The Way This Works...
To see this article's purpose, please refer to the intro from Week 2.
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The Running List of Past Recommendations
I'll update this throughout the season so you have a wealth of considerations beyond my weekly recommendations. I change their standing as developments occur.
Scroll past these running lists for new suggestions.
Add Nows
Most of these players will not be available, but you'll get a sense of who has been recommended and who to snap up if they become available.
- Bryce Young
- Alec Pierce
- Jameis Winston
- Kayshon Boutte
- Darius Slayton
- Ricky Pearsall
- Theo Johnson
- Nick Westbrook-Ikhine
- Devaughn Vele
- David Moore
- Jordan Mason
- Alec Pierce
Preemptive
These players may not give you production this weekend, but they are worth considering because there's potential for them to deliver due to injuries or personnel changes.
- Isaac Guerendo
- Dylan Laube (see below)
- Ray Davis
- Cam Akers
- Sean Tucker
- Jalen Nailor
- Chris Brooks
- Noah Brown
- Demarcus Robinson
- Mike Williams
- Dylan Laube
- Drew Lock
- Audric Estime
- Kimani Vidal
Preemptive/Monitor
You can probably wait until a compelling event creates a potential need for these players.
- Andrei Iosivas
- Tyler Goodson
- Xavier Hutchinson
- Cordarrelle Patterson
- Brenton Strange
- Jordan Mims
- Ameer Abdullah
- Michael Penix Jr.
Monitor
These players have the talent to contribute to your lineup immediately if elevated to a starting role. If you can't find any talent with playing opportunities to have at the end of your roster, it's worth adding 1-2 of these options in case injury strikes, and you can beat the demand on the waiver wire.
- Sterling Shepard
- Julius Chestnut
- Tre Tucker
- Trey Palmer
- Brenton Strange
- Dawson Knox
- Nelson Agholor
- Allen Lazard
- Jalin Hyatt
- Cade Stover
Forget (For Now...)
They have too many players ahead of them on their depth charts to earn an impact anytime soon. Or, they suffered an injury.
- Tyler Badie
- Dalvin Cook
- Rakim Jarrett
- Blake Watson
- Evan Hull
- Dareke Young
- Bub Means
- Chris Rodriguez Jr.
- Adam Trautman
Add Now: WR KaVontae Turpin, Dallas
The Skinny on Turpin: One of the fastest -- if not the fastest -- ballcarriers in the NFL, Turpin is a big play waiting to happen anywhere on the field. Turpin gets a favorable schedule with the Bengals, Panthers, and Buccaneers on the Cowboys' slate. Turpin has enough skills as a route runner to win in the slot and the Cowboys have found ways to scheme him open.
Recommendation: Brandin Cooks returned to the field in Week 13 and scored a touchdown but only caught 3 of 7 targets against the Giants. The positive for Cooks is that he earned seven targets and should be more acclimated in Week 14.
Turpin is still worth consideration because opposing defenses could be more focused on CeeDee Lamb and Cooks, which could give Turpin excellent mismatches. If Turpin is part of the dregs on your waiver wire, he at least gives you a heightened chance of a field-flipping play and a touchdown.
Preemptive: TE Noah Gray, Chiefs
The Skinny on Gray: For the past three weeks, Gray has averaged 5 targets, 4 catches, 49 yards, and 1.33 scores. He has two other games before this streak with at least four targets and 40 yards.
Those three teams -- the Bills (26), Panthers (1), and Raiders (3) -- are on the extreme ends of the generosity spectrum to fantasy tight ends. Gray's pair of two-TD games came against the Bills and Panthers, so ease of schedule isn't the greatest factor in this equation.
Gray is earning more production because of his versatility in alignments and the alignments that force opposing defenses to prioritize Travis Kelce and/or Xavier Worthy first.
This allows Gray strong matchups that are out of position to handle his routes when assigned man-to-man or opens big holes in zones because Gray's teammates are running defenders out of the picture.
Gray faces the Chargers, Browns, Texans, and Steelers. The Texans and Steelers are decent units that have given up production to two-tight-end sets that could open the door for Gray during the fantasy playoffs.
Recommendation: He's a risky start, but if you're hurting at tight end, there's some schematic logic and success that could go your way.
Preemptive/Monitor: RB Travis Homer, Bears
The Skinny on Homer: The former Miami Hurricane arrived in the NFL as one of the best pass-catching running backs in his draft class. Homer earned a limited passing-down role in Seattle for the four years of his rookie contract. Since then, Homer has earned three touches and one target during his past two years in Chicago.
Homer has big-play acceleration, and he runs hard. Roschon Johnson is likely out in Week 14, and D'Andre Swift didn't practice on Thursday. Homer could have an expanded role, even the starting job, if the Swift-Johnson backfield tandem is partially or fully incapacitated.
Recommendation: Homer is capable enough of earning starter touches for a few games and his big-pay ability in the screen game as well as with downfield routes could come to the fore. Caleb Williams had success at USC when targeting running backs on vertical routes. Homer is an upgrade to MarShawn Lloyd in that department.
Final Thought
Everything will be okay in the end. If it's not okay, it's not the end.