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
CHANDLER MORRIS (UVA): Morris is on a two week tear. Two weeks ago against Stanford he put up 42.9 fantasy points with 399 total yards and 5 total TDs. Last week against Florida State he scored 37.1 fantasy points with 266 total yards and 5 total TDs. In the games prior to these the RBs stole most of the scoring opportunities. Virginia has the #21 fantasy passing offense and Morris is averaging 40.8 total touches/week.
ALONA BARNETT (JMU): Its been two weeks in a row now that the coaches are no longer rotating QBs. During those two weeks Barnett has scored 20.6 & 29.1 fantasy points. His passing production is low which means he needs rushing production for him to hold fantasy value. He’s only run the ball 15 times for 77 yards total in the last two weeks but he has scored 3 rushing TDs.
BEAR BACHMEIER (BYU): Week 2 was a dud for Bachmeier but in his other three games he’s scored 26.75, 24.9, & 32.05 fantasy points. BYU’s fantasy offense isn’t great, ranked #91 which means Bachmeier’s legs are crucial. He is receiving 23.3% of all carries and scoring 40% of all rushing TDs (averaging 1 rushing TD/game).
KIAEL KELLY (Ball): Ignore Kelly’s fantasy point total and just focus on the last two weeks. Against an FCS school and UConn he has scored 27.35 and 25.55 fantasy points. He’s another guy who’s passing stats are weak (314 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INTs over the last two weeks) but he has run for 128 yards and 1 TD over these last two games. He doesn’t have a great match-up this week so place his name as someone to monitor and see how he does against Ohio.
RUNNING BACKS
TYE EDWARDS (WVU): After Edwards’ 32.1 fantasy point performance on 9/13 he was a hot commodity on the waiver wire. He got injured in that game and hasn’t played since. Fantasy owners have been dropping him and he’s back below 30% rostered on Fantrax. If you got room on your bench to pick him up and wait for him to get healthy again he’s worth the roster spot.
JONATHAN SILVER (UD): Silver is coming off a bye week. He had a big 30.1 fantasy point performance in week 3, but during weeks 2 & 4 he’s only scored 13.9 and 13.6 fantasy points. He’s an honorable mention because I want to see another good performance out of him. but he is getting 34.1% of all carries, accounting for 53.6% of all rushing yards and scoring 42.9% of all rushing TDs (#71 fantasy rushing offense though).
NAHREE BIGGINS (C Mi): This is purely a one week spot start suggestion if you really need help. Last week he got 14 carries for 113 yards and 1 TD on the ground and 3 receptions for 23 yards in the air (21.1 fantasy points). The week before he scored 19.6 fantasy points but it come off of 5 carries for 15 yards and no TDs rushing, with 3 receptions for 106 yards and 1 TD in the air. I love this week’s match-up with Akron. Akron gives up 5.03 yards/carry, 2 rushing TDs/game, and TDs in the red zone 66.7% of the time.
WIDE RECEIVERS
CAMDEN BROWN (GaSo): Another week, and another Brown recommendation. In his last two games he has totaled 16 targets for 11 receptions, 229 yards and 1 TD. He’s not flashy but he has scored 13+ fantasy points in 4/5 games. On the season he is averaging 7 targets/game, accounting for 37% of all receiving yards, and 55.6% of all receiving TDs. He unfortunately doesn’t have another good fantasy match-up until Week 8.
JA’CORY THOMAS (OD): Please note that Fantrax spells his first name as Ja”Cory. When Thomas scores a TD he’s been good, when he doesn’t score (games against Virginia Tech & Indiana) he’s failed to crack 10 fantasy points. Against an FCS school and Liberty he’s put up a total of 15 targets for 11 receptions, 200 yards and 3 TDs. His next two match-ups are against Coastal Carolina and Marshall, two teams that he should be able to continue to find the end zone.
GABRIEL BENYARD (KennSt): Benyard has scored 13+ fantasy points in 4/5 games this season. His 20.4 fantasy point performance from two weeks ago is boosting his PPG amount. In his other games he is averaging just 5.5 targets/game, 62.25 yards/game, and 0.5 TDs/game. Yes he is getting carries but he’s only got 5 carries for 39 yards and no TDs for the season.
KAMRYN PERRY (MiaOH): I really like how efficient Perry has been over the last three games, averaging 117.3 yards/game and 29.3 yards/reception. He finally scored last week getting 2 TDs against an FCS school (with starting QB Dequan Finn injured and not playing). One issue to be aware of is that Miami’s fantasy pass offense ranks #107, but he is getting 43.6% of all receiving yards and 40% of all receiving TDs.
TIGHT ENDS
LANCE MASON (Wisc): Mason is coming off a bye week. Week 2 was his 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 #90 for fantasy passing offenses and he is only scoring 16.7% of all receiving TDs.
QUARTERBACKS
TOP 5 TARGETS
LIAM SZARKA (AF): Szarka took command of the offense in Week 3 and he’s been on fire since. In three games as the starter he has scored 23.35, 35.5, & 37.8 fantasy points. What really surprises me is that he has throw for 278 and 248 yards in the last two games. When you have an option based QB that is opening things up in the air, that’s a recipe for fantasy success. When it comes to the ground game he is accounting for 29.2% of all rushing yards and scoring 30.8% of all rushing TDs.
BRENDON LEWIS (Mem): In his first three games Lewis averaged 21.8 fantasy PPG. In the last two games he has scored 33.8 and 34.25 fantasy points. In those two games he’s scored 2 rushing TDs in each of the last two games (scored at least 1 rushing TD in 4/5 games) and is averaging 16.5 carries/game (10.67 carries/game in the first three games). Memphis’ fantasy passing offense is ranked #100 but their fantasy rushing offense is #5. Lewis accounts for 31.7% of all rushing attempts, 28.6% of all rushing yards, and 31.6% of all rushing TDs.
CARLOS DEL RIO-WILSON (Marsh): Del Rio-Wilson took over the starting job in Week 4 and the offense has been clicking since then. He scored 37.25 and 33 fantasy points against Middle Tennessee and UL-Lafayette. Over the past three weeks he’s averaging 15.7 carries/game and over the past two weeks is averaging 26.5 pass attempts/game. His strength of schedule doesn’t look great right now because this offense is just starting to take off. If you pick him up you’ll need to wait until Week 8 for the first possible game he could crack your starting line-up.
NICK MINICUCCI (UD): Minicucci is coming off a bye week. In Week 4 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 on my Top 5 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.
ANTHONY COLANDREA (UNLV): “Steady Eddy” might be the best nickname for Colandrea. He has scored between 23-28 fantasy points in every game against a wide variety of opponents. This three week stats in the chart above only reflect his last game. On the season his per game averages are 27 pass attempts for 235 yards and 2 TDs in the air, and 11.5 carries for 57.25 yards and 0.25 TDs on the ground.
CURRENT WEEK MATCH-UP TARGETS
Colandrea is easily the most stable option for a guy that you could plug into your line-up this week. Barnett’s match-up with Georgia State is far better on the ground as compared to in the air and the running back position could steal too many scoring opportunities away. As I stated earlier, Minicucci was on a bye last week and his last good fantasy performance was three weeks ago. I actually have more faith in Bachmeier than I do Minicucci and Morris. Morris’ recent hot streak has featured two 5 TD performances. Louisville might be too tough an opponent for this streak to continue as Louisville gives up an average of 1 passing TD/game and 0.75 rushing TDs/game.
VOLUME WORKLOAD TARGETS
Colandrea’s stats are just a one game sample and I ran through what his season averages are earlier. While Minicucci is getting 11.5 carries/game they are not productive and highly reliant on redzone scoring opportunities. having covered these aspects that I see with Colandrea and Minicucci, it means that Lewis would actually be the best volume option right now.
PLAYOFF MATCH-UP TARGETS
Both of these guys rounded out my Top 5 list. I see both of these playoff slates as pretty similar with a slight edge to Minicucci. Colandrea is the more stable option of these two, while Colandrea has the higher potential ceiling it comes with more volatility which you might prefer to avoid in the playoffs.
RUNNING BACKS
TOP 5 TARGETS
CALEB HAWKINS (NorTX): He have a bonified fantasy star with Hawkins. The freshman was giving more playing time in Week 4 where had got 13 carries for 99 yards and 4 TDs (36.3 fantasy points). Last week against South Alabama he scored 40.8 fantasy points on 16 carries for 140 yards and 2 TDs. Despite not getting much playing time in the first two games he is racking up 32% of all rushing yards and 38.9% of all rushing TDs.
MICHAEL ALLEN (Marsh): RB Jo’Shon Barbie got injured in Week 3 and in his absence Allen has taken control of the backfield. Over the last two weeks he has scored 16.2 and 32.2 fantasy points to go with a total of 40 carries for 228 yards and 3 TDs. This Marshall offense has come to life on the ground and in the air recently. While I have Marshall ranked #47 for fantasy rushing offenses I see that ranking getting better each week as the season plays out.
ZYLAN PERRY (ULLaf): It appears the coaching staff has settled in on how to utilized Perry over these last two weeks. He is only averaging 14.5 carries/game over that span but he racked up 185 yards and 4 TDs (24.1 & 22.3 fantasy points scored). Its not easy to maintain efficiency like that but there’s only two games left on the schedule that are not good fantasy match-ups.
WAYNE KNIGHT (JMU): At the start of the season QB Matthew Sluka would come in for rushing situations and syphon carries away from the RBs. Once Sluka was completely removed from the offense Knight’s workload increased and his fantasy value emerged. The last two weeks have seen Knight score 19.1 and 26.6 fantasy points from a total of 36 carries for 240 yards and 2 TDs. He brings some PPR value to the table too, averaging 4.5 targets for 3.5 receptions and 21 yards over the last two games.
QUA ASHLEY (Ball): Ashley has been the solid starter in this offense but it wasn’t until the team was done with Power 4 opponents for Ashley to show his fantasy potential. In Week 3 against an FCS school he has 154 yards from 12 carries and 2 TDs (37.7 fantasy points). The following week against UConn he racked up 18 carries for 86 yards and 1 TD. On the season he’s racked up 49.4% of all rushing yards and 75% of all rushing TDs for Ball State.
CURRENT WEEK MATCH-UP TARGETS
This is a rough week to find someone that can help you now as my top three suggestions are all on bye. Knight stand head and shoulders above everyone else as the best option. Silver has been up and down this season but he would be the more stable options compared to Biggins. In the honorable mention section I like Biggins for this week’s match-up but you’re going to need to have some blind faith if he’s going into your starting line-up for this week.
VOLUME WORKLOAD TARGETS
There really aren’t many volume options at RB during this point of the season. I mentioned Edwards in the honorable mentions section and picking him up is more of a future play for when he returns from injury. Knight is the only player I’ve highlighted for a volume play that has more than one game feeding into the workload volume that’s displayed above. His upcoming schedule is very juicy and something you can take advantage of immediately.
PLAYOFF MATCH-UP TARGETS
This is another small list of options. Hawkins and Knight are really close to one another for their playoff match-ups. Both of these guys have amazing playoff slates making them incredibly valuable moving forward.
WIDE RECEIVERS
TOP 5 TARGETS
DEMARCUS LACEY (Marsh): Once QB Del Rio-Wilson ignited this Marshall offense, Lacey has been the benefactor in the passing game. In the past two weeks he has scored 24.3 and 32.7 fantasy points while posting a total of 18 targets for 15 receptions, 262 yards and 3 TDs. He even has run the ball 5 times for 53 yards during those games. You can ignore his poor performances from the first two games as we now see what this Marshall offense will look like the rest of the way through the season.
CORTEZ BRAHAM (Mem): The past two weeks have been kind to the Memphis offense and Braham has made a connection with QB Brendon Lewis. In those games he has racked up 17 targets for 13 receptions, 229 yards and 3 TDs (good for 19.7 and 27.7 fantasy points). He is dominating the TD production, accounting for 80% of all receiving TDs. While this week’s match-up with Tulsa might look good on paper, I have mixed feelings. Tulsa is giving up tons of points on the ground so we might not see Braham reach the end zone this week.
RAPHAEL WILLIAMS (Pitt): After posting 27.1 and 20.9 fantasy points in Weeks 2 and 3, Williams returned from a bye last week and only mustered 13.7 points. He did extend his TD streak to three games despite only having 4 receptions for 57 yards. Pitt has the #16 ranked fantasy passing offense and they spread the ball around but Williams has scored 33.3% of all receiving TDs and is averaging 1 receiving TD/game on the season.
KJ DUFF (Rut): When you picture passing offense where the WR2 is averaging 9 targets/game on the season you would think of schools like Texas Tech, not Rutgers (#22 ranked fantasy passing offense). Duff has been rock solid this season scoring between 13.9-17.4 fantasy points every game and has gotten 8+ targets in his last four games. The schedule gets much tougher for Rutgers moving forward which is the only knock I have on Duff.
JACKSON HARRIS (Hawaii): In Week 0 Harris had 11 targets for 6 receptions, 59 yards and 1 TD against Stanford. He got hurt and didn’t return to action until last week. He went off for 29.9 fantasy points against Air Force with 9 targets for 7 receptions, 144 yards and 2 TDs. If we just use these two games his per game averaging come out to 10 targets for 6.5 receptions, 101.5 yards and 1.5 TDs. Jackson can be a huge player with Mountain West conference games on the horizon.
CURRENT WEEK MATCH-UP TARGETS
Williams and Faupel stand apart from the rest of players on this list. Williams has the ability to score TDs regularly which is why I like him best. Faupel is a target machine but has only reached the endzone once this season. Platt has been improving his fantasy production every week for the last three games but hasn’t scored a TD since 9/6. Knotts has been more than solid all season and has scored at least 1 TD in every game. But Maryland is playing a tough Washington defense that has to make a cross country trip which makes Platt and Knotts and coin flip in my eyes. I think Thomas has the better match-up compared to Allen since Iowa State’s defense will put up more of a fight than Coastal Carolina will. Thomas’ lower workload is the only reason I won’t place him above Platt and Knotts.
VOLUME WORKLOAD TARGETS
There’s a trend with this group. The players getting 10+ targets/game have trouble reaching the endzone while the guys getting less targets than that are scoring TDs regularly (Faupel being the only exception). Davis is catching more of his targets than any of these players and he’s scored 14+ fantasy points in three of his last four games. Allen’s B- match-up grades for the next two weeks are deceiving in my eyes as both teams have competent defenses. Pegan is a player that could be poised to seriously break out in Mountain West play.
PLAYOFF MATCH-UP TARGETS
I mentioned Pegan having breakout potential and it comes shining through with his playoff match-ups. Platt has a good outlook for the playoffs as well and the FAU offense has time to start clicking before then. While the match-up grade look good for Williams and Knotts I think they face some tough teams during this stretch. Of the bottom three players I think I actually like Davis the best of this group.
TIGHT ENDS
TOP 4 TARGETS
NOAH MEYERS (W Ky): Its hard to get a grasp on the Western Kentucky passing game right now. They’re underperforming and the leading pass catchers seem to change from week to week. Meyers has put together two good weeks recently putting up 11.1 and 14.3 fantasy points. His yardage totals from those games are nice too with 81 and 68 yards respectfully. The question looming for Meyers is if he can continue to maintain this role moving forward?
CHAMON METAYER (AzSt): Last week was disappointing for Metayer, scoring 4.5 fantasy points on 6 targets for 4 receptions and 25 yards. The two games before that he scored 15 and 8.5 fantasy points. He’s been inconsistent with his play but I still like him as a waiver wire target again this week.
LUKE LINDENMEYER (Neb): If you remove Lindenmeyer’s game against an FCS school he has scored 7.2, 11.9, & 9.5 fantasy points. He’s had 5+ receptions in two of those three games. Nebraska has the #3 ranked fantasy passing offense and Lindenmeyer’s role in receptions, yardage, and TDs is very low. But he finds a way to produce decent fantasy production which is hard to come by this year from tight ends.
GAVIN HARRIS (NMS): In four games Harris has score 10+ fantasy points in half of those contests. In the other two games he has scored between 5.9-6.7 fantasy points which made me move him down my list of recommendations. As you’ll see below he manages to make several of the specialized sections I like to highlight which is why I did not place him in the honorable mentions section.
CURRENT WEEK MATCH-UP TARGETS
When I look at who has the best match-up for this week I see two possible answers. I think Meyers is the guy who has the highest potential ceiling while Lindenmeyer has the best potential floor. Because of his up and down nature Harris is a wildcard but the match-up with Sam Houston State is very juicy. While Michigan has been giving up yardage in the air I have a feeling that Wisconsin doesn’t have the firepower to make Mason a good spot starter this week.
VOLUME WORKLOAD TARGETS
Harris managed to find his way to the top of this list, and his yardage average of 74.5 yards over the last three weeks is nice too. Metayer still manages to make this list despite his underwhelming performance last week against TCU.
PLAYOFF MATCH-UP TARGETS
Because of the concerns I’ve already addressed for both of these players, I’m not willing to look at them as being reliable players for my playoff line-ups. We have time to see if they can develop more consistency between now and then but I want to share my concerns even though I have them listed here.