should be able to flip him to someone looking for that deep home run based on quality training camp reports.
Dede Westbrook, WR – Jacksonville Jaguars
In the absence of Allen Robinson, Marqise Lee has been the bigger story this year for the Jaguars as he has amassed just over 700 yards in 13 games so far this season. Lee is incredibly talented and is likely owned in all formats, so he’s ineligible for this article. In Week 11, I recommended Keelan Cole, who has also had a solid rookie season with all this extra opportunity in Jacksonville. This week, I’m recommending Dede Westbrook, after his fourth straight game with six or more targets and his first touchdown of the season on Sunday. Westbrook, also a rookie, caught five passes on eight targets this week for 81 yards and a score and was the most heavily targeted player for both teams in the game. Westbrook was another player who had an impressive college career but saw their stock plummet due to off the field concerns. As a fourth-round pick, it’s possible he was cut in your league earlier in the year by teams clearing some roster space. If this is the case in your league, you better get him quick.
Tyrell Williams, WR – Los Angeles Chargers
Remember all the Tyrell Williams hype coming into the season? Don’t worry, I don’t either, but it was there. In 2016, his second season in the league, Williams was impressive in catching 69 passes for over 1,000 yards and seven touchdowns. Despite the fact that he accomplished that without the Chargers number one receiver, Keenan Allen on the field, people still had Williams pegged to continue that success in year three of his career. His stock took a little hit when the Chargers drafted Mike Williams out of Clemson with the seventh overall pick in the 2017 draft but unfortunately what has killed his value this year has been his production. Not a single game with more than five catches to go along with only two touchdowns and two games over 100 yards all season. Not to mention Allen has been playing lights out and is the number one target in the offense. Why am I recommending Williams here then? Well, this is his last year under contract for the Chargers, and he is still a talented wide receiver who I expect to get some good looks in free agency. If he ends up in the right situation, he could be an offseason darling so better to get him now.
Trey Burton, TE – Philadelphia Eagles
I understand that Zach Ertz is the man in Philadelphia as soon as he returns from his most recent injury. That should happen this week, and Trey Burton will yet again relegate to a spot on the bench. It’s worth noting that Burton is only 26 years old and has only played four years of football as a tight end having played the majority of his college ball as a quarterback. Plus, in the two games that he’s started when Ertz was out, he received ten targets and converted seven of them for 112 yards and three touchdowns. With so many terrible options at tight end in fantasy football right now, why wouldn’t you take a chance on a guy who might also be moving to a much better situation in the offseason?
