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:
Kaidon Salter, Liberty – Last time you’ll see Salter on this list as his 33% Fantrax ownership is about to skyrocket after busting out for 56 fantasy points in a win over a hapless Buffalo team. Let us reiterate our same argument from last week when listing Salter as our top waiver selection – FIU, Sam Houston State, Jacksonville State, Middle Tennessee, Western Kentucky, Louisiana Tech, Old Dominion, UMass and UTEP. Outside of perhaps Sam Houston State, there are zero roadblocks on the remaining schedule.
Running Backs:
Darius Taylor, Minnesota – Was slightly tentative to put Taylor in the “must add” section last week for a few reasons. The game was out of reach against Eastern Michigan so younger players getting additional playing time was expected. Sean Tyler also fumbled twice so the coaching staff wasn’t putting him back on the field. This past Saturday is a true indication that this is Taylor’s backfield moving forward, rushing for 138 yards and a TD on 22 carries vs. North Carolina.
LJ Martin, BYU – If it wasn’t already, the Aidan Robbins experiment is over. The freshman started again on Saturday night in an SEC environment on the road and rushed for 76 yards and two touchdowns on 22 attempts in the win over Arkansas. Just two carries went to running backs not named LJ Martin.
Emani Bailey, TCU – The Trey Sanders red-zone usage won’t go away this season, and while frustrating, it’s a fair trade if Bailey continues to get 76% of the rushing attempts that go to TCU running backs. SMU next week for Bailey in what should be a high-scoring affair.
Wide Receivers:
Robert Lewis, Georgia State – Appears as though the lineage of WR1s for Georgia State is continuing in 2023 with Lewis who caught six passes for 220 yards and two scores on Saturday, giving him a touchdown in each of the first three games. 82% conversion rate on his 22 targets with just one drop, so Lewis’ issues that plagued him a year ago seem to be cleaned up.
Jay Maclin, North Texas – Don’t understand why Maclin is still under owned on Fantrax, now having found the end-zone in three straight games. North Texas does use a lot of bodies at wide receiver, so he’s unlikely to see double-digit targets each week, but a big-play threat with a 21.6 YPC average and 16.5 aDOT. Everyone on North Texas benefits with Chandler Rogers now at quarterback.
Caullin Lacy, South Alabama – Late news came out on Saturday that Devin Voisin will be out for the season due to injury. Lacy was already looking like the team’s WR1 pre Voisin injury, and this all but confirms his status now as the team’s top target. 27 fantasy points in each of the last two games and averaging over eight targets a game.
Sam Brown, Houston – The only efficient part of the Houston passing game this season has been Brown, who caught five passes on eight targets for 99 yards in the loss to TCU. From a target standpoint, Matthew Golden is on equal standing to Brown, but drops are a MAJOR issue with three more on Saturday.
Tight Ends:
Dallin Holker, Colorado State – Are we looking at Cole Turner 2.0? The former BYU transfer found the end-zone for the second straight game and looks like the No. 2 target in this offense behind Tory Horton. Colorado State is also averaging just 2.36 YPC for the season so the Rams are likely to be throwing the football A LOT this season.
Worth A Look
If you have the roster room, these prospects are worth a look.
Quarterbacks:
Chandler Rogers, North Texas – Why again didn’t North Texas roll with Rogers to begin the season? Mistake by the coaching staff, because he’s been excellent the last two weeks with a combined 60 fantasy points. Close to a must-start the next three games with Abilene Christian, Navy and Temple coming up.
Jacob Zeno, UAB – We knew Zeno was an adept runner, but he’s been surprising with his arm, completing 80% of his passes through three games with six touchdowns. Saturday against ULL was his worst performance of the year, yet still put up 28 fantasy points. Not starting him this week against Georgia but should be a roster asset in conference play.
TJ Finley, Texas State – Surprised Finley’s ownership isn’t higher after two 35-point performances now this season after accounting for five touchdowns in the win over Jackson State. Another cupcake defense this week for Finley against Nevada who was just crushed by Idaho two weeks ago.
Running Backs:
Jaylen Wright, Tennessee – I think it’s safe to say this passing game won’t replicate 2022 numbers after the disappointing loss to Florida. Time to start leaning on the ground game, spearheaded by Wright who led the team with 63 yards on 16 carries. Wright holds a significant edge over Jabari Small on rushing attempts and Dylan Sampson is no longer a factor in competitive games. Time to make Wright the feature point of the offense.
Jaylin Lucas, Indiana – Unfortunately, I think the Tom Allen tenure might be ending in Bloomington. The Hoosiers do have some offensive talent, though, including RB/WR hybrid Jaylin Lucas who led the team with 10 receptions on 12 targets in the loss. Whether it be running or receiving, Lucas likely will be featured again this week against Akron.
Kay’Ron Adams, UMass – The former Rutgers transfer put up his second 100-yard rushing performance against Eastern Michigan and is dominating the backfield touches with 88% of the rushing attempts that have gone to UMass running backs.
Jordan Waters, Duke – I keep dismissing Waters, and he continues to rack up the fantasy points, scoring another two touchdowns in the blowout win over Northwestern. Jaylen Coleman is coming back at some point (I think he was suited up Saturday) so this will become a three-headed backfield soon, but I’d start Waters again next week against Connecticut before moving into ACC play.
Kyle Monangai, Rutgers – I think it’s time (or maybe passed time) to give up hope on Samuel Brown in 2023. Monangai, though to be the third string running back coming into the year, has been a standout performer with five rushing touchdowns in three games, including consecutive 100-yard rushing performances. You’re not starting him against Michigan this week, though.
Makhi Hughes, Tulane – Pump the breaks slightly on the Hughes addition in redraft formats. Shaadie Clayton started against Southern Miss, though he eventually gave way to the true freshman who wound up leading the team in rushing by game’s end. Hughes is a priority in dynasty formats, if still available, and a rotational piece in redrafts as this might still be a split backfield.
Ayo Adeyi, North Texas – We saw last year how valuable Nakia Watson was in this Eric Morris offensive system. Now that Ikaika Ragsdale is out for the season, and the passing game looking good, that should open up opportunities for Adeyi and the rushing attack. 147 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries, though some of our hesitancy is coming from backup Oscar Adaway also seeing 12 rushing attempts. Might be a split?
Jacory Merritt, New Mexico – 83 yards and a touchdown for the Alabama State transfer who has scored double-digit fantasy points in all three games to begin the year. Hasn’t helped in the win column, but the New Mexico offense is leaps and bounds better than it was a year ago, particularly in the run game where they rank third in the MWC in yards per game, in large part due to Merritt.
Elijah Gilliam, Fresno State – Tough sledding for Gilliam against Arizona State, held under four yards a carry. Still got 18 rushing attempts on the night and that is WITH Malik Sherrod back in the lineup. I’ll be interested to see if that gap closes next week with Sherrod now healthy or does Gilliam garner most of the workload again.
Wide Receivers:
Malachi Fields / Malik Washington, Virginia – I still question the competency of this UVA coaching staff, but they did something right on Friday in starting freshman Anthony Colandrea instead of Tony Muskett at QB. The offense had some juice to it. This is still a bottom half offense in the country, but when UVA does go to throw it is ONLY going in two directions: either to Fields or Washington. 68% target share between them. Unlikely to get any 30-point fantasy performances, but 12-15 every week sounds good to me in deeper leagues.
Xzavier Henderson, Cincinnati – The Florida connection is clicking between Emory Jones and Henderson, now with two 140-yard performances in three games. How consistently Jones can throw the football during B12 play will be interesting to see, but Henderson is the established top target.
Cyrus Allen, Louisiana Tech – Adding Allen here as he was likely dropped in a lot of leagues due to injury. Came back against North Texas and led the team in targets (11) while also finding the end-zone. Not starting him against Nebraska this week but should be a worthy roster add for conference play.
Eric Singleton Jr. / Jamal Haynes, Georgia Tech – The 5-foot-11 freshman was a rotational player the first two weeks but saw a team-high 11 targets in his start against Ole Miss, finding the end-zone for the third-straight week. Haynes continues to see incredible usage as both a runner and receiver, finishing with a season-high 19 carries on Saturday while also being targeted four times in the passing game. Dual position flexibility on Fantrax.
Louis Brown IV, Colorado State – As mentioned above, we’re expecting CSU to be throwing a lot this season, and the pass-catchers will obviously benefit as a result. Brown is now second on the team with 19 targets after going for 10-131-1 on Saturday. Should get a lot of looks with the attention given to Tory Horton by opposing secondaries.
Tight Ends:
Erick All, Iowa – Sounds like Luke Lachey will be down and out for an extended period of time with an injury suffered on Saturday. All, the former Michigan transfer, should be next man up in an offense that always features the TE position.
Justin Joly, Connecticut – Talented 6-foot-3 sophomore tight end that is now second on the team in targets (8). UConn is now 0-3 in Year 2 of the Jim Mora Jr. era.
Longshots
Need to see more from these guys before pulling the trigger unless you are in the deepest of leagues.
Quarterbacks:
Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi, Colorado State – The Rams made the switch this week at quarterback with Cade Millen underperforming. While Fowler-Nicolosi made some costly errors, the CSU offense was moving up and down the field all night. The Rams obviously have no shortage of weapons at WR and TE for BFN to throw to.
Behren Morton, Texas Tech – If you have the roster space to have a QB sit on the backend, I would get Morton on there. HC Joey McGuire confirmed after the game that Tyler Shough is still the starter, but Morton got significant reps in the second half. Another Texas Tech loss here soon and wouldn’t be surprised to see the staff make a switch.
Kyron Drones, Virginia Tech – You’re only starting Drones out of desperation. That said, he’s an exceptional runner which can get you 10-15 points on the ground alone. Marshall, Pittsburgh, and Wake Forest in three of the next four games.
Running Backs:
Gavin Garcia, Kent State – I’m a bit surprised by Kent State so far. With all the turnover on the coaching staff and roster, most thought they’d be arguably the worst team in the nation. The Flashes were competitive for a half against Arkansas last week, followed up by a blowout of Central CT State. I’d throw Garcia on your roster if you have the space as a possible rotational piece. 60% of the carries by Kent St running backs this season have been from Garcia.
Alex Tecza, Navy – Probably just a watch list for now, but Tecza was outstanding against Memphis with 163 yards and a TD on 15 attempts. I still remember watching the Navy / Notre Dame game in Week 0, sulking in my Daba Fofana prop bet loss, and it was the backup fullback that stuck out as the more impressive player – not knowing exactly who that was at the time. Wouldn’t be surprised to see Tecza overtake Fofana in the near future.
Emmanuel Michel, Air Force – The NCAA granted Michel an extra year of eligibility two weeks ago (Free Tez Walker), and we might have our new Brad Roberts because of it. Three rushing touchdowns on 28 carries for the senior fullback, much of which did come in garbage time in the blowout win over Utah State. The big thing to watch here is the split with starting fullback Owen Burk, who also rushed for 110 yards on the night and deserves some waiver attention.
Kye Robichaux, Boston College – 40 carries and two touchdowns in the last two games for the former Western Kentucky transfer, replacing the injured Pat Garwo in the starting lineup. How that dynamic sorts out when Garwo is healthy is TBD, should Robichaux keep the starting job, the upcoming schedule is enticing.
Daelen Alexander, Rice – If you rush for five touchdowns in two weeks, you deserve mentioning. Rice still can’t run the ball worth a damn, but their running backs are finding the end-zone because of how good the passing game has been. South Florida and East Carolina in the next two games should provide Alexander with more red-zone opportunities.
Peny Boone, Toledo – Doesn’t appear that Jacquez Stuart played on Saturday, so Boone got the start and hit the century mark in rushing yards vs. San Jose State. This comes after rushing for three scores against Texas Southern the week prior. Were we a year early on Boone? Would just watch list for now, but MACtion is beginning next week.
Wide Receivers:
Jalen Royals, Utah State – Two touchdowns in the last two games for Royals who has played the second most offensive snaps behind Terrell Vaughn at receiver. Utah State will be playing from behind a lot this season. Bad for Aggie fans, good for racking up garbage time passing stats.
Andrel Anthony, Oklahoma – Could be a new receiver every week for Oklahoma is what it appears, but Anthony has resurrected his career since transferring over from Michigan, averaging 15 FPPG. Second in routes run this season behind Farooq. Very curious to see Oklahoma’s rotations now once we get into conference play this week and if said rotations start to shrink in more competitive contests.
Dynasty
Players to add for future seasons
London Humphreys, Vanderbilt – Sticking Humphreys in the dynasty section for now as he’s a true freshman and third option behind Sheppard and McGowan in the passing game. But he does have three touchdowns now in four games and was targeted a season-high 10 times against UNLV. The Dores can’t run the football effectively so this passing game has to carry the load on offense.
