Grading My Week 7 Last Minute Fantasy Football Pickups

Talk about a feast-or-famine week.  Either nailed it or picked a stinker.  Have to console myself by saying my Pickups of the Week have been pretty great most of the season to this point.  At least that’s going well.  Just hose other picks…  As always, I’ll be using the standard projections and scoring found at espn.com for these ratings.  Let’s see how I did!

20-50% owned tier

Pickup of the Week – WR Danny Amendola – New England Patriots – Projected 62nd at WR – Finished 10th – Grade: A+++

Another big game and looked great.  Looks like he’ll lose some production to Lafell now as the Pats seem to want to feed Lafell no matter what.  Amendola deserves more but I’m not sure he’ll get it.  Too bad.  Still might be a sneaky play when the match up is right like this one was.

Honorable Mentions

QB Jameis Winston – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Projected 26th at QB – Finished 10th – Grade: A+

Looking better every week and is definitely a nice match up play.  If he gets on track with Evans and gets his other receivers healthy, he’ll have some monster games on occasion the rest of season.

TE Dwayne Allen – Indianapolis Colts – Projected 29th at TE – Finished 33rd – Grade: F

They keep throwing the ball to Fleener and I have no idea why.  Allen is suffering because of that and it’s a shame.  Should be far better than this.

New York Giants Defense – Projected 25th at D – Finished 3rd – Grade: A+++

Quietly a very good fantasy D and I’m patting myself on the back for calling this one in my preseason rankings.  Projected them top 10 and they are sitting tied for 10th in ESPN scoring at this moment.

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Owned 20% or Less

Pickup of the Week – QB Kirk Cousins – Washington NFL Franchise – Projected 23rd at QB – Finished 2nd – Grade: A+++

Good match up and he abused the D getting his star TE back healthy.  Wouldn’t trust him much since I’m not a big believer in his talent.  But good match ups are going to work even for players like him.

Honorable Mentions

RB Branden Oliver – San Diego Chargers – Projected 26th at RB – Finished 29th – Grade: F

Disappointed as the Chargers got blown out early by the Raiders.  Certainly didn’t expect that so bad call here.  Chargers are seemingly the most erratic team in fantasy this season.  Would hate owning anyone on that team outside of Rivers right now.

WR Brian Quick – St. Louis Rams – Projected 73rd at WR – Finished with Zero – Grade: F—

They tried going deep to him…once.  And a penalty was called.  Still think he’s worth keeping an eye on but this was a huge disappointment to me.  Really thought he’d have a good one after the bye.

Oakland Raiders Defense – Projected 28th at D – Finished 22nd – Grade: D

Would have been a good game had they not given up 23 fourth quarter points.  Was smiling about this pick for the first 45 minutes of that game…

Last Minute Fantasy Football Pickups of Week 7 – Amendola and Cousins

All I can say is the match ups this week are much more fascinating than usual.  Super risky plays but they look so good on paper.  As always, I’ll be using the ownership percentages from CBS Sports since they are typically the highest and these guys will be even easier to find on waivers on other sites.  Let’s pick ’em and play ’em!

20%-50% Owned

Pickup of the Week – WR Danny Amendola – New England Patriots – Owned: 36%

Had a good game last week and could repeat that this week.  I’m partial to a few things in fantasy when making these picks and the #2 WR on a team playing a D with an elite CB probably covering the #1 is one of them.  I’m assuming Revis might try to follow Edelman which will give Amendola additional looks, kind of like last week with the Colts and Davis.  All signs to point to another nice week for Amendola and he’ll be worth firing up again, especially in PPR.  (Projection: 8-95-1)

Honorable Mentions

QB Jameis Winston – Tampa Bay Buccaneers – Owned: 35% – Coming off the bye and gets a Washington D that is bad against the pass (assuming the O line can nullify their very good pass rush).  Should be ready for the match up and be able to chuck it to those giant WRs of his.  (275-3)

TE Dwayne Allen – Indianapolis Colts – Owned: 44% – Nearly got in the end zone last week but let me down after picking him.  Think his luck changes this week against a Saints team that’s been rather generous to TEs this season.  Roll with him.  (5-55-1)

New York Giants Defense – Owned: 30% – Has played pretty well most of the season and now get a Cowboys team at home that will be starting Cassel at QB who has 4 more picks than TDs over his last four seasons combined.  Looks rather juicy on paper.  (12 fantasy points)

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Owned 20% or less

Pickup of the Week – QB Kirk Cousins – Washington NFL Franchise – Owned: 12%

If there is a time you would throw him in your lineup, this looks like the best opportunity.  Hasn’t played well this season but the match ups have actually been a bit brutal.  3 top 12 passing Ds, the Eagles as they’ve started to put things right, and underrated Falcons and Giants Ds.  Now he gets a Tampa D that just made Bortles look like Unitas.  If his line can give him time, he could put up some pretty good numbers.  The return of Jordan Reed also helps a ton.  Should be better than expected in a nice match up.  (265-3)

Honorable Mentions

RB Branden Oliver – San Diego Chargers – Owned: 15% – An even better play if Gordon ends up not playing because of the ankle.  I liked him last season and think he’d be great against the Raiders this week if he was the feature back.  Worth the gamble if he gets the start.  (80 total yards-1)

WR Brian Quick – St. Louis Rams – Owned: 7% – A forgotten dark horse and massive risk this week but there might be some light in this tunnel.  Returned two weeks ago before their bye and should presumably be fully healthy now and have some extra reps with his new QB.  Gets a Haden-less Browns D that has been generous to WRs this season.  Don’t forget about him!  (4-85-1)

Oakland Raiders Defense – Owned: 3% – Coming off their bye and now get a very injured Chargers team that has been good to opposing Ds.  Del Rio seems to have this D playing better as they have kept opponents to an average of just under 20 PPG the past three games.  Not a bad option if you don’t like your D this week. (10 fantasy points)

Oakland Raiders Fantasy Football Analysis – Week 5

Week 5 – vs Denver – L 10-16

QB: Carr an average game and had trouble with the pass rush in this one.  Wasn’t protected well and had little to throw to outside of a lot of short stuff.

RB: Murray a below average game and did nothing to impress against tough D.  Match up was bad so not his fault.  Line couldn’t do much for him.

WR: Crabtree and Cooper covered well and held to average games.  Neither could get much space.  Another bad match up so they should be fine.

TE: Rivera a few catches but just an average fantasy game.  Would like to see him get a lot more targets but it just isn’t happening.

OL: Couldn’t handle elite pass rush.  Not a shocking outcome there.  Did nothing for run game.  Continues to be a pretty bad run blocking unit.

Def: Stout against terrible run game and O line.  Pass rush disrupted a good passing team.  Played pretty well overall considering match up.  Gave up good game to #2 WR.  Held rest in check.  Finally shutout TE but I would continue starting all TEs against.

Oakland Raiders Fantasy Football Analysis – Week 4

Week 4 – @ Chicago – L 20-22

QB: Carr an okay game but expected far better.  Just couldn’t seem to make throws in this one.  Looked good at times but couldn’t sustain it.

RB: Murray an average game in a good match up.  Wasn’t getting a lot of space and isn’t capable of doing too much on his own.  World of difference in talent between he and Forte on the other side.

WR: Cooper a good game making a great TD grab.  Still looks like a stud and worth the start every week right now.  Crabtree a nice game but looked shakier in this one.  Should be okay but worth noting.

TE: Rivera still not getting much.  Probably the most talented not-usable TE in fantasy.

OL: Didn’t play well against weak D.  Really bad sign as far as how they looked in this one.  Could force a downgrade of all the fantasy players on this team if they continue blocking like this.

Def: Made some plays but still looked pretty awful, overall.  Couldn’t hang with elite runner.  Coverage was atrocious on TE, again.  Not much of a pass rush.  Gave up good games to basically everyone.

Oakland Raiders Fantasy Football Analysis – Week 3

Week 3 – @ Cleveland – W 27-20

QB: Carr a nice game and was protected well.  Makes good throws and is accurate.  Has too many good targets to throw to to ignore him.

RB: Murray a big game and is okay if given space but doesn’t do a ton for himself.  Outside of one big run, he was three yards and a cloud of dust in this one.  I still don’t see what people are seeing in him.

WR: Cooper a big game and is an absolute stud.  Big enough to be a red zone target, really fast, and is catching virtually everything catch-able.  Crabtree held in check but still looked okay.  Will be hit and miss, especially when run game and Cooper have big games.  Roberts a TD but I’ve already seen him drop a ton of throws.  Hands are terrible.

TE: Rivera nothing and barely involved.  Can’t be considered for fantasy despite his obvious talent.

OL: Protected extremely well and run blocking was decent.  Certainly doesn’t dominate when it comes to the run but did open nice holes in this one.

Def: Great pass rush and made a lot of plays.  Held run game in check but lead limited runs.  Still getting obliterated by TEs, even no name ones.  Also gave up good games to WRs and receiving RB.

Oakland Raiders Fantasy Football Analysis – Week 2

Week 2 – vs Baltimore – W 37-33

QB: Carr a big game and was pretty accurate making some great throws both short and long.  Starting to look like he could be a stud with the right match ups like this one.

RB: Murray a good game but really did nothing overly impressive.  Just gets the ball and runs into the pile.  I just don’t understand what people are seeing in him right now.  Really doesn’t do much on his own.

WR: Cooper and Crabtree had huge games with similar numbers.  Cooper is definitely a superstar on his way and Crabtree may have found a nice home.  Really looks maybe his best ever.

TE: Rivera still getting ignored in offense.  Just can’t trust for fantasy.

OL: Looked strong, especially in pass protection.  Wasn’t blowing D away on runs but doing enough for RBs to get a few yards every time.

Def: Far from good.  Wasn’t great against the run and was torched by passing game.  Really can’t cover even remotely well.  Gave up huge games to #1 WR and TE.  Good games to RBs and #2 WR.  Start everyone against until they do something.

Oakland Raiders Week 17 Fantasy Analysis

Week 17 – @ Denver – L 14-47

QB: Carr struggled as pass rush was getting to him more than usual and some drops hurt.  Still looks like a good QB but needs a new OC.

RB: Murray a good game, mostly as a receiver and half his yards coming on one play.  Still not sold on him but he does look like the starter for next season.

WR: Jones and Holmes did little although Holmes could have had 2 TDs and Jones looked good.  Depending on coaching changes, both could be good values next season.

TE: Rivera targeted on the stat sheet but a lot weren’t catchable.  Did little and should still be getting more targets because of his talent.

OL: Wasn’t great.  Average run blocking against tough D and wasn’t handling good pass rush too well.  Needs some improvement but still not a terrible unit.

Def: Gashed badly on the ground.  Couldn’t contain stars except TE.  Gave up good games to RB and WRs.  Backup TE scored garbage-time TD.

Oakland Raiders Week 16 Fantasy Analysis

Week 16 – vs Buffalo – W 26-24

QB: Carr protected well against tough D and had decent game.  Took some chances down field but receivers didn’t make a lot of plays.

RB: Murray a good game against an elite D but still doesn’t look overly impressive.  Doesn’t look much different from Asiata except he runs with less power.  Line helped him here.

WR: Thompkins a good game but no reason to buy into it.  Holmes decent hitting one long one but nearly had a TD as well.  Jones a short TD catch and nothing else.  Should be getting more throws than that.

TE: Rivera ignored again.  Just baffling that team doesn’t involved him more.  This is why they’re bad.

OL: Strong game, especially the run blocking, considering the opponent.  Probably because it was home game but still impressive.

Def: Shutout limited runs.  Got thrown on for a ton.  No pass rush.  Gave up good games to QB and all receivers including RB.

Oakland Raiders Week 15 Fantasy Analysis

Week 15 – @ KC – L 13-31

QB: Carr an okay game but seemed confused by the D and took some coverage sacks.  Was  inaccurate with throws as receivers had to make a lot of plays on the completions he did have.

RB: Murray an okay game but still doesn’t look like much of a game-breaker.  Not buying into him yet.

WR: Holmes and Jones good games and made some great plays on balls.  Just don’t know why they haven’t been getting more down field throws in the latter part of the season.

TE: Rivera a good PPR game and should get this every week.  Too good of a pass-catcher to not get close to double-digit targets or more every week.

OL: Run blocking getting better.  Pass blocking was very strong as sacks came because of coverage.  Gave QB a ton of time to throw.

Def: Burned by some big plays in the passing game.  No pass rush.  Wasn’t really stopping the run.  Gave up big games to QB, backup RB, WRs, and TE.

Oakland Raiders Week 14 Fantasy Analysis

Week 14 – vs SF – W 24-13

QB: Carr a big game and threw the ball confidently.  Got a lot of time and took advantage.  Is really starting to look like he’s going to get the chance to develop into a star.

RB: Murray a decent game and looked good when blocking was there.  Still doesn’t appear to be a superstar but definitely could be a strong runner.  Reece a big game receiving and is getting more involved but still not usable.

WR: Holmes and Jones did little.  Just didn’t get many looks in this one but have to believe they will come in time.

TE: Rivera another big game and still baffling why he isn’t more involved every game.  Possibly a top 5 TE in terms of talent but not in usage.

OL: Great pass protection again and pretty good run blocking considering opponent.  Might be getting better in that area with the better runner.

Def: Really strong performance against weak passing O.  Pressure was getting to QB all game.  Run D still terrible.  Gave up no good games except PPR games to WRs.