CFF Waiver Wire Targets – Week 4
CFF Waiver Wire Targets – Week 4
College Fantasy Football championships are won and lost on the waiver wire. You don’t want to chase a “fool’s gold” player, so instead focus on guys that will hold their fantasy value week after week. Purple Reign has identified the players you need to target on this week’s waiver wire to ensure that “Your CFF Reign Starts Here.”
QUARTERBACKS:
Tucker Gleason (Toled)
Fantrax Ownership 21%
Season Stats: 75 Att, 46 Comp, 662 P-Yds, 9 P-TD, 18 Ru-Att, 90 Ru-Yds, 0 Ru-TD
Heading into the season I thought Gleason’s fantasy value would be through the running game, but instead he has shown us that he is super productive in the air. While averaging only 25 attempts per game, he is averaging 220.7 yards, 3 TDs, and 0 INTs per game. His TD production has been constant through the season with opponents ranging from FCS, bad Group of 5, to SEC conference. The schedule is starting to shape up nicely for him and he has a great slate of match-ups for the playoff weeks.
Next three weeks opponent (pass def rank): W Ky (117), BYE, MiaOH (50)
Kurtis Rourke (Ind)
Fantrax Ownership 26%
Season Stats: 74 Att, 55 Comp, 755 P-Yds, 7 P-TD, 10 Ru-Att, 23 Ru-Yds, 1 Ru-TD
It was hard getting a read on Rourke going into Week 3 as Indiana had played an FCS foe and Florida International. UCLA was the next team up and while the Bruins aren’t the stiffest defense they let us know how the coaches plan to use Rourke in conference play. Rourke had 33 pass attempts for 307 yards and 4 TDs. His stats from the prior two games look as though the coaching staff was running a vanilla offense and holding Rourke back for the Big Ten.
Next three weeks opponent (pass def rank): UNCC (98), MD (86), NW (75)
Caden Veltkamp (W Ky)
Fantrax Ownership 10%
Season Stats: 39 Att, 31 Comp, 409 P-Yds, 5 P-Td, 0 INT, 6 Ru-Att, 6 Ru-Yds, 1 Ru-TD
Starting QB TJ Finley left last week’s game with an injury and Veltkamp was given his opportunity. There was a tight QB battle this fall between these two and after his performance last week the coaches may have to reconsider Veltkamp as the starter moving forward. The offense really clicked for the first this season as he went 27/30 for 398 yards and 5 TDs against Middle Tennessee. I have a hard time seeing the coaching staff placing him back on the bench after a performance like that.
Next three weeks opponent (pass def rank): Toled (91), BC (48), BYE
Billy Edwards (MD)
Fantrax Ownership 9%
Season Stats: 104 Att, 74 Comp, 827 P-Yds, 6 P-TD, 20 Ru-Att, 64 Ru-Yds, 2 Ru-TD
Edwards has been extremely dependable this season which is rare for a first-time starting QB. He has not had a bad game, or any major swings in his TD production. Through three game he is averaging 25/35 for 276 yards and 2 TDs per game. He does get some rushing opportunities and while I don’t consider him a dual-threat QB, its nice to see that he has a nose for rushing TDs. Edwards is a spot-start fantasy QB who will lose his fantasy value after Week 8. Once Week 9 hits Maryland has to deal with Minnesota, Oregon, Rutgers, Iowa, and Penn State on the schedule.
Next three weeks opponent (pass def rank): FCS (150), Ind (12), BYE
Emmett Brown (SJSU)
Fantrax Ownership 4%
Season Stats: 104 Att, 63 Comp, 915 P-Yds, 9 P-TD, 2 INT, 14 Ru-Att, -33 Ru-Yds, 0 Ru-TD
Brown has had two games against creampuffs and a tough game against Air Force. He has looked amazing against the creampuffs and managed to look decent against a tough Air Force defense. He’s averaged over 30 pass attempts/game, is reaching the end zone regularly with his playmaking WR core, and has not had one multi-interception game. I’m also a fan of Mountain West QBs as they have great match-ups once conference play starts.
Next three weeks opponent (pass def rank): WaSt (116), BYE, Nev (89)
RUNNING BACKS:
Billy Lucas (Lib)
Fantrax Ownership 2%
Season Stats: 46 Att, 205 Ru-Yds, 4 Ru-TD, 5 Tgt, 3 Rec, 35 Rc-Yds, 0 Rc-TD
Starting RB Quinton Cooley left last week’s game with a leg injury. After the game head coach Jamey Caldwell said that the injury “does not look good.” Lucas took over the backfield duties and ran wild over UTEP with 21 carries for 104 yards and 3 TDs. With Cooley likely out for an extended period of time, Lucas should be your top waiver wire target this week.
Next three weeks opponent (run def rank): ECU (16), App (101), BYE
Rahjai Harris (ECU)
Fantrax Ownership 12%
Season Stats: 50 Att, 242 Ru-Yds, 2 Ru-TD, 3 Tgt, 3 Rec, 9 Rc-Yds, 0 Rc-TD
I mentioned Harris last week as a player to keep an eye on. While he didn’t grab big fantasy numbers in week 3 (scoring 9.2 fantasy points), he did carry the ball 18 times as was the clear lead back for the second week in a row. Over the last two weeks since assuming the bell cow role, Harris is averaging 22 carries per game and I’ll invest in that type of workload. The other bright spot for Harris is the upcoming schedule which is filled with good match-ups throughout.
Next three weeks opponent (run def rank): Lib (57), UTSA (104), UNCC (109)
Micah Bernard (Utah)
Fantrax Ownership 18%
Season Stats: 41 Att, 274 Ru-Yds, 1 Ru-TD, 5 Tgt, 4 Rec, 8 Rc-Yds, 1 Rc-TD
Bernard is still splitting carries with Mike Mitchell, but Bernard is getting the bulk of those carries. In the last two games Bernard has received 19 & 17 carries compared to Mitchell’s 6 & 14. The coaches are looking to Bernard first, with Mitchell coming in to relieve Bernard especially after Bernard breaks off long runs. With so many backfields being true committees this season you should seize on a player like Bernard that the coaches decide to lean on.
Next three weeks opponent (run def rank): OkSt (85), Ariz (78), BYE
WIDE RECEIVERS:
Kisean Johnson (W Ky)
Fantrax Ownership 18%
Season Stats: 22 Tgt, 16 Rec, 263 Rc-Yds, 2 Rc-TD, 2 Att, 14 Ru-Yds, 0 Ru-TD
Johnson has taken the reigns to the coveted “Western Kentucky WR1” role. In the last two weeks he has amassed 17 targets for 14 receptions, 248 yards and 2 TDs. The passing game really started to hum when Caden Veltkamp took over at QB for an injured TJ Finley last week. We now have the confirmation that Johnson is “The Guy” in this WR room and system history has shown that this is a pickup you must make a major priority.
Next three weeks opponent (pass def rank): Toled (91), BC (48), BYE
Dante Wright (Temp)
Fantrax Ownership 6%
Season Stats: 30 Tgt, 23 Rec, 236 Rc-Yds, 2 Rc-TD, 3 Att, 14 Ru-Yds, 0 Ru-TD
Wright came out of nowhere in Week 2 and followed up that performance with another monster in Week 3. In those two games against Navy and Coastal Carolina he has 25 targets for 20 receptions, 200 yards, and 2 TDs. Those are some mouthwatering fantasy stats. You know what else is mouthwatering? His schedule. Army is the toughest pass defense remaining on his schedule, with all the other games as potential fantasy starting match-ups.
Next three weeks opponent (pass def rank): UtSt (106), Army (21), UConn (122)
Junior Vandeross (Toled)
Fantrax Ownership 3%
Season Stats:22 Tgt, 14 Rec, 225 Rc-Yds, 3 Rc-TD
I mentioned earlier in this article just how productive QB Tucker Gleason has been in the air this season. Vandeross is one of the main reasons for that as he has been making big plays look easy. Vandeross has averaged 16.1 yards/reception and scored a TD in every game this year. Last season he totaled 4 TDs and he is on track to match that mark next week. Vandeross is also leading the team in targets with a 7.3 targets/game average.
Next three weeks opponent (pass def rank): W Ky (117), BYE, MiaOH (50)
Cade McDonald (MiaOH)
Fantrax Ownership 4%
Season Stats: 20 Tgt, 16 Rec, 240 Rc-Yds, 1 Rc-TD
McDonald has only played in two games this season and both games have come across good competition (Northwestern & Cincinnati). Against these Power 4 schools he has found a way to get open and catch 80% of his targets. McDonald has everything you want to see in a fantasy wide receiver: high workload, high productivity stats, and an upcoming schedule that is favorable. Next week’s game against Notre Dame and a Week 6 match-up against Toledo are the only really bad match-ups left on his schedule.
Next three weeks opponent (pass def rank): ND (23), UMass (95), Toled (91)
Giles Jackson (Wash)
Fantrax Ownership 9%
Season Stats: 24 Tgt, 24 Rec, 326 Rc-Yds, 1 Rc-TD, 1 Att, 5 Ru-Yds, 0 Ru-TD
Since Week 1 of the season Jackson has shown he is a target magnet in this offense. He’s averaging 8 targets/game and so far has caught EVERYTHING thrown to him. Many fantasy owners held off of him earlier because Washington was playing inferior opponents, but the Washington State game showed that he can still produce week in and week out. As Washington heads into conference play they will find themselves trailing and need to throw the ball more. Jackson’s ability to get targets fed to him and to catch anything around him will make his fantasy value rise.
Next three weeks opponent (pass def rank): NW (75), Rut (20), Mich (107)
Ted Hurst (GaSt)
Fantrax Ownership 0%
Season Stats: 21 Tgt, 15 Rec, 237 Rc-Yds, 3 Rc-TD
After a poor Week 1 performance Hurst has emerged as the work horse WR for the Georgia State offense. In the last two games Hurst has averaged 9 targets for 6.5 receptions, 105.5 yards and 1.5 TDs per game. While you might expect a good performance against an FCS school, Hurst also pulled this off against Vanderbilt. Once you clear his remaining two bye weeks the schedule begins to open up nicely.
Next three weeks opponent (pass def rank): BYE, GaSo (69), BYE
Devonte Ross (Troy)
Fantrax Ownership 3%
Season Stats: 25 Tgt, 15 Rec, 271 Rc-Yds, 3 Rc-TD, 2 Att, 4 Ru-Yds, 0 Ru-Yds
This is the second time that Ross has made my Waiver Wire article. If you exclude the Iowa game he is averaging 10 targets for 6 receptions, 122 yards and 1.5 TDs per game. He has shown he is the main weapon in the receiving core and Troy is willing to feed their top WR. Ross may not be a fit for everyone’s team but I do like him as an option in deeper leagues.
Next three weeks opponent (pass def rank): FCS (150), ULMon (41), TxSt (92)
Qua’Vez Humphereys (SamHu)
Fantrax Ownership 3%
Season Stats: 14 Tgt, 10 Rec, 234 Rc-Yds, 3 Rc-TD, 1 Att, 10 Ru-Yds, 0 Ru-TD
Sam Houston was seriously out gunned in Week 2 against a very talented UCF team. When you remove that game Humphereys has averaged 4.5 targets for 3.5 receptions, 99.5 yards and 1.5 TDs per game. I’m not a fan of fantasy players with such a small workload but the productivity that Humphereys has shown when he does have the ball in his hands can’t be ignored. Sam Houston has played with a lead in theses games so we haven’t seen if he will get fed more targets when the offense is playing from behind.
Next three weeks opponent (pass def rank): NMS (90), TxSt (92), UTEP (88)
TIGHT ENDS:
Eli Wilson (App)
Fantrax Ownership 8%
Season Stats: 16 Tgt, 10 Rec, 122 Rc-Yds, 2 Rc-TD
Wilson is a player that I’ve had my eye on since the summer months. Through three games he is averaging a nice workload with 5.3 targets/game and has scored in two games. He is a player that the offense looks to more in competitive games compared to blowouts as the other playmakers in the offense tend to do most the work. The next four weeks provide good match-ups for him to receive a good share of targets.
Next three weeks opponent (pass def rank): SoAl (105), Lib (74), Marsh (28)
Tanner Koziol (Ball)
Fantrax Ownership 29%
Season Stats: 15 Tgt, 11 Rec, 99 Rc-Yds, 1 Rc-TD
What was most impressive about Kozieol’s Week 3 performance is that he was able to command 8 targets and catch five of those passes against a very tough Miami, FL defense. He did not score like he did against an FCS foe in Week 2, but putting up that type of performance against one of the better defenses in the country lets you know he is going to be very good once conference play starts.
Next three weeks opponent (pass def rank): C Mi (61), JMU (24), WestMi (72)
Anthony Landphere (Mem)
Fantrax Ownership 7%
Season Stats: 11 Tgt, 8 Rec, 115 Rc-Yds, 2 Rc-TD
Landphere had a slow start to the season but he came out of hibernation last week. In a competitive game with Florida State he was targeted 6 times for 5 receptions, 66 yards and 1 TD. I highlighted Landphere this summer as a potential year 2 breakout player, and I’m hoping he can keep the momentum moving forward.
Next three weeks opponent (pass def rank): Navy (76), MidTN (134), BYE
River Helms (W Ky)
Fantrax Ownership 7%
Season Stats: 12 Tgt, 9 Rec, 92 Rc-Yds, 1 Rc-TD
I can’t overstate how important it was that QB Caden Veltkamp fired up this passing offense when he took over for the injured TJ Finley last week. Helms had barely been involved in the passing game prior to Veltkamp’s entry into the game, but once Veltkamp was on the field he was looking Helms’ way. Helms was targeted 6 times for 4 receptions, 39 yards and 1 TD last week. The yardage is not good but the increase in workload is what I like to see.
Next three weeks opponent (pass def rank): Toled (91), BC (48), BYE