Fantasy Football Weekly Rankings

Well if you took my advice last week on Mason Rudolph, you may have had a nice win in your fantasy football league like I did, especially if paired with JuJu Smith-Schuster. Unfortunately if one of your friends reads this blog and picked up Rudolph before you did, you may have lost this week. Yes, that happened to me as well. Comes with the territory of having 7 fantasy leagues I guess.

With the regular season in the NFL about halfway through, that means most fantasy leagues have a little over a month left before the playoffs start. That means you need wins, and need them now. Of course if your main players are on bye week, and if your league is anything like mine, the waiver wire is very bare right now. Here are some fantasy football weekly rankings of some players that may help put you over the hump this week and get you into that playoff hunt.

The trade deadlines are also coming up for most leagues, so if you are in need of a player, you may be able to get these players cheap and not have to give up any of your main players.

Of course if your playoff run is looking bleak, you can always try out daily fantasy football which I talk about over here.

Quarterbacks

1. Josh Allen – Buffalo Bills

I have been riding the Josh Allen train all year and he has led me to a few wins by his performances in many games. In fact just about every game unless he is playing the New England Patriots! He doesn’t necessarily throw for 400 yards a game, but he does have multiple touchdowns in every game except that Patriots game, and his ability to scramble and get those extra yards with his legs gives him the edge.

2. Sam Darnold – New York Jets

I always look to who is playing the Dolphins anyways, but here is a player who honestly hasn’t faced an “easy” defense yet this year, and was still able to put up respectable stats in 2 of his last 3 games. That third game was against the Patriots, and if you have been putting your players in playing against that defense you probably do not have a good record right now! He should be available on the waiver wire, so pick him up now!

3. Derek Carr – Oakland Raiders

Another player that is on the waiver wire in most of my leagues, Derek Carr has actually been putting up good numbers recently. With 5 touchdowns the last two weeks and over 250 yards in each of those contests, he should be looked at. Detroit has been letting up a lot of yards through the air all year, and with the Raiders starting to fall further behind the AFC West leaders they will be looking to get back on track against the Lions.

Wide Receivers

1. Demaryius Thomas – New York Jets

If you are able to pair Sam Darnold with Demaryius Thomas this week you should have a solid week. Demaryius has a chip on his should following his brief stint in New England, and this match up will have him salivating. Miami does not have anybody to keep up with Thomas, look for him to have a monster game.

2. Danny Amendola – Detroit Lions

Amendola is available in just about every one of my leagues, and for good reason. Outside of a great first week, he was virtually invisible until a couple weeks ago. Part of that is his competition, facing many of the better secondaries in the league, but the last two weeks against less challenging defenses he has been much more successful. Look for this success to continue this week against the Raiders.

3. Golden Tate – New York Giants

Tate is available in some leagues, so if he is definitely look into picking him up. With Sterling Shepard still not back, his targets have been consistent and he is making the most of them with at least 80 yards in each of his last 3 games. With a big game against Dallas this Monday Night he could have a nice output for your team.

Running Backs

1. Mark Walton – Miami Dolphins

Normally I put players going AGAINST the Dolphins, but in this case I’ll make an exception. With the trade of Kenyan Drake to the Arizona Cardinals, Mark Walton is now the lead back for the Miami Dolphins. And although that may not mean much from week to week, the Jets are up next and if you are desperate for a running back this may be your solution. He did have a fumble against the Steelers Monday night but honestly he will still get his touches since they really don’t have anybody else that is taking them away!

2. Miles Sanders – Philadelphia Eagles

When the season started, I wouldn’t have advised to play anyone against the Chicago Bears. Halfway through the season though, with their offense struggling to cause them to be on the field much more, the defense isn’t quite as tough to play against. With sanders starting to pick up steam as the season goes on, especially picking up receptions out of the backfield, he may be your solution to get some much-needed fantasy points Sunday.

3. David Montgomery – Chicago Bears

On the other side of the field Sunday, you have David Montgomery. He was basically forgotten about for the first 6 games of the season by Coach Matt Nagy, but with a struggling QB Nagy finally decided to run the ball a little and Montgomery exploded with 135 rushing yards and an additional 4 catches for 12 yards. With the Bears not likely to see an increase in QB play anytime soon, look for Montgomery to be given lots of looks going forward.

Tight Ends

1. Darren Fells – Houston Texans

Only owned in 21% of Yahoo leagues, if you are without a quality TE1 then you need to be looking here this week. He is starting to get a rapport with QB Deshaun Watson (Watson even found him last week with only one eye open!), and is getting more and more comfortable in the offense. He still has a clunker occasionally, like the 2 catch for 27 yards 2 weeks ago, but you could do much worse the Fells if you are struggling.

2. Chris Herndon – New York Jets

Another tight end only owned in 28% of leagues in Yahoo, you may want to get in on this train a week early. He is still injured but possibly coming back for the week 9 match up against the Dolphins, and without many targets for Darnold he will see his share of targets.

3. Darren Waller – Oakland Raiders

Hopefully you had the foresight to pick up Waller a few weeks ago when he was still available. In an increasingly smaller tight end pool, if he is still available pick him up now! He look to be increasingly part of the offense that has been building up steam lately. Although the defense he will face the rest of the year will be tougher, Waller is now in the TE1 category.

Defenses

1. New York Jets

You knew I was going to put the Miami Dolphins opponent on here. If your defense is on their bye week, or going against a tough opponent, this is probably your best bet to fill in. In addition to the Dolphins, the Jets face the Giants and the Redskins the next two weeks so possibly a multi week streaming option for you.

2. Dallas Cowboys

Dallas has definitely had an up and down season, but coming off of their bye week and a very important divisional game coming up Monday night expect the Cowboys to step up and put up good number. Available in most leagues this is an excellent pick up for this week.

3. Denver Broncos

Given that Head Coach Vic Fangio was a long time defensive coordinator who had great success for the Bears and 49ers recently, you would have thought that the Broncos would have started off firing, with the likes of Von Miller on the team. That didn’t happen to begin the season, but this defense has been much improved lately against decent teams. Now the Cleveland Browns come to town on the verge of imploding, and the Broncos very well might be there to take advantage.

Conclusion

There are 5 more weeks til most fantasy league playoffs start, so time is slipping away if you are on the outside looking in. You need wins, and the pickings will be slim. If you have been successful so far this year, please comment below and share some of your unexpected gems you have found. Or if you have any questions feel free to ask below! Have a great week!