Mike Fanelli | November 12th, 2019
The month of November has been a wacky one in the NFL. The Dolphins are 2-0 as they defeated the Jets and Colts this month after going 0-7 in the first two months of the season. Meanwhile, coming off a bye, the Rams lost to the Steelers on Sunday while the Saints got destroyed by the Falcons. This coming week the Packers, Giants, Seahawks, and Titans are on a bye, leaving fantasy owners with several key players unavailable as they push for a playoff spot.
Some of the players fantasy owners will be without include Aaron Rodgers, Russell Wilson, Saquon Barkley, Aaron Jones, Chris Carson, Derrick Henry, Davante Adams, Tyler Lockett, Evan Engram, and more. However, fantasy owners still need to add players off the waiver wire to replenish their bench as they make their playoff push. With four teams on a bye, plenty of injuries, and underperforming players, I have provided a list of eight players fantasy owners should add tonight. Let’s get to it!
Only players with less than 50% ownership are allowed for this column. Percents are based on ESPN.
Derek Carr, QB, Oakland Raiders (36.7%)
If you’re an owner of Rodgers or Wilson, Carr would be my top target to fill in for them this week. While Carr is just the QB19 on the season, coming off 13.1 fantasy points Thursday night against the Chargers and averaging 14.8 fantasy points per game, he faces the historically awful Bengals’ defense this week. The Bengals just gave up 33.4 fantasy points at home to Lamar Jackson and he didn’t play most of the fourth quarter. Over their last four games, the Bengals have given up an average of 24.9 fantasy points per game and at least 21 in every game to quarterbacks. Carr won’t have as big of a fantasy game as Lamar did but he should easily score 21 or more fantasy points.
Derrius Guice, RB, Washington Redskins (38.4%)
It has been a while since we’ve seen Guice on the field. If you were smart, you grabbed Guice off the waiver wire last week when your league-mates were asleep at the wheel. If not, you can still grab him now but it will likely cost you a big chunk of your FAAB money. Last time we saw Guice, Jay Gruden was still the head coach and Adrian Peterson was inactive. Gruden is gone and Peterson has rushed for over 75 yards in four straight games (the four games Bill Callahan has been the head coach). With Dwayne Haskins being named the starting quarterback the rest of the season, the Redskins will focus on the run to protect him, opening up enough opportunity for both Guice and Peterson to have weekly flex appeal.
J.D. McKissic, RB, Detroit Lions (16%)
Fellow running back Ty Johnson suffered a concussion on Sunday against the Bears, opening the door for McKissic to have a feature role going forward. Even if Johnson is ready to play this week against the Cowboys, he has done next to nothing since Kerryon Johnson was placed on injured reserve, scoring a total of 14.3 fantasy points in three games. Meanwhile, McKissic had 16 touches (six catches) for 55 yards against the Bears. He has scored 11.5 or more fantasy points in each of his last two games, despite playing fewer snaps than Ty Johnson since the injury to KJ. McKissic isn’t my favorite running back to add this week but if you have multiple running backs on the bye this coming week, he is a safe floor RB2 against the Cowboys.
Mike Davis, RB, Carolina Panthers (1.3%)
After being waived by the Bears last week, Davis was claimed by the Panthers yesterday. This move will have little or no impact on Christian McCaffrey‘s fantasy value going forward but if you own McCaffrey, you should consider adding Davis now. We all hope and pray that McCaffrey doesn’t miss any games the rest of the season but if he does, Davis will step into a featured role on a run-heavy offense. As we get closer to Thanksgiving, it is time to plan for the playoffs, both in scheduling and in adding handcuffs. Hopefully, we never lose CMC to an injury but if we do, you will be much happier having Davis on your bench than on the waiver wire. Add him now while he is basically free.
Brian Hill, RB, Atlanta Falcons (0.7%)
With Ito Smith on injured reserve, Hill stepped up into a featured role Sunday against the Saints when Devonta Freeman left the game with a foot sprain. At the time of writing this, Freeman is scheduled to have an MRI to determine the extent of the injury. If Freeman is out (which is likely), Hill will take over as the starter. Hill had 20 carries for 61 yards, one catch for 10 yards and a touchdown in relief duty in the Falcons’ win over the Saints. Even if it’s just for one week, the Panthers give up plenty of fantasy points per game to running backs, giving up 33.6 last week to the Packers and 28.8 per game this season. With Freeman out, Hill is a volume based low-end RB2 this week.
DeVante Parker, WR, Miami Dolphins (44.6%)
With Preston Williams on injured reserve, it is officially the Parker show at wide receiver in Miami. Against the Colts, Parker was the Dolphins’ only pass-catcher to score more than 5.2 fantasy points, scoring 11.9 despite not getting in the end zone. Since the Dolphins’ bye week, Parker has scored at least 11.8 fantasy points in each of their five games. He has seen eight-plus targets or scored a touchdown in each of those games. Parker’s schedule gets tough the next two weeks against the Bills and Browns but his playoff schedule is the Jets, Giants, and Bengals. In addition, he gets the Eagles in week 13. Parker’s volume and schedule makes him my top waiver wire add this week.
Diontae Johnson, WR, Pittsburgh Steelers (13.7%)
Johnson has been hit or miss this season, having as many games under 7.7 fantasy points as he has over it. However, Johnson has starting to become more consistent over the last few weeks. He has scored 10.4 or more fantasy points in two of the Steelers’ three games since their bye week. Johnson has seen six or more targets in five of his last seven games. In the games where he has gotten six or more targets, Johnson is averaging 14 fantasy points per game. After the Steelers face the Browns on Thursday night, three of their next five games are against terrible pass defenses. Johnson’s fantasy playoff schedule is against the Cardinals, Bills, and Jets.
Demaryius Thomas, WR, New York Jets (4.4%)
In the three games since the famous Sam Darnold ghost game against the Patriots, Thomas has been a solid fantasy receiver. Thomas has scored over 11 fantasy points in two of those three games despite not getting into the end zone. He is averaging 5.7 targets per game while catching 76.5% of his targets. Meanwhile, during that span, Robby Anderson is averaging 4.3 targets per game and has scored a total of 15.7 fantasy points. While Jamison Crowder is Darnold’s go-to guy, Thomas is second in the passing game order. With the Jets’ next four games against the Redskins, Raiders, Bengals, and Dolphins, look for Thomas to keep up his solid play.
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