With Week 11 of the 2024 season in the books- time for a dynasty reaction!
Jaxon Smith-Njigba Emerging
I wrote a couple of weeks ago that Jaxon Smith-Njigba really needed to step up and that I had question marks whether he would ever reach his potential whilst operating as the WR2/3 of that Seattle offense. The timing couldn’t have been better with the explosion that happened in week 9 to the tune of 37 PPR points. What was even better was his ability to back up that mammoth game with another back to back securing 10 catches for 110 yards. This time perhaps more impressively was WITH WR1 DK Metcalf healthy and seeing a full compliment of snaps. Head Coach Mike MacDonald has been full of praise for JSN and his connection with QB Geno Smith, ‘After watching the tape, you kind of feel it. There’s a chemistry going between them those guys.’ This has given me more confidence with JSN going forward and he steps up into mid-low WR2 range from being a solid WR3. Rebuilding or contending he’s very interesting right now.
Taysom Hill Explosion
Not only did he rack up a colossal amount of rushing yardage (138 yards with 3 rushing TDs) he only went and led the team in targets and receptions to!! It was only a week or so ago I was mocking the Saints for the Taysom Hill contract extensions down the years that never made sense to me, then he goes and does this! He’s clearly the biggest cheat code going at the TE position in fantasy football… When it works anyway. After having a very quiet year for Taysom Hill’s standards, nobody could foresee this eruption coming and less so was anybody starting Hill with any confidence. At 34 years old on a will-be rebuilding side, I don’t know what the future holds for Taysom Hill and his dynasty value but I do know that I will continue to ride this rollercoaster for as long as I can while he has the potential to score passing, rushing and receiving TDs which really shouldn’t be allowed in the TE position in lineups.
Return of Anthony Richardson
What changed? In a surprising turnaround of events, Anthony Richardson was announced as the starter again for the rest of the season. It seemed on paper a difficult matchup playing on the road against the desperate New York Jets, but in the end Richardson secured the win and possibly some much needed confidence from dynasty managers. Not only did he play almost mistake-free football, but he looked like he’s done some growing up as a human and as a QB in the few weeks he’s been benched for. The final game-winning drive in particular was impressive, showing poise from the pocket and accuracy in crunch situations. 3 Totals TDs (2 rushing and 1 passing) landed him a QB4 finish in week 11, the TDs in particular were a welcome return having not only looked pretty horrendous so far this season, but wasn’t even scoring fantasy points. His highest passing output of his career and the highest completion percentage on his return are a good sign, he’ll need to keep this momentum going with some tough matchups coming against Detroit, Denver and the stingy Titans defense.
Rookie WR Update
Ladd McConkey, Rome Odunze on the up. Two of my personal favourite WRs from the 2024 rookie class are slowly coming into their own, ready for a second half of the season breakout? Maybe. For Rome Odunze there were positive signs in week 11, the first game under new OC Thomas Brown he led the receivers in targets with 10 and was more involved than under Shane Waldron. The Bears offense would run far too much 12 personnel under the old OC taking Rome Odunze off the field but in his first game in charge of the offense, Thomas Brown’s Bears attack ran all 3 WRs on 83% of snaps. Odunze leading the Bears WRs in yardage through 10 games despite being taken off the field in 12 personnel packages is a great sign as his chemistry with fellow Rookie Caleb Williams continues to grow. Another rookie WR who leads his team in yardage this season is LA Chargers’ Ladd McConkey. His 615 yards racked up so far is 250 more than his nearest team mate and his 4 receiving TDs so far is 2nd on the team behind second year WR Quentin Johnston. He’s also on pace to break the 1,000 receiving yards mark which would represent a fantastic year 1 from the Georgia product. These 2 WRs are getting much less hype than some of the other Rookie WRs such as Malik Nabers, Marvin Harrison Jr & Brian Thomas Jr yet are producing and growing into their roles very much under the radar. These both make for fantastic buy targets in dynasty and I would love to offer a future 1st for Rome Odunze or a couple of future 2nds for Ladd McConkey, both would be awesome acquisitions on contending or rebuilding teams.
Streaming TE Options
Heading into the playoff season – Jonnu Smith, Will Dissly. If you don’t own either one of Brock Bowers, George Kittle, Travis Kelce or Trey McBride, the TE position has been a difficult one to get right when trying to contend in 2024. With the likes of Sam LaPorta, Mark Andrews and Dalton Kincaid struggling, you’ve likely had to stream the position trying to choose the best TE option depending on matchups. Two TEs that nobody had on their bingo cards as potential streaming league winners were Miami’s Jonnu Smith and LA’s Will Dissly. Since the Dolphins bye week in week 6, there are only 3 TEs that have scored more PPR points than Jonnu Smith and two of those are superstars Travis Kelce and Brock Bowers. He’s not only their leading TE in the past 5 weeks, he’s their leading receiver period, Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle’s combined fantasy points are only 17 points more than Jonnu Smith’s total since week 7. Will Dissly is perhaps going even more under the radar but is crushing it for managers streaming the TE position. TE7 this week and since week 7 he’s seen a healthy 22.9% target share whish has amounted to 6 or more targets in 4 of his last 5 games as this Chargers offense hots up with Justin Herbert given more of a free reign to sling the ball.
Bo Nix > Jayden Daniels
Bo Nix > Jayden Daniels for OROY? For most of the season there’s been a feeling that the offensive rookie of the year award was sewn up by Jayden Daniels having broken out early and turned the Commanders from laughing stock to serious contenders. As the past few weeks have gone by however, a new name has emerged, Broncos QB Bo Nix. If Jayden Daniels was not in this rookie class then so many more people would be talking about how special this season Bo Nix is having. QB7 on the season is sensational for any rookie let alone one that inherited on paper a weak offense with little in terms of elite options around him. Joint 9th in PPG with Kyler Murray says everything you need to know about how relevant Nix has been in such a short space of time. He’s been a top 10 QB in 4 out of the last7 weeks and on Sunday elevated his game to over 300 passing yards and 4 passing TDs. I’m just so impressed at how mature Bo Nix looks under center and the fact he’s only turned the ball over twice in his last 9 games whilst registering 17 TDs is insane. More people need to be talking about Bo Nix as equal with Jayden Daniels heading down the stretch.
Jauan Jennings
Is Jauan Jennings better than Brandon Aiyuk? I posed the question earlier this week to a mixed reaction but in terms of fantasy output this year, Jennings has got the edge. In Brandon Aiyuk’s absence following a season ending injury, Jennings is producing 120 receiving yards per game (1st in NFL), 29.3 fantasy points per game (1st in NFL) and 42% first read target share (2nd in NFL), Malik Nabers the only player above 40% in this category. In the last 2 weeks when he returned from injury he’s seen 11 targets in both contests eith only Puka Nacua and the current WR1 Ja’Marr Chase the only two to see more. With Brandon Aiyuk’s struggles this season before the injury, there’s certainly a question to be had – why did the 49ers hand Aiyuk the massive $120 Million contract when they already locked up Jauan Jennings to a 2 year $15.4 Million contract in the same offseason and he’s actively performed better?!
Giants QB Change
Giants don’t shock the world, make a QB change – it’s time for Tommy DeVito again! Poor Drew Lock who’s been the backup all season has been overlooked and remains the backup while Daniel Jones is relegated to the QB3 spot. Tommy DeVito comes in to start against the Buccaneers and will try to get the good feeling back as it’s been a hugely doom and gloom season in New York for the Giants and the Jets. In terms of fantasy it’s not really an upgrade on Daniel Jones and for the receiving options it’s mainly a neutral move. In his 5 starts, DeVito didn’t pass for over 250 yards in any game but he did have 3 passing TDs in week 11. He also brings an intriguing rushing ability, in his final 2 starts he had 14 rushing attempts for 107 yards. A fun end to the season but make no mistakes the giants will be looking to draft their QB of the future in the upcoming rookie draft. Daniel Jones time in the league is likely over having underwhelmed since signing his huge contract, backup duties are the most likely scenario. I would say he’s still rosterable heading into 2025 for his rushing upside alone, there may be a spot where he can be a bridge QB and thus have a value bump at some point in time.
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