Each week David Gautieri previews the Top 5 waiver wire adds based on the Consistency model! Follow David on Twitter at @GuruFantasyWrld
If you are reading this, you are very likely in the fantasy playoffs (or you just really love fantasy football…), so congratulations on that! Here are 5 guys who I think can help you make a run at the title to close out the year:
Jalen Hurts
Jalen Hurts is a Konami-Code. There is no doubt about it. 0%. None. Book shut, case closed. He is. He rushed for over 3,000 yards & 40 TD’s in college, including over 1,200 yards & 20 TD’s in just his senior season at Oklahoma alone. Then he went out & ripped off a 4.59 40 at the combine & at that point, you knew. You knew he was a Konami-Code QB & the only thing keeping you at being 99.99% sure instead of 100% sure was the fact that you needed to actually see it happen on an NFL field. Well, now we have. Jalen Hurts took Carson Wentz’s job with 7:39 left in the third quarter against GB & in that 7:39 & a quarter, he rushed 5 times for 29 yards. In a quarter & 7:39… 5 times for 29 yards. You do the math… Because my math tells me that over a full game, you’re essentially getting a starting RB’s worth of rushing attempts & production… For the record, it takes 5.5 rushing attempts per-game to qualify as a “Konami-Code” QB, & Hurts hit 5 in a quarter & 7:39. Now throw in some passing stats on top… which Hurts had no issue compiling against GB, with 109 yards & a passing TD… in a quarter & 7:39… Do the math again, what’s that equate to over 4 full quarters? This is it, my friends. This is what you’ve been waiting for. For that next Kyler/Lamar/Cam/Taysom/Tebow-type Konami-Code who runs the ball so gosh-dang much that they produce as if a RB & QB had been morphed in a laboratory into one. This isn’t superstition, either. Every single Konami-Code QB but one is top-12 in PPG this year, and the one who isn’t is Cam Newton, who sits at 14th. That includes Taysom Hill, who’s 22.1 PPG in his 3 starts would rank 7th on the year among QB’s, despite the fact that Hill averaged just 181 passing yards per-game over his 3 starts & threw a total of 2 passing TD’s. Jalen Hurts, on the other hand, threw for 109 yards & a TD in a quarter & 7:39… being thrown-in, mid-game. Now, Hurts gets a full week to prepare as the starter. You don’t have to wait until Weeks 15 & 16 against Arizona & Dallas either, you can play him this week against New Orleans as well. Trust in the Konami-Code & I have faith that you shall be rewarded.
Cam Akers
I won’t even try to spin anything Cam Akers has done as closing resembling consistency. But the past is in the past & we need to look forward. If there’s any RB rostered in less than 50% of leagues who’s got a shot at consistency without needing an injury to someone else, it’s Akers. He’s looked good in limited spurts all year, but most importantly, he saw a season-high in touches this past week & played over 50% of the snaps for the first time all season. Don’t play him this week against New England, but if he can stack a second game with 15+ touches, you will feel very comfortable about his ability to do so for a third straight game against the New York Jets a week later.
Allen Lazard
To put up consistent WR production, you need consistent QB production – and boy oh boy does Lazard have that. Other than Aaron Rodgers’ 0-TD game against Tampa in Week 6, he’s thrown multiple passing TD’s in every single game, including 4 passing TD’s five times & 3 passing TD’s four times… Rodgers has thrown 36 TD’s in 12 games & is on pace for the quietest 48-passing-TD season on record. His consistency as a passer is reflected in the fact that Allen Lazard has scored 7.5+ PPR points in all 5 of his starts this year (excluding his first game back from injury) & has also flashed upside with a 28.4-point ceiling-game against New Orleans.
Gabriel Davis
Josh Allen is operating on a level almost on-par with Aaron Rodgers. He’s thrown for multiple passing TD’s in 9/12 games & had perhaps his best game of the season this past week, completing 32/40 attempts for 375 yards & 4 TD’s. Five (!!) different Buffalo receiving options scored in double-digits this past week, with Stefon Diggs, Cole Beasley, Davis, Dawson Knox, & Isaiah McKenzie all hitting 10+ PPR points strictly via their receiving contributions.
Logan Thomas
Logan Thomas has seen 4+ targets in every single game this year & he is now TE8 on the season after his 9/98/1 performance against Pittsburgh. Every TE (not named Kelce) is going to have their duds & there’s really nothing you can do about it. Playing a guy like Thomas, who sees nearly 100% of the snaps & consistent target volume week-in & week-out, is about the best you can ask for these days. Ride him while he’s hot.
