Managing contingencies can be the difference between success and failure in the fantasy playoffs. It can come down to identifying and acquiring players with high ceilings and streamable floors who you can add to your bench in case of emergency.
Welcome to Week 14 of the 2024 Footballguys Roundtable. Our intrepid panel of fantasy pundits discusses and debates four topics every week. We split the conversation into separate features.
This week's roundtable features these four topics:
- Hot Fantasy Players, Narrative or Substance?
- Playoff Bench Stashes (see below)
- Potential League-Winning RBs
- Dynasty WR Value Check
Let's roll.
Playoff Bench Stashes
Matt Waldman: These four players have been productive enough to earn consideration for many fantasy playoff rosters.
Pick the one for your playoff rosters with the best combination of high ceiling and streamable floor.
Jeff Haseley: KaVontae Turpin is my choice for an appealing streamable option. He has speed, speed, and more speed, and Dallas has figured out how to get him more involved in the offense.
The return of Brandin Cooks could potentially slow Turpin's touches, but at the same time, nobody on the team can bring what he has. Dallas has a great matchup this week vs. Cincinnati on Monday night, plus games against Carolina and Tampa Bay before finishing with Philadelphia and Washington.
There is room for Turpin to benefit from a favorable game script.
Phil Alexander: It's a close call between Sincere McCormick and Noah Gray for me, but the tie goes to McCormick since starting running back production is tougher to pluck off waivers this time of year. While I wouldn't feel great starting McCormick in a must-win game, there is a chance the Raiders will continue looking his way, even if their running back room gets back to full strength.
McCormick is giving the Raiders much-needed explosive plays, which is more than we can say for Alexander Mattison and Zamir White this season. As our Alfredo Brown points out, McCormick has four runs of 10-plus yards in two games, while Mattison and White combined for seven all season.
We've seen undrafted rookie running backs with fresh legs catch lightning in a bottle during the fantasy football stretch run plenty of times before, and McCormick's schedule in Weeks 16-17 (Jacksonville, New Orleans) is much easier than his last two matchups against Denver and Kansas City.
Andy Hicks: The safest option here would be Noah Gray. He is a regular contributor to the Chief's offense and is having a career year. The other three names may contribute little or nothing to the rest of this season. Travis Kelce is slowing down despite numbers that are still reasonable. Gray does excellent work with the split in time or the two tight-end sets.
Corey Spala: I want to add the running back depth and help in Sincere McCormick. He adds a spark the Las Vegas offense is missing with Alexander Mattison and Zamir White. As Phil noted about McCormick's rushes over 10 yards in 2 games, Mattison and White have combined only 7 for the entire season.
McCormick is officially signed to the active roster, and Antonio Pierce said, “…he's earning more reps”. White and Mattison are dealing with their injuries providing McCormick with an opportunity to continue to claim a larger workload. Additionally, if you care about the "fresh legs" theory, this is in his favor, too.
Joseph Haggan: Sincere McCormick is a player I am trying to add to my bench in all formats. Of the group listed, he is the top option, mainly due to his potential volume.
In Week 13, McCormick had 12 carries for 64 rushing yards and two receptions for a yard. His 5.3 yards per carry are far more impressive than Zamir White and Alexander Mattison. Ameer Abdullah may steal some passing game work, but the Raiders will likely see what they have in McCormick in the running game.
Their season is already over, and it would be wise to see who they want to keep on their squad in the coming season.
Ryan Weisse: I'll take Calvin Austin III, as he has the most defined role of the bunch. McCormick could be interesting, but there is no guarantee the Raiders will feature him yet.
Austin is Pittsburgh's best deep threat, and Russell Wilson is not shy about the deep ball. It's no coincidence that Austin's rise coincides with Wilson's taking the starting job.
Wilson took over in Week 7, and since then, Austin is the WR41 in fantasy and has three games with 10-plus fantasy points. He had only one week like this with Justin Fields, and a punt return touchdown helped that along.
Austin is certainly boom-or-bust, but of the guys on this list, he'll get the most opportunities to make a big play.
Waldman: Thanks for reading. Check out the links below for all of this week's roundtable topics:
- Hot Fantasy Players, Narrative or Substance?
- Playoff Bench Stashes
- Potential League-Winning RBs
- Dynasty WR Value Check
Good luck!