Sunday was perhaps the biggest week of carnage we’ve seen all season. Stalwarts such as Percy Harvin, Jordy Nelson and Darren McFadden gave us zeros. They weren’t alone. Here’s what you need to know from Week 9 as we enter fantasy’s stretch run:
1. The Darren McFadden injury bug bit again. This time, he has a high-ankle sprain and is considered week-to-week. That would be exciting for Mike Goodson, but he sprained his ankle yesterday also. That leaves Taiwan Jones and ex-college wideout turned fullback Marcel Reece as healthy backs. Reece is an interesting add for PPR owners.
2. Donnie Avery left with a hip injury and didn’t return. That’s not that interesting, but explosive rookie TY Hilton in an every-down role would be. Monitor.
3. Percy Harvin came into the game with a hamstring injury and left with a bum ankle. He also feuded with coaches as Christian Ponder was inept once again.
4. Antonio Brown rolled his ankle. It’s not severe, but he could miss a game or two. If that’s the case, Emmanuel Sanders is going to be a nice play.
5. I didn’t think Dez Bryant looked limited in terms of running or snap count Sunday night. Tony Romo just looks elsewhere when the chips are down. It’s understandable. Dez has let Romo down too many times.
6. I’d expect CJ Spiller to start winning the timeshare battle with Fred Jackson as soon as this week. Both coach Chan Gailey and QB Ryan Fitzpatrick said after Sunday’s loss that Spiller has to get more touches. He’s averaging 7.2 YPC on the season compared to 3.7 for F-Jax.
7. Doug Martin scored the third most fantasy points of any player since 1995. LeGarrette Blount lost a key fumble. Welcome to top-10 weekly status, rookie.
8. I’d consider Hakeem Nicks one of the best buy lows around right now. He looks really healthy, but the Giants’ passing offense is in a funk. They’ll snap out of it.
9. The Bears D/ST is taking over fantasy leagues and it’s really not fair. I took them in one league just on a whim in the last round and now I’m rolling over opponents. In my ideal fantasy league, there are no kickers or defenses. Just skill players. It’s only fair.
10. Ryan Mathews is no longer playing on third downs, in the two-minute drill or in short-yardage. I still love his natural talent, but we can’t expect anything more than RB2 status in this scenario.
