It’s the fantasy football semifinals, and we probably should have our lives (or at least our rosters) together enough to get us onto the next round. But, if you’re getting itchy about your chances with your current makeup of guys, we (as always) are here to help. After all, you could have Patrick Mahomes, or Tua, or Christian Watson, or Davante Adams, or Rashee Rice, or… well, you get the idea.
Below you’ll find three players at each position available in at least 50% of Yahoo! leagues, with one of those players available in at least 90% of leagues. If you can’t find a player who can help you, and you’re a massive underdog, could I suggest starting your fantasy baseball research? As we stand on the precipice of the fantasy football finals, here are twelve guys who might play a role in getting you there.
QUARTERBACKS
Jonathon James McCarthy (40% rostered) at N.Y. Giants
Can we make it three-for-three? My “My J.J. McCarthy: League Winner” post on Bluesky is looking less and less ill-advised by the day. Nine has a smidge under 44 fantasy points over the last two weeks, putting up 447 total yards and six touchdowns against the Commanders and the Cowboys, finishing as QB10 and QB7. Sure, he had two great matchups… and he has a third on the horizon. The New York Giants allow the second-most fantasy points to quarterbacks on the season, and they allow a league-high 25.5 rushing yards per game to quarterbacks on the season, something McCarthy will be able to exploit this weekend.
Aaron Rodgers (28% rostered) at Detroit
Rodgers and Arthur Smith remembered that it’s completely legal to throw the ball more than ten yards downfield over the last couple of weeks, and Rodgers has 500 passing yards, four touchdowns, and zero interceptions over those two games, as the Steelers fell to the Dolphins and Ravens. He’s coming around late in the season, and he has the quarterback-friendly Detroit Lions on the docket. They’ve allowed the fifth-most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks over the last five weeks. Four straight quarterbacks, and six of the last seven to face them, have at least 18.4 fantasy points against the Lions.
Tyler Shough (10% rostered) versus N.Y. Jets
Shough has two top-twelve finishes in his last three games, averaging 18.9 fantasy points over the previous few weeks. He’s doing it in a fantasy-sustainable way, as well, rushing six, seven, and eight times over the last three contests, for a total of 105 yards and two scores. That provides him with a great floor, even if his passing doesn’t work out; think of a poor man’s Bears Justin Fields in that regard. Speaking of Justin Fields, Fields’ newest team, the Jets, is coming to town. The Jets, you may recall, allowed Trevor Lawrence to throw six touchdowns against them last week. Six.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Jayden Higgins (41% rostered) versus Las Vegas
Higgins disappeared last week, getting just one target, but catching it, so he had that going for him in PPR leagues. Prior to last week, however, Higgins was on an upward trajectory. Before last week, he had an 18% target share and 26% air yards share over the previous five weeks, which were third and second on the Texans, respectively. He was putting up consistent WR3 numbers, and last week was just a dud. The Las Vegas Raiders are the cure for what ails you, as they lost their second 0-31 game last week, and average a final score of 12 to 27 during their eight-game losing streak. Higgins should feast against a team that can’t stop anyone, anywhere; every weapon forged against them is prospering.
Jalen Coker (9% rostered) versus Tampa Bay
Coke Heads unite! Coker has at least four targets in five straight games, and he finally figured out what to do with the football over the last couple of games, notching double-digit PPR points in each contest thanks to back-to-back games with a score. It’s not just touchdowns that get me excited for Coker, either. He has a nice floor, averaging 67 yards on four catches over the last two games. He gets a Tampa Bay defense that cannot stop the passing game, just ask Kirk Cousins last week.
Olamide Zaccheaus (1% rostered) versus Green Bay
With Rome Odunze and Luther Burden already ruled out, the Bears likely go into this must-win game with a game plan they know they can execute. That means a lot of D.J. Moore and a lot of Olamide Zaccheaus, as they take advantage of the lack of pass rush with Micah Parsons out. Zacchaeus hasn’t done much lately, as he ceded his role to rookie Luther Burden, who again is out for this game. Earlier in the season, Zacchaeus had an eight-game stretch wherein he had five or more targets in six of those games. He offers a solid floor as a WR3, with some upside. The Packers are an eminently beatable defense without Micah Parsons, as his pressures and sacks stifled passing games and made their not-so-great defensive back corps look more viable.
RUNNING BACKS
Sean Tucker (21% rostered) at Carolina
The Carolina Panthers have allowed the second-most rushing touchdowns to running backs in the last five weeks, and are allowing the third-most fantasy points to the position over that same timeframe. With Rachaad White getting one touch on last week’s Thursday Night Football, Sean Tucker is emerging as the second-best back for fantasy football in Tampa Bay. And it isn’t because of his high volume, it’s because of his high-value touches: he’s literally the only back to touch the ball inside the five-yard line for the Buccaneers over the last month. If the Buccaneers get a cheapie touchdown, it will go to Sean Tucker.
Audric Estimé (5% rostered) versus N.Y. Jets
With Alvin Kamara likely having played his last snap of the 2025 season, and the Saints already ruling out Devin Neal, it will be the Audric Estimé show in New Orleans this weekend, as they take on the Jets. Last week, he only lodged 25 snaps, but he touched the ball on six of them, including three targets. He finished with 50 yards on those six touches, mainly because the guy gets shot out of a cannon whenever he touches the ball. He’s a great DFS punt play this week, as he gets the moribund New York Jets in a matchup where he should end up with a ton of catches and a good number of yards. If Kellen Moore can resist the siren song of Taysom Hill, he should score, as well.
Samaje Perine (4% rostered) at Miami
Perine has 15+ touches in two of his last three games, though he hasn’t done a ton with them. But, he’s just a touchdown away from having a great fantasy day, with a double-digit touch floor. The Dolphins are circling the drain at this point, as Kenneth Gainwell went off for 19.6 PPR points against them last week. This is far less preferred than Audric Estimé, but this week is really sick for running backs.
TIGHT ENDS
Darren Waller (50% rostered) versus Cincinnati
Thank God he didn’t tick over 50% rostered, so I get the free square this week! The Cincinnati Bengals are the worst team in the NFL at defending the tight end, and even though it’s Quinn Ewers, I still want to run Darren Waller out there this week in that matchup. Waller came off of back-to-back three-target games to turn eight targets into seven catches, 66 yards, and two touchdowns. He’s the #2 target in this passing game, and a rookie will likely look his way far more than Tua did.
Isaiah Likely (14% rostered) versus New England
Look, it didn’t work last week. It was one of the more catastrophic “not how we wanted” events of the previous 15 years, as Likely finished the week with zero targets. That wasn’t his fault at all. It was the Bengals’ fault, in fact. The Ravens threw the ball only 12 times last week and held the ball for just under 21 minutes across their 40 plays. There was simply no fight from the Bengals, and the Ravens just let them flail around on offense for an eternity. The Ravens didn’t have to do anything, so they didn’t, and Isaiah Likely suffered from it. This week, they take on the Patriots in a game where they are surprisingly favored, so it should be a good fight. Likely had two-straight 12.5 PPR games before last week, and the Patriots give up the ninth-most fantasy points to tight ends, so get that bad taste out of your mouth and go back to Likely.
Mike Gesicki (4% rostered) at Miami
Mike made us sicky last week, but he has a much better matchup this week in the Miami Dolphins. The Dolphins allow the second-most fantasy points in the league to tight ends (the most being the dreadful Bengals’ defense). While last week’s one-catch, eleven-yard effort was a major dud, there were some signs of encouragement: Gesicki played his second-highest snap share of the season, and the most since he returned from his injury in week twelve. He also ran a route on 76% of Joe Burrow’s drop backs, a season-high.
