Snatch ‘Em Up Now
If they weren’t already drafted in your league, these guys will be hot commodities on the wire this week.
Quarterbacks:
Colton Joseph, Old Dominion – This Michigan fan writing this is jealous of the QB play at Old Dominion. 34 or more fantasy points in three of the last four games for Old Dominion’s freshman quarterback who has an enticing matchup against Appalachian State this week who is allowing 34 fantasy points per game this season to opposing QBs. Joseph provides a high floor with his rushing ability, hitting 60 or more yards on the ground in each of the last five games. While we also saw his development as a passer, completing 77% of his throws for 304 yards and four scores vs. Georgia Southern.
Sawyer Robertson, Baylor – Robertson needs a big thank you card from HC Dave Aranda for saving his job potentially as the Bears have won two straight games, due in large part to the play of QB1. 30 or more fantasy points in each of the last five games with 16 passing touchdowns and three scores on the ground in that stretch. TCU and West Virginia upcoming in the next two weeks – two defenses that should pose little threat to Robertson’s fantasy value.
Worth A Look
If you have the roster room, these prospects are worth a look.
Quarterbacks:
Jake Retzlaff, BYU – Bummed that Retzlaff didn’t throw for exactly 218 passing yards for the fourth straight game but did surpassed 30 fantasy points for the fourth time in six weeks in the win over UCF. The only downside to adding Retzlaff at this point in the season is the upcoming schedule where BYU is on bye, followed by a road trip to Utah where you’re unlikely to start him.
Michael Van Buren, Mississippi State – The MSU program is in great shape moving forward with freshman quarterback Michael Van Buren. 300+ passing yards in two of the last three games with a combined nine total touchdowns in that span. This might be the last week that you can realistically start Van Buren for the remainder of the season if you do add him, but this is as good a matchup as you could ask for as a steaming option playing UMass.
Running Backs:
Jevon Jackson, UTEP – Jackson looks to be back in the saddle as UTEP’s RB1 with consecutive 100-yard performances, taking the job back from Ezell Jolly. Given that this RB1 job has changed hands twice now, we’re not ready to concede that it won’t happen again before the end of the year. For the time being, Jackson is the top option headed into a juicy matchup with Middle Tennessee.
Justice Ellison, Indiana – Tough to get more consistent production than what Ellison has provided this year, scoring a rushing touchdown in all eight games played. And we saw the volume uptick against Washington with 100+ rushing yards on 29 attempts. Came out after the game that Ty’Son Lawton was not 100%, so probably don’t anticipate that 20+ carries a game will be a constant moving forward. What we should expect is that Indiana will continue to lean on the run, so long as Kurtis Rourke is out with injury.
Keyon Mozee, Miami (Ohio) – Mozee isn’t getting Rashad Amos-like volume that we saw in 2023, but the senior running back now has four 100-yard rushing performances in five weeks. Another good matchup this week against the 103rd ranked run defense in Ball State that allows 176 YPG on the ground.
Elijah Gilliam, Fresno State – Malik Sherrod was spotted by one of our faithful subscribers at the game not in pads on the sidelines again this week, leading to Gilliam getting the bulk of the carries vs. San Jose State, finishing with 66 yards and a touchdown. We’re going to assume that Sherrod is at least another week away from returning.
Wide Receivers:
Makai Lemon, USC – We promoted Ja’Kobi Lane a few weeks back but turned out to be a one-week wonder. We’re going to do the same with Lemon, but this time around we have multiple weeks of evidence with 70 or more receiving yards in three straight games, with 18 receptions on 23 targets in that span.
Chase Sowell, East Carolina – Back-to-back 100-yard receiving performances for Sowell with two touchdowns in as many games. 60 or more receiving yards for Sowell in the last five games and is now averaging 7.1 targets per game, despite a revolving door at quarterback.
Junior Vandeross, Toledo – After finishing No. 1 in the conference in rushing a year ago, the Rockets has sunk to 10th in the MAC, averaging just 113 yards per game on the ground. Bad for Toledo, but good for the passing game components, primarily Jerjuan Newton and his sidekick Junior Vandeross who has now been targeted 12 times in each of the last three games. Because Vandeross only averages 10.9 yards per receptions, we’re really only interested with him in PPR formats.
Caleb Douglas, Texas Tech – The former Florida transfer looks like Tech’s WR1 the last several weeks, averaging north of 100 yards per game in that span with 22 receptions on 30 targets. Even with Josh Kelly around still, there’s enough targets to go around for a team that throws the ball 40 times a game.
Otto Tia / Kyrese White, Utah State – It was announced prior to kickoff that WR1 Jalen Royals would miss the remainder of the season due to injury, ending his college career as he’ll head to the NFL. Otto Tia is next man up on the outside, now with two touchdowns in the last two weeks, leading the Aggies with nine targets vs. Wyoming. Slot-man Kyrese White is also worth a look as Royals’s production won’t be replaced by one player. 17 targets for White in the last two games.
Longshots
Need to see more from these guys before pulling the trigger unless you are in the deepest of leagues.
Quarterbacks:
Will Hammond, Texas Tech – Behren Morton was not in uniform in the second half of the TCU game with his non-throwing arm in a sling. The assumption here is that Will Hammond will be getting the starting nod on Saturday vs. Iowa State. Not really a matchup that you’ll want to start a freshman QB on the road, but the offense did function well with Hammond under center as he completed his first nine passes after replacing Morton.
Cooper Legas, Tulsa – They’ve rotated Legas in intermittently over the last month and a half, but have to figure that Legas will get the starting nod against UAB this week after leading Tulsa to an improbable comeback against UTSA, throwing for 300+ yards and five touchdowns. Also, thank you to Legas for bringing back my Kamdyn Benjamin shares to life.
Running Backs:
Davon Booth, Mississippi State – Bye weeks are a killer for most CFF teams this week so we’re looking for several options to backfill our rosters. Booth is a one-week flier because of the UMass matchup as he’s gotten double-digit rushing attempts in each of the last five games.
Braylen Russell, Arkansas – Including Russell here so I don’t get questions as to why I didn’t include a running back that ran for over 150 yards this past week in place of the injured Ja’Quinden Jackson. In short, Jackson could return this upcoming week and Arkansas faced two top 20 run defenses in the next two games, including Ole Miss who allows the fewest yards in the country on the ground. This was a great performance for Russell dynasty owners, though, looking ahead to 2025.
George Pettaway, James Madison – The North Carolina transfer has control of the JMU backfield the last month or so, hitting 100 yards for the first time this season against Southern Miss. Schedule will be light again this week against a Georgia State defense that allows around 35 fantasy points to opposing backfields each week.
Isaiah Augustave, Colorado – My eyes must be deceiving me. Did a Colorado running back really get 20+ carries on Saturday? HC Deion Sanders announced this week that Augustave, the former Arkansas transfer, would be the starting running back moving forward, so we knew he’d likely lead the Buffs in carries. 22 attempts was NOT expected, as Augustave now has a rushing touchdown in three-straight games. With the way Colorado can move the ball through the air, at the very least Augustave should have scoring opportunities in the red-zone multiple times a game.
Wide Receivers:
Jacob Jordan, Oklahoma – Do we have another Drake Stoops on our hands? While the entire Oklahoma WR corps continues to be out with injury, Jordan has found a connection with Jackson Arnold the last two games with 12 receptions on 15 targets. Sounds like Deion Burks may still be a week or two away now, so Jordan will continue to function as the WR1 for at least another game.
Caleb Goodie, Colorado State – Three touchdowns in the last four games, and two in the last two games since Tory Horton was announced out for the year due to injury. Colorado State has become a run-heavy team in the second half of the year, so there won’t be many targets to go around, but Goodie ran the most routes of any CSU receiver for the second-straight week.