Championship Deep Adds WR’s and TE’s

 If you are a competing team you might be looking for those perfect depth pieces. With the exception of a few names, these aren’t going to be the guys you want to rely on each and every week, but they could fill in and be competitive enough for you. These are guys you can acquire with late round picks and maybe even get off your waiver wire, depending on how deep your rosters are. These are also guys that non competitive teams might want to pick up (if super cheap) and maybe you can resell later if they start well, make a quick dime!

We will start with WR’s... 

Tyrell Williams - Detroit Lions 

Williams is coming of an injury plagued season, which could mean he might be on your waiver wire or you could easily acquire him for a late round pick. I’ll give you two reasons why I like him, money and opportunity. Let’s start with opportunity. The Lions are a mess, they aren’t competing anytime soon. Which means they are going to be playing from behind in many games this coming season. There is no clear number one WR in Detroit, they passed on WR in the first round, and didn’t pick a WR until St. Brown in the fourth. I like St. Brown and he has a bright future, but he’s no Chase, Waddle or Smith. He’s a slot WR, which Williams is not. Williams will be featured on the outside, he has to beat out Cepheus and Perriman. I’ll take the chance that money talks here. He is familiar with the offence being that he played under Anthony Lynn in San Diego, who is now the OC, during his best years. He has a bit of an advantage over the other guys because of this. My last point, money. Williams signed a one year deal worth 6.2 million. Williams is being paid to start and should be one of the starting outside WR’s for the Lions this year. He will get targets, this team will be behind a lot, why not take a shot? 

Demarcus Robinson - Kansas City Chiefs 

Another guy who can be had for dirt cheap, how about the new number 2 WR for the Chiefs. First and foremost, did you see what he said after he signed? https://www.google.ca/amp/s/www.nfl.com/_amp/chiefs-wr-demarcus-robinson-1000-yards-a-year-10-touchdowns. Did that convince you enough? This team doesn’t have a true number 2 WR. They wanted Watkins to be that, but he could not stay healthy. Hardman could still fill that role, but he is more a speedster, not the possession style receiver. Robinson will likely stay on the field more often, now that Watkins is gone. If he can take advantage of inferior coverage, why can’t he put up decent numbers? I think 1000 and 10 TD’s is a reach, but I don’t think 1000 yards is out of reach. Sammy Watkins in his one fairly healthy season in 2019 put up 52 catches, 673 yards and 3 TD’s. Why can’t Robinson taking his spot, and hopefully staying healthy put up 850 and 5 TD’s? Nothing special, but could sustain you if needed for a short period of time. If not Robinson, at least look into Byron Pringle, he has been getting a lot of buzz as I am in the middle of writing this, he to could step up and fill the spot, but I like Robinson, I can see him being that safe floor guy.

Kendrick Bourne - New England Patriots 

Repeating what I said with Tyrell Williams, money and opportunity. This is a guy who has never really been given a chance, but here he comes in with a 3 year 15 million dollar contract. Do you want to pay someone 5 million to sit on the bench? There was quite a few guys out there, but the Patriots paid a fairly unknown guy a lot of money. I could be wrong, but I doubt there was a bidding war for his services. So why pay him? Old Bill has a plan for this guy. Which comes to my next point, opportunity. With Edelman’s retirement being announced a lot of targets open up for this team. If Bourne can beat out Meyers for the slot role in McDainel’s system he will be ppr relevant this season. Meyers had over 6 targets a game from week 7 on last year, three games with 10 plus targets. Meyers is an undrafted free agent, the team doesn’t owe him anything, he has done a fine job, but Bourne is being paid to take this spot! He could fill a role on your team as well!

Cole Beasley - Buffalo Bills 

Beasley finished as WR 27 last year in ppr leagues... let that sink in for a minute. Nobody likes to admit, but he might just be the perfect WR 3 or flex start. I guess it depends on your top 2 guys, but if you like the safe floor 10-15 points he’s your guy. He had five games with over 10 targets. He averaged 5 catches a game. He’s going to have a few blow up games and score big, but he’s going to give you that consistent safe floor more often than not. It all depends on what you like out of that WR 3 or flex spot. Do you want the guy who could score 3 catches for 100 yards and a TD or put up a goose egg, or the guy who is going to consistently catch 5-6 balls and get 50-60 yards, with some potential to score. His games without John Brown in the lineup were his best. Brown is gone, Emmanuel Sanders is in, I don’t think Sanders is a threat, he’s there as depth. I think with another covid offseason coming up, I’ll take the chance on the chemistry between Allen and Beasley continuing. Get him now, he’s just not a name anyone likes to admit could be a starter. 

John Brown - Las Vegas Raiders 

He has a chance to be the number one for the Raiders. Edwards and Ruggs should be better year two, but Brown could come in and take the Nelson Aghlor role. I don’t like him as much as some of the other names listed above for a few reasons. He didn’t sign a big money contract, 1 year 3.75 million with only 1.75 million guaranteed. The contract doesn’t demand a starting spot. We still don’t know what Edwards and Ruggs will be like in year 2. If they take over and dominate targets than Brown will be an after thought. He will have a role on this team, I just think it might be better for real football. However, if for any reason Ruggs and Edwards don’t step up, Brown could be the guy. Someone to keep an eye on.

Other names to consider at WR, but could cost a bit more because of name and past success... 

AJ Green - Arizona Cardinals 

Yes, we are going to go there again. We all got pretty excited last year with him coming back from injury. He had some good games, but was very inconsistent. His name still carries some value, but injury history and age definitely brings his value down. There is a lot of mouths to feed in Cardinals offence, but because of his size and skill set Green is likely to be on the field full time opposite of Hopkins. Hopkins will pull top coverage, Kirk or Moore in the slot will demand attention, this all could leave Green in single coverage outside. His value probably went up a bit with landing spot, but see if you can get him on your team for cheap, he’s got the one year upside to be a depth piece for a run if he can stay healthy. Do not over pay though, lots of mouths to feed, they paid him well, but the opportunity isn’t necessarily there. He’s a good option, but because of name value he might cost you a bit more than the names above. 

TY Hilton - Indianapolis Colts

Again, another name that carries a bit of value because of past production. Hilton has been on and off with injuries, but remained healthy for the most part last year. He is probably still the number #1 WR on the Colts. I personally would like to see Pittman step up into that role, but for now it’s likely to remain with Hilton if he can stay healthy. He signed a one year 10 million dollar contract to stay with the Colts after getting interest from a few other teams. This is probably the best option for his fantasy production. He had 5 or more targets in all but one healthy game last year. He had a three game stretch where he put up 15 plus points, two of them in the mid 20’s. See what the price is to acquire him and I bet you have your WR 3 all year. 

 

A couple TE names... 

Jared Cook - Los Angeles Chargers 

Money talks! A 6 million dollar contract with 4.5 million guaranteed. You better believe he is going to get the starting role replacing Henry. He might not gain a lot of yards, but he’s going to be a redzone target. Again, I don’t want to start Cook each week, but if I need a back up going into the playoffs he’s one of the guys I would want. He might only get 3 catches but one of those is likely going to be in the end zone. I liked Parham, I wanted him to get a chance, but money is important. They also drafted a TE, so they must not have liked Parham. Cook is going to be in, and I think especially in the redzone. He will be someone you can acquire cheap. Unlike all the other players I mentioned, Cook does not have the safe floor. With his age and how slow he looked at times last year, he is not going to get the target volume to get that safe floor, but he could have a 3 catch 2 TD game when you need it most. 

Chris Herndon - New York Jets

Another name that doesn’t quite fit the age category, but he’s kind of a forgotten talent in a situation that could work out nicely. Both the head coach and offensive coordinator come from the Shanahan system that loves to feature the TE. There isn’t much for competition at the position. Tyler Kraft, Ryan Griffen and undrafted rookie Kenny Yeboah. TE’s take a while to develop and he is now going into his fourth year. Gase is gone, maybe it’s time to actually see him take a step forward. He’s not going to cost you a lot, he could be Wilson’s safety blanket moving forward. See what it would cost to get him as your backup! 

Other notable names: Firkser, they need to throw the ball to someone. Dare I say Tim Tebow? The three guys ahead of him on the depth chart aren’t names I know.

None of these guys, besides the QB’s are players I want to be relying on weekly. However, they are players I would trust to give me a safe floor or potential of a high upside game when I need it most. Take a look at your team, if you are contending, maybe see about acquiring one of these guys. They aren’t going to cost you your future, they will cost you less now when they aren’t needed and guys are looking for rookie picks. They might cost you more mid season when you have 2 injures and your buddy is holding them hostage. They also might be guys you want to pick up off of waivers if they are there or trade for cheap now, then you can flip mid season if you aren’t contending, probably for more than what you paid. Good luck!