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:
Tyler Huff, Jacksonville State – Last chance to acquire Huff on waivers if he’s somehow still out there after racking up 43 fantasy points in a dominant win over Kennesaw State with over 350 yards of total offense and three touchdowns on the ground. Smooth sailing the rest of the way with just CUSA opponents on the schedule.
Hajj-Malik Williams, UNLV – Unlikely to be available after last week’s showing, but Williams still has only 21% roster ownership on Fantrax so we’ll feature him for what should be the last time after scoring 81 fantasy points over the last two games. No signs of slowing down this Rebels offense regardless of who is at QB, now ranked 9th nationally in scoring.
Running Backs:
Tre Stewart, Jacksonville State – This looks like your prototypical Rich Rodriguez offense with the QB1 and RB1 at the forefront of the fantasy production. Anwar Lewis and Andrew Paul are not in the equation here as Stewart is dominating the backfield market share the last three games, with a season-high 24 carries and four touchdowns vs. Kennesaw State. Jacksonville State is 25th nationally in scoring offense, averaging over 36 PPG.
Tawee Walker, Wisconsin – Most CFF players rushed to get Walker off the wire after news emerged that Chez Mellusi had quit the team this past week, but still is owned in just 17% of leagues so this might be your only and last chance to nab him after rushing for 94 yards and three scores against hapless Purdue. Wisconsin has a brutal close to the season schedule-wise, but Walker should be productive the next two weeks vs. Rutgers and Northwestern.
Rahsul Faison, Utah State – Another strong performance from Faison, now with three-straight 100-yard rushing games. Only one other running back carried the ball vs. Boise State with just two attempts so this is Faison’s backfield moving forward.
Wide Receivers:
Noah Short, Army – Double-digit fantasy points in all five games played for Short who has dual-eligibility on Fantrax. We went years without having a consistent fantasy option for Army and now there are multiple players who are relevant on a team that is 19th in the nation now in scoring, averaging just under 40 points per game.
Worth A Look
If you have the roster room, these prospects are worth a look.
Quarterbacks:
Hunter Watson, Sam Houston State – The BearKats are one of the better stories among G5 teams in just their second year in the FBS and off to a 5-1 start with the lone loss coming at UCF. And that loss was the only time in which Watson failed to score more than 24 points in a game this season. Dual-threat that can get it done via the pass or on the ground, with only CUSA opponents remaining.
Kevin Jennings, SMU – Jennings seems to be settling into his role as QB1 after compiling nearly 400 yards of total offense in the win over Louisville, showing off his dynamic ability on the ground with 113 yards rushing. 21 or more fantasy points scoring in four of the last five games. SMU is on bye this week.
Running Backs:
AJ Turner, Marshall – The Marshall staff finally gave the bulk of the carries to Turner over the likes of Ethan Payne and Jordan Houston, and the move paid off as the sophomore rushed for 65 yards and a score on 12 attempts. Turner is still averaging over 10 yards per carry this season.
Jaden Nixon, Western Michigan – Next week vs. Akron will be very telling for Nixon’s viability moving forward after scoring 87 fantasy points over the last three games. The Oklahoma State transfer had three touchdowns vs. Ball State but fumbled twice in the game and Jalen Buckley returned to the lineup as three different running backs had at least 10 carries. Will Buckley reassume his role as the RB1 or is this a split backfield moving forward?
Avery Morrow, Colorado State – Looks like we might have a changing of the guard at running back for Colorado State as Morrow has combined for 45 rushing attempts the last two weeks with three scores and over 140 yards in both games.
Ahmad Hardy, Louisiana-Monroe – Hardy continues to be one of the more impressive G5 players as a freshman, scoring a touchdown in four of five games played this season. Rushed for 82 yards and 5.9 YPC against a good James Madison defense.
Wide Receivers:
Jaden Williams, Texas State – Williams has had just one performance this season where he’s failed to hit double-digit fantasy points in Week 2 vs. UTSA. Four touchdowns in five games, and now just two targets behind Kole Wilson for second on the team.
Jackson Meeks, Syracuse – Meeks is now the full-time starter on the outside due to the injury to Zeed Haynes and won’t be looking back if/when Haynes returns to the lineup. 22 targets in the last two games and has found the end-zone in each of the last three contests.
Kenneth Womack, Western Michigan – As was the case last season, Womack is a full-point PPR option only with just an 8.5 YPC average. But he’s seeing the same amount of volume as he did a year ago, now with 16 targets in the last two games since coming back from injury. He’ll give you 10-15 points each week with those scoring settings.
Louis Brown IV, San Diego State – Another productive week for Brown, finding the end-zone and has 13 receptions over the last two games. Most promising aspect is that freshman QB Danny O’Neil seems to be finding his footing now as a passer and looking more comfortable.
Tight Ends:
Keyan Burnett, Arizona – No consistent WR2 behind Tet McMillan for the Wildcats which has led to increased opportunities for Burnett who has five receptions in each of the last two games on a combined 12 targets.
Longshots
Need to see more from these guys before pulling the trigger unless you are in the deepest of leagues.
Quarterbacks:
Zeon Chriss, Houston – Amazing the spark that a quarterback change can give to an offense as Chriss scored 27 fantasy points with nearly 250 total yards in the win over TCU. The Cougars are still 132nd in scoring offense nationally and future opponents won’t be surprised as to who is under center moving forward, so Chriss is a streaming option only right now.
Kadin Semonza, Ball State – Against non-MAC opponents, Semonza is averaging 18 FPPG. Against the two MAC opponents faced, Semonza is averaging close to 30 FPPG. Ball State has just one non-MAC opponent the remainder of the season (Vanderbilt).
Braylon Braxton, Marshall – Not a lot of confidence from me that Braxton can replicate this 49-point performance moving forward but any QB scoring five touchdowns with 100+ yards rushing might be worth a look. Braxton did this against an App State team with one of the worst defenses in the country, and a team that likely had their minds elsewhere given the hurricane that just ripped through their hometowns.
Colton Joseph, Old Dominion — The 6-foot-2 and 200-pound dual-threat freshman quarterback has the look of the Monarchs’ future at the position after throwing for 262 yards and three touchdowns, while adding 68 yards and a score on the ground Saturday night at Coastal Carolina
Running Backs:
Isaac Brown, Louisville – Time for Louisville to stop with the nonsensical rotation at running back and give the freshman running back the entire workload, now averaging just under 10 yards per carry for the season. Brown isn’t higher on the list because Don Chaney is still getting carries, and Maurice Turner could return at some point from injury.
Justice Ellison, Indiana – The Wake Forest transfer probably should have been on this list sooner, and of course now we’re including him when he’s on bye. But Indiana has rotated so much at running back that it’s tough to trust getting consistent production when a RB is averaging just 10 carries per contest. A rushing touchdown in each of the last five games is very consistent, though, and the upcoming schedule isn’t daunting at all for the Hoosiers.
Oklahoma State RB1 – Let’s keep tabs on this situation this week. Might end up being for naught, but Ollie Gordon was helped off the field due to injury and even the announcer speculated that this might be the last time we see Gordon play for Oklahoma State in what’s been a disastrous season.
Jaylon Jackson, Iowa State – This is probably still at least a two-way split moving forward, but one of those two will certainly be Jackson who is outperforming Abu Sama by a significant margin this season, averaging over a yard more per attempt. Double-digit rushing attempts in each of the last three games.
Wide Receivers:
John Paul Richardson, TCU – Noticeable on PFF the change that TCU made with its wide receiver rotations as Savion Williams played just 23% of the slot snaps this past week vs. Houston with JRP now the primary option inside. And you see the resurgence in production since that move, with a season-high nine receptions on nine targets.
Nate McCollum, North Carolina – UNC wide receivers have been mostly irrelevant this season so we’re not ready to throw a ton of FAAB at McCollum after just one performance. This happened last season too after a monster outing vs. Minnesota and then McCollum disappeared into obscurity afterwards. But 10 receptions on 13 targets almost tripled his output from the first four games of the season.
Horatio Fields, Wake Forest – Fields has benefitted the last two games with Donavon Greene being limited due to injury but should remain as the primary boundary receiver after being targeted eight times in each of the last two games.
Javon Tracy, Miami (Ohio) – Watch list candidate for now, or if you want to get a jump before anyone else notices if you have the roster space. McDonald was the guy the first three weeks, and was still targeted 10 times vs. Toledo, but Tracy has been the more effective of the two recently. 15 receptions on 19 targets with a pair of scores over the last two games. Miami (Ohio) not being able to run the football helps with the passing volume.
Hal Presley, Baylor – The Bears can’t run the football and will likely be trailing in most contests the rest of the way. Bad for the W/L column but good for Baylor receivers, namely Presley who has 25 targets combined over the last two weeks.
Isaiah Horton, Miami – Horton is emerging as Miami’s WR2 behind Xavier Restrepo, now finding the end-zone in each of the last three games. Not a bad thing to have the WR2 for a Miami offense that is No. 1 nationally in yards per game through the air.
