Biggest Winners
WR DeVante Parker, Miami Dolphins
After multiple seasons of unfulfilling his first-round draft value of 2015, Parker can send Ryan Fitzpatrick a great Christmas present for making him relevant in 2019 while setting him up for a nice payday when his contract with Miami expires. Coming into this year, Parker flashed in sophomore season (56/755/4), but he barely had a pulse in 2018 (24/309/1). The Dolphins ended end signing him to a two-year deal last March for $10 million. Since Week 4, he has 47 catches for 723 yards and six TDs on 73 targets while averaging 17.26 FPPG in PPR leagues. His success over this stretch would rank in the ten at WR. In Week 13, Parker had the best game of his career (7/159/2), helping Fantasy owners to victories in their quests for league title and overall championships.
RB James White, New England Patriots
In 2018, White had the best season of his career thanks to some injuries at RB for New England. He finished with 1,176 combined yards with 12 TDs and 87 catches. Even with high value in PPR leagues and ranking 7th in RB scoring, the Patriots rarely showcased him in 2019. When New England is forced to chase on the scoreboard, White tends to be at his best. In Week 12, he finished with three touches for minus-one yard and one catch while also coming up short in Week 11 (36 combined yards with four catches). With Houston jumping out to a two-touchdown lead early, the Patriots turned to White as their three-down back. He responded with his best game of the season (177 combined yards with two TDs and eight catches), but there is a good chance White was on the bench of many Fantasy teams this week. New England needs more offense, and White is the best receiving option in their backfield. A date with the Chiefs in Week 14 should add more follow-through to his game.
WR Alshon Jeffery, Philadelphia Eagles
In a way, I’ve been pissed at Jeffery for a couple of months in 2019. His only game of value came in Week 6 (10/76/1), while most of his weeks ended with low scores highlighted by a zero in Week 2. After three empty games (2/38, 4/64, and 4/36), a bye week, and two missed games, Jeffery certainly didn’t draw the must start card for Fantasy owners in Week 13, especially when adding in the poor play by Carson Wentz and the Eagles’ passing attack. With Zack Ertz banged up, Jeffery emerged as an impact player (9/137/1) while receiving a season-high 16 targets. Despite his success, Philly still lost a game they needed to win to keep their playoff hopes alive. At the very least, Jeffery regained his momentum as a top 36 WR with more upside based on the Eagles having three favorable games (NYG, @ WAS, and @NYG) over the last four weeks of the season.
Biggest Losers
RB Jonathan Williams, Indianapolis Colts
There is nothing worse than a player teasing Fantasy owner into believing they found the missing link to their starting Fantasy lineup. Williams shined off the bench in Week 11 for Indy (147 combined yards with one catch), leading to a high-volume opportunity the next week (121 combined yards with a TD and three catches). His path led to a must-start at home vs. the Titans, but his lack of resume ended up being the doom in his game after a slow start vs. Tennessee. The Colts gave him nine touches, but he gained only 25 yards with one catch, leaving a big hole in Fantasy lineups. With Marlon Mack pining to return next week from his broken hand, Williams has turned from a diamond in the rough to a piece of coal with no real time table to reemerge as a player of value.
QB Nick Foles, Jacksonville Jaguars
The waiver wire pool in shallow leagues had a player with possible significant upside in his Week 13 matchup. In his first two starts for the Jaguars, Nick Foles gained 588 combined yards with two TDs while completing 65 passes and attempting 95 throws. Tampa ranks at the bottom of the league against both QBs and WRs, setting the stage for Foles to pass for well over 300 yards with multiple TDs. Tampa came in with a game plan to attack him with pass rush, which led to three sacks and one interception by halftime. Foles finished with only 93 yards passing with no TDs while never returning to the field after his half time shower. One has to look no further than the great quote by Mike McDermott, “If you can’t spot the sucker at the table in the first half and hour, then you are the sucker.” Last week the WISE GUYS in Fantasy ended up being the suckers on Sunday.
QB Sam Darnold, New York Jets
After two straight impactful games (290/4 and 331/3), Darnold looked like a great start vs. the winless Bengals. For the second time in five weeks, he went on the road with a favorable matchup against a team with no victories. In Week 9, he passed for 260 yards with one TD in a loss to Miami. Last week he attempted a season-high 48 passes against a bottom-tier defense vs. QBs, but Darnold managed only 239 yards passing with no TDs while gaining a measly 5.0 yards per pass attempt. I feel sorry for Jets’ fan as they continue to have this inner battle of love and hate for Darnold as they desperately need him to be a decade long franchise QB. After 22 starts in his career, he’s 8-14 with a 4-5 record in 2019. The next impact QB does reside in the state of New York, but he goes by the name of Josh Allen.
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