Takeaways from Week 10 as told by the tweets of the Fantasy Stronghold.
I mean ... there really isn't much to say here. Start your tight ends versus the Giants. If the combination of C.J. Beathard and Garrett Celek can eat against this group, everyone is going to feast. Next week, Big Blue has to deal with the Chiefs and Travis Kelce while the rest of the schedule includes games against Jordan Reed/Vernon Davis (x2), Jared Cook, Jason Witten, Zach Ertz and -- dare I say? -- Jermaine Gresham. The only real drama is whether the Giants can give up a touchdown to tight ends in every game.
There had been a lot of talk during the week about what we could or should expect from Dak Prescott during the first week of Ezekiel Elliott's suspension. Most believed that Prescott's talent would shine through, though, there was a certain chorus suggesting that the young quarterback couldn't prosper without his running back sidekick. Except people forgot to factor in that Zeke's job wasn't to block Adrian Clayborn, who wrecked the Dallas offense with six sacks. If the Cowboys can't figure out how to shore up the left side of their offensive line, it won't matter who's in the backfield or under center.
Plenty of fantasy players that we'd left for dead decided to show up in a big way on Sunday. The Kenny Britt touchdown left me in disbelief. But we also had scores from Donte Moncrief and Ty Montgomery. And that's before we talk about the three-touchdown game from DeMarco Murray. In pretty much all of those cases, reaching the end zone elevated what otherwise would have been pretty pedestrian weeks for all of those players. Touchdowns are fickle beasts, so it's important not to read too much into this when making roster changes heading into the stretch run.
Speaking of Ty Montgomery, he went down with a rib injury today forcing the Packers down to Jamaal Williams. We'll keep an eye on the severity of the injuries but it's a bad sign when a large part of the Green Bay ground game involved running the read option with Randall Cobb. It was nice to see Brett Hundley improve on the field and get Davante Adams involved but with so many injuries up and down the roster, it's hard to trust anyone in this offense on a weekly basis. It's actually amazing how quickly and drastically we lost one of the most consistent fantasy offenses in the league. Also maybe a low-key argument for Aaron Rodgers to win the MVP in absentia.
Evan Engram is the headliner here with five top-10 fantasy weeks in his first eight career NFL games but the list of first-year tight ends who have posted usable fantasy weeks is growing. The players with multiple top 15 finishes at the position iun 2017 include Gerald Everett, Tyler Higbee, O.J. Howard, David Njoku, Adam Shaheen, and Jonnu Smith. Obviously, this doesn't mean that you can pick up and start any ol' rookie tight end in any given week. But as the nature of the position changes (as well as the athletes who play it), we're starting to edge away from the mantra that you can't start any rookie tight ends.
This is a reminder that maybe we should pump the brakes on declaring that any particular player is a bust after just one NFL season. We've become so blinded by rookies who burst on the scene in a big way -- especially those drafted highly -- that we can be quick to give up on guys who don't fit the bill. Goff is our annual reminder that patience is a virtue. It's also a reminder that Jeff Fisher was an anchor around the neck of the Rams offense and that fantasy managers should all genuflect before Sean McVay's offensive game planning.
I'm not sure if Keenum was inspired by the return of Teddy Bridgewater or the Washington defense just didn't have a clue but the Minnesota quarterback had his best game of the season and made a strong case to remain the starter next week in a big showdown with the Rams. I know we're excited to see Bridgewater complete the comeback and get back on the field but at this point, I'd prefer we keep the continuity in the offense with Keenum starting. Anyone with Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs or Jerick McKinnon should be on board with this idea.
Mike Evans is expected back for the Bucs next week, which means Godwin won't have any fantasy value for you. Still, this was a nice audition for what could be in the young receiver's future. The Penn State product has a ton of talent but he's stuck behind Evans and DeSean Jackson in the short term. Training camp could be interesting next year if Tampa can figure out a way to get Godwin on the field more. He has plenty of dynasty league potential and could be a nice sleeper pick in 2018.
This was definitely a nice find in Week 10, though I admit I was skeptical. I'm still not 100 percent sold just because in a perfect John Fox world, Mitchell Trubisky doesn't throw the ball enough to generate these kind of receiving numbers consistently. But if we can truly add a legit pass-catching option from the Bears roster, I'm here for it.
Wait...what?"
- Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara accounted for 55.8 percent of the Saints offensive yards.
- Tarik Cohen averaged nearly 16 touches through Chicago's first six games. He's had 17 total in their last three.
- Robby Anderson caught a touchdown for a fourth straight game.
- DeMarco Murray ran the ball 14 times. Same number as the entire Bengals team.
- Terrelle Pryor played 27 snaps without a target and has just 31 receiving yards in his last four games.
- TE Watch: Some of the tight end luminaries to land in the top 10 this week (heading into SNF) included Garrett Celek (because Giants), Jermaine Gresham and Vance McDonald.
And one for the road...
Marcas Grant is a fantasy editor for NFL.com. He wants to know if anyone is interested in a few leftover samosas that he made recently since they're a little too spicy to eat. Maybe he shouldn't have added that last serrano chile pepper. Tell him your cooking scenarios gone awry or ask fantasy questions on Twitter @MarcasG. If you read all of that, congrats. He also dishes out fantasy advice -- and life shenanigans -- on Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat (marcasg9)
