The OP Staff Fantasy Football League is midway through its season, with Mr. Gist and Mr. McCutcheon tied for first place at 9-1. Mr. McCrystal, along with 8 other managers in this 14-man league, are 5-5, all competing for playoff spots. Two players are also 4-6 and 3-7 and still in the playoff picture. Mr. McCrystal, knowing that I write fantasy football articles for the Omega, asked me for advice to help him make the playoffs – more specifically, to review his roster and propose changes. In this article, I will be analyzing Mr. McCrystal’s fantasy football team, identifying weaknesses and what he might be able to do to strengthen the roster.
1) Mr. McCrystal’s Roster, What are the Weaknesses?
Mr. McCrystal has decent quarterback depth with Jared Goff as a consistent starter and Drake Maye as a backup, who has been performing well as of late. Mr. McCrystal’s runningbacks are the strongest part of the roster, consisting of star running back Christian McCaffery (who has finally returned from his achilles injury and resumed his position as one of fantasy football’s best players), Rhamondre Stevenson, and, Aaron Jones (who also are their respective team’s lead running backs and regularly put up RB1, RB2 or at worst strong flex position point totals on a weekly basis). His tight end is also Mark Andrews, who has started to heat up after a poor start to the season. His wide receivers are the noticeable weak point right now, with rookie wide receiver Ricky Pearsall at WR1 and Jayden Reed, who has been on a steady decline in the Packers offense at WR2. The bench wide receiver room is also small – Jalen Coker has been good as of recently but is still basically a dart throw each week depending on matchups and game script. Injuries to wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Olave, who have been out for multiple weeks, clearly haven’t helped – though at least Mike Evans is likely to return in Week 12 after the Bucaneers’ bye.
2) What Can Be Done to Fix the Wide Receiver Depth?
Wide Receiver is the biggest problem for this team. I would drop Taysom Hill and pick up Marques Valdez-Scantling off of the wire as he’s the top receiver for the Saints currently. Scantling also just had 102 receiving yards and two touchdowns against the Atlanta Falcons, as Derek Carr’s top target with Chris Olave unable to play. However, I would not suggest starting him over Jayden Reed or Ricky Pearsall this week because he plays against the improved Cleveland Browns. Mr. McCrystal should also drop the Kansas City Chiefs defense because of their matchup against the Buffalo Bills (which should be a high-scoring matchup). If available, I’d suggest playing the Lions, Dolphins, Vikings, or the Charges instead.
3) Conclusion
Mr. McCrystal’s team has potential but is currently riddled with injuries to key receivers Mike Evans and Chris Olave. To make a strong push for the playoffs, Mr. McCrystal should focus on strengthening his wide receiver corps by making waiver-wire pickups and, if possible, by trading one of his running backs (Jones or Stevenson) for a wide receiver upgrade before the deadline occurs. By addressing these weaknesses and leveraging Christian McCaffery and a returning Mike Evans, Mr. McCrystal can improve his chances of securing a playoff spot in the OP Staff Fantasy Football League.
