At Week 11, we know by now we’re in the midst of an outlier season in fantasy.
Receivers have gone down with injuries at an unprecedented rate while running backs have largely avoided the injury bug. There’s likely a lot of receiver-needy teams out there, so today I’ll focus on a trio of wideouts whose production I expect to spike in the coming weeks. As always, I’ll be here every Wednesday with three buy-low targets to make inquiries on across leagues.
Deebo Samuel, WR, San Francisco 49ers
Besides a few games, Samuel hasn’t enjoyed a lot of success in 2024.
Jauan Jennings saw 11 targets in his first game back from injury, and it was also his first game playing full snaps in place of Brandon Aiyuk. He’ll continue to serve in that X-receiver role for the rest of the season. While the pendulum swung Jennings’ way last week, we can expect things to benefit Samuel over the long run. Samuel has an extensive history of earning targets at a high rate, especially when Aiyuk is out. He should provide low-end WR1 numbers the rest of the way.
Marvin Harrison Jr., WR, Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals have been playing their best ball of the season and have a favorable remaining schedule.
Also, public sentiment on Harrison seems to be slightly lower than what it should be. It feels like people are disappointed by his rookie season —and they have every right to be if they invested in him at his outlandish ADP this year. But those expectations were simply too high. Harrison’s short and long-term prospects remain encouraging, though, as he’s posted a 23% target share and 42% air yards share thus far. Harrison will sit out on a bye this week, perhaps making it easier to pull him away from his current manager.
Ladd McConkey, WR, Los Angeles Chargers
The Chargers are another team who have quietly shown promise lately.
Justin Herbert appears to be over his early-season ankle injury and has looked great the past three weeks. Although the Chargers probably won’t turn into a pass-heavy offense anytime soon, they may decide to pick up the passing as the best means to beating their upcoming opponents —namely the Bengals and Ravens.
More good news for the Chargers is that McConkey looks like a clear hit so far. He’s produced 2.16 yards per route run and a 24% target share on the year, which are great signs for a rookie. We know rookies tend to offer most of their production during the second half of the season, so all signs point to a great buying opportunity on McConkey right now.
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