Isaiah McKenzie (WR), Jerick McKinnon (RB52) and J.D. McKissic (RB40). All three find themselves in intriguing situations. Currently all are available later in drafts and I believe all three return bye week filler numbers in ten man leagues and could be startedin twelve man or deeper.
McKenzie is the next man up for serious targets should something happen to Diggs or Davis. He is also currently battling, and winning, the Buffalo slot receiver job. I honestly believe he has a ton of value beyond that which is why I have him ranked where I do. McKenzie proved last year that he can beat man coverage when filling in for Beasley. We saw this on display when he torched the Patriots. He averaged 1.46 yards of separation which would have put him just behind AJ Brown and ahead of Mike Williams.
McKinnon finds himself in an intriguing situation. Edwards-Helaire just never seems to be doing himself any favors. There isn’t a running back on this roster that has the receiving talent that McKinnon does; Edwards-Helaire has averaged 2.3 catches and 18.5 receiving yards per a game in his NFL career and Isiah Pacheco is basically a non-factor in the receiving game with only 47 career catches at Rutgers over four seasons. McKinnon in games he’ll played more than 30% of snaps is averaging 4.3 receptions and 35.3 yards per a game. These seem pedestrian at first glance but add in his rushing average of 4.7 yards a carry in those snaps and you could end up with a solid 10 points in half PPR weekly, not bad for a bye week plug in.
I started putting my thoughts together for this article on Thursday and since then Antonio Gibson fumbled away some of his timeshare. While I do think the only reliable thing Gibson does is catching the ball, McKissic does it that much better. McKissic is averaging 4.92 catches per a game since joining Washington and 36.5 yards. McKissic agreeing to stay with the Commanders over joining the Bills was an interesting one as the Bill have been dying for a pass catching back, ultimately drafting James Cook. Something has to be said of McKissic’s choice to stay in Washington instead of joining a Super Bowl favorite. My guess is that Ron Rivera trusts him and that with new quarterback Carson Wentz in town Rivera wants to put as many pieces around him as he can. Wentz loves his tight ends but that position has plague Washington for years. I believe McKissic takes the role as Wentz’s safety net and thrives.