Category: NFL

PPR Help- Dexter McCluster

With an impressive eight carry and six reception game against Denver Sunday, Dexter McCluster will be attracting even more fantasy attention this week.

Analysis: Dexter McCluster carried the rock eight times Sunday, four more times than Thomas Jones who could only manage just four yards on the day. McCluster’s eight targets were three more than rookie Jon Baldwin and one more than Dwayne Bowe. McCluster is now averaging nearly eight carries per game over his last four contests and his twenty-nine receptions on the year is top ten among all fantasy qualified backs this season. McCluster isn’t going to win any PPR fantasy leagues by himself but his touches should remain solid as Thomas Jones continues to fall out of favor in Kansas City.

It appears that McCluster is finding a niche in the KC offense since Jamaal Charles went down and considering Jackie Battle doesn’t have the best of hands, McCluster is becoming a huge asset in their offense. Even though it is unlikely that the Chiefs will make the playoffs coming off of homes losses to Miami and Denver, they remain just one game back of Oakland. If they are to make a playoff push, Dexter McCluster will have to be on the end of more touches.

PPR Help- Roy Helu

Roy Helu caught fourteen balls Sunday afternoon against the Niners to lead all NFL players on the day.

Analysis: With seventeen targets and fourteen receptions Sunday, Roy Helu has grabbed the attention of all fantasy owners. Helu’s twenty-four total touches against the Niners dwarfed Ryan Torain’s two touches. Obviously, when Mike Shanahan is involved in any running back situation you cannot entirely trust any back but Helu offers some serious upside here. He’s available in over eighty percent of fantasy leagues and if Ryan Torain continues to underperform, Helu just may be a RB3 in standard leagues going forward.

It was clear even before the San Francisco game that Helu was their best passing threat out of the backfield. At the time Tim Hightower went down, Helu only had three fewer targets(12) than him on the year. Meanwhile, Ryan Torain only has two receptions on three targets for the year. With the Skins being down late in games often, Helu’s PPR value could be huge. He also carried the rock ten times Sunday and is sporting a 4.6 yards per carry average on the year. The time to act is now, Helu is now a force in PPR leagues or at least until Mike Shanahan decides otherwise.

Selling High- Matt Cassel

Matt Cassel is owned in most leagues nationwide but it may be time to sell the quarterback before he loses all value.

Analysis: Matt Cassel has struggled this year to the tune of a 79.0 quarterback rating. That’s the same passer rating as one Chad Henne. Regardless, rookie Jon Baldwin looked great against San Diego and hopes are even higher for Cassel and the Chiefs. But, if you take a look at the schedule it gets rather ugly- weeks 11-16 see Kansas City @NE, PIT, @CHI, @NYJ, GB, OAK. The Chiefs will not come out alive in terms of the playoffs when all is said and done which is why now is the perfect time to maximize the value on Cassel.

Despite the Jamaal Charles injury, the Chiefs remain a run centric team with thirty running attempts per game which is good for the sixth most in the NFL. Couple that with the fact that the Chiefs are thirtieth in the NFL in passing attempts and you have a quarterback that just may fall out of the lower QB2 tier soon. Make sure to capitalize on Cassel’s current value no later than next week after his contest with Miami.

Buying Low- Kellen Winslow

Kellen Winslow continues to be dropped from many fantasy squads around the country but you may want to take a deeper look.

Analysis: Kellen Winslow only has one touchdown and does not have a seventy yard ball game for the year. His 282 receiving yards rank sixteenth among NFL tight ends and as of now he is not considered a TE1. However, if you take a deeper look you may like what you see.

Winslow is fourth among NFL tight ends in targets for the year with fifty-eight. That’s more targets than Tony Gonzalez, Dallas Clark, Greg Olsen, Owen Daniels and Jermichael Finley. There has to be a rule somewhere in fantasy football where you absolutely cannot drop the fourth most targeted tight end in the NFL from your squad. But Winslow is being dropped and you have to buy low on him right now. He has stayed healthy his two and one half years in Tampa and he’s averaged about 800 yards with five scores per season with the Bucs. He may not be putting up numbers yet but he will explode sooner or later and that is when you’ll at least have an option to keep or sell high.

PPR Help- Kevin Faulk

After missing a year of action due to a torn right ACL, thirty-five year old Kevin Faulk is fantasy relevant again.

Analysis: Most experts have already wrote Kevin Faulk’s career off but not here. Faulk caught five balls and tallied six carries Sunday against the Steelers. In deeper leagues, backs with five plus reception ability are extremely rare on the wire and seeing how Faulk is universally available… he’s worth consideration. Take into account that from 2006-2009 Faulk’s reception totals were 43, 47, 58, 37. Faulk may not have big play ability but he will haul in his fair share of balls and he’s only fumbled one time in the past five years.

Faulk actually had one more carry Sunday than BenJarvus Green-Ellis who has averaged nineteen carries over the last three weeks. Danny Woodhead is a non-factor this year which can only boost Faulk’s value. Faulk isn’t going to rack up tons of yards or score touchdowns in bunches but in deeper PPR leagues he is a reliable source of receptions. Considering only two backs(Rice, Sproles) caught more balls than Faulk heading into the Sunday night game, it’s time to check out Kevin Faulk.