Week 10 saw a lot of standout performances, luckily not at the expense of other players. Receivers had big days like Jerry Jeudy, Richie James, David Moore and plenty others. Unfortunately, a lot of boom or bust receivers are difficult to predict. Here are my takes on the receivers that broke out on the wire and whether or not you can predict their boom weeks.
Duke Johnson: The only notable injury in Week 8, barring Christian McCaffery’s shoulder, was David Johnson suffering a concussion. While David Montgomery was also put into concussion protocol, his replacement is not an intriguing fantasy option. Duke Johnson on the other hand, is a very intriguing fantasy play. Johnson is usually a stretch FLEX play at best in PPR formats, but stepping into the starting job he took 16 carries for 41 yards and four catches for 32 yards and a score. Duke got 82% of snaps and the same outlook should continue, making him a big add this week.
Scoville Units: Chocolate Habanero – 577,000
Kalen Ballage: With Troymaine Pope out and Justin Jackson playing very few snaps, the running back duties fell on Ballage and Josh Kelley. Surprisingly, Ballage was efficient with his touches, taking 15 carries for 69 yards and a touchdown and 2 catches for 15 yards. While this production is out of the blue for Ballage, it could be maintained if Jackson continues to miss. Next week is a revenge game against the Dolphins, so be on the lookout for Ballage to make a statement.
Scoville Units: Thai Pepper- 100,000
Jakobi Myers: I will preface this write-up by stating that you should always take anything that was accomplished against the Jets with a grain of salt and furthermore, anything with Cam Newton at quarterback. With that being said, Jakobi Meyers had quite the day. He pulled in 12 of his 14 targets for a whopping 169 yards. Meyers has been a favorite target of Newton netting 6, 10 and 14 targets in the last three weeks respectively. If the targets keep up, he’s a PPR slam dunk.
Scoville Units: Carolina Reaper – 2,200,000
Richie James: With the entire 49ers receiving core on the COVID-19 list on Sunday, Richie James stepped up and became a WR1 against the Packers. He recorded video game type numbers, catching 9 of his 13 targets for 184 yards and a touchdown. It is worth mentioning that Jaire Alexander left the game early with an injury, thus James was not facing off against the top cornerback on the Packers. As well as that most of the 49ers receivers are set to return, but it could be a James breakout.
Scoville Units: Jalapeno – 8,000
Trey Burton: Concussions seem to be the story of Week 9, because Jack Doyle also suffered one. This not only continues the rise that Burton was undergoing, but also thrusts Burton into the uncontested lead tight end role. The only competition that Burton has is Mo Alie-Cox and he was estimated to have missed practice on Monday. If all other Colts tight ends continue to trend downwards, Burton is a must roster.
Scoville Units: Tabasco – 45,000
Players to watch: Ryan Nall (CHI), K.J. Hamler (DEN), Salvin Ahmed (MIA), Jordan Howard (MIA), Pittman (IND)
