Weekly Hail Mary: Week 4
Each week of the football season, HMF will provide you with at least one “Hail Mary” at RB, WR, and TE - a guy who is not generally regarded as a starter for the week, but who has the potential to pay off big. These are the guys you look to when you’re in dire straits and have nowhere else to turn. They are lottery tickets that are not likely to hit, but if they do, you’ll be thrilled, as you can likely grab them for free off your waiver wire. We only focus on players who are available in at least two-thirds of Yahoo! leagues.
We had a number of “hits” in Week 3, including Rex Burkhead (more carries than “lead back” Sony Michel, a rushing score, and 6 receptions), Frank Gore (76 rushing yards and a touchdown), DJ Chark (76 receiving yards and a touchdown), Demarcus Robinson (43 receiving yards and a touchdown), and Will Dissly (6 receptions for 62 yards and a touchdown). With at least one “hit” at each position, that’s a pretty successful week for those of you seeking “if you’re desperate” options at running back, wide receiver, and tight end! The Hail Marys for Week 4:
Running Backs
Wayne Gallman, Giants (5% owned). Hold your nose at this one if you have to pick him up, because he’s no Saquon Barkley. Frankly, as a runner, he might not even be Charles Barkley. But as long as Saquon is on the shelf, Gallman is the lead dog for the G-Men. Starting running backs always have value, just due to sheer volume. He’s a useful flex play.
Ronald Jones, Buccaneers (25%). Jones continues to out-perform “starter” Peyton Barber. On Sunday, he totaled over 120 yards from scrimmage and was given 14 rushing attempts. On what is a decent offense, there is the potential for serious value here.
Darrel Williams, Chiefs (6%). Any time someone is getting meaningful touches in the league’s highest-scoring offense, you have to take note. With Damien Williams out with an injury and LeSean McCoy also ailing, Williams was given 14 touches, which he turned into over 100 yards.
Wide Receivers
*Start of the Week* Preston Williams, Dolphins (3%). Williams is pretty much the only bright spot on a pitiful Dolphins offense. An undrafted rookie free agent, Williams oozes with upside. He was a five-star recruit coming out of high school (always a Hail Mary Football favorite), and he has shown in the early stages of his career that he can really play. He’s had 63 and 68 receiving yards the last two weeks, which may not seem like much, but all it takes is 62.5 yards per game to wind up with a 1,000 yard season. Plus, since he’s a rookie, we should assume that he is only likely to improve as the season wears on. He had a whopping 12 targets against the Cowboys in Week 3 - a whopping 29% target share.
Phillip Dorsett, Patriots (32%). Dorsett barely makes the cut as a qualifier for this list. He is a starter in the New England offense, and suddenly has more value in the wake of the team cutting Antonio Brown and Julian Edelman suffering an injury in the Week 3 game. You’ll never feel good about starting Dorsett, but he does have three touchdown grabs through three games so far.
Devin Smith, Cowboys (11%). Dak Prescott is one of the hottest quarterbacks in the league right now, and as long as Michael Gallup is on the shelf, Smith is his deep threat. A Week 4 matchup with the high-scoring Saints looms, so this game could be a shootout.
Tight Ends
Vernon Davis, Washington (20%). Davis will continue to start for as long as Jordan Reed is sidelined. Davis is clearly on the back nine of his career (maybe the back two), but he still can be useful in an offense that is starved for playmakers.
Noah Fant, Broncos (11%). This is what is known as a “gut call,” which is always dangerous in fantasy. But Fant has high draft capital associated with him (Denver’s first round pick this year), has been reasonably involved in the passing game (averaging almost four targets per game), and has 4.5 wheels, which is absolutely insane for a 6’4” tight end. Historically, Joe Flacco has loved to throw to tight ends, so my hunch is that Fant has some touchdowns coming in his future sooner rather than later. It would not be at all surprising to see him find paydirt against the Jaguars in Week 4.
Friendly reminder, the Jets and 49ers are on bye this week. For future weeks, WR Dante Pettis (24% owned) and TE Chris Herndon (12% owned) could be valuable stashes. Pettis scored a touchdown in Week 4 and continues to see meaningful snaps. San Francisco gets the Browns on Monday Night Football coming out of their bye. Herndon still has to serve one more game of his four-game suspension, so he will not be available until Week 6 when the Jets host the Cowboys in Week 6.