Week 12 was an interesting fantasy week, we unfortunately saw the injury bug rear its ugly head once again. My prayers go out to Joe Burrow who suffered a torn ACL and MCL, hopefully a minor setback for a major comeback. Along with Burrow, many players saw their stock rise and drop due to injury. Tee Higgins’ breakout rookie year looks to have hit a roadblock and players like Gus Edwards may be seeing an uptick in volume. Here are my picks on the wire this week and the impact that injuries have had on them.
James White- Another week, another Patriots running back headlines the waiver article. Last week, I explained that Rex Burkhead was officially a viable option based on his volume this season. Unfortunately, Burkhead tore his ACL against the Texans on Sunday. This forces James White directly into the role most fantasy managers hoped for at the beginning of the season.
White will receive a majority of the passing work and occasional carries. White received 57% of snaps in Week 11, catching six passes for 64 yards and taking five carries for 19 yards. If this volume continues, the rest of the season should be the James White we saw in the past. Making him a great PPR option.
Scoville Units: Ghost Pepper- 1,041,000
Frank Gore- With La’mical Perine landing a spot on the injured reserve, Gore’s only competition for the Jets backfield is Ty Johnson. What that means is that Gore is officially the bell cow in New York. Gore still has a low ceiling because of his age, but any lead back is worth rostering in a majority of redraft leagues. Gore had his best game of the season last week against the Chargers taking 15 carries for 61 yards and a score. He also accompanied this with two catches for ten yards.
Scoville Units: Serrano Pepper- 23,000
Gus Edwards- The Baltimore backfield took a major hit this week, both Mark Ingram and J.K. Dobbins were placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list. This paves the way for the Gus Bus to rumble through.
Edwards is more than capable to take on an exclusive role, and despite coming up against a tough Pittsburgh defense this week and in the coming weeks Edwards is an intriguing play. The last time that the Raven and Steelers played was Week 8 where Edwards took 16 carries for 87 yards and a touchdown. This week Gus is a great back pick-up.
Scoville Units: Trinidad Scorpion- 2,000,000
Nelson Agholor- This has been a very boom/bust season for Agholor. Coming off of a week with one catch for eight yards against the Broncos, he bounced back and then some for 6 catches, 88 yards, and a score.
Currently, Agholor is eclipsing 10 points biweekly in fantasy, but his next two matchups make it hard to believe he will not have three big weeks in a row. Coming up against the Falcons in Week 12 and the Jets in Week 13, Agholor is a pickup that could be a lineup lock.
Scoville Units: Chocolate Habanero- 577,000
Steven Sims- The Washington Football Team has been much more productive than any fantasy players could have hoped. Terry McLaurin is picking up where he left off in 2019, Antonio Gibson has emerged as an extremely viable fantasy option and even J.D. McKissic has found himself in many managers’ lineups.
Is Steven Sims the next option in Washington?
My hope is yes. Sims missed weeks four through eight after a Week 3 injury, but in the past two weeks since he has come back he has caught five passes for 46 yards and 3 catches for 13 yards and a touchdown. Sims may be one too many mouths to feed for a shaky Washington offense, but he is worth keeping an eye on.
Scoville Units: Anaheim- 1,000
Will Dissly- Yet another beneficiary of the list of injuries this week is Will Dissly. Last year before his injury, Dissly was a Top 5 tight end fantasy option. This year he has been nowhere near that stature, but with Greg Olsen being placed on the IR he could emerge late. It is worth mentioning that the Seahawks still have Jacob Hollister who could steal touches, but Dissly is an interesting wait and see player.
Scoville Units: Hungarian- 10,000
