We’ve done it. It took us four weeks but for the first time in the 2020 season, we reached the 100 point goal with the B-Team. It may have been on the back of one player mainly, but you know how the saying goes, there’s no I in team. This is a series where I construct a hypothetical fantasy football lineup using players that are owned in less than 40-percent of Yahoo and/or ESPN leagues. The goal of the series is to top 100 PPR fantasy points using the make-shift team. The premise is to show that there is readily available value at all times across most waiver wires. You can find last week’s results below and the result of previous weeks at the bottom of this article.
We need to really give it to Robert Tonyan who scored 33.8 fantasy points against the Atlanta Falcons on Monday Night Football. He did this on the back of a three touchdown games. He’s the reason we reached the 100 point goal. This performance by Tonyan has to go into the B-Team Hall-of-Fame. Speaking of the B-Team Hall-of-Fame, our trusty Cole Beasley scored 12.2 points. Getting a quarterback who actually had a quality stat line like Ryan Fitzpatrick (23.3 points) did last week is a big help as well.
Week 4 Results
Ryan Fitzpatrick (Miami Dolphins) - 23.3 points
Jeff Wilson Jr. (San Francisco 49ers) - 2.9 points
Brian Hill (Atlanta Falcons) - 4.3 points
Cole Beasley (Buffalo Bills) - 12.2 points
Greg Ward Jr. (Philadelphia Eagles) - 7.8 points
Robert Tonyan (Green Bay Packers) - 33.8 points
Hunter Renfrow (Las Vegas Raiders) - 10.7 points
Cincinnati Bengals - 5 points
Total: 100 points
Week 5 Lineup
Quarterback
Jimmy Garoppolo (San Francisco 49ers) - Owned in 34% of Yahoo and 27% of ESPN leagues
The 49ers need a win in a bad way. The two losses they’ve seen this season should have been wins, especially last Sunday Nights’ outing against the Eagles. After missing two games, Jimmy G is back, and he has his full arsenal of weapons. Even without the likes of George Kittle in Week 2 and Deebo Samuel yet this season, Garoppolo posted 32.5 fantasy points in just a game-and-a-half this season. On top of that, the Dolphins have given up the fifth most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks thus far this season. The Dolphins do have the ability to put up points so this game could be higher scoring than some may anticipate.
Runningbacks
Justin Jakson (Los Angeles Chargers) - Owned in 38% of Yahoo and 49.7% of ESPN leagues
Justin Jackson is still owned in less than 40-percent of Yahoo leagues, although he exceeds the mark in ESPN leagues. Due to this, he still qualifies for this series. Before he has a great game in Austin Ekelers’ absence, I had to squeeze him in. This team is going to use the one-two-punch at the runningback position. It was Ekeler and Joshua Kelley to start the season but with Ekeler on the IR, Jackson enters the mix. It isn’t an ideal matchup for Jackson this week against the Saints, but it also could be much worse.
J.D. McKissic (Washington Football Team) - Owned in 4% of Yahoo and 10.6% of ESPN leagues
For this series, runningbacks are always a struggle. However, McKissic isn’t the worst of options we could have here. He saw eight targets in the pass game a week ago against the Baltimore Ravens, a game Washington played from behind in. Washington gets the Rams this week, who either put on an offensive clinic or nothing, there’s no inbetween. If McKissic continues what we’ve seen in the last two weeks (four targets against the Browns) he’ll be a decent fantasy long-shot option.
Wide Receivers
Golden Tate (New York Giants) - Owned in 33% of Yahoo and 48% of ESPN leagues
Just as with Justin Jackson, Tate is eligible for this series due to him being owned in less than 40-percent of Yahoo leagues. Anyhow, I know the Giants have been struggling offensively, which is actually an understatement. They get the Cowboys this Week, who have allowed the third most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers thus far. Tate has seen five, seven and six targets respectively through the first three games he played this season.
Keelan Cole (Jacksonville Jaguars) - Owned in 25% of Yahoo and 15.2% of ESPN leagues
Cole has quietly turned into one of Minshew’s go-to guys. He’s seen at least five targets in every game thus far for the Jaguars. This Texans’ team is going to come out motivated after the firing of Bill O’Brein during the week. They’re 0-4 and need a win in a bad way. That powerful offense is going to put up some points this week, there’s no doubt about that. I expect the Jags to be playing from behind most of the day, throwing the ball. The weak Texans’ defense will give up some points to the Jags
Tight End
Ian Thomas (Carolina Panthers) - Owned in 9% of Yahoo and 1.2% of ESPN leagues
This is simple. The Atlanta Falcons have allowed the most fantasy points to opposing tight ends. Thomas has not been a huge part of Teddy Bridgewater’s offense, but this is the week for him to become involved. He scored a touchdown last week on a season high five targets. Now, going against the team that can not stop the tight end at all, he should see season high numbers. This is the same defense that allowed Robert Tonyan to record three touchdowns a week ago.
Flex
Tre’Quan Smith (New Orleans Saints) - Owned in 33% of Yahoo and 23.6% of ESPN leagues
If you’ve followed this series, you know I like to swing for the fences with my flex selection. Smith has developed a nice connection with Drew Brees with Michael Thomas out the past three weeks. Thomas will most likely play this Monday, but that may make Smith even better. Thomas will draw a majority of the defensive attention, allowing Smith to get open more. Thomas on the field also makes Brees a better quarterback all together.
Defense
Dallas Cowboys - Owned in 40% of Yahoo and 30% of ESPN leagues
The struggling Cowboys’ defense will get the New York Giants this week, who have not scored over 16 points in any of their first four games. After losing a game where Dak Prescott threw for over 400 yards and five touchdowns, it probably wasn’t a pleasant week of practice for the defense. They should have a fire lit underneath them, and this is the perfect “get right game.”
Week 1 Results
Derek Carr (Oakland Raiders) - 13.56 points
Boston Scott (Philadelphia Eagles) - 7.4 points
Jerick McKinnon (San Francisco 49ers) - 13.4 points
Kendrick Bourne (San Francisco 49ers) - 5.4 points
Bryan Edwards (Oakland Raiders) - 1.9 points
Jack Doyle (Indianapolis Colts) - 7.9 points
Marquez Valdes-Scantling (Green Bay Packers) - 19.6 points
Detroit Lions - 1 point
Total: 70.16 points
Week 2 Results
Philip Rivers (Indianapolis Colts) - 11.86 points
Peyton Barber (Washington Football Team) - 0.10 points
Frank Gore (New York Jets) - 6.3 points
Corey Davis (Carolina Panthers) - 12.6 points
Scotty Miller (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) - 3.2 points
Logan Thomas (Washington Football Team) - 6.6 points
Tre’Quan Smith (New Orleans Saints) - 13.6 points
Seattle Seahawks - 3 points
Total: 57.26 points
Week 3 Results
Mitchell Trubisky (Chicago Bears) - 12.62 points
Jeff Wilson Jr. (San Francisco 49ers) - 21.9 points
Frank Gore (New York Jets) - 7.2 points
K.J. Hamler (Denver Broncos) - 5.8 points
Cole Beasley (Buffalo Bills) - 16 points
Logan Thomas (Washington Football Team) - 7.1 points
Marquez Valdes-Scantling (Green Bay Packers) - 1.5 points
Cleveland Browns - 14 points
Total: 86.12