Last night when I sat down to write this my wife walked by and asked ‘when is that over?’ That being the fantasy football season, of course. That question pretty much set the tone for what you’re (hopefully) going to read next.
For some of you, the answer is a simple ‘in a couple of weeks.’
Now that isn’t all your fault. I get that. Especially for those of you who hitched your first-round capital to the likes of Jeremy Hill, Eddie Lacy, C.J. Anderson, and Le’Veon Bell. For various reasons those picks didn’t work out for you. And if you aren’t a regular reader like my mom (hi mom), perhaps you didn’t get the constant memos I sent out about Ronnie Hillman, Karlos Williams, Stevie Johnson, and Crockett Gilmore.
That’s okay; because you’re here now. What better time to start than the present!
Now for the rest of you in a couple weeks it will be go time, right? You know what I’m talking about.
Playoffs.
We’re going to ride a fine line here, today. That line being prepping your squad while avoiding the spoilers. For every 6-4, 5-5, 4-6 fighting for that last playoff spot, there’s a 0-10, 1-9, 2-8 waiting to trip you up. It happens every single year.
That isn’t to zing any of you readers that might not be headed toward championship glory in your league, that is just pointing out the reality of who you are being on the outside looking in at those playoff spots.
But oh how much fun you can have on the outside.
Needless to say this is where the strategy plays out. No more trades means you can’t poach the gems from teams not in contention so ‘waiver chess’ is the name of the game. If you don’t get one of the guys I list here it doesn’t mean you’re at a disadvantage, it just means you have to work a little harder when looking at the matchups.
Have I pumped you up enough to finish this marathon? Good. Let’s get to it, then.
Danny Amendola, WR, New England Patriots
Second appearance on this list for Amendola. With Edelman out after foot surgery there’s no denying he’s the slot man to own now for the Patriots.
Jay Ajayi, RB, Miami Dolphins
Ajayi had a lot of pre-draft buzz before injury cost him to start the season. He’s an interesting FLEX play down the stretch considering his style lends itself to goal line work.
David Cobb, RB, Tennessee Titans
Did anyone see what Antonio Andrews did in Week 10? No? I don’t blame you, he didn’t do a whole lot. David Cobb was another rookie runner making noise before injury and looks to return to an offense ripe for RB1 opportunity.
Brock Osweiler, QB, Denver Broncos
Bronco fans got their wish. Sort of.
By that I mean that for the time being they no longer have to watch Peyton Manning underhand passes for a while. Consider Osweiler a consolation prize. Osweiler is fine, and ideally he would be getting his first start against someone other than the regime that picked him, but he can be a fine option. If you own Manning you better own Osweiler. Otherwise I’d consider him a stream play.
