The ultimate goal of fantasy football is to win the championship in your league. But before you can do that you need to make the playoffs. At this point in the season there are a couple different paths that you should be taking when it comes to roster management.
If you are fairly secure and have locked in a playoff spot you should be focused on making a team that can make a strong playoff run. This means your team has the depth to sustain a couple of injuries to your primary starters at the RB position. It also means that you may even be able to consider adding streaming players with good playoff matchups.
On the other end of the spectrum are the teams that are fighting for that last playoff spot. These teams need to focus on getting the win each and every week. So it may mean you have to cut a handcuff for your starting RB just to add a streaming QB or a fill in RB during bye weeks. But not making that decision could cost you a win or points that could end up keeping you out of the playoffs.
Late Week Additions
I have typically been using this section of the article to highlight a running back. But this week I am going to discuss a tight end that not only is starting to deserve a roster spot, but a spot in your starting lineup. After not playing in the first five games of the season, Greg Dulcich has carved out a nice role on the Denver Broncos offense.
Between Weeks 6-9 Dulcich finished as a top 12 TE in three straight weeks leading into the Broncos bye week. Over that three week span, Dulcich has 12 receptions on 17 targets for 182 receiving yards and one touchdown. He is clearly turning into one of Wilson’s favorite targets. With so much volatility at the TE position on a weekly basis, Dulcich could offer some stability. If you are able to get him for free this week you may save you waiver priority or FAAB next week.
Tight End leaders at YARDS PER ROUTE RUN:
1. Mark Andrews (2.18)
2. David Njoku (2.14)
3. Dallas Goedert (2.12)
4. Travis Kelce (2.10)
5. Greg Dulcich (1.96)
6. TJ Hockenson (1.88)
7. Pat Freiermuth (1.82)
8. Kyle Pitts (1.76)
9. George Kittle (1.70)
10. Jonnu Smith (1.60)— Matt FF Dynasty š (@MattFFDynasty) November 8, 2022
Roster Cloggers
QB – Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers, 86.6% Rostered
I have been thinking about putting Rodgers on this list for a while now. But after putting him on the Watchlist last week I knew it was time. I typically only include roster cloggers that are started in under 50% of leagues. Rodgers is currently only started in 50.1% of leagues, so just over my typical threshold. But as the week moves on I am sure that this will continue to drop below the 50% mark. With that in mind, if you have Aaron Rodgers on your bench you are wasting that roster spot.
Aaron Rodgers is not playing terrible this season, but he is not performing for fantasy football managers. In 6 point passing touchdown leagues, Rodgers has only cracked the top 12 in one week this season. It is not entirely Rodgers fault though, in my opinion. The Packers traded Davante Adams and did not make any significant efforts to replace him. But Rodgers has already thrown more interceptions than he has in any season since 2016.
Aaron Rodgers: āGuys who are making too many mistakes shouldnāt be playing. Gotta start cutting some reps."
Also, Aaron Rodgers: pic.twitter.com/IzDD7lUwpH
— Ben Heisler (@bennyheis) November 6, 2022
RB – Eno Benjamin, Arizona Cardinals, 67.8% Rostered
Following his big Week 7 game against the Saints I added Benjamin to the Week 8 Roster Clogger article. At the time I was writing the article it seemed like James Conner and Darrel Williams may be healthy enough to play in Week 8. Shortly after the article was published it was announced that Conner would miss another week. I was a little nervous about having just suggesting to drop Benjamin, but I got somewhat lucky and he had a poor game.
James Conner did return to the field in Week 9 which led to a drastic decrease in snaps for Benjamin. Eno was clearly the RB2 for the Cardinals with only 17 snaps, compared to 45 for Conner. Not only did Conner lead the snap share, but he also led in carries, routes, and targets.
If you play in a deep league, Benjamin may still be worth a roster spot. But if not, you are relying on an injury to James Conner. At this point in the season getting points and wins should be the objective of most fantasy teams. So stashing players like Benjamin may prevent you from winning your weekly matchups.
WR – Romeo Doubs, Green Bay Packers, 57.1% Rostered
This is probably the first time that two Packers have been on this list in the same week, but it is warranted. Even though Doubs is has the second most targets on the Packers he is just not getting enough yards or high value targets to offer fantasy football managers what they need. According to Player Profiler ranks 42nd in the league in air yards.
What is even more concerning is that Doubs suffered a high ankle sprain in Week 9 which will sideline him for most if not all of the remaining fantasy regular season. If you have an IR spot and can stash him there it may be worth it. But if you need the IR spot for a player with a shorter time to return Doubs needs to be dropped.
#Packers WR Romeo Doubs has a high-ankle sprain, source said. Those are generally 4-6 week injuries, though further tests will determine the timeframe. But another target for Aaron Rodgers to miss time.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) November 7, 2022
TE – Taysom Hill, New Orleans Saints, 60.9% Rostered
It can be debated whether or not Hill should even be included as a TE at this point. But that is what he is considered according to ESPN, so I will discuss him here. I have actually been purposely not writing about Hill so far this season. But instead of repeating other TEs or giving someone I am not confident in I had to pull the trigger.
Hill is currently the TE6 on the season in Half-PPR leagues. But the majority of his fantasy football production came in just one game. In Week 5 against the Seahawks, Hill rushed for 112 yards and 3 touchdowns, with another passing touchdown. Hill finished as the TE1 that week. It is not very often that the TE1 in a given week has three rushing touchdowns, 1 passing touchdowns, and not a single reception.
When Taysom is having a game it is impressive to watch. But it is far to unpredictable to rely on for fantasy purposes. In Week 9, Taysom was started in nearly 40% of leagues and he failed to finish inside the top 12 for the 6th time this season (including the game he missed). So 40% of fantasy football managers were hoping that Hill would get a passing or rushing touchdown and were let down.
Need 30+ from Taysom Hill tonight to have a shot
I actually truly believe thereās a chance
— Mike Ruggieri (@Mike_Ruggi) November 7, 2022
Roster Clogger Watchlist
- Damien Harris, RB, New England Patriots
- Nyheim Hines, RB, Buffalo Bills
- Elijah Mitchell, RB, San Francisco 49ers
- Chase Claypool, WR, Chicago Bears
- Courtland Sutton, WR, Denver Broncos
- Darren Waller, TE, Las Vegas Raiders
- Hayden Hurst, TE, Cincinnati Bengals
