James Conner just took us back to 2018 with his outstanding fantasy output today. He put up one of the best games of the entire season with 173 total yards, 5 receptions, and 3 touchdowns. This amounted to 40.3 full-PPR fantasy points. Today was the highest fantasy score of his career, topping the 38.9 he had in 2018. Conner is emerging as an RB2/FLEX option because of his goal-line usage, while Chase Edmonds gets left in the dust.
This week’s game of the week was when the Minnesota Vikings traveled to Baltimore to face Lamar Jackson and the Ravens. The Vikings started with a bang—a 50-yard touchdown pass to Justin Jefferson. They took control from there as they held a 24-10 lead early in the third quarter. Lamar Jackson put his team on his back as he led the Ravens to three straight touchdown drives. The Vikings tied it up late to force overtime, but Justin Tucker hit the game-winner sending the Ravens to a 6-2 record.
Notable injuries: Chase Edmonds (ankle), Zack Moss (concussion)
Stud of the Week: James Conner 40.3 fantasy points
Dud of the Week: Aaron Jones 5.3 fantasy points
1. Elijah Moore WR NYJ (15.3% owned)
Elijah Moore finally had his breakout game and it came at the perfect time. With many eyes watching on Thursday night football, Moore caught 7 of his 8 targets for 84 yards and two touchdowns. Elijah Moore was probably the biggest sleeper of the season, as he was recommended by almost every single fantasy analyst. After 7 very below-average weeks, the Jets receiver has caught 13 passes for 151 yards and 2 touchdowns over his last two games. Take advantage of managers dropping him out of frustration and pick up a receiver who is very hot as of recently. We have seen second-half explosions like this with Justin Jefferson and it could happen again with Elijah Moore.
2. Jordan Howard RB PHI (8.5% owned)
Jordan Howard appeared on this list last week as a deep add and whoever added him got a huge performance of 71 rushing yards and a touchdown. He has emerged as the temporary RB1 for Philadelphia ahead of Boston Scott as he handled 59% of the backfield touches. Teams that were starting Zack Moss or Chase Edmonds need to snatch Jordan Howard up now to look for some short-term RB injury relief. Philadelphia’s refusal to be a high-volume passing offense makes Jordan Howard a high-end RB2 to a low-end RB1 until Miles Sanders comes back. Even if you don’t need him, there are always managers looking for running backs that you can trade to.
3. Rashod Bateman WR BAL (25% owned)
Rashod Bateman being available in 75% of leagues still seems like an absolute crime. The rookie wideout had his career-high in targets and receptions and is looking like the third pass-catcher that the Ravens were desperately looking for. Sammy Watkins is coming back very soon but I think Rashod Bateman can take over his spot. Late season breakouts by rookie wide receivers are what win people leagues and I think players like Rashod Bateman and Elijah Moore are candidates. Those two players are my top priorities this week as teams look to make one final playoff push to end the fantasy season.
4.DeVonta Freeman RB BAL (13.8% owned)
DeVonta Freeman is another running back who has benefitted from injuries as JK Dobbins, Gus Edwards, and Latavius Murray are all out. Freeman finally got some volume as he turned 13 carries into 79 yards. Lamar Jackson also threw him 3 passes (he caught 2) and he turned those into 4 more yards and a touchdown. Freeman is a nice end of the bench stash with flex upside as a plug-and-play type of player. If you have a bottom waiver priority and an open roster spot, Freeman is a good choice to add.
5.Eno Benjamin RB ARI (0.1% owned)
Chase Edmonds has an injury that will likely keep him out for 4-6 weeks. James Conner will get most of the work but he is pretty injury-prone as well. Eno Benjamin is the next man up in this offense and it showed as Colt McCoy handed him the ball 9 times. He turned that into 39 yards and a touchdown. Eno looks like a great fit in Kliff Kingsbury’s high-flying offense and should get some work even with Conner playing. If you have a roster spot in leagues with 12 or more people, look for Eno Benjamin on the waiver wire.
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