It may have taken an extra week this year, but we have finally reached the fantasy football playoffs. Whether you locked up your playoff spot weeks ago or just earned your position on Monday night, we are all fighting for the same thing. We all want that fantasy football championship. Now is not the time to loosen up. In fact, it is quite the opposite. It is time to make sure that you are still working harder than your league mates with your roster management.
This season it is even more important to manage your roster than others. With so many COVID issues and other injuries occuring over the last few weeks, you need to make sure you have a diverse set of players on your bench that you would feel comfortable plugging into your starting lineup at any moment.
It is a good idea to have your own handcuffs on your bench. But having other handcuffs could also offer you an advantage. Not only does it protect you from potentially losing the starter and backup in one swoop to COVID. It also prevents your opponent from having their own handcuff in the case that their starter misses time.
Quarterbacks
Carson Wentz, Indianapolis Colts (43.7% Rostered, 2.7% Started)
Coming off of a bye, Carson Wentz is likely to have a slight bump in rostership after waivers run. If I were you I would steer clear of Wentz for this week at least. He will have his work cut out for him in Week 15 against the Patriots. So far this season the Patriots have the 2nd most interceptions, and give up the 3rd least passing yards per game.
After playing the Patriots, the Colts have a matchup against the Cardinals who are also a pretty difficult defense to pass on. But in championship week, Wentz and the Colts face the Raiders. The Raiders have been a somewhat favorable matchup for fantasy football QBs to target this season. But if you do not make the championship Wentz will be of no use to you. So if it were up to me I would not roster Wentz until Week 16 or even try to get him off waivers in Week 17 if needed.
Running Backs
Chuba Hubbard, Carolina Panthers (84.0% Rostered, 60.1% Started)
Chuba Hubbard has been on this list several times already this season over fears of his usage moving forward. That is the case again as we move into the playoffs. In two straight games, Hubbard has been on the field for less snaps than Ameer Abdullah. Not only is he getting less snaps, but he has been used almost exclusively in the running game since Week 10. Hubbard did get a touchdown in Week 14, but that accounted for nearly all of his fantasy football points. It was a relatively long run of 17 yards. Those types of plays will not come every week. Explosive plays are great, but they are very unpredictable. If Hubbard was getting more touches it would be worth the risk. But with him dropping down the depth chart we can not rely on that type of play. I feel much more comfortable plugging Ameer Abdullah into my fantasy football lineup moving forward due to his usage in the pass game.
#Panthers Week 14 RB usage …
Snaps:
Ameer Abdullah – 59%
Chuba Hubbard – 39%Routes:
Abdullah – 59%
Hubbard – 23%Carries:
Hubbard – 10
Abdullah – 4Targets:
Abdullah – 4
Hubbard – 0— Jared Smola (@SmolaDS) December 13, 2021
If his usage was not enough to make you nervous his upcoming schedule should be. The Bills, Bucs, and Saints have all been pretty stingy to opposing RBs.
Dontrell Hilliard, Tennessee Titans (48% Rostered, 23.8% Started)
After the Titans lost Henry for the season, fantasy football managers scrambled to the waivers to find the new RB in Tennessee. For a short time, it seemed like it was going to be Dontrell Hilliard. After leading the team in snaps in Week 11 by a wide margin, he has started to lose snaps weekly. In Week 13, Hilliard was second in snaps behind Jeremy McNichols and he played only one more snap than D’Onta Foreman. Foreman led all RBs on the Titans in carries in Week 13, and Hilliard was 3rd.
With such low usage last week it is a huge risk to rely on Hilliard in your starting lineup. Especially in Round 1 of the playoffs. Hilliard is the perfect type of player to drop and let another manager add him to their bench. They may drop someone that is a better fit for your team.
Wide Receivers
Courtland Sutton, Denver Broncos (74.4% Rostered, 19.1% Started)
Courtland Sutton is a player that was worthy of being on this list many times this season. He is a player I was not personally ready to cut quite yet. Sutton has consistently been near the top in snaps and routes at the WR position. I figured at some point the targets would pick up to where they were earlier in the season. Unfortunately, things have not been good over the last several weeks.
Not sure I've ever seen a team sign a wideout to a pricey extension and then just not bother to utilize that player.
Courtland Sutton has 2 targets today and is on his way to falling short of three catches in SIX straight games.
There is no excuse for how this has played out.
— Mike Clay (@MikeClayNFL) December 12, 2021
Sutton has had 5 or less targets in all but one game since Week 7. In that span he has only had over 50 receiving yards once, and he has not had any touchdowns. As you make you title push in the playoffs it is unlikely that you will feel good plugging Sutton into your starting fantasy football lineup.
In Week 14, Sutton was only started in 19.1% of lineups, which saved fantasy football managers from the disappointment of yet another bad week. Finding a replacement on the waiver wire may be tricky, but there are always some good options available if you look hard enough. One guy that I really like moving forward in the playoffs is DeVante Parker who is rostered in only 50.2% of leagues.
Tight End
Dalton Schultz, Dallas Cowboys (87.9% Rostered, 59.2% Started)
Schultz is currently the 6th ranked fantasy tight end in Half-PPR leagues. But he is more of a boom or bust option at the position. He has five games with over 10 points in Half-PPR leagues, and he caught touchdown passes in three of them. The rest of his games are all under the 10 point mark and he does not have a touchdown in any of those games.
Schultz does not necessarily have a difficult fantasy football playoff schedule, but you can likely do better off of waivers in most weeks. In Week 15 the Cowboys play the Giants. The last time that Schultz played the Giants he had 6 receptions for 79 yards on 8 targets. In addition the Giants have not given up a touchdown to the TE position since Week 4.
After that, the Cowboys play Washington who have also been pretty difficult on fantasy TE. In the championship week the Cowboys play the Cardinals who are one of the worst defenses for fantasy TEs. So this playoff schedule will make it almost impossible to put Schultz into your starting lineup for the fantasy playoffs.
Roster Clogger Watch
D’Andre Swift, Detriot Lions (96.5% Rostered, 19.4% Started)
In Week 12, D’Andre Swift suffered a shoulder injury that has kept him off the field for the last two weeks. The initial news on the injury suggested a 2-6 week timeline for recovery. So we are already past the earliest timeframe for him to return. The problem is that the longest potential recovery time would keep him out for the remainder of the year.
Earlier this week the Lions suggested that Swift was day-to-day. With the Lions out of contention it would not be shocking to have them shut Swift down for the season. We need to be paying attention to this closely over the remainder of the week.
Updated thoughts on
D’Andre Swift pic.twitter.com/NFFqoFYu0b
— Jesse Morse, MD (@DrJesseMorse) December 13, 2021
