Nothing is ever easy in fantasy football, and that's what makes it fun. Whether it be injuries, poor matchups or underperformance it's rare that we can count on starting the same players week-in-and-week-out. Sometimes we have to scrape the bottom of the barrel for options in good spots that given week for a desperation play.
Here we will look at five candidates each week, one or two from each of the four fantasy-relevant positions that make good spot starts in their upcoming games. These players are widely available on league waiver wires or sitting on the end of your beach, but whether by newfound opportunity or a good matchup, present sneaky value for the coming week.
Jay Cutler, QB, Chicago Bears (1.7 percent owned)
Cutty's back. Deal with it. The mercurial veteran quarterback was actually quite solid in his return to the starting lineup against the vaunted Vikings defense. Jay Culter completed 64.5 percent of his passes and posted a 100.5 passer rating in Week 8.
In Week 10 Cutler draws a far more favorable matchup with the Buccaneers in Tampa Bay. Over their last two games, both at home, Tampa Bay allowed 857 passing yards. That's almost a full 200 yards more than the Panthers, who allowed the second-most yardage in the same span. In the last four weeks of the season the Bucs allowed a 9-1 touchdown to interception ratio.
Both the Bucs and Bears offense feature aggressive quarterbacks facing suspect defenses. If the two are forced to take chase to the air, Cutler has the matchup advantage, especially with a healthy and locked-in Alshon Jeffery.
Kapri Bibbs, RB, Denver Broncos (0.4 percent owned)
Long-time respected Broncos beat writer Mike Klis intimated on Monday that Kapri Bibbs has a chance ot take the lead role in Denver's backfield from rookie Devontae Booker. It hasn't been a great two-week showing from Booker in his efforts to replace C.J. Anderson as the feature back. Booker has 35 touches over the last two weeks, but averaged a collective 2.5 yards per rush and overall hasn't been a net positive for an offense that needs a run game to sustain their movement.
You can question the move all you want, but if Bibbs is indeed going to approach or pass a 50 percent share of the touches in this backfield, he is squarely on our radars. The Broncos travel to the Superdome where not only do the Saints put up points in bunches, they bring their opponents out of their shell, as well. New Orleans gives up 95.3 rushing yards per game on the season, but have been especially roasted through the air of late. The Saints allowed a league-high 235 receiving yards to running backs over the last month. Don't forget that it was a 69-yard can and run for a touchdown that got Bibbs into position to take this job in the first place.
J.J. Nelson, WR, Arizona Cardinals (2.9 percent owned)
As their bye week began, Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians confirmed that J.J. Nelson was now a starter in the three-wide receiver set, and someone would have to take the job from him. It certainly won't be Michael Floyd, whose 44 percent catch rate ranks 84th out of 87 receivers with 30-plus targets this year.
Nelson already showed great potential in his first two games with a heavy workload, including Week 8 when he led the Cardinals in wide receiver snaps. In Weeks 7 and 8 Nelson owned a 40 percent share of Arizona's intended air yards, whereas Floyd owned just a 19 percent share over the course of the entire season.
Rishard Matthews, WR, Tennessee Titans (6.4 percent owned)
Over the last five weeks no player has more touchdowns than Rishard Matthews, who is tied with Mike Evans for a league-high five receiving touchdowns over that span. While he's only hit 70 yards receiving in just one of those games, he's been a boss in scoring position. All five of those aforementioned touchdowns have come in the red zone, where Matthews trails only DeMarco Murray in targets seven to five.
Matthews' 100 percent conversion rate inside the 20-yard line is just screaming for some regression, but it also looks like his playing time is on the rise. His snaps share has gone up every game the last four weeks with 40, 67, 88 and 89 percent from Weeks 6 through 9. The Packers should be able to put up points on the Titans, forcing Tennessee into more of a pass-heavy game script. In that case, Matthews
Lance Kendricks, TE, Los Angeles Rams (4.3 percent owned)
The tight end position is a mess, and while using Lance Kendricks after a 12-target, 90-yard day may feel like chasing points, we don't have much in the way of real alternatives. Kendricks' playing time is at a pristine level, as he's played 86 percent of the team snaps their last three games. He's been out on the field plenty, and last week showed us he has the volume upside we look for. The Jets are weak in the secondary and rank an average-level 15th at defending the tight end positon in Football Outsiders' DVOA metrics.
Matt Harmon is an associate fantasy writer/editor for NFL.com, and the creator of #ReceptionPerception, who you can follow on Twitter _@MattHarmonBYB_ or like on Facebook.
