Adrian Peterson looked fantastic with his new team on Sunday running for 134 yards and two touchdowns.
Credit:@NFL
Another week in the NFL is over and there is plenty to talk about. There were great plays around the league, exciting games that came down to the wire, and some more injuries that look to alter season outlooks for certain teams. Of all the great performances this past weekend, here are some of the best that really helped out fantasy football owners.
Mark Ingram, RB New Orleans Saints:
It didn’t take long after the Adrian Peterson departure for Ingram to look like his usual self in the backfield. The veteran running back ran for 114 yards on a generous 25 carries, he also had five catches for 36 yards. The 30 total touches were his most since 2014 and certainly gives owners assurance that he is the lead running back in the Saints offense going forward. Rookie Alvin Kamara also ran well and received 10 carries, proving that New Orleans is more than capable of supporting two running backs worth starting in fantasy football. Don’t expect this much running every week from the usual pass-heavy team, but it is important to know that both players are featured in the passing attack every week as well. Ingram could be creeping back into the RB2 range, but I’d like to see another solid workload before we shoot him up the weekly rankings. Next week the Saints travel to play a stingy Green Bay defense that just gave up 112 yards on the ground to the Vikings.
Kirk Cousins, QB Washington Redskins:
This is a player who is looking to get paid big this offseason. The consensus is that Cousins will hit the free agency market and go to the highest bidder, and with his recent play it could result in a massive contract. The veteran quarterback is also making fantasy owners pretty happy with 27.8 points in standard scoring, marking the third week in a row he has had at least 20 points. The Redskins haven’t been playing great football and have had trouble scoring at times, but Cousins is up to nine passing touchdowns compared to only two interceptions, he also added his first rushing touchdown of the season with a 6-yard scamper against the 49ers. Washington utilizes a pass-heavy offense that gives the signal caller a high floor every week based on volume of pass attempts alone. With Aaron Rodgers hurt and Matt Ryan struggling, expect Cousins to finish the year as a Top-5 quarterback and carry many teams to a championship.
Rob Gronkowski, TE New England Patriots:
On draft day it’s never easy to trust Gronkowski because his elite production usually comes at the cost of his health. The big tight end hasn’t played a full 16 games since 2011 and he has already missed one so far this season. Luckily for owners, “Gronk” has been pretty great when he has played this year and is still the most elite tight end when he is on the field. The two touchdowns and 83 receiving yards against the Jets gave owners a solid 20.3 points in standard scoring and is the third time in five games that he has topped 14 fantasy points. He was drafted in the early third round on average in fantasy drafts this summer and has so far been rewarding owners for taking the risk on him. Expect Tom Brady to keep feeding the ball to Gronkowski as long as the latter can stay healthy down the stretch.
Adrian Peterson, RB Arizona Cardinals:
Whoever was brave enough to start a struggling 32 year-old running back in his first game with a new team got a very nice surprise this weekend. Peterson ran the ball 26 times in his first game with Arizona, which was the first time he got double digit carries this year, and it was the most work he had received since Week 12 of the 2015 season. The veteran looked rejuvenated on Sunday totaling 134 yards on the ground (5.2 YPC) and two touchdowns. His 25.4 fantasy points in standard scoring was better than performances by the likes of Le’Veon Bell and Kareem Hunt. It’s going to tough to predict how the rest of the season will go for “AP”, at 32 years-old we’ll have to see how his body holds up after a huge workload, and there is no way of knowing if this amount of running will be the new norm for the Cardinals offense. For now, it’s best to wait and see what will happen over the next couple weeks. I wouldn’t recommend trying to trade for Peterson just yet, but if he is a free agent in your league he should be your top priority on the waiver wire. The veteran gets to the play a Rams defense next week who just allowed 130 rushing yards to Leonard Fournette on Sunday.
Larry Fitzgerald, WR Arizona Cardinals:
Here’s the second part of a Cardinals double feature on the best performances list. It was a nice showing by the Arizona offense and it was a blowout against Tampa Bay as they were leading 31-6 going into the fourth quarter. Along with the great performance from new teammate Adrian Peterson, Larry Fitzgerald had a great game with 10 catches for 138 yards and a touchdown. Even quarterback Carson Palmer could have made this list with a three touchdown performance resulting in 20.9 fantasy points. The trio of Peterson, Palmer, and Fitzgerald is the oldest in the league but they all looked fantastic on Sunday. The entire offense was great, but this section is focused on Larry Fitzgerald so let’s talk about him. The veteran receiver got off to a fast start on Sunday getting almost all of his production in the first half of the game. Fitzgerald hasn’t lost a step now in his age-34 season, as this was the second 100-yard game so far and he is on track to catch at least 100 passes for the third straight year. Keep slotting the future Hall of Famer in as a quality WR2 with a solid floor against any opponent.
