QB Zeion Chriss, Louisiana
Fantrax Ownership: 14%
I haven’t written about the Louisiana QB yet this year but he’s due for some ink after popping off for a third 30-burger in his last four games. He brings as much rushing ability as anyone at the position, racking up 40-327-5 in essentially four games of work. He has a bye week coming up but should prove useful in lineups over the last half of the season, especially in championship week against UL Monroe.
WR Crishon McCray, Kent State
Fantrax Ownership: 1%
McCray demands our attention as a 1% owned player who has been targeted 24 times across his last two games. Kent State stinks and will likely be playing from behind a lot in MACtion, which could lead to some big-time WR performances as they play catch up. McCray’s 16-198-2 over his last two games may not be repeatable over a large sample but the volume and game scripts have both been there and may continue to be. Only SHSU’s Noah Smith and WKU’s Malachi Corley have more targets among G5 WRs across the last two weeks, which leads me to my next player…
WR Noah Smith, SHSU
Fantrax Ownership: 3%
It feels absurd to be writing about a SHSU WR in this column, but you know what else is absurd? The fact that Smith has accumulated 26 targets across his last two weeks, that’s what! The volume has been ridiculous and that makes him worthy of lineup consideration each week for a bad team that may play from behind. They want to run it every play and would do so if they could, but they’re often playing from behind and don’t run it well anyway. Smith has taken over a clear alpha role since their WR1 got hurt and it’s been announced he’s out for the year, paving the way for a lot of targets for Smith going forward.
WR Rawson MacNeil, Rice
Fantrax Ownership: 1%
I added MacNeil, a 6’6” rFR, in a few dynasty leagues and even started him in the 50-teamer because my line of thinking was this — Rice has a decent enough offense playing shit teams and has a former 5-star throwing the football, and they’re in need of a WR to step up considering Rozner left via the portal late in the offseason. MacNeil looked like he could be poised to be the one to emerge after posting 10-124-2 in breakout games during Week 4 and 5. My line of thinking surprisingly turned out to be correct after he posted 6-91-0 on a whopping 15 targets in Week 6, and now he’s gone from “blip on the radar” to “can’t ignore force”. He’s a huge dynasty priority this week if he’s still available considering he’s just a rFR, and he may be worth an add in standard leagues as well.
WR Kenneth Wommack, WMU
Fantrax Ownership: 0%
Keeping the theme of target monster G5 WRs alive here with Wommack, who saw 15 targets last week and responded with 12-113-0 against Mississippi State. He now has 23 targets across his last two games and could be a force in MACtion. I had WMU selected a team that could have some surprising fantasy delights this season considering they play at such a fast tempo and play against bad competition. Wommack seems to have emerged as the most likely WR to have weekly value.
RB Isaiah Ifanse, California
Fantrax Ownership: 14%
Jaydn Ott is dealing with a nagging injury that has already knocked him out of two games this season. It’s annoying because I own Ott in a ton of leagues and recommended buying him at a reduced price because he had a lot of naysayers in the community. Those naysayers were wrong on their read but may get proven right due to injury. Bummer. Anyway, Ifanse is a more-than-capable backup who should assume lead-back duties if Ott is forced to miss any time. He has Utah coming up in Salt Lake City and then a bye, so there’s a chance he never really pays off. If you can afford to stash him for the USC game on October 28 then that would be great, barring an Ott return to health. I’m becoming more pessimistic about Ifanse as an impact waiver wire add the more I look at it, but the fact remains that he could be the best add on the waiver wire this week if Ott misses time.
WR Elijah Metcalf, MTSU
Fantrax Ownership: 2%
Not really sure why Metcalf’s ownership is this low, but he looks like a good roster filler at the WR position as a target hog for a pass-happy team. He leads the Blue Raiders with 43 targets, 32 receptions, 356 receiving yards, and 3 TDs as the WR1 for a team throwing the ball almost 40 times per game (39.2). It’s the nature of this offense to spread the love around to multiple WRs and that’s what we’ve seen so far this year with three different players eclipsing 300 receiving yards, but Metcalf plays the most, is targetted the most, and has been the most productive. I’ve pointed him out for a few midweek slates already and I’m not really sure what the hesitancy is around him. He’s not going to be a world-beater but is a fine roster filler.
RB Frank Peasant, MTSU
Fantrax Ownership: 19%
While I’m on MTSU, I’ll shoutout that Peasant is a fine “pick him up, put him in” candidate this week against a dreadful Louisiana Tech defense surrendering 212.3 rushing yards per game on 5.1 yards per pop. He’s not the most exciting play but could win you a matchup if you need someone, anyone in your lineup with a pulse.
WR John Adams, Temple
Fantrax Ownership: 0%
You get some weird performances every week in college football and Adams takes the cake for the most bizarre box score this week after arriving from absolutely nowhere to rack up 10-127-1 on a massive 13 targets against UTSA. Temple can get very pass-happy and that leads to huge performance from their WRs, as evidenced by EJ Warner’s 65 pass attempts for 472 yards and 5 TDs. Dante Wright has been banged up but did play and had 10 targets, while Amad Anderson was limited due to injury and has 1 target for 0 catches on just 9 snaps. If Anderson remains limited, Adams could be very productive in the short term and is someone to add in dynasty leagues considering he’s listed as just a rSO. There’s a strong likelihood that this performance is just a flash in the pan but IMO the upside is worth taking a flier on as Temple could throw the ball 50 times a game and they don’t have a clear WR1 producing each weak. Wright has gotten a ton of targets but hasn’t done much with them and Anderson banged up, so there’s a possibility Adams emerges as the new guy to own.
RB/WR Tyre Shelton, LA Tech
Fantrax Ownership: 30%
I probably ignored Shelton a bit too long as I saw Marquis Crosby had returned to the lineup and figured that’d render Shelton useless in standard format leagues. He’s now smashed for three straight weeks, rushing for over 100 yards with at least one touchdown in all of those outings. I can’t ignore him any longer, especially after Crosby didn’t handle a carry this week after taking one for 20 yards the week prior. I’ll point out that he’s played two of the worst rush defenses alive (North Texas, Western Kentucky) and another awful team in general (UTEP) in that span and also doesn’t really catch passes. The schedule gets much more difficult to end the year and he has a bye week coming up after MTSU. Still, he’s been too good to ignore.
