We are officially at Week 11 of the 2018 NFL regular season, which means the fantasy football playoffs are right around the corner.
However, for those fantasy football owners who are completely out of the playoff race, especially in keeper leagues, you are playing out the string and seeing which players are worth keeping around for the 2019 season.
This season, we have seen more than a few young players come on to the scene and put together some nice performances on a weekly basis. These players were not must adds to start the season, but are showing their worth and potential for next season.
Who are these players that I’m speaking of? None other than rookie wide receivers Christian Kirk and Marquez Valdes-Scantling.
Both of these wide receivers are not WR1 selections yet, but could be very nice WR2 options in the foreseeable future.
In regards to Kirk, he was drafted in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft out of Texas A&M and known for particularly for his speed. The 5-foot-11 wideout started the season as Arizona’s third/fourth wide receiver option with veteran Larry Fitzgerald and second-year guy Chad Williams as the top options.
However, as things have developed with offensive coordinator Mike McCoy being fired and fellow rookie quarterback Josh Rosen being named the starter, Kirk has seen an uptick in production. In Week 3 against the Bears, the former Texas A&M standout put together a solid stat line with seven receptions (eight targets) for 90 yards.
Even though he did not reach the end zone against Chicago, Kirk ended up scoring nine points. But two weeks later against NFC West rival, the San Francisco 49ers, the rookie found the end zone and had three receptions (four targets) for 85 yards.
That performance against the Niners equaled out to his best fantasy football output to date with 15 points. Since then, Kirk has been targeted at least 6.5 times per game in the Cardinals’ last four games.
With Fitzgerald possibly hanging up the cleats after this season, it is clear that Rosen has found himself another receiving target, outside of dynamic running back David Johnson.
Along those same lines, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has also found another receiving target in Valdes-Scantling, who is becoming a fantasy football sleeper for a lot of owners this season. Valdes-Scantling, unlike Kirk, was drafted in the fifth round of the 2018 NFL Draft.
Heading into this season, Valdes-Scantling was not on the radar of many football fans as he was tucked away deep on the Packers’ roster. But with injuries to Geronimo Allison (IR) and Randall Cobb, it created an opportunity for the rookie wideout from the Univ. of South Florida to shine.
And to his credit, Valdes-Scantling did not miss his chance to make an impact. Against the Detroit Lions in Week 5, the 6-foot-4 wideout had his coming out party, racking up seven receptions (10 receptions) for 68 yards and a touchdown.
That performance netted him 12.8 fantasy points, which is good for a guy that was only projected to score 16.3 points all season. After his breakout Week 5 debut, Valdes-Scantling posted three-straight games of at least 10.3 fantasy points.
Last week against the Miami Dolphins, he failed to reach the 10-point mark but did reel in six receptions (seven targets) for 44 yards. Just like Kirk, it appears that the youngster is building a rapport with Rodgers, which is good for the Packers and fantasy football owners. Over the last four weeks, MVS is averaging six targets per game, which is only second behind Davante Adams (9.8).
Nevertheless, both Kirk and Valdes-Scantling will be enticing FLEX and WR2 options for the rest of the season, depending on how deep your league is. If these two guys are somehow still available in your respective fantasy football league, you should probably snatch them up.
You can get the most bang for your fantasy buck right now at FantasyDraft.com.
