uFantasy,
Gates, Ertz have productive days
Past the season’s midway point, early leaders such as the Minnesota Vikings, Denver Broncos and Green Bay Packers are falling back to the middle of the pack, while the Miami Dolphins, Kansas City Chiefs, Oakland Raiders and New York Giants have winning streaks of at least three games. And their associated fantasy players are falling or rising along with their teams.
For fantasy purposes, the last two weeks saw far fewer fantasy stars on the field with a total of 12 teams taking their bye. Scoring should get back to normal with only four out in each of the next two weeks. Those absences in Week 9 made the handful of excellent performances all the more advantageous.
UNEXPECTED PRODUCTION
Week 9 seemed destined to be a fantasy wasteland for tight ends with Rob Gronkowski, Jordan Reed and Tyler Eifert on their byes. In Week 8, they were among the position’s top four performers. Typically, most tight end stats decrease as the season progresses, but the position suddenly provided all new relevance.
uAntonio Chargers: He led his team with 75 yards and a score on five catches. His nine targets tied for the team lead. Gates had not gained more than 38 yards in any game this year, but he took full advantage of being the primary receiver in the win against the Tennessee Titans. Gates’ schedule next greets the Dolphins, Houston Texans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Carolina Panthers.
uEric ons: Coming off a good performance in Houston with seven catches for 79 yards, Ebron also had a season-best game. He led the Lions with 92 yards on seven receptions in their win against the Vikings. After his Week 10 bye, Ebron has home games against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Vikings again and the Chicago Bears plus a road trip to face the New Orleans Saints.
uZach Eagles: Despite preseason optimism, Ertz never figured much into the new offense of the Eagles. But in the Week 9 loss to the Giants, he led the team with 97 yards on a season-high eight receptions.
As the Eagles are struggling more on offense now than in early weeks, Ertz is finally starting to show up at the top of the box score. He’ll be going against the visiting Atlanta Falcons this weekend and then face the Seattle Seahawks, Packers and Cincinnati Bengals.
uLance Kendricks, Los Angeles Rams: For many years, the Rams ranked poorly in tight end production, as they were little more than extra offensive tackles for blocking. But Kendricks had a season-high seven catches for 55 yards in Week 7.
Coming off the Week 8 bye, he led the Rams with 98 yards on seven receptions in the loss to the Panthers. The Rams face a tough immediate schedule with trips to the New York Jets, Saints and New England Patriots sandwiching a home game vs. the Dolphins. Kendrick has finally become a regular part of the weekly game plan.
uVance McDonald, San Francisco 49ers: He hadn’t topped 25 yards since Week 2, but in the loss to the Saints, McDonald enjoyed a career-best game. He caught three passes for 84 yards that included a 65-yard touchdown catch. He and running back DuJuan Harris had receiving scores for the 49ers.
San Francisco’s schedule is about to turn very tough with three of the next four games on the road against the Arizona Cardinals, Dolphins and Bears with a home game in Week 11 vs. the Patriots. But gaining the confidence of quarterback Colin Kaepernick will pay off with more targets.
uRichard ers: Facing the visiting Indianapolis Colts with a full complement of wide receivers did not suggest that Rodgers was in for his best game of the year. His six receptions for 64 yards were second on the team to Jordy Nelson in a performance that truly came out of nowhere since he had no catches the previous week. This was an aberration.
INTRIGUING ALTERNATIVES
Teams that continue to have problem areas in their offense at least have new options to consider.
uPaul Perkins, Giants: The fifth-round rookie was little used until Week 9, when he was given 11 carries to gain 32 yards and caught a season-high three passes for 15 yards. That might not seem impressive, but in the context of this team it is.
Rashad Jennings returned in Week 6 from a thumb injury and spent the last three games totaling 33 runs for 66 yards and a 2.0yards-per-carry average. Much of Perkins’ yardage Sunday came on 14- and 15-yard runs in the fourth quarter, but that was a level of production unseen from Jennings in a long time. He’s due to at least get more work and already outcarried Jennings in Week 9.
The Giants next get home games against the Bengals and Bears and then receive that NFL treat known as a trip to Cleveland.
uKapri Bibbs, Broncos: There is no confusion about Devontae Booker being the primary back, but he’s not exactly excelling in the role lately. In a Week 8 home game against the Chargers, Booker only gained 54 yards on 19 carries (2.8 yards per carry) and then in Oakland he was limited to 10 runs for 22 yards.
Bibbs was called up as the backup when C.J. Anderson went on injured reserve.
Bibbs ran for 11 yards on two carries Sunday and turned a short catch into a 49-yard weave through the defense for a score. Those came late in the game and should not be overstated, but this week the Broncos play in New Orleans. If Booker continues to underwhelm, Bibbs would see more work.
uQuinton Patton, 49ers: There has been precious little production from the 49ers wide receivers since Kaepernick became the starter in Week 6. In a sign of how bad the Saints secondary is, Kaepernick passed for 398 yards and two scores in Week 9. Patton was his top receiver with six catches for 106 yards.
While Kaepernick was limited to no more than 187 passing yards in his first two starts, there was one commonality within the meager production. Patton caught more passes each week than any other wide receiver (four and three catches, respectively). With five of the next seven games played in road venues, Kaepernick will look for Patton before his other options.
uCorey Coleman, Browns: The 0-9 Browns are starting to assess players for 2017, and that meant opting for rookie quarterback Cody Kessler over veteran Josh McCown in Week 9.
With only 203 yards vs. the banged-up Cowboys secondary, the Browns left potential production on the table. Notably, their first-round draft pick who had last played — with McCown — and totaled 104 yards and two touchdowns in Week 2.
Coleman’s first game back from his broken hand only produced three catches for 41 yards, but his seven targets tied with Terrelle Pryor for the team high. Using Coleman more heavily is one of the ways the Browns will start preparing for the 2017 season.
uEli Rogers, Steelers: After an encouraging season opener (six catches, 59 yards, TD) at Washington, Rogers all but disappeared. He suffered a turf toe injury in Week 3, missed three games and played a minimal role in three others.
During the loss to the Ravens, a healthy Markus Wheaton was inactive as the final step in his diminishing role. Sammie Coates was unable to catch any of his five targets, including dropping a touchdown in the end zone.
Darrius Heyward-Bey was lost with a foot injury. But Rogers led the Steelers with 103 yards on six catches, and his 10 targets were second only to Antonio Brown. That should at least buy more looks during upcoming games against the Cowboys, Browns, Colts and Giants.
LOOKING AHEAD
Week 11 might only have four teams on bye, but the Falcons, Broncos, Jets and Chargers have many weekly fantasy starters. It is the final week of byes other than Week 13, when the Browns and Titans are out. Plan now to get past that final weekend when your full roster is not available.