Which RB's to target for fantasy playoffs? (1 Viewer)

[BroncosFan07]

I've got a spot locked up in the playoffs but my RB's (Gurley, Ingram) are weak.  I'd like to try a 2 for 1 upgrade at RB.  Who are some RB's that it would make sense to seek out?  I have Travis Kelce and Tyler Eifert at TE so one of them combined with Gurley/Ingram is a possibility for the right team.  I also have some depth at WR with Beckham Jr, Cooks, Michael Thomas, Jamison Crowder, and Steve Smith Sr. 

Who should I target?  Some RB's that are off limits due to various reasons are: David Johnson, Le'veon Bell, Booker, Murray, Doug Martin, Rawls, Elliott, Gordon, Ajayi

What about guys like Ware, Miller, Forte, Freeman, Coleman, Hyde?  Who else has some very appealing matchups?

 

[Forestbull]

Not to be a jerk but how do you have a spot locked up already? You're whole has been under performing this year. I know because one of my leagues looks very similar to your team... 

But out of those rbs I'd go for Miller and Ware. Not because of the schedule but because they are bellcows 

 

[Gally]

I would be targeting Ware wherever possible.  He is the only guy on a good team and will get plenty of touches.

 

[BroncosFan07]

I'm third in the league in scoring and am 6-3.  14 teams and 8 make the playoffs.  Many years a 6-7 team will make the playoffs and points scored is the tiebreaker and I have a huge advantage over the 3-6 and 4-5 teams.  Technically the playoff spot isn't locked up however going 1-3 in the next 4 weeks guarantees that I'm in and 2 of my 4 games remaining are against the bottom two teams.  I very likely could go 0-4 and still get the 8th seed.

My team is fairly strong....not as strong as the top 2 scoring teams and the difference is at RB which is why I need to upgrade.  We start QB, RB, RB, WR, WR, WR, TE, K, Def and 0.5 ppr

QB - Brady - #1 scoring QB.  League gives -4 for turnovers so he's even a notch higher than the rest.  I played matchups for the 5 weeks that Brady has missed and only had 1 bad game.

RB - Ingram - #15 overall RB so not a disaster.  He's had 3 huge weeks and only 1 dud. 

RB - Gurley - #22 overall.  Middle of the road #2 RB.  It's actually nice that he consistently gets 10-14 points.  We just know he should be having more 15-20 point games.

WR - Beckham Jr. - #9 overall WR.   Underperforming again but still a top 10 player

WR - Cooks - #11 overall WR.  It's a luxury in a 14 team league to have 2 top 11 WR's.

WR - Thomas - #12 overall WR.  Huge advantage to have 3 Wr's in the top 12.  I have by far better wr's than any other team.   Crowder is #22 overall so my #4 WR is better than most teams' #2 WR.  Steve Smith Sr. is awesome for a #5WR

TE - Kelce is the #4 tight end so again an advantage over most teams.  I started Eifert once and he scored 20 points that game so he'll be my starter most games going forward.

Def - Arizona and Baltimore - Both top 10 tight ends.

K - I've had numerous kickers.  Lately have been getting great scores out of Santos. 

The team is not top heavy thanks to Gurley and Beckham underperforming however I'm very strong everywhere except for RB.  The top scoring team in the league has Elliott and Murray so he's killing me at RB however all 3 of my WR's are scoring better than his top WR (Marshall, Sanders, Humpries).  The #2 scoring team has Michael and Ajayi (#11 and #17) so marginally better than Ingram and Gurley at #15 and #22.  I've got him beat at QB Brees>Rothisberger and TE Kelce>Rudolph and he's getting crushed by Allen Robinson.

 

[BroncosFan07]

You guys have convinced me to make a run for Ware.  What about Freeman?  He's number 7 overall in points surprisingly and plays on a good team and plays the Rams, 49ers, and Carolina in the playoffs?  Forte has SF, Miami, and New England so weeks 14 and 15 are juicy.

 

[Gally]

You guys have convinced me to make a run for Ware.  What about Freeman?  He's number 7 overall in points surprisingly and plays on a good team and plays the Rams, 49ers, and Carolina in the playoffs?  Forte has SF, Miami, and New England so weeks 14 and 15 are juicy.

You need to stop worrying about what # scorer you have at RB or that another team is crushing you at RB.  Total points for your team are all that matter and they all count the same.  What these guys have done in the past doesn't necessarily translate to future performance so you need to be constantly evaluating for the future.  Don't force a RB but do your due diligence to see if there are any deals that make sense for you. 

This is a weekly game and having the #11 WR (Cooks) doesn't do you much good in the weeks he scores minimally because he is a boom/bust guy.  I would actually look to move Cooks in a deal because you cannot depend on him consistently.  There is also no reason to have two TE's in your case so I would look to move one of those as well for an improvement elsewhere. 

I would also drop one of your defenses and pick up some high upside waiver guys (is Rawls available?) that if everything goes right they could be a difference maker down the stretch. 

 

[BroncosFan07]

You need to stop worrying about what # scorer you have at RB or that another team is crushing you at RB.  Total points for your team are all that matter and they all count the same.  What these guys have done in the past doesn't necessarily translate to future performance so you need to be constantly evaluating for the future.  Don't force a RB but do your due diligence to see if there are any deals that make sense for you. 

This is a weekly game and having the #11 WR (Cooks) doesn't do you much good in the weeks he scores minimally because he is a boom/bust guy.  I would actually look to move Cooks in a deal because you cannot depend on him consistently.  There is also no reason to have two TE's in your case so I would look to move one of those as well for an improvement elsewhere. 

I would also drop one of your defenses and pick up some high upside waiver guys (is Rawls available?) that if everything goes right they could be a difference maker down the stretch. 

I'm not worrying about what # scorer I have.  That was in response to Forestbull to explain how a team of "underperformers" is actually one of the best teams in the league since I've been able to have average to above average players at all positions and a couple of top 5 guys at their positions.  It wasn't meant to prove Forestbull wrong or brag about my team.  His comment actually made me question myself how a few of my better players can be having "down" years and yet my team still be sitting so strong. 

I agree with your comment about not worrying about how guys scored in the past....This is exactly what I'm trying not to do.  I'm looking for guys that I think will score the most during the 3 week playoff window.  My advantage is that I'm not pressured to win my remaining games so I'm looking for guys that will be studs during that 3 week window rather than good plays for weeks 10-16.  Lesean McCoy is a great example.  Look at his playoff schedule?  I bet he's the #1rb during weeks 14-16 barring injury.  Would you trade Le'veon Bell for Lesean McCoy?   I think I'd rather have Bell however if I truly think (and I do) that McCoy will have more points than Bell during those 3 weeks, why wouldn't I do that?  I bet the Bell owner would think he's getting a steal from me because from weeks 10-16, Bell will most likely outscore McCoy.

 

[Gally]

I agree with your comment about not worrying about how guys scored in the past....This is exactly what I'm trying not to do.  I'm looking for guys that I think will score the most during the 3 week playoff window.  My advantage is that I'm not pressured to win my remaining games so I'm looking for guys that will be studs during that 3 week window rather than good plays for weeks 10-16.  Lesean McCoy is a great example.  Look at his playoff schedule?  I bet he's the #1rb during weeks 14-16 barring injury.  Would you trade Le'veon Bell for Lesean McCoy?   I think I'd rather have Bell however if I truly think (and I do) that McCoy will have more points than Bell during those 3 weeks, why wouldn't I do that?  I bet the Bell owner would think he's getting a steal from me because from weeks 10-16, Bell will most likely outscore McCoy.

My worry with this approach is that it is a week to week game.  Many things can and will change between now and week 14 that are completely out of anybody's hands.  Sometimes tinkering too much can lead to problems down the road because you are outthinking the situation.  I agree you need to always be evaluating and trying to improve but I have never subscribed to the look only at the playoff weeks approach.  It is probably why I look at 2 yr outlooks in dynasty leagues as opposed to the 3-5 yr window many that I know look at.  It has served me well over the years because of the things that change quickly.

In your example of McCoy vs Bell, that is kind of what I am talking about.  Sure, McCoy has great matchups but he is also a very injury prone RB that already has had some hamstring issues this year.  Bell is close to a consensus #1 RB now that he is healthy regardless of matchups so I would be hard pressed to give him up because the other guy has better matchups for those three weeks.   I understand your approach and see where it appears to make sense.  I just disagree with it because too many things change.  It could even change to your advantage with Bell going down to an injury right after you trade him away. 

Like I said in my earlier post, I would try and work your lineup to have consistent scorers that also have the change to blow up.  Cooks is not in that category for me even though at the end of the year his totals might be good he still loses you games with his 2 catch 22 yd games.  I look to trade those guys after a big showing.  Those are the kind of moves I would be looking to make.

Good Luck.