The quickest way to fall behind in a fantasy football league is to become complacent and rely on the team you drafted, neglecting the all-important waiver wire. As managers make numerous waiver claims for Week 7, hoping to strengthen their roster, should Deon Jackosn or Phillip Lindsay be a priority addition off the waiver wire at Tennessee?
Deon Jackson Has a Career Day in Week 6
When an unproven player is thrust into a prominent role due to injuries, it’s hard to feel 100% confident about what they will look like out there. After all, you have to have the skill set to take advantage of the opportunity. Otherwise, you end up with a goose egg on your fantasy football roster for the week.
Safe to say Deon Jackson more than proved his worth to the Indianapolis Colts and to any fantasy manager who was daring enough to start him last week. Jackson finished as the No. 1 scoring running back last week (28.1 PPR), rushing 12 times for 42 yards with a touchdown, and caught a staggering 10 receptions for 79 yards. Those are eye-popping numbers.
With Jonathan Taylor and Nyheim Hines ruled out, if not for Jackson’s success, it’s doubtful the Colts walk away with the win, and the same goes for fantasy managers, who were using him as a bye-week fill-in. Funny enough, this was the most fantasy points scored by a Colts RB since Week 11 of last season.
Phillip Lindsay Also Saw a Fair Share of Snaps on Sunday
Jackson was not the only RB out there for the Colts, however. Phillip Lindsay, a former back-to-back 1000-yard rusher, also chipped in on the action. Albeit at a smaller roll.
Jackson dominated the snaps, doubling Lindsay’s 27 snaps with 54. The former led 33 to 12 on early downs, three to one on the goal line, and saw 100% of the short-yardage situations. However, Lindsay did have the upper hand in the two-minute drill, receiving 11 snaps, primarily in the fourth quarter when Jackson left the game early due to a quad injury.
In total, Lindsay rushed three times for seven yards and hauled in all three of his targets for five more yards. Unfortunately, there was little fantasy upside there, and I’m not sure that changes in Week 7, especially if the Colts get healthier.
Could Jonathan Taylor or Nyheim Hines Play Against Tennessee in Week 7?
Indianapolis played the long game with Taylor last week. Despite practicing in a limited fashion both Thursday and Friday, the Colts clearly felt it wasn’t time to push Taylor out there as no one matters more on that team than he does. That was his second consecutive missed game, but the fact he was able to practice suggests there’s a possibility he plays this week.
Of the two, Hines was the closest to playing last week. He was able to ditch the red practice no-contact jersey on Friday but was unable to clear the final stage of the league’s hotly debated concussion protocol.
With the way things are going right now, I’m not even going to begin to speculate whether or not Hines will play this week. Your guess is as good as mine when it comes to conclusions at the moment, given the spotlight that has been placed on them in recent weeks. But what I would say is that he is only rostered in half of fantasy football leagues (51.7%) and would be worth consideration as well.
Should You Pick up Deon Jackson or Phillip Lindsay Off the Week 7 Waiver Wire as They Take on the Titans?
If you saw our recommendations last week, you are already ahead of the game since Jackson was a recommended pickup. But don’t worry, he’s only rostered in 35% of leagues, so the majority of you should be able to acquire him.
I don’t think there are any must-add players off the waiver wire this week. It’s the universe’s way of balancing out after giving us a plethora of top-tier options last week, including Rhamondre Stevenson and Kenneth Walker III.
However, I would add Jackson to the list of pickups for this week alongside his teammate, Alec Pierce, and New York Giants wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson.
MORE: Fantasy Football Sleepers Week 7
With that said, if the Colts get healthier, Jackson’s upside significantly plummets. If it’s Taylor, he’s going to see 20+ touches, so you can almost drop Jackson. If it’s Hines who returns, Jackson should still see some carries but won’t come anywhere near the same level of PPR upside as he had last week.
Unlike last week, this is also a harder test. The Titans are third in rushing DVOA and have allowed the fifth-fewest points for running backs so far this year at 17.82 PPR on average. Part of that is because they have also faced the fewest amount of rushes since they can be exploited in the air. They’re also coming into Week 7 rested off of a bye week.
In all likelihood, I don’t think lightning strikes twice. I find it more likely that we do see Taylor’s return, and even if they ease him back in, it’s hard to see Jackson carrying anything more than RB4 upside in Week 7. But if you do have a spare roster spot sitting open right now, I could see the logic in adding him in the hopes that the Colts sit Taylor for one more week.