Written by PDW Staff at Punch Drunk Wonderland
Week 7 is here and there are some nice new options on the waiver wire. Here’s a look at some solid waiver wire targets.
Blake Bortles (QB, Jacksonville Jaguars)
Last season, Blake Bortles finished with zero top-10 weekly quarterback performances, with his top-five games ranking 11th, 12th, 13th, 16th and 19th at the position.
Over the last five weeks, Bortles has four top-10 performances, including one in each of his last three games.
What happened?
Well, Bortles is playing much better. In 2014, his rookie year, he tallied a league worst -97.97 Passing NEP total with a -0.18 per drop back average. This year his Passing NEP is at 15.93 with a per drop back average of 0.06. That’s still below average, but it’s an improvement.
The Jaguars are also averaging five more plays per game this season compared to last, while having a higher pass-to-run ratio (1.85 this season versus 1.74 last year). And with the defense playing as poorly as it has (the Jags rank dead last against the pass according to our numbers), Bortles has simply had more opportunity to score fantasy points. Combine that with his rise in efficiency — something that’s more important than volume — and you’ve got yourself an average to below average passer putting up high-end fantasy football numbers. Add him if he’s still available in your league.
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