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Dynasty Fantasy Football Players to Watch: Wild Card Round
WR Luther Burden III, Chicago Bears
Luther Burden’s rookie season started slowly. Through his first eight games, Burden averaged just 2.25 goals per game. However, since Week 11, Burden has seen at least five goals in six of seven games and is averaging six goals per game. Some of this increase in usage was due in part to an injury to teammate Rome Odunze, who has not played for the Bears since Week 13. But Burden still excelled in his new opportunities, finishing as a top 24 wide receiver in three of the seven games since Week 11. This includes an overall WR1 finish in Week 17, where Burden scored 27.8 fantasy points by catching eight passes for 138 yards and a touchdown.
With Rome Odunze expected to return against the Packers during Wild Card Weekend, it is a fair question whether Burden’s role will continue at the end of the season. If Burden takes a back seat, his dynasty value will likely remain flat or take a slight hit; However, if Burden surpasses Odunze in the target pecking order or simply outpaces Odunze, his dynasty value could skyrocket. The last time Burden played against the Packers, he scored 11 fantasy points, finishing the week as the WR25. Burden also has just one fewer weekly top 24 wide receiver finish on the season compared to Odunze. That the Bears would make Burden a priority in the passing game wouldn’t be shocking given his recent production and the fact that he has been a very efficient player, averaging 2.79 yards per route (third among qualified wide receivers).
This could be your last chance to buy low on Luther Burden.
TE Colston Loveland, Chicago Bears
Another Bears rookie who excelled as the season progressed was first-round rookie tight end Colston Loveland. Loveland, like fellow rookie teammate Burden, started his season slowly. Until week 7, he failed to reach a fast share of 60% or more. It wasn’t until week 8 that he also ran more than 15 routes in a game. But as of Week 8, Colston Loveland was the TE2 in total fantasy points. Loveland is coming off two straight games in which he scored more than 20 fantasy points, seeing double-digit targets in each game. During the season, Loveland was a very efficient starting producer, finishing in the top 12 among all tight ends in Production Premium, Target Premium and Explosive Rating.
Loveland now faces the Packers for the third time this season. In Loveland’s most recent game against Green Bay, he was targeted sparingly in Week 16, seeing four goals and scoring just 6.0 fantasy points. However, in Week 14, he saw five targets and finished with 12.9 fantasy points, thanks in part to a one-yard touchdown. Loveland will also face more competition with the return of Rome Odunze; However, Odunze is used more downfield, with a Deep Target Share of 40.4% compared to Loveland’s Deep Target Share of 12%. Essentially, the players are used differently on the field, meaning Odunze’s return should have minimal impact on Loveland’s usage. Loveland could enter the Trey McBride level of dynasty tight ends if he continues to see double figures in the playoffs.
WR Jayden Higgins, Houston Texans
Jayden Higgins has disappointed many dynasty players with his lack of production this season. The second-round rookie was stuck in a wide receiver rotation that only allowed him to play on 58.8% of Houston’s offensive snaps. With this kind of playing time, uneven results followed. Higgins only had three games where he finished as a top 24 wide receiver or better. His only top 12 finish of the season came in Week 17 against the Chargers. He still only saw four targets in that game, catching two passes for 88 yards and a touchdown.
Stock from the Higgins dynasty should improve next season, with many of his wide receiver teammates set to become free agents. However, his dynasty stock could explode as soon as this week with the Steelers as his opponent. Pittsburgh has the fourth-worst passing defense in the league, giving up an average of 244.9 passing yards per game. This is a defense that was just torched last week by field stretcher Devontez Walker. It consistently gave up WR1 weeks to opponents throughout the season. If Higgins can exploit this porous secondary power, the value of his dynasty will rise much sooner than expected.
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