Leonard Fournette carrying the load highlights this week’s Week That Was.

Leonard FournetteLeonard Fournette returned to the bell cow he is supposed to be Sunday.  The Jaguar RB rushed 24 times for 101 yards and a TD.  He also added 4 receptions for 18 yards.  That is a tidy 28 touches and 21+ PPR fantasy points.  Throw out all the fancy numbers and focus on this key fact – in a game against a very good team and tough defense, the Jags kept feeding Fournette. This is the formula they will use down the stretch to control clock and keep the defense fresh.   That means volume.  Volume means fantasy production.  You get the point.  The days of deciding whether to play Fournette are over.  Plug and play the rest of the way. 

Marcus Mariota:   It is time to be done with Marcus Mariota in fantasy unless you are in a dynasty or keeper league.  Sunday, Mariota threw for a mere 159 yards and no TD.  To make matters worse, he threw 2 picks and rushed for only 11 yards.  Yuck, yuck and more yuck.  Even with the 49ers on tap next week, I cannot see running Marcus out there for my fantasy semi-finals.  Indeed, I am planning on starting Blake Bortles over him next week.  Yes, Bortles played well today but he will not remind any fantasy player of Big Ben, Russell Wilson or Tom Brady.  In redraft leagues, Mariota is cuttable.  Next!

Alex Collins:   Lost in the killer B’s all world game Sunday night was the really strong game posted by Alex Collins. The Seahawks cast-off rumbled for 120 yards on 18 carries.  He added a TD, 2 receptions and 46 yards receiving for good measure.  Not only did Collins look great running the ball Sunday on national TV, he has been really good for quite a while.  Indeed, Collins has 5 TD in his last 4 games, is averaging over 5 yards per carry on the year, and has Cleveland and Indy coming up for the last two rounds of the fantasy playoffs.  Collins will be on many title teams and will be on many a DFS winner as well.  If he is somehow on your waiver wire, well, what are you waiting for?

Josh McCown:   Josh McCown suffered a broken hand Sunday and is done for the year.  Robby Anderson, Jermaine Kearse and crew are about to learn the lesson Dez Bryant, Jason Witten and crew learned in 2015 – you need a quarterback who can get you the ball.  Just as Weeden/Cassell/Moore decimated the Cowboys receivers in 2015, Petty/Hackenberg will decimate the Jets air game.  If you own Anderson or Kearse you had a good run.  Now, move on.  

Doug Martin:   Doug Martin came back from injury Sunday but fantasy owners could hardly tell.  Martin rushed 10 times for only 26 yards.  Fortunately for his owners, he did get a TD.  However, given that Peyton Barber carried the ball 12 times and was more effective (58 yards), it is hard to trust Martin going forward.  That said, I would not trust Barber either.  Avoid this RB time share and look elsewhere if you need to find an RB/Flex for your fantasy semis.  

Josh Gordon:   Last week we wrote: “Josh Gordon tallied 85 yards on 4 catches in his first real game action since 2014.  Not terrible.  However, the real story is that Gordon was targeted 11 times and will clearly be a key part of the Browns offense in the last 4 weeks of the season.  With Green Bay scheduled to come to Cleveland next week, Gordon looks mighty attractive.  Through 12 weeks, the Packers had the 4th worst fantasy defense against wide receivers.  Forget that Gordon was a fantasy superstar four years ago.  Forget that he has missed three seasons of action.  Instead, focus on opportunity, weakness of opponent and the fact that Gordon appears in shape and is just 26 years old.  I can easily see him being on a number of fantasy title winners in 2017.  [As to being on winners, I predict that Gordon helps the Browns break their winless streak against the Pack in week 14.  Bookmark it].”  Well, we were right about Gordon but not the Browns.  Gordon did not light the world on fire but 3-69 and a TD (almost 16 PPR points) is not too shabby.  He should only continue to get better as you make your run late in the fantasy playoffs.  

Final Note:  The Carson Wentz injury is just so unfortunate.  Folks, do not root for injuries.  You can be a rabid fan of your team, you can actively root against your team’s arch rival, you can be a fanatical fantasy player, etc. but injuries happen to real people and affect real lives.   Eagles fans should not have cheered Romo’s injury, Cowboys fans should not cheer Wentz’s injury and so on.  We in the fantasy community and in #FANation are simply above that.  Ok, now back to competing for a fantasy football title!