Fantasy Football Playoff Strategies | Fantasy Football Live
Jennifer Eakins joins FFL to discuss a few strategies ahead of the fantasy playoffs.
Video Transcript
MATT HARMON: So let's talk roster construction here for the fantasy playoffs. Obviously, I think the layup advice, and I know that default to this layup all the time is, listen, it's playoff time, time to stash those backup running backs. So Jen, give me a couple good backup running backs that people can stash here to try to boost the upside of their roster.
JENNIFER EAKINS: Absolutely. First guy I have is D'Ernest Johnson with the Jaguars. He's had at least 24% of the snaps in three straight games, and he's outtouched Tank Bigsby 22 to 10 in that time frame. Etienne is dealing with a rib injury. You got Christian Kirk's hurt. Trevor Lawrence is hurt. They might lean on that back feet a little more in the coming weeks, and he's only 11% rostered in Yahoo leagues.
MATT HARMON: Yeah, I think he is so under the radar just in terms of like that immediate path to upside there. If anything happened to the starter, knock on wood, with Travis Etienne, is there another back you might want to highlight that maybe has that same path to upside?
JENNIFER EAKINS: I do, and that is Rico Dowdle of the Cowboys. He's basically one injury away from fantasy gold. He's involved in both the pass and the rush game this year. He's had 32 touches in the last four games. And also, honestly, the Cowboys are really hot right now. They may want to rest Pollard for the real NFL playoffs. He's only 10% rostered right now in Yahoo leagues.
MATT HARMON: Yeah, I love that call. I think Rico's looked really good whenever he has gotten the ball there for Dallas. So let's move to a different part of this roster construction here. Let's talk defenses. We were going back and forth prior to this show because, like I said, I'm the bozo that just takes the low-hanging fruit. But you are actually really want to talk about defenses here. You're like the big topic here, Jen, is when it comes to the defenses, do you dance with the one who brought you, or do you try to stream here? What's your personal strategy?
JENNIFER EAKINS: My personal strategy is to dance with the defense that got you there. I think a lot of people want to play matchups in the playoffs. And I get it for positional situations. But when you're dealing with a defense, like sometimes a bad defense is a bad defense. Even if they're playing a team that's really bad as well, they still have bad players on their team that aren't performing. So, for example, someone like the Ravens this season, they're arguably the number one defense. They have not a great schedule, but they still have a lot of talent on that team. So if it were me, I would stick with the Ravens.
I will say, though, I do have someone that I brought to the table. If you want to stream, I feel like Houston is a good option. They're the 13th defense over the last four weeks. They have a pretty-- they have a beautiful match-up this week against the Jets. Then they have Tennessee, Cleveland, and Tennessee again. So if you're looking to stream, I think Houston's a good option. But I feel like if you have a top-tier defense, stick with them through the playoffs. They got you where you are. Stay with them.
MATT HARMON: I like that. I also like the idea of the Texans getting two dates with Will Levis here to finish the season. We talk a lot about the offensive side of the ball here. Of course, it's a fantasy show, but DeMeco Ryans has those boys cooking down there in Houston. So that's a good streaming call if you do want to stream. But look, Jen, what goes up must come down. If we're going to add these players, we got to drop a few of them here. Give us a couple of drop candidates that might be roster-cloggers at this point if you need to add some of this exciting upside with running backs or you need to stream a defense.
JENNIFER EAKINS: Absolutely. I brought two for you guys. First one is Josh Downs. And I like Josh Downs, the player. I like him as much as everybody else. He's had some really good moments this season, but he is trending in the opposite direction. He hasn't posted more than 43 yards in four games. He hasn't found the end zone in week-- since week seven. He's got a pretty rough schedule as well for the playoffs, he goes Pittsburgh, Atlanta, Vegas. They're all top-half against the wide receivers in fantasy points allowed. So I feel like he's a guy that's not going to crack into your roster unless you have a major injury. So just get rid of him.
MATT HARMON: Ah, look, that one hurts. That one hurts, I will admit. But the reality is, Jen, you're right. Like this is a Gardner Minshew-led offense. How much juice is there really enough to squeeze out of here when Michael Pittman is dominating targets? All right, you said you brought two to the table. Who else you got that's a potential drop candidate?
JENNIFER EAKINS: Second guy I have, a little spicy, is Drake London. I get it. People drafted him high. I totally get it. But he's wide receiver 47 right now in half PPR points per game. He's averaging just 8.5. They are a run-heavy offense. Atlanta is 26th in pass attempts this season. He got the Arthur Smith factor, right? He's too much of a wild card to count on for these playoffs when it's win or go home. So, Drake London, sorry, but you got to go.
MATT HARMON: Oh, man, Drake London, a great player. But is he really the type of player that's going to help you win your league? Probably not. And maybe not for some of those backup running backs. But the chance does exist. Well, hey, it's always a good chance we're going to have a great conversation whenever Jen Eakins stops by the show. Make sure you check out all of her work at 4for4 and here at Yahoo as well. Appreciate your time. Thanks so much.
JENNIFER EAKINS: Thank you. Have a good one.