Playoff Teams Resting Players - It looks as if Philadelphia, Kansas City, LA Rams and Jacksonville all have their seeding pretty well set for the playoffs and could rest players. What bench/backup (2nd/3rd string) players will you be looking at this week?
Phil Alexander: Jaguars fourth-string running back Corey Grant was the RB9 on DraftKings in Week 17 last season, and I wouldn't rule out a repeat. With Jacksonville's playoff seeding locked in, it would make sense for them to rest their starters, particularly Leonard Fournette, who has been battling quad and ankle injuries. When Fournette sat out in Week 15, Grant entered the game in garbage time of a 45-7 win over the Texans and rushed for 69 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. This week's entire game is effectively garbage time for the Jaguars so they may opt to feature Grant, who has been extremely efficient on limited touches and possesses an impressive athletic profile.
John Mamula: The Eagles have locked up home-field advantage and will likely rest many of their offensive playmakers. Zach Ertz was inactive during Week 9 and Week 14 this season. With Ertz on the sideline, Trey Burton's offensive snap count spiked from an average of 14 snaps per game when Ertz was active to 47 and 48 snaps without Ertz. Burton took advantage of the opportunity as he finished with two receptions for 41 yards and one touchdown in Week 9 against the Broncos and five receptions for 71 yards and two touchdowns in Week 14 against the Rams. Ertz isn't priced near the minimum as he was during those weeks but he is a strong play on both DraftKings ($4100) and FanDuel ($4800) if Ertz is inactive.
James Brimacombe: There is no word out of Kansas City yet on if Alex Smith will play or not, but if he happened to miss this week and Patrick Mahomes got the spot start, I would be all over that play. Mahomes is a player that has been waiting in the wings all season and has been hyped up by the media and by the coaching staff as a quarterback with a big arm that likes to get the ball down the field. He would come at a discounted price but you would have to get 100% confirmation that he was in line to start to pull the trigger. It will be as important as ever to follow the news cycle this week and hear what the coaches are saying and most importantly wait for the official word as the teams announce their active roster list right before kickoff.
Chris Feery: If the Rams do in fact rest starters this week, I’ll be giving some serious consideration to running a contrarian GPP lineup with Sean Mannion at quarterback. Head coach Sean McVay has spearheaded one of the most impressive turnarounds in recent memory, and the clubs electric offense is one of the key drivers of that. While there’s obviously a drop off in productivity when the backups get involved, you can rest assured that McVay will have the troops properly motivated. The 49ers have been playing much better as the season winds down, but there’s nothing to suggest that Mannion can’t engineer a few scoring drives during his moment in the sun.
Justin Howe: When backups are introduced in this manner, I’m only interested in the ones I know are going to touch the ball (see: QBs and RBs). I’ve been burned by a handful of Andre Holmes types that draw hype but still can’t get active or productive by Week 17.
John brought up Trey Burton, who’s the crown jewel of the Eagles game. But for even deeper contrarian purposes, I’m looking at rookie wideout Mack Hollins. He dazzled in the preseason and has averaged 23 snaps over the past 5 weeks. Ertz, Alshon Jeffery, and company will barely see the field, if at all, and Hollins has a nice path to 6+ targets. Given his Miles Austin-esque big-play ability – check out the stiff-arm on his preseason touchdown – he could turn that into something worthwhile at the salary minimum.
