I see "experts" all the time on ESPN, CBS, Yahoo, etc talking about fantasy football. So many people who play fantasy football go to these people and ask for advice... And honestly, I don't think their advice is all that great. I don't see any of these "experts" making extremely bold predictions that come true often. It's usually just a bunch of obvious observations. This player has better numbers than that player. This player has an easy matchup this week.
And so that got me thinking. I want to see how easy it is to give advice. Obviously, the best way to do that is to attempt it myself, post my predictions publicly, and track my results.
So for at least the next few weeks, I'm going to offer some waiver wire pick-up advice. For each position, I'm going to point out 3 players that are unowned in over 50% of ESPN fantasy leagues that I think have potential for the upcoming week. The idea is that if you're panicking about a specific position on your roster for the upcoming week, these are some guys that you might be able to pick up for a 1 week miracle start. If you are reading this, I probably wouldn't listen to my advice quite yet. I should probably prove that I have the ability to make these predictions first before you take them seriously... But feel free to read on for entertainment purposes.
Without further ado, here are my Week 7 Waiver Wire Pickups.
Quarterback
1) Brian Hoyer
Hoyer is owned in only 7.2 percent of leagues and for good reason. He's not a sexy fantasy quarterback by any means. However, he is consistent and he rarely turns the ball over. Jordan Cameron is finally back healthy, which gives him a legitimate target to throw to... Add those factors to the fact that the Browns are playing the Jaguars this season. This has 300 yards and 2-3 TDs written all over it.
2) Jake Locker/Charlie Whitehurst
Locker is owned in 4.6 percent of leagues. Whitehurst in 0.6 percent. Keep an eye on the injury report. Locker's availability is still up in the air. Obviously this is a much better option if Locker plays... But the matchup with Washington is a juicy one.
3) Joe Flacco
Flacco is only owned in 44.5 percent of leagues, which is a bit surprising to me. Flacco has proven year after year that he is more than adequate and he has a pretty solid receiving corps. The matchup with the Falcons isn't amazing, but if you'd rather go with talent over matchup, this is your guy.
Running Backs
1) Isaiah Crowell
How is this guy only owned in 17 percent of leagues? Has anyone watched him run? Yes, he's going to split time with Ben Tate... But Crowell is a great runner, and a matchup against the Jaguars is good for every offensive player. The Browns are going to win this game easily... And when they have the lead in the second half, they're going to turn to the running game. I expect both Tate and Crowell to have pretty good days.
2) Jonathan Stewart
Stewart is owned in 25.4 percent of leagues. He has a pretty good matchup against the Packers... But it is a dangerous one. This game could definitely become a shootout. Stewart is not guaranteed to play either, coming off of an injury. But if he does play, I think he's guy worthy of consideration if you're desperate. If he plays, he's the guy. No other running back on that team really deserves carries. Cam Newton has his legs back, which sounds like a negative... But it actually opens up the offense more. This should give Stewart bigger lanes to run through.
3) Brandon Bolden
Bolden is owned in 2.1 percent of leagues. Ridley is out for the year and Vareen can't carry the load. Bolden is going to see plenty of action... And the Pats are playing the Jets. The Jets are terrible. Admittedly, run defense is 1 thing the Jets are competent at... But the Pats will be winning by a large number by the 2nd half, which should give the RBs plenty of touches. James White could steal some carries from Bolden, but I don't think it will be significant.
Wide Receivers
1) Andre Holmes
Holmes is only owned in 6.6 percent of leagues and he's a boom-or-bust kind of guy. He's either going to give you 15 points or 1. Arizona's defense has struggled against WRs and Holmes's speed will be tough to matchup against. I'm going with the 15 points on this one.
2) Markus Wheaton
Wheaton is owned in 16.1 percent of leagues and I think he's due. This guy looks good. Not amazing, but good. Roethlisberger has to start getting him the ball sometime... And this matchup against Houston might be the perfect opportunity.
3) Brandon LaFell
LaFell is owned in only 5 percent of leagues. This guy is the definition of boom-or-bust. Give me the boom on this one. The Jets are seriously bad.
Tight Ends
1) Travis Kelce
This guy should be owned in every league. Somehow he's only owned in 48.6 percent. That's all you need to know. He is good enough that he should be owned in every single league. So if he's not owned in yours, go get him.
2) Dwayne Allen
Allen is owned in 18.9 percent of leagues. His only issue is that Fleener is still there. Indy has a great matchup for the TEs, so either one could be a good play here. I'd go with Allen as he seems to be getting more volume than Fleener.
3) Jared Cook
Jared Cook is owned in 11.1 percent of leagues and he is the stereotypical "I need a TE to start this week" kind of guy. He's usually decent. Don't expect much out of him, though. He is a good option if the rest of your team is solid. If you just need a guy to go in there and get you 5-10 points, he's your man. If you think you need more than that to win this week, look elsewhere.
Defense/Special Teams
I am a big proponent of streaming defenses weekly. If that's you as well, these are the defenses you should be looking at.
1) Cleveland Browns D/ST
They're playing the Jaguars.
2) Chicago Bears D/ST
The Bears are the 9th best fantasy defense this year and they play the ho-hum Dolphins. Don't expect a lot here, but it's a decent matchup. You could do worse.
3) Houston Texans D/ST
Houston plays the Steelers, which isn't the most amazing matchup... But the Steelers haven't been playing well this season. They just got beat pretty badly by the Browns... And the Texans defense has quietly been a high quality fantasy defense. I don't think I'd feel too comfortable starting them... But if you're desperate, it's a way you can go.
Kickers
Hahahaha just kidding. Pshhh. Kickers. Need a kicker? Grab the one that is available in your league and has scored the most points this year. There's no reason to think much deeper than that. If you're insane, you can look at the kicker's offense and the opposing defense. Kickers generally do best when they have a pretty good offense against an average defense. You want the opposing defense to be bad enough to give up a lot of yards but good enough to stop an offense from scoring a lot of TDs. If you want to do that research, that's all you.
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