Why is there so much parody in fantasy football? We know that luck is a huge factor. So are bye weeks.
Between Week 6 and Week 12 there will be at least four teams on bye with the exception Week 8. The best fantasy teams either have no more than 1-2 horrific bye weeks and dominate the rest of the regular season or they have the depth to cover these bye weeks and remain more productive where others falter.
If you're the melodramatic type—and most fantasy players are melodramatic—this is fantasy football's equivalent of the Alps stage of the Tour De France that separates the big kids from the little ones. Don't forget that we're all kids playing a game.
Unless you're a high-stakes or serial DFS player because you've purposely removed the mirrors from all the rooms in your house so you don't have to be honest with yourself while playing a safer version of baron-conqueror.
We little people may dabble in DFS but they play season-long and dynasty with 20-plus players on their rosters and the potential to start 4-5 receivers in their lineups. As a man of the people, I know the bye weeks can be humbling enough that you need to scrounge for options with a shot of giving you steady weekly points and big upside based on usage in their respective audience—especially if you've already blown your free agent budget early.
Duke Williams, Darius Slayton, and Keke Coutee are a trio of receivers I recommend for those of you in need of that fourth or fifth option during your team's trek up the Pyrénées.
Duke Williams: The Steady Bargain
One of my biggest regrets this summer in a large-roster, IDP dynasty league where I'm defending champion is that I dropped Williams at the end of the preseason. I added him in April when he joined the Bills and he impressed the team throughout the spring and summer with his preparation, consistency, and playmaking in traffic and on 50/50 routes in the perimeter.
The Bills elevated Williams from the practice squad last week and he essentially replaced the soon-to-be-departed Zay Jones in the lineup, scoring a touchdown and earning 4 targets and 29 yards on 51 snap against the Titans. The numbers aren't flashy but the way the Bills used Williams is a good indication that he will be a safe and solid part of the offensive rotation.
Why? Buffalo used Williams on Sunday in the exact same ways they used him throughout the preseason, where Williams delivered without issue.
The Bills like to align Williams in two spots:
- Alignment A: The slot on a side of the formation where there are two receivers.
- Alignment B: The single receiver on one side with a split not far from the offensive line and usually the weak side (no tight end).
Let's start with Alignment B. The Bills use him there to run slants, skinny posts, and other in-breaking routes against defenders playing off-coverage and zone. Because Williams is a big-bodied, strong, and reliable catcher of the football, he serves as an excellent change-up to the run game.
The Bills will target Williams on quick-hitting throws behind linebackers and safeties in the box on play-action passes where they pull a guard to influence the defenders on Williams' side to work to the line of scrimmage as he runs behind them to the open space for a quick 7-10 yards.
First career @NFL game.
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) October 6, 2019
First career touchdown catch. #BUFvsTEN | #GoBills pic.twitter.com/eHJeEdleUr
They did this with Williams at every range of the field during this game as well as the preseason. And because the Bills can run the ball, opposing defenses will usually line up in a way that won't present a major challenge for Williams to get free at the line of scrimmage.
Alignment A is also a productive scenario for Williams. In this situation, Williams often runs short routes to the flat.
The first ends with him breaking behind the outside receiver to earn a legal pick into the flat. Another begins with the route working inside as if he's going to execute a crack block for a run play. As the linebackers and/or safeties on that side bite on the run fake or quarterback's initial pivot to the opposite side of the field, he slips outside and is often open to catch and turn upfield for additional yardage.
Play-action works because Williams has a reputation for being a physical player at Auburn, the CFL, and early on in the NFL.
Wait, this was Duke Williams trucking the DB? Wow https://t.co/bBJctUoMZp
— Trae/Huerter/Hunter/Cam/Collins (@SiDonTrip) October 7, 2019
There are also simple isolation routes from Alignment A where the Bills use his size to win fades.
Titans CBs Adoree Jackson & Malcolm Butler have surrendered 8 red zone touchdowns since the start of the 2018 season.
— Cover 1 (@Cover_1_) October 5, 2019
Six of those have come from inside the 10-yard line
Not all of them in the same manner or vs the same type of WR, but you would have to think Duke is in play pic.twitter.com/1DMUcQ9cXZ
When the Bills use three receivers, Williams also works into the flat under the outside receiver's step just as I described with the legal pick scenario.
John Brown went 5 for 75 today and his chemistry with Josh Allen continues to get stronger for #GoBills. Curl-flat concept from Brown and Duke Williams. Once the CB covers flats, the curl is there and Allen fires it in there. pic.twitter.com/mzX9JliwXd
— Russell Brown (@RussNFLDraft) October 7, 2019
This work to the flat under the outside receiver sets up a route that the Bills used to target Williams throughout the preseason for touchdowns. Williams will work a short stem upfield, break outside and under his teammate's stem, and then work up the sideline for the fade route. This usually earns him enough separation to win the ball in the red zone.
You won't see the route below but that's what's happening to generate the results.
Its DUUUUKE time!!! RT @TedGoldbergTV: Duke Williams' 2 preseason touchdowns showcase his biggest strengths: size (6'2), red zone prowess and making contested catches #Bills #NFL #BillsMafia pic.twitter.com/pdcz5Z5Pqo
— Jody Abbott (@VandyPilot) October 5, 2019
Williams had the potential to be a second-day draft pick for teams that coveted a Marques Colston-type of a receiver (bigger, slower, but earns separation and wins the ball) but his immaturity got him in trouble at Auburn and he wound up in the CFL. Williams realized early that he was approaching a near-death experience of his football career and matured. Once he did, he incrementally earned better opportunities and made the most of them.
Many Bills fans on social media have been a little too dreamy about him because they see the acrobatic catches and think that's enough for a receiver to earn playing time. However, Williams can help your bye-week dilemma with a shot at earning steady targets and red-zone looks that are well-integrated into the Bills' offense. If desperate for a steady producer with some touchdown upside, Williams is the best bet of the tree.
Big-Play Darius Slayton
Slayton is a quick-twitch receiver with the length and speed to become a big-time deep threat in the NFL. His Auburn film is filled with highs and lows that usually lead me to recommend to my Rookie Scouting Portfolio readers to take a cautious approach with inconsistent athletes of his ilk.
I still think this is the best approach with Slayton's long-term fantasy prognosis, but he's at least worth a high-upside luxury addition to the end of re-draft rosters this season while the Giants' offense remains bruised and battered. Want upside? How about him fooling Xavier Rhodes to the point that the Vikings' All-Pro cornerback earns a dressing-down from Mike Zimmer on the sideline?
Nice use of pacing by rookie Darius Slayton to beat Xavier Rhodes on this 35-yard TD. pic.twitter.com/LQxwjprWPZ
— Matt Waldman (@MattWaldman) October 6, 2019
Slayton's speed also commands enough respect from opposing corners that he'll see a lot of off-man coverage (although I'd like to see him pressed tight more often and challenge him to demonstrate technical growth that he likely hasn't attained yet) and it leads to easier opportunities with rhythm routes as Daniel Jones's first read in progressions.
Nice route by Darius Slayton pic.twitter.com/kRwne3THPM
— Matt Waldman (@MattWaldman) October 6, 2019
This is by no means a great route, but Slayton does what he's supposed to and he's earning situations like these that he can easily convert into positive plays and fantasy points. Not only is Slayton a callow option, but so is his rookie quarterback and this should temper your expectations.
The No.8 fantasy quarterback since Week 3, Jones will face defenses soon enough that have waited to accumulate four weeks of current tape on the Giants' offense and install game plans the force Jones to deal with things he either hasn't seen before or overcome things he's had issues handling.
This will mean forcing Jones to hold onto the ball longer by pressing his receivers at the line while blitzing him or running twists and other games at the defensive line to hopefully disrupt the blocking scheme. If and when this happens, Jones' toughness isn't as much of a question mark as it is identifying the correct coverage tweaks and getting rid of the ball on-time and accurately.
If Slayton gets pressed, there's a good chance his productivity evaporates. He's still worth consideration against the likes of Arizona and the Jets, but the rest of his schedule during the bye-week gauntlet looks a little nasty with the Patriots, Lions, Cowboys, and Bears hiding in those mountains.
Bargain Schedule: Keke Coutee
A note to the cynical contingent of fantasy players who have long and bitter memories about the likes of Cody Latimer, DeVante Parker, or any other option who you held out hope for and it didn't pan out. I must remind you that Coutee is a suggestion for bye-week options for fantasy managers in need.
If the mentioning of Coutee triggers your delicate sensibilities...eh, forget it, I'd like to keep my job.
It's difficult to say if Coutee is completely healthy and ready to show off the vertical prowess he had at Texas Tech. It's also difficult to know if Kenny Stills will be ready to return to the starting lineup in Week 6 after being a game-time decision in Week 5.
With the Texans facing the Chiefs, Colts (twice), Raiders, Jaguars, and, Ravens during the bye-week gauntlet, Houston receivers are a worthwhile bet for production.
- Kansas City hasn't faced a worthwhile slot receiver other than Dede Westbrook, who earned 5-30-1. When the Chiefs have faced a quality slot option during the past two years, the result is often the surrendering of touchdown.
- Slot option Mohamed Sanu riddled the Colts for 75 yards. Byron Pringle played in the middle frequently and earned 103 yards and a score. Keenan Allen...do you need to ask?
- Telvin Smith Sr is in semi-retirement and Jalen Ramsey is absent. Sammy Watkins went nuts in Week 1, Adam Humphries earned 93 yards in Week 3, and seven DaeSean Hamilton earned 57 yards in Week 4. Coutee got hurt in the first matchup, otherwise...
- The Raiders have improved its defense but the struggling Anthony Miller posted 4-52-0 and the feuding Vikings still generated 3-55-1 for Adam Thielen.
- Baltimore faced the slot duo of Larry Fitzgerald and Christian Kirk, giving up 19 targets, 11 catches, and 218 yards while KeeSean Johnson and Damiere Byrd manned the perimeter. Watkins earned 5-64, Landry earned 8-167, and Smith-Schuster earned 7-75-1.
If healthy Coutee is capable. The next question is whether the Texans will integrate him back into the offense the way it did as a rookie. Bill O'Brien ran a lot of orbit motion that sent Coutee behind the backfield pre-snap and then reversed Coutee's track a the snap and back to the flat where he started. This was a common ploy the Dolphins used with Jarvis Landry and had been successful for both receivers.
I didn't see this with Coutee against Atlanta. Then again, Atlanta has been so awful and simple on defense that even Coutee told the media after the game that the Falcons didn't present anything difficult to overcome.
Williams is the best bet but likely lacks the massive upside fantasy managers usually covet unless he demonstrates more quickness and long speed than I've seen from him. Slayton is the hope for upside and that the Daniel Jones Cinderella start doesn't turn into a pumpkin the way it had with Jameis Winston, Marcus Mariota, Baker Mayfield, and a slew of quarterbacks throughout the years. Coutee is a calculated trust in talent and schedule despite question with the depth and recent scheming.
Good luck!