Amari Cooper : Forget whether he was worth a first-rounder. That debate has nothing to do with fantasy football. What is relevant is Cooper’s explosion on national TV as he reeled in 8 catches for 180 yards and two TDs in the Cowboys big win. Did some bad tackling account for some of that yardage? Yes. Is Cooper getting separation and showing big play ability? Yes. Will he see a lot of single coverage as teams have to account for the legs of Zeke and Dak? Yes. Are you jazzed about Cooper going against Tampa and Indy in the fantasy playoffs? Yes. You get the point. Cooper has size, speed and is obviously comfortable in an offense that is getting better each week. Buy!
Josh Adams : Adams carried 22 times for 84 yards and a TD in Sunday’s win over the hapless Giants. 14+ fantasy points is a nice return for a waiver wire pick up. I believe that Adams will continue to be fed a steady diet as the Iggles seek to take some of the pressure off of Carson Wentz . That said, with the Redskins, Cowboys, Rams and Texans next up for the Iggles, I would not run out and trade a lot for Adams. If he is still on your wire somehow, scoop him up. Otherwise, proceed with caution – those are some pretty tough defenses to face.
Jermaine Kearse : The Jets were not good Sunday but Kearse was good to his fantasy owners. Jermaine caught 6 balls for 66 yards and a TD, good for over 18 PPR points. Oh, and he led the team in targets with 12. I do not like the schedule going forward but if you are looking for someone to plug and play next week, Kearse could be a good, inexpensive play. Why? Because McCown will be under center again and he clearly likes looking Kearse’s way. Plus, the way the Jets are playing, do you doubt there will be garbage time points to be had?
Philip Rivers : Rivers was the picture of accuracy Sunday completing 28 of 29 passes for 259 yards and a TD. The day would have been even better if the Cards offense put up a fight and forced Rivers to play the 4th quarter. Not surprisingly, Geno Smith failed to complete a pass in relief of Rivers but I digress. With shootouts against Pittsburgh and KC, plus an outing against a Bengals D shredded by Cleveland Sunday, Rivers looks like a growth stock. If you are one of those teams streaming QBs, go take a look and see if Rivers is on someone’s bench. If so, make a deal, lock in your QB and enjoy the points. I am in.
D.J. Moore : Last week we wrote: “D.J. Moore went off Sunday with 7 grabs for 157 yards and a TD. The Panthers’ rookie has been getting better and better as the season goes on. What does the rest of the season hold? Well, the bad news is that Moore has 6 or more targets only twice this year (Sunday being one of those times). Thus, he will have to be very efficient to put up the fantasy points. That said, the good news outweighs the bad. First, he will get a rushing carry or two each week which will add some free fantasy points to the sheet. Second, the schedule is just tasty – Tampa, Cleveland, Atlanta and a potential shoot out with New Orleans. There is some risk but I believe.” Well, Moore delivered hauling in 8 balls for 91 yards and adding 7 rushing yards. That is almost 18 PPR points. Given that he had 9 targets, there is every reason to believe he is and will be the Panthers WR1. Like we said last week, buy!
Final Note: It is now crunch time in fantasy football. If you need to win week 13 to get in, then spend your FAAB and do what needs to be done to get in. If you are already in, check the week 14-16 schedules and make pickups based on the value players will give you when it counts again. Good luck!