Over one-third of the NFL season is in the books, and if your team has nobody on bye, is at full strength, and isn’t missing a key player, then bully for you. I am not mad at you at all. For the rest of us, I have three players available in at least 50% of Yahoo! leagues, with a player at each position available in at least 90% of leagues. Let’s hop in!
QUARTERBACKS
Jacoby Brissett at Dallas (34% rostered)
Over the last four weeks, Brissett is 11th in passing yards (12 fewer than Brock Purdy) and 8th in touchdowns (7, 2 fewer than Brock Purdy). He’s also left a lot of points on the field, ranking fifth in expected touchdowns and QB5 in the last four weeks in expected fantasy points (per FantasyPointsData.com). He has 13 end zone targets in that span, which ranks third. The matchup is also glorious, as over the last four weeks the Cowboys allow the second-highest yards per attempt, the sixth-most touchdowns, and the fifth-most fantasy points per dropback (oh, and Brissett leads the NFL in dropbacks).
Geno Smith versus Las Vegas (19% rostered)
The Geno Smith Revenge Game barely made the cut over Sam Darnold versus the Bears, here. Over the last four weeks, the Raiders are the best-possible quarterback matchup. They allow 25.39 fantasy points per game over the last four weeks, which leads the NFL, thanks to allowing the most touchdowns in that span, as well as the fifth-highest yards per attempt. Geno is riding the Omar Cooper Jr. breakout well, averaging 269 yards and two touchdowns since Cooper returned from injury.
Deep Dive: Tanner McKee at Washington (7% rostered)
To be quite honest with you, the sub-10% rostered quarterbacks are not a bountiful crop this week. McKee isn’t throwing the ball deep, but he is throwing it a lot, with 80 pass attempts over the last two games, and creating a 210-yard, one-touchdown floor. The Eagles are becoming quite a mess, and this one could turn into a laugher, but the Commanders are terrible against quarterbacks, allowing the most expected fantasy points per game to the position over the last four weeks (again, per FantasyPointsData.com).
RUNNING BACKS
Bam Knight at Dallas (24% rostered)
Bam Knight has put Tyler Allgeier in his rearview mirror over the last couple of weeks (before injury reports pointed to Allgeier possibly missing this one) without Jeremiyah Love available for the Cardinals. The backup has 22 carries and five catches over the last two games, averaging just over 80 yards, and 10 PPR points in the last two games without scoring a touchdown. This week, he gets a Cowboys team that is allowing the seventh-most fantasy points per game, and tenth-most fantasy points per touch over the last four weeks, with four running backs over the last three games topping 11.7 PPR points against them.
Samaje Perine versus Tennessee (13% rostered)
Perine dragged himself closer to Chase Brown over the last couple of games, topping 50% of snaps last week, and 41% over the last two games. The designed carry share has also crept closer, with Perine getting 42% of them, compared to just 54% for Chase Brown. Even worse? Samaje Perine has dominated Chase Brown, doubling up his yards per carry, being successful 59% of the time compared to 31% for Brown, and getting stuffed at about half the rate of Chase Brown. That all is to say: we might just be seeing the evolution of a near 50/50 split between the two. The Titans were a neutral matchup, allowing the fifteenth-most fantasy points per game to running backs on the season, but then they traded Jeffery Simmons, so all bets are off.
Deep Dive: Dylan Sampson at Pittsburgh (10% rostered)
Sampson and Quinshon Judkins both returned from injury last week, and Sampson dominated the passing work over Judkins. Sampson ran about twice as many routes, was targeted on 8.3% of dropbacks compared to 2.8% for Judkins, and had a very good 2.13 yards per route run. That, alongside six carries for 45 yards, brought Sampson up to a 10.7 PPR fantasy point day. The Browns seem set on splitting the two, and Sampson will (hopefully) revive the PPR scam back role for fantasy football, as the Browns don’t want to pass the ball to Judkins if they can help it.
Ultimate Contingency: Elijah Mitchell at Washington (3% rostered)
I don’t have high hopes for Mitchell, but if Saquon Barkley misses this game (with Dameon Pierce already put on IR), then the Eagles will have no choice but to turn to Mitchell in this divisional matchup.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Makai Lemon at Washington (40% rostered)
DeVonta Smith and Dontayvion Wicks are trending towards missing this one, after missing back-to-back practices this week. That means that we are finally getting Makai Lemon “SZN” against the Washington Commanders. Last week, he finished with seven catches for 67 yards and a touchdown (on eight targets). Lemon evolved into a near-exclusively outside receiver & this bodes extra well for him. The Commanders are the third-best matchup for wide receivers on the outside on the season, allowing 28 PPR points per game to those receivers in that alignment.
Ja’Kobi Lane at Buffalo (16% rostered)
Lane returned from injury in week six, and returned to a full complement of snaps in week seven. He finished the week playing 69% of snaps and running a route on 65% of drop backs. Not overwhelming, but he ran just one fewer route than Rashod Bateman, and out-targeted him, as well. Lane is a better player than Bateman, period. And in week eight, Lane not only gets Lamar Jackson back, he also gets the league’s best wide receiver matchup. The Bills allow 42.1 PPR points per game to wide receivers, and 2.00 points per target. This one is set to be a shootout, which has Ja’Kobi Lane breakout game written all over it.
Travis Hunter versus Indianapolis (10% rostered)
The WR/CB and number two overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft had himself a historic game in England, and everyone promptly forgot about it because it was in the (very) early window, in another country, and before the Jags’ bye week. Hunter finished the game with four catches for 59 yards and a touchdown, and the Jaguars likely spent the bye week figuring out how to get him more involved in the offense again. Brian Thomas Jr. is short for this team, and someone has to replace him (not Josh Cameron, stop it). The Colts are currently blowing it all up, and I don’t even know who will still be on the team by the time you read this. Hunter is a boom-bust WR3 at best, but he could be a home run that saves your squad.
TIGHT END
Chig Okonkwo versus Philadelphia (22% rostered)
Big Chig, like Hunter, had a big game before a bye week, so people likely forgot. He finished Week 6’s Monday Night Football game against the 49ers with seven catches for 69 yards, after catching 4/60 the week before. Okonkwo also ran the most routes on the Commanders last week, and boasts the most targets, highest yards per route run, and the most receiving yards over the last two weeks on the Commanders. The Eagles are not a good matchup (eleventh-lowest fantasy points per target to tight ends), so I understand taking this week off from Big Chig, but he has a beatable schedule after that.
Greg Dulcich versus New England (17% rostered)
Greg Dulcich is seemingly finally entering the ranks of the tight end blob, as he has ten targets, nine catches, and 123 yards over the last two games. This coincides with Malik Willis also running more, and the Dolphins finally winning a game. The Patriots are a neutral matchup, but Dulcich is in the mix with the wide receiver triumvirate, making himself as much of that group as you can find. Also, if you get him now, then you’ll have him for his week nine matchup against the Detroit Lions.
AJ Barner versus Chicago (10% rostered)
I’m going back to the well with ol’ AJ Barnyard. The Seahawks will have no choice but to lean on him, as Rashid Shaheed is trending towards missing Monday Night Football. Barner has ten catches on fourteen targets in his last three games, making him a consistent target earner. If Shaheed is out, expect five targets to be the floor for Barner in what is shaping up to be a shootout. The Bears are a neutral matchup, but have allowed at least 11.6 PPR points to tight ends four times in the last three weeks.
