Pick Me Up
Rashad Jennings RB OAK (12 percent ownership per CBS)
Jennings turned in his second 20 plus point PPR game this season in relief after starter Darren McFadden left Sunday after re-aggravating the same hamstring that forced him to miss week five. If Run DMC is in street clothes again this weekend, Jennings is the add for those still starving for any running back production. He’ll get a tough draw against a Giants defense that has been tough on Adrian Peterson, LeSean McCoy and Jamaal Charles this season, but Jennings reception boost shouldn’t be ignored. In only 94 snaps in route, Jennings has 19 receptions and is currently sporting a .38 FPPRR on his limited snaps.
Riley Cooper WR PHI (23 percent ownership)
We’ve played this game before with free agents (Marvin Jones), chasing a big time, unsustainable performance on waivers a week to late. You definitely shouldn’t hold your breath in waiting for a repeat performance out of Cooper, but it’s becoming a trend that he is turning in big fantasy games with Nick Foles throwing the football. In his three starts with Foles, Cooper has scored 22, 14.8 and 38.7 points while scoring 3.4, 10.3, 4.9, 0, 4.5 and 3.3 points in each game that Michael Vick has started. He will get a much improved Green Bay defense this week, but games versus Washington, Minnesota, Detroit and Dallas are still on the fantasy horizon.
Shonn Greene (21 percent ownership)
After hearing whispers of possibly seeing 15 touches per week going forward, Green carried nine times for 38 yards and a score while adding a 28 yard reception this past weekend versus the Rams. While he may have fallen short of cutting into a motivated and aggressive Chris Johnson workload, the threat of timeshare is still present. Green will also likely gobble up nearly all of the goal line attempts. If Johnson turns back into a pumpkin, Greene’s usage could uptick at any given moment. If Tennessee is able to run the game scripts they desire, there will be a big enough slice of pie regardless with those touchdown opportunities.
Brian Leonard RB TB (one percent ownership)
Lost in the Mike James fever is that Leonard has 10 points in each of the past two weeks. His 11 targets in those two games are the third most on Tampa, and his 10 receptions lead the team. While his ceiling is extremely low, an owner that was starting Jamaal Charles, any of the New England backs or was recently riding the Jets running back carousel may look for a safe eight to ten points in the similar fashion that owners used Chris Ogbonnaya this season.
Griff Whalen WR IND (one percent ownership)
If you were one of the owners chasing the ghost of Darrius Heyward-Bey when Reggie Wayne was lost for the season, you were rewarded with a one catch performance this week. Whalen actually ran more routes (29) than DHB (26) and was targeted nine times. He was only able to corral three of those for 32 yards, but Andrew Luck wasn’t shy about given his former college teammate his chances. In his senior season with Luck at Stanford, Whalen grabbed 56 receptions for 749 yards and four scores.
Don’t Go Chasing Waterfalls
Darrel Young – Week Nine line: five carries for 12 yards, three touchdowns (19.2 points)
We’re all smarter than this, but Young has to be included just to point out the ongoing joy that Mike Shanahan gets from torturing the poor souls of fake footballers everywhere.
Jericho Cotchery – Week Nine line: Seven catches for 96 yards, three touchdowns (34.6 points)
The targets (8), receptions and yards were the most Cotchery had in any game since week four. With the Patriots determined to takeaway Antonio Brown, he feasted in the middle as the Steelers chased points all afternoon. With rookie Markus Wheaton due to return from injured reserve, the shelf life has likely expired on Cotchery.
Greg Little (19.2 points) and Davone Bess (17.4 points)
The Browns had one receiver with 122 yards and another with two touchdowns receiving and neither was Josh Gordon or Jordan Cameron. The 100 yard game was the first Little has had in his past 26 games played. Bess converted only four targets into his two scores and is leading the league in dropped passes.
Bye, Bye, Bye
Teams on Bye: Cleveland, New England, New York Jets, Kansas City
Waiver Wire QB with favorable matchups: Christian Ponder (WAS), Jake Locker (JAC), Ben Roethlisberger (BUF)
WR: Rod Streeter (@ NYG), Jerome Simpson (WAS), Kendall Wright (JAC)
TE: John Carlson (WAS), Tim Wright (MIA)
