With the final big bye week soon to be behind us and the fantasy playoffs on the horizon, now is the time to make the final refinements to what could be a championship-winning fantasy roster. The best way to make those improvements is through trades, but there are perhaps some golden geese just sitting around on the waiver wire. Regardless of how they end up on the roster, these are the players to target heading into the playoffs.  

Editor’s Note: Rotoworld’s partner FanDuel is hosting a one-week $3 Million Fantasy Football league for Week 10’s games. It’s only $25 to join and first prize is $500,000. Starts Sunday, November 9th at 1pm ET. Here’s the link.

Quarterbacks

The best quarterback buy-low option over the last several weeks has easily been Drew Brees. Despite performing fairly well from a fantasy perspective, the perception of Brees as a fantasy asset has suffered simply because he has not been the otherworldly option we have come to expect. Brees is still sixth in quarterback scoring per game and has at least 19 fantasy points in each of his last six games. He has been very good, and it should get a lot better.

Over the final four weeks of the season, Brees plays Carolina, at Chicago, Atlanta and at Tampa Bay. The only matchup in there that gives any pause in at Chicago because of the possibility for inclement weather, and the other three matchups are veritable cake walks. Combined, the four teams give up an average of 19.4 fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks.

Brees’ owners do not feel good about him, and he has one of the easiest schedules down the stretch. He could be the difference between a first-round exit and a fantasy championship, and may not be that expensive to land via trade.

Don’t forget, for everything NFL, check out Rotoworld’s Player News, and follow @Rotoworld_FB and @RMSummerlin on Twitter. Also, purchase our info-packed Season Pass here.

Another quarterback I will target is Eli Manning, who plays at Tennessee, Washington, at St. Louis, and Philadelphia the final four weeks of the season. The only defense on the schedule that has had any success defending the pass this season is Tennessee, and they have begun to come unglued the last several weeks. If the offense finally gets into gear, Eli could put up good numbers over the final month of the season, and he can be found on the waiver wire in a lot of leagues.

Speaking of NFC East quarterbacks, Robert Griffin III also has a great run down the stretch. He plays St. Louis, at New York Giants, Eagles and Cowboys over the final four weeks. There is no guarantee he is healthy or the starting quarterback when the playoffs roll around, but he is a nice speculative add if he has been dropped.

My Billy Volek special, which is appropriate because he also plays for the Titans, is Zach Mettenberger. Mettenberger was awful in his first start against the Texans Week 8, but that is to be expected for a rookie thrown into the fire against J.J. Watt. He has now had a bye week as the starting quarterback in Tennessee, and by the time the fantasy playoffs roll around he would have been the starter for six weeks.

The matchups for Mettenberger are amazing. He faces the Giants at home Week 14, the Jets at home Week 15, and the Jaguars in Jacksonville Week 16. Every one of those teams has a banged up secondary, and every one of those teams offers a great matchup for the strong-armed Mettenberger. The Giants and Jaguars are tied for the most 20-plus yard passing plays given up in the league so far this season, and the Jets have given up six 50-plus yard pass plays already this year. Mettenberger should attack all three teams deep early and often, and that could lead to some surprising fantasy performances down the stretch.

Running Backs

The best matchups for running backs in the fantasy playoffs, unfortunately, belong to teams without a lead back to speak off. The Jets, Saints and Browns all face porous rush defenses down the stretch, but all have backfields as muddled as a Louisiana swamp. Perhaps there is some value there if someone can emerge, especially one of the Cleveland backs, but they are situations best to avoid.

The best schedule for the name backs is certainly Le’Veon Bell, who plays at Cincinnati, at Atlanta, Kansas City and Cincinnati the last four weeks of the season. Atlanta is the worst rush defense in the league and the Bengals have given up the most fantasy points to running backs over the last five weeks. The Chiefs’ numbers are good, but that is because they have not faced any solid run games outside of San Francisco and Miami, both of whom ran down their throats. That matchup could look a lot better once Week 16 rolls around.

A more under-the-radar trade target is Lamar Miller, who gets the Patriots and Vikings following a daunting matchup with the Ravens Week 14. He will not be an exciting play against the Ravens, but Miller will be a sure-fire RB1 against New England and Minnesota. The Vikings have given up the fifth most fantasy points per game to running backs over the last five weeks of the season, and the Patriots had given up big games to Chris Ivory and Matt Forte before Ronnie Hillman put up something of a dud in Week 9.

The best risk-reward target is Joique Bell, who has been dreadful this season, but has been getting work as of late. Bell is averaging almost 17 carries a game over the last three, and is just one very likely Reggie Bush injury away from being the undisputed early-down back in Detroit. With two matchups with the Bears, home games against the Bucs and Vikings and a trip to Lambeau over the final five weeks of the season, Bell has a chance to be a solid contributor down the stretch.

My Jerome Harrison special is the Texans’ Alfred Blue. Though Arian Foster’s current soft-tissue injury is unlikely to sideline him for any games, it is stark reminder that Foster is an injury waiting to happen at this point in his career. Enter Blue, who saw the majority of the work when Foster was sidelined earlier in the season, and who would likely get the majority of work if he went down again. The Texans do have a tough matchup against the Ravens Week 16, but two games against the Jaguars and a game in Indianapolis will give whoever is running the football in Houston quite a bit of value during the stretch run.

With the final big bye week soon to be behind us and the fantasy playoffs on the horizon, now is the time to make the final refinements to what could be a championship-winning fantasy roster. The best way to make those improvements is through trades, but there are perhaps some golden geese just sitting around on the waiver wire. Regardless of how they end up on the roster, these are the players to target heading into the playoffs.  

Editor’s Note: Rotoworld’s partner FanDuel is hosting a one-week $3 Million Fantasy Football league for Week 10’s games. It’s only $25 to join and first prize is $500,000. Starts Sunday, November 9th at 1pm ET. Here’s the link.

Quarterbacks

The best quarterback buy-low option over the last several weeks has easily been Drew Brees. Despite performing fairly well from a fantasy perspective, the perception of Brees as a fantasy asset has suffered simply because he has not been the otherworldly option we have come to expect. Brees is still sixth in quarterback scoring per game and has at least 19 fantasy points in each of his last six games. He has been very good, and it should get a lot better.

Over the final four weeks of the season, Brees plays Carolina, at Chicago, Atlanta and at Tampa Bay. The only matchup in there that gives any pause in at Chicago because of the possibility for inclement weather, and the other three matchups are veritable cake walks. Combined, the four teams give up an average of 19.4 fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks.

Brees’ owners do not feel good about him, and he has one of the easiest schedules down the stretch. He could be the difference between a first-round exit and a fantasy championship, and may not be that expensive to land via trade.

Don’t forget, for everything NFL, check out Rotoworld’s Player News, and follow @Rotoworld_FB and @RMSummerlin on Twitter. Also, purchase our info-packed Season Pass here.

Another quarterback I will target is Eli Manning, who plays at Tennessee, Washington, at St. Louis, and Philadelphia the final four weeks of the season. The only defense on the schedule that has had any success defending the pass this season is Tennessee, and they have begun to come unglued the last several weeks. If the offense finally gets into gear, Eli could put up good numbers over the final month of the season, and he can be found on the waiver wire in a lot of leagues.

Speaking of NFC East quarterbacks, Robert Griffin III also has a great run down the stretch. He plays St. Louis, at New York Giants, Eagles and Cowboys over the final four weeks. There is no guarantee he is healthy or the starting quarterback when the playoffs roll around, but he is a nice speculative add if he has been dropped.

My Billy Volek special, which is appropriate because he also plays for the Titans, is Zach Mettenberger. Mettenberger was awful in his first start against the Texans Week 8, but that is to be expected for a rookie thrown into the fire against J.J. Watt. He has now had a bye week as the starting quarterback in Tennessee, and by the time the fantasy playoffs roll around he would have been the starter for six weeks.

The matchups for Mettenberger are amazing. He faces the Giants at home Week 14, the Jets at home Week 15, and the Jaguars in Jacksonville Week 16. Every one of those teams has a banged up secondary, and every one of those teams offers a great matchup for the strong-armed Mettenberger. The Giants and Jaguars are tied for the most 20-plus yard passing plays given up in the league so far this season, and the Jets have given up six 50-plus yard pass plays already this year. Mettenberger should attack all three teams deep early and often, and that could lead to some surprising fantasy performances down the stretch.

Running Backs

The best matchups for running backs in the fantasy playoffs, unfortunately, belong to teams without a lead back to speak off. The Jets, Saints and Browns all face porous rush defenses down the stretch, but all have backfields as muddled as a Louisiana swamp. Perhaps there is some value there if someone can emerge, especially one of the Cleveland backs, but they are situations best to avoid.

The best schedule for the name backs is certainly Le’Veon Bell, who plays at Cincinnati, at Atlanta, Kansas City and Cincinnati the last four weeks of the season. Atlanta is the worst rush defense in the league and the Bengals have given up the most fantasy points to running backs over the last five weeks. The Chiefs’ numbers are good, but that is because they have not faced any solid run games outside of San Francisco and Miami, both of whom ran down their throats. That matchup could look a lot better once Week 16 rolls around.

A more under-the-radar trade target is Lamar Miller, who gets the Patriots and Vikings following a daunting matchup with the Ravens Week 14. He will not be an exciting play against the Ravens, but Miller will be a sure-fire RB1 against New England and Minnesota. The Vikings have given up the fifth most fantasy points per game to running backs over the last five weeks of the season, and the Patriots had given up big games to Chris Ivory and Matt Forte before Ronnie Hillman put up something of a dud in Week 9.

The best risk-reward target is Joique Bell, who has been dreadful this season, but has been getting work as of late. Bell is averaging almost 17 carries a game over the last three, and is just one very likely Reggie Bush injury away from being the undisputed early-down back in Detroit. With two matchups with the Bears, home games against the Bucs and Vikings and a trip to Lambeau over the final five weeks of the season, Bell has a chance to be a solid contributor down the stretch.

My Jerome Harrison special is the Texans’ Alfred Blue. Though Arian Foster’s current soft-tissue injury is unlikely to sideline him for any games, it is stark reminder that Foster is an injury waiting to happen at this point in his career. Enter Blue, who saw the majority of the work when Foster was sidelined earlier in the season, and who would likely get the majority of work if he went down again. The Texans do have a tough matchup against the Ravens Week 16, but two games against the Jaguars and a game in Indianapolis will give whoever is running the football in Houston quite a bit of value during the stretch run.

Wide Receivers

The best wide receiver matchups by far belong to the Jaguars receiving corps, who gets the Texans, Ravens, Titans and Texans over the last four weeks of the season. The Texans have given up the most fantasy points per game to opposing wide receivers over the last five weeks, and the Ravens have given up the third most. The Titans have been better, but they are still just middle of the pack.

That schedule bodes well for Allen Robinson, who has been the most consistently targeted receiver in Jacksonville. Robinson is averaging almost eight targets a game and has 17 more targets than the next highest Jaguar. Allen Hurns could certainly have a big game, and Cecil Shorts will be involved if he is healthy, but Robinson is the receiver to own.

Don’t forget, for everything NFL, check out Rotoworld’s Player News, and follow @Rotoworld_FB and @RMSummerlin on Twitter. Also, purchase our info-packed Season Pass here.

The second best wide receiver playoff matchup goes to Kelvin Benjamin, who plays at New Orleans, Tampa Bay, Cleveland and at Atlanta over the final four weeks of the season. Benjamin is easily the No. 1 receiver in Carolina. His 78 targets are by far the most on the team, and he has seen at least six targets in every game this season. Benjamin has scored the 16th most fantasy points among wide receivers this year and has dropped more touchdown passes than Julio Jones has scored. He could easily score four touchdowns over the last four weeks of the season, is a must-target option in all leagues.

My favorite cheap add is Odell Beckham Jr., who plays at Tennessee, Washington, at St. Louis, and Philadelphia the final four weeks of the season. Washington and Philadelphia rank in the bottom ten in yards given up to No. 2 receivers, and Titans No. 2 corner Blidi Wreh-Wilson has been getting roasted on a regular basis this season. With these matchups and the Giants quickly deteriorating defense, Beckham has serious blowup potential down the stretch.

My Antonio Bryant special is Packers WR Davante Adams, who gets the Falcons, Bills and Bucs during Weeks 14, 15 and 16. Adams has become a big part of the Packers’ offense, playing on 74.5 percent of the offensive snaps since Week 2 and out-snapping Jarrett Boykin 68-to-8 against the Saints Week 8. He has an eight and nine target game over the last three weeks and is clearly becoming a player Aaron Rodgers trusts. If anything were to happen to Randall Cobb or Jordy Nelson, Adams would immediately become a must-start fantasy option. He is an excellent stash in any size league.

Tight Ends

The most maddening tight end to own in fantasy this season has been Zach Ertz, and that is unlikely to change in the fantasy playoffs. Matchups with the Seahawks, Cowboys, Redskins and Giants give Ertz by far the easiest schedule down the stretch among tight ends, but his up-and-down usage numbers make him a risky play even in the best of situations. Ertz would be a player to target if he suddenly earns a bigger role in the Eagles’ offense, but a bigger role does not appear to be on the horizon.

Delanie Walker actually has a role in his offense and has the second easiest road among tight ends. Walker plays the Giants, Jets, Jaguars and Colts over his last four games. Both of the New York teams are among the top three in fantasy points per game given up to tight ends over the last five weeks, and the Jaguars were hemorrhaging touchdowns to tight ends earlier in the year. Walker should have a nice run.

Injuries and poor play have made Jordan Cameron one of the most disappointing fantasy players this season. Cameron has suited up in six of a possible nine games for the Browns and could possibly be sidelined Week 11 as well. He has caught 42 percent of his 31 total targets this season after catching 68 percent last year. Cameron is not playing, not getting the looks when playing and not doing anything with the targets when they come. It has been a disaster.

The only bright side for Cameron is the upcoming schedule. All of his final four opponents this season rank in the top half of fantasy points per game given up to tight ends over the last five weeks, and Cameron’s Week 15 opponent, the Bengals, are giving up points to tight ends for fun.

With Josh Gordon back to deflect attention, Cameron should be able to find room against four suspect defenses. I expect him to score several touchdowns down the stretch, hopefully redeeming what to this point has been a dreadful season.