Fantasy Football

Going into Week 15’s main course, it seems the Thursday appetizer has once again provided fantasy football owners with proof of just how important the flex position can be.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers-St. Louis Rams showdown might have looked like an odd war of condiments thanks to interesting jersey selections, but it also gave owners the latter’s Tavon Austin, a 55.7 percent-owned player and perfect flex play who exploded for 19 points in standard leagues.

Digging up players such as Austin hits a different level of importance in the fantasy football playoffs. Below, let’s rank each flex position based on scoring in points-per-reception (PPR) leagues.

Running Backs

With the way the NFL incorporates running backs into the passing game now, it’s harder than ever to figure out who will do what each week. 

Even so, it’s not hard to find a guy like Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson.

Johnson is on fire as of late while serving as the main back in the Arizona attack, having rushed for at least 92 yards in each of his past two outings.

More importantly in PPR formats, though, is the fact he’s caught at least two passes in each of his past four outings with a high of five. Johnson has 39 targets on the season and now gets the Philadelphia Eagles, a team that has allowed at least 80 rushing yards to opposing backfields in every game dating back to Week 6.

Also in for a big day, household name or not, would be Denard Robinson of the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Robinson will act as the feature back this weekend against the Atlanta Falcons, with T.J. Yeldon listed as doubtful with a knee issue. The backup handled this role well last week, rushing 14 times for 75 yards and a touchdown while adding one catch for 12 yards through the air.

The Falcons have allowed a minimum of 126 rushing yards to opposing backfields in each of their past three outings, with a total of five rushing scores in the process. Robinson getting more looks through the air as he’s now part of the game plan is the proverbial icing on the cake.

Wide Receivers

Wide receiver is a much more straightforward position to figure out, especially in PPR leagues. 

Look at Brandon Marshall of the New York Jets. Folks might not realize it given New York’s reputation as a defense-first team with Ryan Fitzpatrick under center, but Marshall ranks sixth in the league at 141 targets.

In his case, opportunity equals production considering he’s caught 89 of those for 1,187 yards and 11 touchdowns this year.

Marshall has at least six catches in each of his last three outings and has scored a touchdown in six consecutive games going into a matchup with the Dallas Cowboys. Expect the trends to continue, as the Cowboys have permitted opposing wideout corps to catch 14 passes in two consecutive games.

A tad trickier would be someone like Seattle Seahawks wideout Doug Baldwin.

Baldwin has only 81 targets on the season, but Seattle has morphed into a pass-first attack in recent weeks. As such, he’s recorded five or more catches in five consecutive outings and has scored eight touchdowns over the course of his last three games.

Pretty crazy, right? Crazier might be the fact that Baldwin gets to next beat up on the Cleveland Browns, owners of a defense that has coughed up double-digit receptions to opposing wideout corps in six straight games with nine touchdowns to the position in that span.

Tight Ends

Tight end might be the easiest PPR flex spot to figure out each week—but only at the very top. 

Things get more difficult a few spots down the list. This week, consider Robinson’s teammate, Julius Thomas.

Thomas is one of those tight ends owners can lean on no matter what thanks to a quarterback, Blake Bortles in this scenario, leaning heavily on the position. It’s why Thomas has 62 targets in just nine games and has received at least five targets in eight consecutive games, with highs of 10 and 13.

Those sorts of target numbers guarantee production, but it’s amplified here against a struggling Falcons defense that has allowed seven touchdowns to the position.

Delanie Walker of the Tennessee Titans might be a more recognizable name at the position. It’s a well-deserved status given the way rookie quarterback Marcus Mariota leans on him for production.

Walker has 99 targets this year and has been especially hot in recent weeks, receiving 10 or more targets in three of his last four games. He’s received fewer than six in a game just two times, a testament to the chances a big-bodied player at the spot will see with a rookie under center.

The Titans get the New England Patriots this week, and while the Patriots haven’t given up a load of points to the position, the fact that Mariota will continue to spam the ball to Walker while likely playing catch-up should mean big numbers for the star tight end.

All scoring info courtesy of ESPN standard leagues, as is points-against info and ownership stats as of December 18.

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NFL

Fantasy Football

Opinion

Fantasy

The playoff-contending Jets (8-5) are one of the surprises of the NFL this year after finishing the 2014 campaign 4-12 and undergoing major offseason changes. As ESPN’s John Clayton writes, plenty of credit goes to first-year general manager Mike Maccagnan. The former Texans executive was at the helm of a makeover last winter and spring that saw the Jets bring in rookie head coach Todd Bowles, spend over $179MM on free agents (Darrelle Revis, Antonio Cromartie, Buster Skrine, Marcus Gilchrist and James Carpenter being the most expensive additions), and acquire two key offensive cogs – quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick and receiver Brandon Marshall – for a mere late-round pick apiece.

While Maccagnan’s methods have paid off this season, the organization is cognizant that it has plenty of long-term work to do, per Clayton. The Jets have 10 starters in their 30s, so they need to stockpile youth. In terms of finding a young, high-impact player, Maccagnan’s draft history with the Jets got off to an excellent start last spring with his inaugural selection, first-round defensive end Leonard Williams.

As far as the upcoming offseason goes, Clayton expects the Jets to give raises to Fitzpatrick and running back Chris Ivory, slap the franchise tag on D-line stalwart Muhammad Wilkerson, and free up cap space by releasing Cromartie.

Elsewhere around the league…

• As long as either Tom Benson or his wife is in charge of the Saints, Mickey Loomis is likely to remain the team’s general manager, according to Evan Woodbery of NOLA.com. Head coach Sean Payton is under contract for two more years, but his status going forward is less clear than Loomis’. Payton could look for another job in the offseason, and Woodbery doesn’t expect Loomis to stand in Payton’s way if he wants to seek work someplace else. However, Woodbery does believe the Loomis-led Saints would require significant compensation from any hypothetical team that tries to hire Payton.
• The stellar play of Patriots cornerback Malcolm Butler means he’ll cash in eventually, and Jeff Howe of the Boston Herald took a look at how much the 25-year-old could make in the coming seasons. Howe thinks the Pats will give Brown a first-round tender as a restricted after next season, which would cost just under $4MM. Then, as Butler pushes closer to free agency in 2018, he could end up with a four-year deal in the $36MM range. He might not get that money in New England, though, as the club has decisions to make on a slew of important players other than Butler in the coming offseasons and won’t be able to retain all of them.
• The Buccaneers have drafted a combined one defensive player over the last two years (fourth-round linebacker Kwon Alexander last spring), but that should change in 2016, opines Rick Stroud of the Tampa Bay Tribune. Stroud looks for the Bucs to upgrade at cornerback and add outside pass-rushing help to a defense that ranks 28th in quarterback rating against (100.5) and has forced just one turnover over Tampa’s last four games.

Rookie 49ers head coach Jim Tomsula is at the helm of a 4-9 team and certainly not a lock to return for a second season, but two of the club’s respected veterans spoke out Friday in support of the 47-year-old, according to Eric Branch of The San Francisco Chronicle.

“Yeah, I love Tomsula,” linebacker NaVorro Bowman said. “I’ve been with him for a long time. He knows me. I know him. It’s always been a good relationship.”

Tomsula has been with the 49ers since taking over as their defensive line coach in 2007, so he and Bowman – drafted in 2010 – are well-acquainted.

Receiver Torrey Smith, on the other hand, signed with the 49ers last offseason and obviously hasn’t spent nearly the amount of time with Tomsula that Bowman has. That didn’t stop Smith from endorsing Tomsula.

“He’s been one of my favorite coaches I’ve ever had,” Smith said. “I think he’s a great man. It sucks that we haven’t had the results that we need, but I think he’s a great guy. So I want the best for him.”

More on the Niners and a few of their NFC counterparts:

• The Lions missed a golden opportunity last offseason to sign standout cornerback Delvin Breaux, who was unable to pass a team physical, writes Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. Breaux, formerly of the CFL, went on to sign with the Saints and has been a bright spot on a porous defense. The 26-year-old has 38 tackles and two interceptions in 13 games, and currently ranks as Pro Football Focus’ 13th-best corner (subscription required).
• Running back Christine Michael‘s recently signed deal with the Seahawks expires at the end of the season, but he’ll be still be under team control as a restricted free agent, per Tom Pelissero of USA Today (Twitter link). With fellow RBs Marshawn Lynch and Fred Jackson potentially out of Seahawks uniforms in 2016, Michael could stick around as Thomas Rawls‘ backup. He’ll have a chance to impress the organization in the coming weeks with both Lynch and Rawls injured.
• 49ers rookie Jarryd Hayne is encouraged by his progress and plans to return to the NFL next season, Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee writes. “To come this far in seven months, give me 12, 14 (and) it’s going to be completely different. And I think anyone who’s seen my growth will tell you how much I’ve changed and developed,” the 27-year-old said. The native of Australia and former professional rugby player signed with the Niners as a running back/return specialist last offseason. He appeared in six games for the team this year before it cut him and brought him back as a member of its practice squad last month.
• The Packers spent Friday looking at free agent special teamers, ESPN’s Rob Demovsky reports. The Pack worked out two punters – Will Johnson and Kasey Redfern – a pair of long snappers in Rick Lovato and Sam Rodgers, and kicker Andy Wilder.

The Board of Aldermen in St. Louis granted approval Friday for the city to fund up to $150MM on the construction of a new stadium worth $1.1 billion, Nicholas J.C. Pistor of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports.

In response, the Gov. Jay Nixon-led St. Louis stadium task force issued a statement, saying, “We recognize that our proposal will require extensive review before it is considered for approval by the NFL. We are confident that it will be well received.”

The task force also called Friday’s vote a “significant milestone,” but Rams owner Stan Kroenke and the NFL will have more say than the city in whether the proposed stadium is built. As was reported Thursday, the financing package for the new facility counts on $300MM from the league, whose policy is to spend a maximum of $200MM on stadiums. Commissioner Roger Goodell referred to funding a St. Louis stadium to the tune of $300MM as “fundamentally inconsistent with the NFL’s program of stadium financing.”

If the league isn’t a big enough hurdle for St. Louis to keep its team, the city also has to contend with Kroenke’s desire to relocate to Los Angeles. As Pistor notes, Kroenke hasn’t shown interest in staying in St. Louis and would have to agree to the proposed financing package to keep the franchise there.

Regarding Kroenke, Alderman Sharon Tyus quipped, “We’re like at the strip club…and the stripper is throwing the money back at us.”

One of Tyus’ colleagues, Alderman Antonio French, hopes the result of Friday’s vote shows a “good faith effort to hopefully sway a few votes to prevent Koenke” from moving the team. That might happen, according to Pro Football Talk’s Michael David Smith, who writes that St. Louis’ proposal could be acceptable enough in the eyes of some owners to vote against a potential Kroenke plan to relocate the Rams. Kroenke needs 23 approval votes from his fellow owners to allow him to take his team elsewhere. That vote will take place in January.

Sam Farmer of the LA Times wrote Thursday that, of the three teams vying for LA relocation (the Raiders and Chargers being the others), St. Louis has done the most to keep its franchise. As Farmer points out, St. Louis has put a significant amount of public money on the table, and the league isn’t in the habit of turning down sizable funding from the public. Further, Kroenke isn’t particularly popular among the league’s owners, per Farmer, which could make it that much more difficult for his California dream to end up a reality.

Here are today’s practice squad signings, cuts, and other notes from around the NFL:

Indianapolis Colts

• Signed: DT Kelcy Quarles (press release via team)

Pittsburgh Steelers

• Increased salary: DL Caushaud Lyons (Twitter link via Field Yates of ESPN.com)
  • Earning $25,588 per week

San Diego Chargers

• Signed: QB Brad Sorensen (Twitter link via Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

• Increased salary: RB Mike James (Twitter link via Yates)
  • Earning $34,412 per week