Week 9 is in the books. The good news for fantasy owners, is that the two most stressful bye weeks are now behind us. The bad news, injuries continue to plague this season and decimate real and fake football rosters, alike. If you’re in need of some help, here are five guys that could definitely give your roster the boost it needs.
Rashad Jennings - Running Back, Oakland Raiders
Darren McFadden went down with another injury this weekend, and Jennings stepped up nicely, finishing as the fourth best fantasy ‘back with 23.60 points on 15 rushes for 102 yards, 74 receiving yards and one touchdown. As long as McFadden is out, Jennings is the guy in Oakland and will put up good numbers. He’s owned in less than five percent of leagues, so get that claim in.
Doug Baldwin - Wide Receiver, Seattle Seahawks
With Sidney Rice lost for the season and Percy Harvin having a bit of a setback in his return from hip surgery, Baldwin has stepped up big as the team’s No. 2 and is quickly becoming a favorite target of Russell Wilson. On Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Baldwin caught six passes for 75 yards and a touchdown - good for 13th best on the week with 13.50 fantasy points. Baldwin is only owned six percent of leagues, so he should be easy to find and is a great high-end WR2 option moving forward.
Riley Cooper - Wide Receiver, Philadelphia Eagles
As long as Nick Foles is the starter in Philadelphia, Cooper has a ton of value as the team’s No. 2 receiver. Under Foles, the Eagles have a more traditional downfield offense, which is obviously going to benefit the receivers. Cooper finished the week as the second-best fantasy receiver with 33.70 points on 139 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Cooper is an even better option for the remainder of the season than Baldwin, given that there’s no one like Harvin about to return and push Cooper for playing time. He’s only owned in 8.9 percent of leagues, so he’s likely still sitting on the wire in yours.
Nick Foles - Quarterback, Philadelphia Eagles
Foles standout performance on Sunday cemented his place as the Eagles’ starter for the remainder of the season. He was the top fantasy passer on the week with his 406 passing yards and seven touchdowns, good for 45.64 points. He’s only owned in 10.3 percent of leagues and will be a QB1 option for the rest of the season. Definitely worth a look if you need any sort of help at quarterback.
Mike James - Running Back, Tampa Bay Buccaneers
James had an impressive day against the Seattle Seahawks’ defense on Sunday, rushing for 158 yards and even throwing a touchdown. The Bucs appear to be comfortable using James as their every-down back and feeding him like they would Doug Martin, so there’s a solid chance James is a top-20 ‘back for the rest of the season. He’s going to get picked up a lot this week, but is still available in a little over 89 percent of leagues, so get a claim in now if you want him.