Welcome to the fantasy football playoffs!
Congratulations are certainly in order, but now the work is more important than ever.
It doesn’t matter if you earned a first-round bye. Your waiver-wire work needs to be on-point this week, especially when it comes to the wide receiver position. Injuries open up opportunities every week, and as the dust settles from Sunday’s games, this week is no different.
Your first look at wide receiver waivers this week should be the Texans. With Tank Dell already lost for the season, the Texans suffered another blow when Nico Collins left Sunday’s game with a calf injury. At this time, the team is listing him as questionable, but we are all aware of how troubling a calf injury can be. If not afforded enough time to heal, it could linger for weeks.
Robert Woods and Noah Brown remained on the field Sunday, but the Texans also gave additional opportunities to John Metchie and Xavier Hutchinson.
Both saw more looks than Woods. Hutchinson saw a 73 percent snap share with three targets while Metchie lined up on 50 percent of the offensive snaps and saw a team-high five targets.
The matchups weren’t great, as the Jets have elite cover corners, but the Texans coaching staff tipped its hand for the future by showing us they like both probably more than they like Woods. Metchie has been hyped among fantasy’s dynasty community, and he’s played more snaps throughout the year, so he should be your first look.
What serves us best is that the Texans play the Titans twice in the next three weeks, with a home start against the Browns in between. The Tennessee secondary ranks 31st in DVOA against the pass, allows the 11th-most passing yards per game and allow the fifth-most fantasy points per game to the wide receiver position.
And if you’re concerned about C.J. Stroud’s concussion, we already know Davis Mills is more than competent, and the Titans are allowing opposing quarterbacks a 98.8 passer-rating, third-highest in the league.
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Everyone is still looking for that “league-winner” they hear fantasy analysts talking about all too often. Instead of looking to catch lightning in a bottle, be smart about your pickups and add players with strong snaps and targets.
Neither Metchie nor Hutchinson is the next Cooper Kupp, but with strong workloads and favorable matchups ahead, they can give your roster the playoff boost you need. That’s how you become the league-winner.
Howard Bender is the head of content at FantasyAlarm.com. Follow him on X @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award-winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 6-8 p.m. Go to Fantasy-Alarm.com for all your fantasy football advice.