By , John Halpin
Published December 22, 2015
A popular, snide comment from football media on Monday was, "We don't care how Odell Beckham Jr.'s suspension will affect your fantasy football team!" Well, this is a fantasy football blog, and we definitely care about this important matter. It's the week of your fantasy championship game, and Beckham's likely absence will hurt your chances.
(Note: Beckham will appeal his suspension, but you should plan to be without him for Week 16.)
If you don't think your bench options are sufficient to replace Beckham, Seattle's Tyler Lockett (owned in 34.2 percent of FOXSports.com leagues) should be your first free-agent target. Lockett has caught 18 passes for 249 yards and three touchdowns in his last three games; it's almost as if Russell Wilson discovered him when Jimmy Graham got hurt.
Other possibilities are Markus Wheaton (21.9 percent owned), DeVante Parker (10.6 percent owned), Dorial Green-Beckham (5.9 percent owned) and Jared Abbrederis (0.3 percent owned), about whom Aaron Rodgers said Monday, "He can get open ... he needs to be on the field more." After Lockett, Wheaton is next on my list. Wheaton exploded for a 9-201-1 day in Week 12, and has posted a solid 13-177-2 line in three games since.
If you look to other Giants' wideouts, it's tough to tell if Eli Manning will feed Rueben Randle or Dwayne Harris, or even start targeting Hakeem Nicks more. Randle (14.4 percent owned) is the one to get if you're desperate, but he's behind Lockett, Wheaton and maybe Parker from the list above.
In other news ...
Bills RB LeSean McCoy (knee) probably won't play this week. This seems like a good opportunity for Karlos Williams to return to fantasy prominence, but note that Mike Gillislee has been running well. The two could share duties, and while I'd still look to Williams as an RB2, Gillislee could eat into his workload.
Andrew Luck (kidney) has been ruled out for Week 16, and backup Matt Hasselbeck (back) might not play either. We could see Charlie Whitehurst in Miami.
Titans QB Marcus Mariota (knee) will not play in Week 16. If you've been using Mariota, consider Kirk Cousins (22.7 percent owned) or Teddy Bridgewater (36.1 percent owned) as replacements. I'm not simply chasing Bridgewater's big Week 15 performance - he's playing against the Giants, who can't stop anyone through the air. I'd prefer Cousins, though.
Haven't seen anything new on Bengals TE Tyler Eifert (concussion). Let's see if he practices Wednesday.
Hey, Alshon Jeffery (hamstring) is hurt again. Can you believe it? Yes? OK. His status for Sunday is TBD.
Not that you're starting Chargers RB Melvin Gordon any more, but he'll miss the final two games of the season with a knee injury. Fill-in Donald Brown, who ran 12 times for 90 yards on Sunday, is widely available.
The Panthers didn't offer an update Monday on RB Jonathan Stewart (foot), so Cameron Artis-Payne might get another opportunity. Artis-Payne ran 14 times for 59 yards against the Giants, but was on the field for just 31 of 77 snaps, so expecting his workload to increase might not be realistic.
The Patriots think WR Danny Amendola (knee) will be ready for the playoffs, but that doesn't help his fantasy owners. Since the Pats can't throw to James White on every play, Brandon LaFell could see more targets. I wonder if they'll use Leonard Hankerson in the slot, too.
In other news from New England, the Pats have reportedly signed RB Steven Jackson, but he's too late to help your fantasy fortunes.
Kellen Moore will start at QB for the Cowboys, while former Cowboy Brandon Weeden gets the start for the Texans. It's time for the regular season to end.
Remember that there are games on Thursday (Chargers-Raiders) and Saturday (Redskins-Eagles). Set your lineups accordingly.
This blog will not publish on Friday, since it's Christmas and all. If you have questions about lineups, news, pickups, etc., send me a tweet (@jhalpin37), or find me on Facebook. Good luck in your fantasy title game!
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/nfl-quick-hits-replacing-obj-in-fantasy-football