Fantasy Football Waiver Wire: Lions wide receivers on the radar
It’s not a reach to say not just one, but two, Lions wide receivers are on the fantasy football waiver wire radar this week.
The Detroit Lions got their first win of the season in Week 13 against the Minnesota Vikings, as Jared Goff threw an 11-yard game-winning touchdown to Amon-Ra St. Brown on the final play. The winning score capped the best game of the season for the rookie wide receiver out of USC (10 receptions for 86 yards and that touchdown-on 12 targets).
Spurred by a couple 20-plus yard plays, Josh Reynolds had four catches for 69 yards against the Vikings. Over the last two games, he has seven catches for 139 yards on 12 targets. Over three games as a Lion, he has played 86.4 percent (146 out of 169) of the offensive snaps. Reynolds is the one wide receiver Goff seems to totally trust on downfield throws, harkening back to their history with the Rams (and why Reynolds was a no-brainer claim when the Tennessee Titans waived him).
Fantasy Football Waiver Wire: Add two Lions’ wide receivers?
Week 14 is the final week of the regular season in most fantasy football leagues. Four teams, the Indianapolis Colts, New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles and Miami Dolphins, are also on a bye. So there’s a solid segment of fantasy managers who are looking for options to fill out a lineup this week.
St. Brown had a brush with fantasy relevance earlier this season, when he had 18 catches and 23 targets over a three-game stretch (Week 4-Week 6). But that dissolved quickly with a zero-target outing in Week 7, and a four-game stretch over which he only topped 50 yards once. With Goff suffering an oblique injury in Week 10 and Tim Boyle starting under center in Week 11, it took until Week 13 for a post-bye week boost to take full hold for St. Brown.
Reynolds, along with Goff, delivered as a fantasy sleeper against the Vikings. Double-digit PPR points in back-to-back weeks is hard to ignore.
In Week 14 the Lions will travel to take on the Denver Broncos, who are in the top-10 of the league in fantasy points allowed to wide receivers. But the short-area volume St. Brown gets, and the downfield plays Reynolds is getting, offers dual paths to production for Detroit’s top-two wide receivers. Even in a fairly tough matchup.
For those in a pinch for options this week, due to bye weeks, injuries, etc., St. Brown and Reynolds are both on the WR3 radar in leagues with 12 or more teams. St. Brown is better in PPR and overall, with a better floor, while Reynolds has more boom-or-bust to him.
Moving forward, Detroit will face the Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons and Seattle Seahawks from Week 15-17. The best matchup of the three is clearly Atlanta. But heavy pass volume is in play against Arizona, and Seattle’s defense is broadly not that good. So St. Brown and Reynolds, in that order, are both worth a look to add in leagues with at least 12 teams.
