For those of you that have been following along all season, or even to last year, I am sorry I missed last week’s article. I recently started a new job and have had some long days with a decent amount of field work and travel. So instead of rushing through an article and putting out bad advice, I decided to take the week off from writing fantasy football.
Moving forward I am going to do everything I can to get you guys who have supported me all season long what you are looking for. That late week roster addition who could take a large jump in value and a few roster cloggers who you need to move on from.
Late Week Addition
As the trade deadline approaches there are trades and trade rumors flying. This means there are about to be some changes in fantasy value. Whether it is a star moving to a new team, or an unproven guy getting a chance to step up. There are a lot of deeper guys that need to be monitored, and might be worth your last bench spot.
D’Ernest Johnson, Cleveland Browns, 0.6% Rostered
With the Browns fielding trade offers for Kareem Hunt, Johnson could make a jump up to RB2 on one of the top rushing offenses in the NFL. Throughout his career, Johnson has had four games with at least 10 touches. In those games he has rushed for at least 90 yards, and has rushed for at least 100 yards and a touchdown in two of them.
D’ernest Johnson’s vision and cutback ability is legit pic.twitter.com/uMBaiBl44n
— Joe O’Leary (@TheHQNerd) November 14, 2021
Roster Cloggers
RB – Eno Benjamin, Arizona Cardinals, 68.8% Rostered
Benjamin has played fairly well this season. But prior to the James Conner injury, Eno only played at least 50% of the snaps in one game. That was the game that Conner got injured. Prior to that, Eno only played in one game with at least 40% of the snaps.
While Conner and Darrel Williams were out, Benjamin has had back-to-back games with double digit touches. But with a long break between the Thursday night game and their Week 8 game, there is a chance that both are back for Week 8.
If you play in very deep fantasy football leagues, Eno may still be worth a roster spot. But he will soon be pushed back to the RB3 on an average team that is not scoring as efficiently as we hoped this offseason.
I’m putting a new rule on myself.
— Jeff Bell (@4WhomJBellTolls) October 18, 2022
Day 3 picks who sat on rosters for 2 years and needed 2 injuries for an opportunity are not elite fantasy plays.
It’s called the Eno Benjamin Rule.
RB – Chase Edmonds, Miami Dolphins, 53.9% Rostered
In Week 6, Chase Edmonds was featured as a roster clogger. But he still qualifies and is rostered in too many fantasy football leagues. He continues to lose the snap and touch battle to Raheem Mostert. If you are rostering Edmonds it is time to move on and find another option to use your last bench spot on.
WR – Robert Woods, Tennessee Titans, 62.8% Rostered
Woods was on the Week 6 watchlist and has officially been elevated to the main list for Week 8. So far this season Woods has been on the field for at least 2/3 of the snaps in each of the Titans games. He has also managed to account for over 20% of the total targets for the team. But this has only turned into 230 receiving yards and 1 touchdown.
If Woods does not score a touchdown, fantasy football managers are going to be left wanting more. The Titans currently rank 27th in points on the season, so there are not many touchdowns to go around.
It is very clear the Titans plan to run their offense through Derrick Henry. Unless there is a major change there is no reason to be rostering Robert Woods at this point. Even if he scores a touchdown this week, it is unlikely that you feel confident enough to get him into your starting lineup. So why not cut him and let another opponent clog up their bench spots.
WR – Elijah Moore, New York Jets, 51.8% Rostered
Moore has earned his spot on this list yet again. He was featured on the Week 6 version of the article. After requesting a trade, the team healthy scratched him from the Week 7 matchup against the Packers. The Jets have already said that they are not going to be trading Moore.
Sources: #Jets WR Elijah Moore, frustrated with his role and usage, has asked for a trade. The team has no plans at all to trade him. The former second rounder was targeted once in the win over the #Packers, but the play was negated by a penalty. pic.twitter.com/JJvSbnxXZ1
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 20, 2022
Moore is currently 5th in receiving yards and targets for the Jets. Without a trade I am not sure that Moore will end up seeing enough volume to justify a fantasy football roster spot.
TE – Dawson Knox, Buffalo Bills, 61.8% Rostered
Finding a tight end that actually fits my roster clogger guidelines was actually really hard this week. I always look for someone who is rostered in over 50% of leagues and started in less than 50%. Knox being on bye kind of skewed the second part of that equation.
I also don’t really like suggesting that fantasy football managers drop players on high powered offenses. But so far this season, Knox is averaging just 4 targets per game. He has been pretty efficient in converting his targets into receptions, though. He has caught 75% of his targets, but for just 1 touchdown.
The offense seems to be clicking on all cylinders at the moment. Even though they already have had their bye week, they rank 4th in points for on the year. But for now, Knox is the teams 5th option in the passing game.
Roster Clogger Watchlist
- Cam Akers, RB, Los Angeles Rams
- Damien Harris, RB, New England Patriots
- Michael Carter, RB, New York Jets
- Darren Waller, TE, Las Vegas Raiders
- Kyle Pitts, TE, Atlanta Falcons
