The ESPN.com fantasy trade deadline is now well in our rearview mirror, limiting your options to alter your lineup as the playoffs draw near (we're just one week away from the start of the semifinals).
Injuries and other considerations can take a toll on your roster, and though the number of viable additions to be had on the waiver wire isn't extensive, there's enough to work with for those willing to dig deep.
Kendall Wright, the Titans' 2012 first-round pick out of Baylor, has generated moderate fanfare in his nearly two NFL seasons, but he's quietly put together an impressive 2013 highlighted by a recent stretch of 22 catches (on 28 targets) over his past three games.
You won't see Wright stretching the field on the perimeter and streaking past a cornerback and deep safety for a 70-yard score, but he's also not limited to underneath option routes, as some may have presumed when he came out of college.
Fill-in quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick has turned to Wright early and often since taking over as the starter, and the two have hooked up on a handful of seam-stretching catches for good yardage that have helped to escalate his average yards per catch by nearly 2 yards from his rookie to sophomore season (9.8 to 11.7 YPC).
He's already bypassed his rookie season catch total (64) and is on his way to a 1,100-yard campaign. As numberFire's 31st-ranked wide receiver in terms of TPS, Wright doesn't qualify as a must-start each week in your lineup, but he's a serviceable flex play and strong PPR candidate. The limiting factor on Wright has been few trips to the end zone, though a late-game touchdown in Week 12 gave Tennessee a dramatic win.
For those dealing with injury issues or struggling stars, Wright should be a consideration, as he is owned in less than 40 percent of ESPN.com leagues and has scored at least five points in every game since Week 1.
Playoff schedules can be a bear
For those gearing up for the playoffs, congratulations are in order for making it in. Now the fun begins.
But the playoffs aren't a time to simply fall back on what has worked -- it's important to be matchup cognizant in some cases so as to maximize your roster during meaningful games. (There are some players who are just too good to bench, regardless of the opponent: Calvin Johnson, Adrian Peterson, Drew Brees and Rob Gronkowski, among others, are always worth the start.)
Larry Fitzgerald, the terrific Cardinals wide receiver who has come on strong of late (four touchdowns in his past four games), might seem like a must-start given his recent production, and for many rosters he will be.
But numberFire has Fitzgerald at 20th for the rest of the season with a TPS of 20, due in part to his brutal slate of games in Weeks 14 through 17. The Cardinals host the Rams before traveling to Tennessee and Seattle prior to a regular-season finale in Arizona against the 49ers. (Fortunately, a juicy matchup this weekend against the Eagles should lend itself to a big day.)
Should Fitzgerald owners panic? No, that's not the takeaway here. But if you're in a situation where your receiving corps is stacked two or three deep in front of Fitzgerald, keep his playoff schedule in mind.
On the other end of the scheduling spectrum is Riley Cooper. While there are some who still question Cooper's production in Philadelphia, it's difficult to deny his soft playoff schedule.
The Eagles' schedule in Weeks 14 through 17 looks like this: versus Detroit, at Minnesota, versus Chicago and at Dallas. That's three of the five worst passing defenses in the NFL when viewed through the passing-yards-per-game-allowed statistic (Chicago is the outlier as the 13th-best pass defense).
Cooper's red-hot November, which included five touchdowns in just three games, catapulted him onto the fantasy radar. He was the beneficiary of at least a pair of poor throws that took fortuitous bounces into his arms for a touchdown, but at some point production transcends good luck.
Cooper is at his best down the field, where he's a solid long-range speed receiver. He may take some time to accelerate, but as was the case during his college career at Florida, Cooper has shown himself capable as a downfield target (his 19.1 yards per catch is second in the NFL among qualifying receivers).
Now that each NFL team has had its bye, all players have equal scoring opportunities for the rest of the season. Cooper has crawled up to 26th among wide receivers based on numberFire's TPS ratings.
That's not must-start territory among wideouts, but given his favorable matchups, Cooper could prove to be a pivotal cog during the last quarter of the season and a superior choice at your flex spot.
The TPS Report
Total player score is the ultimate resource for analyzing potential trades and waiver-wire pickups. Powered by numberFire, TPS reveals a fantasy player's true value to your fantasy roster based on expected production (through Week 17) and positional scarcity in a standard-scoring, 10-team league. The higher the TPS, the more valuable a player projects to be for the remainder of the season.
YDS: Projected future yards gained | TDS: Projected future touchdowns scored
FP: Projected future fantasy points | TPS: Total player score