Happy Halloween! It's trade deadline day in the NFL and a couple teams have made some moves to bolster their rosters. First of all the Seattle Seahawks traded away a corner back Jeremy Lane, a 2018 first-round draft pick, and a second-round pick in 2019 for Houston Texans offensive lineman Duane Brown. The Philadelphia Eagles also went shopping as they acquired bell-cow running back Jay Ajayi for a 2018 fourth-round draft pick.

These deals carry great significance for specific players on your fantasy rosters. The addition of Duane Brown for Russell Wilson, the wide receivers, and running game could loom large in their continued production as it'll allow Wilson better protection.

Owners of LeGarrett Blount and Wendall Smallwood should be concerned as their rolls will likely diminish. As for Jay Ajayi it'll take him a little bit of time to get accustomed to Philly and their offense but should help take some pressure off of quarterback Carson Wentz.

For what is left in Miami, it'll now be the Damien Williams/Kenyan Drake show and perspective owners should see an uptick in their production.

As far as bye's go this week we've got our final week of having six teams with a week off. This week the teams that are off include:

  • Chicago Bears
  • Cleveland Browns
  • New England Patroits
  • Pittsburgh Steelers
  • Los Angeles Chargers
  • Minnesota Vikings

Let's look at how we can fill the many voids on your roster.

Running Backs:

Alex Collins (BAL, 32% Owned in ESPN Leagues)

Head coach John Harbaugh came out and basically stated that the lead running back roll has been won by Alex Collins and with his robust 6 yards per carry average how could you blame him? In an offense struggling for weapons, he's proven to be the most consistent and should definitely be on your radar this week. This isn't a team who produces big plays, only 15 such plays of 20 yards or more, however Collins has five of those and will look to continue his strong play against Tennessee in Week 9.

Damien Williams/Kenyan Drake (MIA, 0.3% Owned/0.4% Owned)

After the Tuesday trade of lead running back in Miami, Jay Ajayi, things will open up for either Damien Williams or Kenyan Drake. I would give Williams the first crack at the lead back role as he's more established and actually scored six touchdowns last season. On the flip side, Drake will see an increased roll in an offense that Head Coach Adam Gase called the worst in the league. I don't know how much of an impact either of these guys will have but they should be on your radar moving forward to see which one emerges.

Alfred Morris (DAL, 30% Owned)

Fantasy players have been prepping themselves for this moment for weeks now, the time where Ezekiel Elliott will actually serve his six game suspension. The time seems like it's now for the second year back and in turn that'll allow back-up running back Alfred Morris the opportunity to run behind this excellent offensive line. Darren McFadden and Rod Smith will be in the mix but I suspect Morris will handle the lead back duties or at least have the first crack at it. If he or McFadden are still available on your leagues waiver wire and you need running back help, as most of us do, take a flyer on them.

 

Wide Receiver:

TJ Jones (DET, 1% Owned)

Over the first two years of his career TJ Jones wasn't much of a factor in the Lions passing attack, but now in his third year he seems to be garnering more attention from quarterback Matthew Stafford. Over his first two years he averaged 2.5 targets per game but this year he's bumped up to 4.7 targets per contest. This number has seen a drastic increase over the past two weeks in particular where Stafford has looked his way 17 times. I don't exactly know what kind of production you can expect from him the remainder of the year but he'll be facing an underwhelming Green Bay Packers secondary that's allowing over 220 passing yards per game. If you're looking for a sneaky bye-week plug and play this week I'd suggest TJ Jones.

 

Tight Ends:

Jack Doyle (IND, 40% Owned)

The Indianapolis Colts tight end has been putting out some quality production for fantasy owners of late. Jack Doyle has come down with an average of about 8 receptions per game over his last three games and he exploded last week for 121 yards on 12 catches and a touchdown last week. He seems to be a security blanket of sorts for young quarterback Jacoby Brissett and believe that'll continue this week against the Houston Texans.

Tyler Kroft (CIN, 37% Owned)

Tyler Kroft continues to be a steady option in the passing game for the Cincinnati Bengals filling in for Tyler Eifert. Last week he continued his steady ways, hauling in five of six passes for 46 yards. He's not as explosive as Eifert but he's dependable and is a threat when the offense gets down inside the red-zone. A lot of the time you're just looking for dependability out of the tight end spot and if you can grab a touchdown or two that's just gravy. With Tyler Kroft that's exactly what you should expect week in and week out.

 

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