“Frankel’s Fantasy Files” is a column by Kyle Frankel about fantasy football.
So, do the Bills stink? I’d like to answer “no,” but I don’t one hundred percent believe that, so I’ll leave it at “I don’t think so.”
Ever since the Broncos took down the Bills 24-22 on Monday Night Football in miraculous fashion, this question has been weighing on the mind of myself and football fans across the country. Yes, the Broncos were only able to kick that game-winning field goal thanks to a costly Buffalo pass interference and an undisciplined too many men on the field infraction, but the Bills deserved to lose on Monday night. Denver essentially tried to throw that game away and still managed to emerge victorious.
Whether or not they’re a bad football team is up in the air, but one thing is for certain: Buffalo has some big problems they have to fix. It’s already Week 11, and it feels like the Bills are sleepwalking through the season. They currently sit at 5-5, a half game above the Jets for second in the AFC East and out of the playoff picture at 10th in the AFC.
Of their five losses, three were at the hands of the Broncos, Patriots and an Aaron Rodgers-less Jets. These are three teams Buffalo should absolutely be beating based on their personnel. The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Bills from here on out either, as they finish the season with the Jets, Eagles, Chiefs, Cowboys, Chargers, Patriots and Dolphins. That’s four playoff teams from last year and two others with legitimate playoff aspirations this season.
To make things even more interesting, they fired offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey Tuesday morning.
I don’t know where the blame lies. Maybe it’s on Josh Allen for turning the ball over too much, maybe it was on Ken Dorsey or maybe it’s head coach Sean McDermott’s fault. Whoever’s to blame, they have to figure it out fast, as in before Sunday.
It might not look that exciting on paper given Buffalo’s lackluster season and New York’s horrendous offense, but the Bills-Jets matchup this weekend has about as much importance as a game in mid-November can have. Due to the way the AFC East has shaken out, the two are essentially each playing for their season this Sunday.
As a Jets fan, I don’t know what the problem in Buffalo is, but I think they’re going to slaughter Gang Green this weekend.
Now that I got my weekly thoughts out of the way, let’s do some fantasy gossip.
Jumping for Johnston
How is Quentin Johnston only rostered in a third of ESPN fantasy leagues (at the time of writing)?
Well, ever since Mike Williams went down for the season with a torn ACL in September, Johnston is a name that has been constantly floating around the fantasy world. Many people had high hopes for the rookie wide receiver out of TCU, but his role on this team has been murky.
After he had a lackluster showing in the Chargers’ Monday Night Football win over the Jets a couple weeks ago, many gave up on Johnston and dropped him from their rosters.
However, he may have had a resurgence last week and thrust himself into fantasy relevance again. Now, it wasn’t anything special, but he did put up 13.4 PPR points on four catches for 34 yards and a touchdown.
Johnston is quietly third on the Chargers in targets this season, excluding running back Austin Ekeler, and that’s as someone whose highest single-game total is just six.
The bottom line: Johnston appears to firmly be the No. 2 wide receiver in a high octane offense and has reached nowhere near his peak yet. There’s no promise he’ll reach that peak, but if he does, he’ll be a legit fantasy starter. There should be enough touches to go around in this Chargers offense for him to at least be an option at flex or to fill in for some guys on a bye week.
Johnston is a low risk, high reward type of guy. No matter what your position is in your league, there’s not really any downside to picking him up.
Time for Ty
This is someone to pick up ASAP if you need immediate running back reinforcements. Maybe your starters are injured, or it’s a rough bye week. Either way, Ty Chandler’s here to save the day.
With Cam Akers out for the season, Chandler has assumed the No. 2 RB role in Minnesota. More than that, though, he was actually getting close to a 50/50 split of carries with starter Alexander Mattison on Sunday.
In the Vikings win over the Saints, Chandler took his 15 touches for 45 yards and touchdown, good for a solid 10.5 PPR points. Don’t get too focused on the production, but more so on the usage.
Not only did he see similar carries to Mattison, but he also got touches at the goal line and scored a rushing touchdown. That is something Mattison can’t say he’s accomplished this season. No, I’m serious. Alexander Mattison, the Vikings starting running back all season thus far, has not scored a rushing touchdown, and it’s Week 11.
Further, Mattison has been in concussion protocol since the victory Sunday, and it’s unlikely he can get cleared before the game this weekend, so expect Chandler to be the guy for the Vikings in Denver.
Aside from being a spot starter this week, he should still see a decent workload even with Mattison in the lineup, so he’s worth picking up if you have the space or could use some depth at the position. He’s only rostered in 3% of ESPN leagues at the time of writing, so chances are if you’re reading this, he’s open season.
I know we discussed him last week, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Noah Brown again. The Houston wide receiver had another stellar performance where he eclipsed 20 PPR points for the second week in a row. He’s still out there in over 50% of ESPN leagues and absolutely shouldn’t be. If you’re lucky enough to see him on your waivers, claim him ASAP.
“Frankel’s Fantasy Files” runs every Wednesday.