FSH NOTEBOOK: THE FRIDAY NIGHT (FF) WATERCOOLER

November 3rd, 2023

David’s Daily Digest

Friday Late-Evening Edition

The Wednesday Friday Watercooler

Targets Equal Opportunities

Looking ahead to the weekend for the insight and information to help you set your fantasy football lineups. This is a list of the top targeted receivers out wide, from the backfield, and at tight end for Week 8.

Here are the weekly leaders for Receiving Targets;

Week 8

Top 10 WR

1. CeeDee Lamb - 14

2. Diontae Johnson - 14

3. DK Metcalf - 14

4. Tyreek Hill - 13

5. Garrett Wilson - 13

6. Michael Pittman Jr - 13

7. Jaylen Waddle - 12

8. Ja’Marr Chase - 12

9. Gabe Davis - 12

10. Terry McLaurin – 12

11. Stefon Diggs - 12

The Jets wide receiver Garrett Wilson (fantasy WR22) remains fantasy relevant averaging over 9 targets per game. A Week 9 matchup with the Chargers on Monday night looks like a promising outcome for Wilson and company. The Chargers secondary has allowed the third most fantasy points per game to opposing wide receiver this season.

Week 8

Top 10 TE

1. Trey McBride - 14

2. George Kittle - 11

3. Sam LaPorta - 10

4. Cole Kmet - 10

5. Evan Engram - 10

6. TJ Hockenson - 9

7. Travis Kelce - 9

8. David Njoku - 8

9. Logan Thomas - 8

10. Dalton Kincaid - 7

11. Tyler Higbee - 7

12. Dallas Goedert - 7

The Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (fantasy TE1) has looked unrecoverable and unstoppable all season and his target share shows, quarterback Patrick Mahomes agrees. Kelce is averaging over 9 targets per game and has a 79.4% success catch rate this season. With 54 receptions, 583 yards, and 4 touchdowns he’s locked in every week.

Week 8

Top 10 RB

1. Breece Hall - 9

2. Austin Ekeler - 8

3. Christian McCaffrey - 7

4. Rachaad White - 7

5. Travis Etienne Jr - 6

6. Jahmyr Gibbs - 5

7. Alvin Kamara - 5

8. Saquon Barkley - 5

9. Bijan Robinson - 5

10. 6 more players tied with - 5

The Saints running back Alvin Kamara has been fantasy gold in ppr formats since returning to action in Week 4. Kamara has been targeted 44 times (8.8 per game) this season, most of any running back in the NFL recording 39 receptions and 228 yards receiving. He’s locked into lineups every week and is a DFS favorite this week.

Touches Are Fantasy Gold

Just like a receiver needs to be targeted, a running backs success leans heavily on how many times they touch (carries + catches) the rock.

Here are the weekly Touch leaders;

Week 8

Top 10 RB

1. Saquon Barkley - 39

2. Jahmyr Gibbs - 31

3. Javonte Williams - 30

4. Travis Etienne Jr - 27

5. Derrick Henry - 26

6. Austin Ekeler - 22

7. Alvin Kamara - 21

8. Gus Edwards - 21

9. Emari Demercado - 20

10. Joe Mixon - 19

For consecutive weeks now, Saquon Barkley has led all backfields with the most touches for the week. Heading out west this week to face the Raiders, Barkley figures to be prominent once again. He may not reach the 30 carry plateau this Sunday, but he looks like a strong bet to reach 20+ touches.

That's my take!

~David G. Ortega

FSH NOTEBOOK: DAVID'S DAILY DIGEST

August 28th, 2023

Monday Evening Edition

On My Radar: Draft Day Targets

Now that the draft season has heated up, it’s time to talk about my Draft Day targets. These are the players that I will be looking to take at the right time during my several upcoming drafts. I want value, but I am also looking for opportunity with upside.

Diving in deep, let’s start with the early rounds.

I’ve only participated in a couple of drafts thus far this season. But as I read some of the latest news and watch all of the preseason action, the word on the Fantasy Football Street is wide receivers are going early. It’s not hard to make this argument when you consider the top two consensus receivers are the Vikings Justin Jefferson (128 receptions in 2022) and the Bengals Ja’Marr Chase (over 20 FPG in 2022).

In most of my drafts, I am slotted beyond the 6th spot, so with the receiving landscape being so rich in talent the receiver I am most interested in taking as a last first or early 2nd round pick is Davante Adams. Over the past three seasons Adams has averaged 1,481 yards receiving, 14.3 receiving touchdowns, and 112.6 receptions each season. In his first year in Las Vegas his production level was on par with these averages. In 2022 his finished as the third highest scoring fantasy wide receiver playing in all 17 games. Even with a new quarterback (Jimmy Garappolo) this season, I don’t see a big fall off for Adams. Even with a 5-8% regression he finishes as a top 5 wideout. He’s a safe pick with great value.

Still in the early rounds, two running backs that I have been seeing around the 3rd and 4th round turn are (Packers) Aaron Jones and (Cardinals) James Conner. Both backs offer RB1 value, each finishing in the top 12 last season in fantasy points per game. Jones registered over 1,500 yards from scrimmage in 2022, while Conner finished as a top 10 fantasy running back. Both are going late enough you can bypass in the first two rounds pick up Jones in the late 3rd or grab Conner a little later in the 4th.

As we skate along into the mid-rounds, this about the time to start looking for my tight end and this season my sights are set on the Giants Darren Waller. Listening to a lot of Training camp talk on the radio and TV, there’s a buzz around Waller in New York. Looking back at his 2019 and 2020 seasons with the Raiders, Waller stormed onto the fantasy scene posting TE1 numbers, finishing as the No.5 fantasy tight end in 2019 and No.2 in 2020. Last season was a bust playing in the shadow of (Davante) Adams, but now that he’s in New York, Waller absolutely has the talent to be the number one option for quarterback Daniel Jones.

Finally, this Draft Day target is not a late round flyer, but in my opinion possibly a steal in the 7th round or later, Steelers wide receiver George Pickens. In my opinion, Pickens is dynamic and showed a lot of flash last season when given the opportunity. Last season compared to other receivers with at least 80 targets, Pickens finished 6th in yards per reception with 15.4 yards per catch. His quarterback has been looking good this preseason and figures to take a few steps forward, so I am expecting good things from Pickens. Last season he finished as the No.52 fantasy wideout, this season I believe he could make a leap to a borderline WR2/WR3 (12 team leagues). 

That's my take!

~David G. Ortega