Another low-scoring Sunday for fantasy football gave way to several players who came in as top performers under-the-radar.
It’s time to start taking these players more seriously in your fantasy football league. Here’s the best under-the-radar players who you should start owning based on their ability this season to score points.
Josh McCown, Cleveland Browns, 35.48
We told you we liked McCown more than Johnny Manziel. But even we’re extremely surprised in McCown’s performance during the last three games.
The Cleveland quarterback led the Browns to an overtime victory against Baltimore on Sunday, which has all but ended the Ravens’ season.
Maybe his recent totals have more to do with the San Diego, Oakland and Baltimore defenses, but if you’ve watched the Browns play during the last three weeks, it looks like a potent offense. McCown has plenty of time to throw and when the Ravens brought pressure this week, he bought time and found an open receiver.
In the last three weeks, he’s thrown more than 300 yards, with 457 yards passing against Baltimore. The Ravens pass defense has been leaky throughout the season, so that should worry Baltimore, but we’re still encouraged by McCown’s ability to bring his team back and orchestrate touchdown drives.
During his last three starts, he’s thrown six touchdowns compared to one interception. He’s still not owned likely in several fantasy football leagues, but he should start getting more looks based on the Browns looking for real on the offensive end.
Doug Martin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 33.80 points
It’s time to start paying attention to Martin again.
He turned in the best performance as a running back this week with more than 30 points in a win against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday.
This is the second straight week where Martin has scored 20 or more points in fantasy football. In the last two weeks, he has 106 and 123 yards rushing, to go along with four total touchdowns.
What’s most impressive from his recent performances is that these are happening against solid rush defenses. Carolina and Jacksonville are two of the best defenses in the NFL against the run, but Martin against those defenses has looked much like he did during his rookie season.
Martin has been off-the-radar this season, but with these recent performances, he should earn a regular start on your fantasy football team.
Willie Snead, New Orleans Saints, 14.10 points
The rookie wide receiver isn’t having any problems in the New Orleans offense.
He hauled in a team-high 11 targets Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles, netting 141 yards. This makes two weeks in a row where he has had quality outings. Last week, he racked up 89 yards receiving on six catches, and he’s quickly becoming a focal point of this offense.
He only has one touchdown catch, but with that many targets, he should start seeing more starts on fantasy football rosters. The Saints will be playing from behind often this season, so he should be rack up the fantasy football points going forward.
Gary Barnidge, Cleveland Browns, 19.90 points
We were skeptical about Barnidge. Sure, he totaled two good performances in the previous two weeks against Oakland and San Diego, but we all know how bad the Raiders have been against tight ends this season, and the Chargers’ defense has been rough against the pass at times this season.
Now, though, we’re beginning to believe in Barnidge and the Browns offense.
He was a regular target of McCown on Sunday against Baltimore, and hauled in eight catches on 10 targets. He pulled in 139 yards receiving and one touchdown to give him his third consecutive game with double-digit fantasy football points.
He’s likely not owned in your fantasy football league, so he will be the hot item on the waiver wire this week. The defenses will get better with games against Arizona, Denver, St. Louis and Cincinnati, but Barnidge is worth keeping an eye on this season.
