Nov 9, 2017

By: @SMich_5

Another week has passed and now every team has played at least 8 games. We’re more than halfway through the season now and there are only two more weeks of byes to work around. There were some great calls in the targets for week 9 and I hope there are more to come, but before we move on, let’s take one final look at the week 9 performances.

Jared Goff, Los Angeles Rams

It seems both recently and forever ago that fantasy players were deeming Goff as the next big bust. After struggling mightily under former coach Jeff Fisher, new head coach Sean McVay has brought new life to his QB and the Rams’ offense. After their blowout win against the New York Giants on Sunday, they have grabbed the attention of everyone around the league who wasn’t already watching. Goff had a career day, setting new high marks in several categories including yards, touchdowns, yards per attempt, and QB rating. He torched the Giants defense for 311 yards and 4 TDs on only 22 attempts. New York was without top corner back Janoris Jenkins, but getting 51 hung on you at home is tough, especially when one of those 4 TDs came on a 3rd and 33 play where it looked like the Giants had no interest in tackling any Rams player. Goff’s 31.4 point performance was great for any player, but given his low $5500 price he was one of the best plays of the week.

Adrian Peterson, Arizona Cardinals

Since being traded away from the crowded New Orleans backfield, Peterson was great in his debut with the Cards and awful the next week. So heading into his week 9 game against the San Francisco 49ers there was a bit of uncertainty about his production. Luckily, there was no uncertainty about how bad the 49ers had been against opposing running backs this season, and Peterson was able to make the most of his record setting opportunities. Carrying the ball more than any back 30+ years old and setting a new career high, he was able to rip off 159 yards. Adding in 2 catches for another 8 yards, Peterson finished with 20.7 points and could have had a huge day had he been able to find the end zone. He did have multiple carries inside the 49ers 10 yard line but was unable to convert any of the chances. Still, even without the scores, Peterson was able to return significant value in his $5600 price and all his with Drew Stanton as his starting QB. This should serve notice to fantasy players that the 49ers are a very vulnerable defense, and will make for a nice day for several running backs in the weeks to come.

Devin Funchess, Carolina Panthers

Funchess had been a much larger part of the Carolina offense this year and is in the middle of a breakout season. The former second round draft pick had already set new career highs, or was close to, in almost every major receiving statistic before the surprising trade of #1 WR Kelvin Benjamin to the Buffalo Bills made him QB Cam Newton’s top outside threat. There was a lot of anticipation within the fantasy community to see how he would respond, and how the targets would be divvied up. He also was a nice value with his price being set before the trade took place. So now, a top WR with a $5400 price tag was in play on the DraftKings main slate against a shaky secondary. Once the game was finished, Funchess had turned in what could be generously described as a useful day. He didn’t set the fantasy world ablaze with tales of his dominance, but he was able to come close to hitting value. Funchess caught 5 of the 7 targets he saw and turned them into 86 yards for a score of 13.6 points. Not a disaster, but not what many were hoping for. He did account for just over 29% of the targets on the day, but Carolina rushed for over 200 yards on the day and didn’t need to pass much to win their game. If his target share holds around that mark, he will be a huge value if his price remains close to what it was in Week 9. Unfortunately, the Panthers seem committed to running the ball and injured TE Greg Olsen might only be a couple of weeks away from returning, leaving Funchess with only a couple more weeks of top receiver status.

T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis Colts

Hilton’s Jekyll and Hyde season continued last week, as he went off for a huge day after three straight disappointing games. His recent dip in production had seen his price drop to a crazy low $4900, making him a big target for DFS players. Guys that talented don’t hit the price point without some crazy set of circumstances to go with it, and Hilton reminded everyone that he is one of the most dangerous in the league. Facing a hurting Houston defense, Hilton churned out 175 yards on five catches, and found the end zone twice, producing a season high 37.5 points. He scored quick with a 45 yard TD in the first quarter, and added one of the weirdest looking scores of the year later on. After catching a deep pass from Jacoby Brissett and falling to the ground, Hilton stayed down for a second, and after not being touched down, got up and ran the rest of the way for a confusing 80 yard score. Hilton probably won’t hit this price again, so hopefully you were able to take advantage.

Ed Dickson, Carolina Panthers

Well, that wasn’t what I expected. There’s always risk when it comes to predicting outcomes, no matter how much data you look at or what kind of research you put in. Dickson hadn’t been great, but his opportunity to contribute seemed to be as high as possible since Greg Olsen went down. The Benjamin trade had many people hoping that other Panthers would step up and fill the void. Unlike Funchess, who was able to almost hit value, Dickson had a terrible day, putting up 0 points to finish with his worst game since a one catch, 8 yard outing against the New Orleans Saints back in week 3. It wasn’t even like he missed out on a lot of opportunities, as he only drew two targets during the game. You can continue to ignore Dickson as a fantasy asset, especially if Olsen is able to return after the Panthers’ bye week.

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