Expect the New England Patriots to lean on a combination of Chris Hogan and Cordarrelle Patterson to help replace Josh Gordon, who was suspended indefinitely once again by the NFL Thursday for violating the conditions of his most recent reinstatement for repeated substance-abuse violations.
Of course, those are the secondary reinforcements, following Gronk, slot stud Julian Edelman and seemingly forgotten RB James White. We bumped up Gronk a ton this week vs. his hometown team, and Edelman (WR12), who's averaging a little more than six catches and 71 yards on nine targets since returning from his own suspension. Similarly, we gave White a healthy uptick in our RB rankings, from FLEX range back into the RB2-sphere this week.
What about Hogan and Patterson? Coincidentally, Hogan had his best fantasy outing Sunday since Week 2, turning three targets into two catches and 68 yards — including a 63-yard touchdown. That's the kind of explosive scoring upside the Patriots lost in Gordon, and since Patterson remains a gadget player, albeit a formidable one, we anticipate the former Bill Hogan sliding back into the full-time role he'd relinquished over the previous month vs. his former team. He's steeped in this offense longer than Patterson and remained a starter initially after Gordon's arrival.
Patterson and fellow former first-rounder Phillip Dorsett are unique players but not what Gordon owners should consider pivoting to in Championship Week. If they're mulling Hogan in his #revengegame as a possible WR3/FLEX, we could think of much worse options. He missed both games against the Bills last season but turned each of his targets in Buffalo in Week 8 into explosive grabs, totaling 49 yards, and even in the wake of Gordon's exit, this could still be a get-well-game for New England's offense.
Take a look at our full Championship Week RB rankings, which include a few links to our other Week 16 fantasy resources and will be updated prior to kickoff between Washington and Tennessee on Saturday afternoon:
1. DeAndre Hopkins, Texans at Eagles
2. Antonio Brown, Steelers vs. Saints
3. Davante Adams, Packers at Jets
4. Julio Jones, Falcons at Panthers
5. Michael Thomas, Saints vs. Steelers
6. Tyreek Hill, Chiefs at Seahawks
7. Amari Cooper, Cowboys vs. Bucs
8. Adam Thielen, Vikings at Lions
9. JuJu Smith-Schuster, Steelers at Saints
10. T.Y. Hilton, Colts vs. Giants
11. Brandin Cooks, Rams at Cardinals
12. Julian Edelman, Patriots vs. Bills
13. Keenan Allen, Chargers vs. Ravens
14. Robert Woods, Rams at Cardinals
15. Stefon Diggs, Vikings at Lions
16. Tyler Lockett, Seahawks vs. Chiefs
17. Mike Evans, Bucs at Cowboys
18. Doug Baldwin, Seahawks vs. Chiefs
19. Alshon Jeffery, Eagles vs. Texans
20. Jarvis Landry, Browns vs. Bengals
21. Corey Davis, Titans vs. Washington
22. Mike Williams, Chargers vs. Ravens
23. Allen Robinson, Bears at 49ers
24. Courtland Sutton, Broncos at Raiders
25. Robby Anderson, Jets vs. Packers
26. Josh Reynolds, Rams at Cardinals
27. Kenny Golladay, Lions vs. Vikings
28. Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinals vs. Rams
29. Robert Foster, Bills at Patriots
30. D.J. Moore, Panthers vs. Falcons
31. Dante Pettis, 49ers vs. Bears
32. Demaryius Thomas, Texans at Eagles
33. Calvin Ridley, Falcons at Panthers
34. Sterling Shepard, Giants at Colts
35. Chris Hogan, Patriots vs. Bills
36. DaeSean Hamilton, Broncos at Raiders
37. Willie Snead, Ravens at Chargers
38. Adam Humphries, Bucs at Cowboys
39. DeSean Jackson, Bucs at Cowboys
40. Antonio Callaway, Browns vs. Bengals
41. Dede Westbrook, Jaguars vs. Dolphins
42. Curtis Samuel, Panthers vs. Falcons
43. John Brown, Ravens at Chargers
44. Jamison Crowder, Washington at Titans
45. Isaiah McKenzie, Bills at Patriots
46. Danny Amendola, Dolphins vs. Jaguars
47. Golden Tate, Eagles vs. Texans
48. Donte Moncrief, Jaguars vs. Dolphins
49. Jordy Nelson, Raiders vs. Broncos
50. John Ross, Bengals at Browns
51. Taylor Gabriel, Bears at 49ers
52. Chris Conley, Chiefs at Seahawks
53. Kenny Stills, Dolphins vs. Jaguars
54. David Moore, Seahawks vs. Chiefs
55. Tre'Quan Smith, Saints vs. Steelers
56. Josh Doctson, Washington at Titans
57. Michael Gallup, Cowboys vs. Bucs
58. Mohamed Sanu, Falcons at Panthers
59. DeVante Parker, Dolphins vs. Jaguars
60. Breshad Perriman, Browns vs. Bengals
61. Chris Godwin, Bucs at Cowboys
62. Cordarrelle Patterson, Patriots vs. Bills
63. Seth Roberts, Raiders vs. Broncos
64. Jermaine Kearse, Jets vs. Packers
65. Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Packers at Jets
Not listed because of injury: Odell Beckham Jr., Sammy Watkins, Randall Cobb
The author
No comments: