College Fantasy Football championships are won and lost on the waiver wire. Purple Reign has identified the players you need to target on this week’s waiver wire that will help give your fantasy team a champion’s edge.
Premium subscribers will have access to hand chosen waiver wire targets for Joe Arpasi’s Top 5 selections, the best match-ups on this week’s slate, high volume workload players, and players with the most favorable playoff match-ups.
In the free preview below I will review players I feel are honorable mention waiver wire targets that did not make any of the specified target lists that are featured for premium subscribers.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
QUARTERBACKS
Dewayne Coleman (Army): Coleman was injured in the team’s season opener but made his return in Week 4. He did not start the game but came in and light a fire in the offense. He scored 30.75 fantasy points with 101 yards and 2 TDs passing, and 23 carries for 117 yards and 1 TD on the ground. He doesn’t have a good fantasy match-up until Week 6 so you’ll need a fantasy roster than is only looking for spot starters for later this season.
Tayven Jackson (UCF): In his first two games Jackson scored 22.6 & 21.55 fantasy points against an FCS school and Jacksonville State. He took on North Carolina and surprisingly put up 27.75 fantasy points on 223 yards and 1 TD passing, and 66 yards and 1 TD rushing. His rushing load is a bit lower than I would like (6.7 carries/game) and he’s only averaging 3.6 yards/carry.
RUNNING BACKS
Evan Dickens (Lib): Dickens had a difficult match-up against James Madison. In the two games before that he scored 17.8 & 18.7 fantasy points in competitive match-ups with Bowling Green and Jacksonville State. He’s averaging 34.8% of all rushing attempts, 5.7 yards/carry, 44.2% of all rushing yards, and all 50% of all rushing TDs.
Qua Ashley (Ball): Ashley has put together two good fantasy games in a row now. Last week against UConn he scored 17.5 fantasy points, and 37.7 fantasy points against an FCS school the week before. In that span he has had 30 carries for 240 yards and 3 TDs rushing, and 7 targets for 5 receptions, 47 yards and 1 TD receiving. Ashley has potential to become a good fantasy asset when MACtion rolls around next month.
Dontae McMillan (E Mi): McMillan is another potential MACtion breakout player waiting to happen. He was averaging 8.5 carries/game in the first two weeks, but since then has received 13 & 19 carries. I like that he is getting 39.5% of all rushing attempts and 59.6% of all rushing yards. What I don’t like here is that I have Eastern Michigan ranked #79 in fantasy rush offense, and McMillan has only scored 1 rushing TD.
Hayden Reed (Army): Reed’s stats are misleading because of an injury he suffered against Kansas State. In his other two games he’s scored 12.8 & 18.5 fantasy points and averaging 19 carries/game. Army has the #18 fantasy rushing offense and Reed who plays fullback is the first portion of the option that makes it work.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Jordan Napier (SDSU): The San Diego State passing game has taken a little time to get going and it shows in Napier’s fantasy production. From the start of the season Napier has scored 3.3, 10.8, and 26.5 fantasy points. He’s averaging 11 targets/game over the last two weeks, and for the season is responsible for 41.3% of all receptions and 43.2% of all receiving yards. He needs to increase is TD production but he got that started last week.
Chas Nimrod (SoFL): I’m a little torn on Nimrod’s fantasy potential. In Week 3 against Miami he had 10 targets for 4 receptions and 128 yards. In the other three games this year he has consistently gotten 5 targets (3, 3, 4 receptions). He has gotten 95+ receiving yards in two of those three games. Over the last three weeks he’s scored 25.9 & 14.8 fantasy points. His small workload and high yardage production scares me since that could be had to maintain over the rest of the season.
Isaiah Sategna (Okla): Sategna’s role in the offense has been expanding each week this season. His target total in each game has risen from 3 to 6 to 9 to 11. His yardage totals in each game have increased from 16 to 44 to 97 to 127 and he finally scored his first TD last week. This trend is pretty impressive and I want to believe he will maintain this role.
Dash Luke (MoSt): I see Luke as a name to monitor right now. In the last two weeks he’s scored 16.5 and 21.5 fantasy points. Those came against SMU and a FCS team. He had 6 targets against SMU (highest until last week), then it shot up to 11 targets last week. I worry that his performance last week could be a flash in the pan and want to see what he does against Western Kentucky this week before being willing to place him on my fantasy squads.
TIGHT ENDS
Chamon Metayer (AzSt): Metayer’s stats are skewed from not registering any stats against Mississippi State. He was playing hurt at the start of the year but now looks healthy. In the last two weeks he’s had 12 targets for 12 receptions, 115 yards and 1 TD. This week’s match-up against TCU looks like it will be a great game to throw him in your fantasy line-up.
QUARTERBACKS
TOP 5 TARGETS
Nick Minicucci (UD): Last week we saw Minicucci come back down to Earth a little bit. Despite scoring 3 TDs, he could only muster 21.3 fantasy points in a game where Delaware scored 36 points. The reason I am keeping him at the top of my list comes down to the numbers. He is getting 47 touches (pass attempts & carries) per game, I have Delaware ranked as the #29 fantasy passing offense, and he’s scoring 50% of all rushing TDs and averaging 3 total TDs/game.
Trinidad Chambliss (Miss): After two starts it looks like Chambliss is the best quarterback on the Ole Miss roster. He’s a dual-threat guy who is getting 20.7% of all rushing attempts and 22.3% of all rushing yards (despite only playing in half of the team’s games). He’s also been productive in the air, throwing for 300+ yards in both starts. I just want to see his 1.5 passing TD/game increase moving forward.
Dylan Lonergan (BC): Week 3 was a setback for Lonergan. He looked bad at times against Stanford, but the cross country road trip might have been the reason for that. He has a massive passing workload but no rushing upside. He is averaging 3.3 TDs/game but I think he can keep that up against what looks like a poor year for ACC defenses.
Rickie Collins (Syr): Steve Angeli tore his Achilles tendon and will miss the rest of the season. In comes Collins to take over the offense. For those that don’t know, Collins was named the starting QB right before the spring game occurred. So the coaches had faith in Collins back in spring even though the coaches signed Angeli in the summer. I want to see how consistent Collins can be in the air, and how much he’ll be added into the rushing game plan.
Anthony Colandrea (UNLV): I think Colandrea has flown under the radar because he’s never had a huge fantasy game. He has been very consistent, scoring between 28-23 fantasy points in every game. His rushing production is something to like. He averages 11.3 carries/game, 29.6% of all rushing attempts, and 27.8% rushing yards. You might be able to wait one more week to claim him since he does have a bye this week.
CURRENT WEEK MATCH-UP TARGETS
I think Chambliss is your best option for this list. Collins might be too risky to play this week even though he has the highest fantasy match-up grade. Braxton comes off as slightly better than Raynor for the next tier of players here, but I have a gut feeling Lonergan might put up more fantasy points than those two.
VOLUME WORKLOAD TARGETS
Raynor didn’t have the best game last week but he is now topping the workload volume list. Lonergan remains a constant on this list and is the only pocket passer on here. Minicucci took a hit after last week’s game and while he gets decent rushing attempts but those carries aren’t generating rushing yards. Colandrea is by far the most productive rusher here and Braxton has some low efficiency rushing stats. I included Collins since the Syracuse offense has been creating at least 40 total touches/game so far this season.
PLAYOFF MATCH-UP TARGETS
Mininucci’s playoff schedule is another reason why he remains at the top of my QB list. He tops a very light list. Braxton needs to show us he can remain fantasy productive moving forward before we start trying to rely on him for any playoff starts.
RUNNING BACKS
TOP 5 TARGETS
Dylan Riley (Boise): Boise State has found their next great back in Riley. Two weeks ago we saw him be the leading rusher (123 yards) on just 6 carries. Last week he was given 19 carries and he turned them into 171 yards and 4 TDs against Air Force. Now that there appears to be a clear cut workhorse at Boise State you need to make him your #1 waiver wire priority for this week.
Gavin Sawchuk (FlaSt): What I am the most worried about when it comes to Sawchuk is his limited workload. He’s played an FCS school (8 carries) and Kent State (11 carries) the last two weeks which could be why he’s not receiving a bigger workload. He averaged 4.6 yards/carry in the first two games of the season before exploding to 8.8 yards/carry last week. If that yards/carry number comes back down that can be a concern. You can’t deny his 1.7 rushing TDs/game, but you can be wary about him accounting for only 29.4% of all rushing TDs.
Dominic Richardson (Tuls): Richardson has been on the waiver wire radar for most of the season. This is likely your last chance to get him after he had 31 carries for 146 yards against Oklahoma State last week. He is producing 52.8% of all rushing attempts, 59% of all rushing yards, and 40% of all rushing TDs. If he can increase his TD production he will start putting up more 20 fantasy point performances.
Chavon Wright (NIU): In Week 2 Wright took over as the starter and logged 27 carries. After a Week 3 bye he faced Mississippi State and only scored 6.4 fantasy points. The silver lining in that game is that he had 13 carries compared to Telly Johnson’s 6 carries. You could probably get him for free after waivers are done since he didn’t score much last week and has a bad match-up this week.
Jadarian Price (ND): Over the last two weeks Price has become a scoring machine. As the team’s RB2 he has ran for 21 carries and 142 yards over the last two games. But in those games he’s managed to score 5 TDs. He’s scoring a TD per every 4.1 rushing attempts which would normally say this won’t hold up. Notre Dame played Texas A&M and Purdue over the last two games, and the schedule starts getting far softer moving forward. I think there’s a decent chance that Price can hold onto his fantasy value.
CURRENT WEEK MATCH-UP TARGETS
For this week Riley stands above Sawchuk for the best match-up. I think McReynolds might have a slightly better match-up than Price based purely on workload differences between them. I would take Richardson above the likes of McMillan, Dickens, Dickens, and Reed. Out of those last three I think Reed has the highest floor of that group.
VOLUME WORKLOAD TARGETS
Richardson caught our eye at the start of the season because he was getting a good workload. He leads this small group and is the safest of the two options. I keep recommending Wright despite his only scoring 8.8 PPG over the last three weeks is because he is averaging 20 carries.
PLAYOFF MATCH-UP TARGETS
Riley and Sawchuk once again head another list, and just like the others I prefer Riley of the two. Richardson is the next safest player here since we haven’t seen McReynolds hasn’t had a BOOM game yet and Price is a RB2 for his team. Price does have the safer floor over McReynolds though.
WIDE RECEIVERS
TOP 5 TARGETS
Nahzae Cox (MidTN): Cox has quietly been making a name for himself this season. While the graphic above covers the last three weeks, it doesn’t include his Week 1 performance where he scored 20 fantasy points. Things I like about him are that he’s averaging 9 targets/game, he’s getting 24.1% of all receptions, 30.6% of all receiving yards, 66.7% of all receiving TDs, and averaging 1 TD/game. He looks to be a great floor play for your fantasy line-up.
Camden Brown (GaSo): I’ve been featuring Brown for several weeks in a row. He was very close to taking the top of this week’s Top 5. His workload of 6.8 targets/game is okay, and I like that he’s producing 31.4% of all receiving yards and 62.5% of all receiving TDs. Last week was the first time he racked up 100 yards even though the game was against a FCS team.
Shaleak Knotts (MD): Knotts is a big play receiver for Maryland. Over the last three weeks he’s registered 26.7, 19.8, and 29.0 yards/reception. While he hasn’t had a 100 yard game yet this season, He is scoring 62.5% of all receiving TDs while averaging 1.3 TDs/game. Maryland has the #36 ranked fantasy pass offense but their three of their next four games are bad fantasy match-ups. Knotts is best if you’re looking for help late in the season.
Justus Ross-Simmons (Syr): Ross-Simmons has been up and down this season. In Weeks 2 and 4 he’s been red hot getting 21 targets for 10 receptions, 136 yards and 4 TDs (41.7% of all receiving TDs). The worrisome part with Ross-Simmons is that he’s catching less than 50% of his targets, he’s only getting 13.3% of all receptions, and 15% of all receiving yards. The good news is that his next two games are great fantasy match-ups.
Gabriel Benyard (KennSt): If you remove the Week 2 game against Indiana, Benyard has scored 13.7, 15.4, and 20.4 fantasy points in his games. He’s reached the endzone in his last two games and he accounts for 100% of all receiving TDs. While he is getting 25.4% of all receptions and 38.6% of all receiving yards, the Kennesaw State fantasy passing offense ranks #104.
CURRENT WEEK MATCH-UP TARGETS
I mentioned earlier that Ross-Simmons has a great match-up this week and he is my favorite of this group. I see Benyard and Duff as pretty much equal for their match-ups, but Evans has the opportunity for garbage time receptions if you’re in a PPR league. Cox rounds out this list with a match-up that should provide him to produce another fantasy reliable performance.
VOLUME WORKLOAD TARGETS
Both Napier and Duff have been getting forced fed lately, each receiving double digit targets/game. Cox has quietly been receiving 8.7 targets/game and Sategna’s two most recent games have him receiving more targets than this three week chart indicates.
PLAYOFF MATCH-UP TARGETS
Earlier I reviewed Knotts’ upcoming schedule isn’t good but he has a good playoff schedule. I actually like Brown’s fantasy match-ups here more than Knotts. Nimrod and Luke aren’t as reliable as the top two guys but they do bring some positive playoff match-ups to the table.
TIGHT ENDS
TOP 5 TARGETS
Jeremiah Franklin (BC): What I love about Franklin is that the BC offense is slinging the ball all over the place and Franklin is getting fed lots of targets. This high workload helps make up for the fact that he is only getting 10% of all receiving TDs (only scored once this season). He has the most receptions and receiving yards of all tight ends in my Top 5.
Dallen Bentley (Utah): Last week I brought up Bentley as a reliable receiving threat in this Utah offense and he followed it up with a 9 targets for 6 receptions and 75 yard performance in Week 4. He is scoring 28.6% of all receiving TDs, but those came in the first two games and he’s been held out of the end zone since. That should change this week as I like the West Virginia match-up because tough games tend to find offenses leaning on their TEs more.
Izayah Cummings (App): As long as Cummings remains under 30% rostered on Fantrax I will continue to phrase his name. He was on a bye last week which has kept his rostered percentage at 3% (which is criminal). He had 9 targets for 7 receptions and 82 yards in his last game. Yes he hasn’t scored a TD yet this season but he’s playing in the #16 fantasy pass defense so he’s bound to have scoring opportunities in the future.
Carsen Ryan (BYU): Ryan’s fantasy value is based on him scoring TDs. He’s currenting accounting for 50% of all receiving TDs (0.7 TDs/game). What worries me about him is that you’re bound to have stinker games from him when he doesn’t score. He’s averaging 3.7 receptions/game on the season, but that increased over the last three weeks to 4.5 receptions/game.
Lance Mason (Wisc): Week 2 was Mason’s coming out party when he scored 19.7 fantasy points against Middle Tennessee. He was held in check the next week against Alabama, but Week 4 he bounced back. Against Maryland he had 8 targets for 5 receptions, 45 yards and 1 TD. This Wisconsin passing game ranks #87 for fantasy passing offenses but he is scoring 33.3% of all receiving TDs.
CURRENT WEEK MATCH-UP TARGETS
Franklin’s match-up against a Cal offense that gave up over 30 points to San Diego State is hands down the best of this list. I like Bentley’s match-up slightly better than Cummings even though App State is coming off of a bye week. Boise State could force App State to be throwing from behind so garbage time points are a possibility.
VOLUME WORKLOAD TARGETS
Its never a surprise when the volume workload chart is filled with guys that make my Top 5. Franklin reigns supreme with his 11 targets/game. Everyone else is packed in tightly with each other but I would give Bentley the advantage over the other two. I would give Cummings the edge over Mason since the App State offense is throwing the ball way more times per game than Wisconsin is.
PLAYOFF MATCH-UP TARGETS
Cummings is the only guy with a good playoff slate. This is another reason I find it so criminal that he is only rostered on 3% of Fantrax leagues.