Hayden Winks Fantasy Analyst Fri, October 30, 2026 at 6:58 PM UTC · 6 min read About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement We have five Yahoo rankers every week , and this column will look at five of the buzziest names of the week. I'm looking for players where there is real disagreement, and I'm using a little something called "coefficient of variation" to help me find just that. These rankings will be tinkered all the way until kickoff, so please check back in on our weekly rankings pages and Sunday AM sit/start show for the absolute latest.
These blurbs are also in The Blueprint, which is my weekly rankings and analysis column. The RB version is out on Wednesdays, while t he WR version and the QB/TE/K/DEF version are each out on Thursdays before Thursday Night Football.
Brown has been a total fantasy football bust, and a lot of it is just his fault. The Bengals OL looks good, and Samaje Perine is making plays. Brown isn't. He's turned RB12 expected half PPR points into RB24 production this year. Just this month, that's tanked to RB36 on RB22 usage. If not for averaging 4.7 receptions per game as a PPR scam, Brown would be useless in fantasy.
Last week, Brown had a stiff arm in the flats and didn't fumble, but there was a concerning sequence. He was on the field for Mike Gesicki's in-end-zone defensive pass interference, and Perine was subbed in for a successful goal-line carry the play afterwards. That was strictly a coaching decision and the difference in six fantasy points. It's getting harder to see the "buy low" advice proving sharp at this point, but this is also one of the only offenses that we can bank on being a threat to lead the week in points every week. I'd rather lean into that.
The Titans rank 13th in fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs at 20.3 half PPR points per game, but they have shown stark splits. Tennessee sits eighth in points allowed to RB rushing while ranking 27th against RB receiving, allowing just 4.9 points per game through the air. Cincinnati enters with the league's highest neutral pass rate at 65% (first), but Brown's receiving upside is when Cincy is trailing. The Bengals are 10-point home favorites with an implied team total of 28.25 points (third). Hopefully things even out with red zone scores. The team total is certainly on his side for a bounce back spot.
Brissett is not creating, nor is pushing the ball enough to be trusted week to week. That said, Brissett is functional enough to soak up garbage time stats when the opposing defense is leaky. He has been the QB5 against the 49ers and QB7 against the Lions this season, while predictably stinking it up against SEA, LAC, LAR, and DEN. The hope is that Jeremiyah Love is back so they can start phasing out the Tyler Allgeier runs, and eventually these 50/50 balls to Michael Wilson will result in big plays instead of incompletions.
This week's matchup against the Cowboys falls into the leaking bucket. And it's overflowing. They've allowed 20.3 fantasy points per game to QBs (9th) with countless coverages busts in an inexperienced defense that is featuring rookies and a first-time play caller. Offenses have thrown on just 44% of their neutral situations against Dallas (32nd), but the Cardinals likely won't have that luxury here. Jordan Love (QB5) and CJ Stroud (QB4) lit it up through the air and Jalon Daniels pulled off the upset in Week 5 against them. Arizona heads on the road as 6.5-point road underdogs with an implied total of 24 points (12th).
Corum has been the RB15, RB14 and RB15 in his last three games. He set a new season high with 14 expected half PPR points (RB15) without Davante Adams, while rotating drives with Kyren Williams as usual. The Rams will flirt with record usage of 3-TE sets moving forward, and they may run more in the red zone, helping Corum on the margins. As usual, Corum is best when the Rams are up on the scoreboard, as Williams is far more involved as a receiver while trailing.
The Chargers rank ninth in half PPR points allowed to opposing running backs at 21.6 points per game, though they are much friendlier on the ground (sixth-most points allowed) than through the air (25th). Opposing lead backs have capitalized recently, including Kenneth Walker III (RB1) and Emanuel Wilson (RB6). The Rams feature a 63% neutral pass rate (third), and they are 6.5-point home favorites with an implied total of 25.5 points (seventh).
Cooper is a real player. His first-round draft capital and early returns this year are overwhelming. He's the leader in yards per route if you lower the minimum thresholds for snaps, and the Jets are using him both as underneath and downfield threat. That gives him a path to weekly ceilings, as we've seen in back-to-back outings finishing as the WR6 and WR7 overall. The best receivers in the league tend to start out strong, and it's best to take the efficiency signal as the reason to believe.
The reason to not believe is the realistic target volume with Garrett Wilson, AD Mitchell, two quality TEs and two quality RBs in the offense. This season, the Jets are only 30th in WR usage per my model, partially because of their big players stealing extra work in the red zone. The Jets defense can also stay on the field, lowering the Jets play volume on occasion. Wilson and Breece Hall could be traded, but while they are both on the roster, it's hard to feel great about the underlying usage. Cooper has been the WR31 and WR33 in expected half PPR points in the last two weeks, both of which were losses in positive game script for him.
If there's a player to buy low on the Chargers, it's McConkey. His health scares have been unfair this season, and while his size and history of lingering issues have dated back to college, it's unlikely that his season involves this many half games. He had the bye week to rest, and now the Chargers appear to be set for relentless second half catch up scripts. That includes this week agains the Rams, who are touchdown favorites. Los Angeles' defensive line is very banged up, so that partially counters the Chargers' glaring OL problems.
McConkey has a 1.94 yards per route this year, which is enough to be a fantasy starter. We saw this in Week 1 before this hellish season showed up when he was the WR9 on WR14 usage. They won't return to those numbers, but I doubt McConkey will stay buried in the WR30s for the rest of the year. The hope is out of the bye that they dropback more often after being bottom-five in neutral pass rate to start the season. Those runs, obviously, went nowhere.
Source: Sports
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