Fantasy Football players to add and some to avoid in your PPR leagues:
Week 12 is the final week of the season with teams on bye. Just like last week, this week and going forward, the wire is all about grabbing lottery tickets and dumping your boring low ceiling bye week fillers that you aren’t going to use during your fantasy playoffs. Don’t worry about rostering those low end wide outs such as Brian Hartline or Lance Moore types and load up on upside options that can make a difference if their opportunities should spike.
Pick Me Up
Ladarius Green – TE SD (one percent ownership per CBS)
Green has quietly begun working his way onto the field more and more as the season goes along. After playing on fewer than 20 snaps in five of the first six weeks, he has gotten 20 or more plays in three of the past four. He’s making the most of the increased time, as this past weekend he caught four of five targets for 81 yards versus the Dolphins. For the season, he’s averaging a robust 20.3 yards per reception and five of his 11 receptions have gone for 20 or more yards.
The 6-foot-6, 240 pound rookie has also been used vertically when finding the field. Per Pro Football Focus, of his 14 targets on the season, five have come on throws that have traveled over 20 yards in the air. Compare that to aging teammate Antonio Gates, who has only seven such targets on 357 snaps in route, and you can see just how the Chargers are using him and his size. Green could be involved even more down the stretch as the Charger receiving corps is deteriorating. With Keenan Allen’s status in the air for this week after leaving last week with a knee injury, they would be forced to rely on Vincent Brown and Eddie Royal to go along with Gates. It’s well known that Philip Rivers has no problem tossing up 50/50 balls to giant targets, making Green the best lotto ticket stash tight end available.
Marquise Goodwin – WR BUF (three percent ownership)
Goodwin is another rookie seeing an increased role as the season carries on. Even before playing 87 percent of the Bills offensive snaps yesterday with Stevie Johnson and Robert Woods out, he participated in over half (51 percent) of their plays over the three previous weeks. With those guys out, he had the most receptions (six), targets (nine) and yards (81) that he’s had in any game to date. He also added a 43 yard touchdown, his third scoring play of over 40 yards this season. Coming out of their week 12 bye, the Bills play the Falcons, Bucs and Jaguars. If you’re an owner hurting at wide receiver, Goodwin is worth a dice roll stash in hopes he maintains an increase in playing time.
Cordarrelle Patterson – WR MIN (14 percent ownership)
The Vikings have been whispering all season long about getting Patterson more involved on offense, but coming into this past week his season high for snaps was 26 in week nine. With Greg Jennings on the shelf, he finally was thrust into the starting lineup in a difficult matchup at Seattle. The results weren’t glowing, catching only three balls for 28 yards, but the nine targets were encouraging for a player with as much raw ability as Patterson has. In return yard leagues, he’s likely already owned, but the theme of playing late season waivers is buying talent that hasn’t quite had the opportunity yet. If he continues to be a part of 40 plus snaps or near that mark, eventually that talent will break through.
Markus Wheaton – WR PIT (three percent ownership)
Although the leg injury to Emmanuel Sanders is not expected to be a serious issue, Wheaton could still find a way onto the field more often before the season closes out. After breaking a finger, he never regained a grip on snaps over Jericho Cotchery and has been relegated to watching from the sidelines. When Sanders left this past week, he found his way onto the field for 49 snaps, catching three of five targets for 38 yards. While that’s not flashy, neither has been the play of Sanders. Sanders has reeled in just 55 percent of his targets this year and is third on the team in receiving yardage. If he misses any time at all, Wheaton could be worth an add to your bench.
Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls
Antone Smith – Week 11 line: two carries for 88 yards and one touchdown, one catch for four yards – 16.2 PPR PTS.
Don’t both wasting your time snatching up Smith this week because of one long touchdown jaunt in garbage time. Before yesterday, the four year special teams vet had only two career rushing attempts in 42 games played.
Jarius Wright – Week 11 line: three catches for 69 yards, two touchdowns – 21.9 PPR PTS
The thing about Wright is that he’s actually been on the field all season, he just hasn’t done anything yet to make anyone notice. He’s played on 40 percent of the Vikings snaps this season, yet Sunday were his first two touchdown receptions and his 69 yards were double that of his previous high for the season.
Stats used were provided from ProFootballFocus, Pro-Football-Reference, NFLData.com.
