Expect Colts’ Trey Sermon to cook in place of Jonathan Taylor

Well, Cam Akers could be back this week. And boy, are we tired of pretending Cam Akers is fantasy relevant. If this happened in the movie Mean Girls, someone would tell Gretchen to stop bringing Cam Akers to life.

However, Joe Mixon is expected to be out with an ankle injury, and backup Dameon Pierce could be out or limited by a hamstring injury.

So here comes Cam Akers again. He’s been given chance after chance, and almost every time he’s thoroughly disappointed. We’re tired of trying to add Cam Akers to our fantasy rosters with no success. No longer!

We’re bringing this up because we’re a little worried that the guy we’re going to be talking about could become the next Cam Akers. He’s had a few opportunities in the past but hasn’t done particularly well. However, since it’s a small sample size and we’re expecting a healthy workload this week, we’ll give Trey Sermon a chance to prove he’s not as aggressively mediocre as Akers.

In the past, Sermon was probably handcuffed to Elijah Mitchell and then Christian McCaffrey in San Francisco. But he wasn’t impressive in limited action.

Last season he landed in Indianapolis, where he played behind Jonathan Taylor and Zack Moss and again got limited reps with no highlight reel material.

Now Moss is out and Taylor will miss Sunday with a high ankle sprain. And Sermon is the guy waiting to take his place.

When Taylor started last season, it was Moss who took on the bulk of the workload, and he shined. Moss ranked among the top 10 running backs in four of the first five weeks and scored more than 20 PPR points in three of those games.

Moss is a good player, but he’s not supernatural. It’s not that he sets the standards too high for Sermon to achieve. Sermon doesn’t have to be as good, it just has to be better than Cam Akers. And Sermon has a lot to offer.

First, quarterback Anthony Richardson could also be out. Due to an oblique injury, he was only able to train to a limited extent all week. If Richardson is out, Joe Flacco would get the call. And Flacco won’t take advantage of potential touchdowns at the goal line like Richardson would. And the offense would likely provide more consistent production, allowing for more goal-line shots overall.

Then consider this: Richardson has eight red zone rush attempts this season and Taylor has 15. So the Colts are averaging nearly six red zone rush attempts per game. Sermon should get all of them with both Richardson and Taylor out – Tyler Goodson is the only other running back on the roster, and he has zero carries overall this season.

But this sermon is not over yet. He will receive another blessing. The Colts face the winless Jaguars – who are ranked 26th against opposing fantasy RBs and are allowing 5.5 more than league average per week in PPR.

The Jaguars’ run defense might actually be worse. None of the four teams they faced are even in the top half of the league in rushing – so the Jags posted bottom-of-league results while facing bottom-half run games.

Against a defense like this, Sermon doesn’t have to be great, just better than Cam Akers.

If Richardson plays now, Sermon is more of a desperate bye-week replacement – as that would significantly weaken his touchdown potential. However, due to his limited practice time during the week, we are preparing for Richardson to be out.

When Sermon is called, we believe he can answer our fantasy prayers and hope he doesn’t pull a Cam Akers.

Big weeks

Justin Fields QB, Steelers, vs. Cowboys (FanDuel $7,600/DraftKings $5,800)

The only QBs the Cowboys have had under control this season are Deshaun Watson and Daniel Jones. Fields is becoming increasingly comfortable in the Steelers system – he’s averaging 25.2 fantasy points over the last two games.

Austin Ekeler RB, Commanders, vs. Browns (FD $6,000/DK $5,600)

Brian Robinson Jr. was limited in practice all week due to a knee problem – it will be a game-time decision, but it’s hard to imagine him getting the full workload when he plays. Just as he made money last week by eliminating Ekeler, we can expect Ekeler to do the same this week

Alexander Mattison RB, Raiders, at Broncos (FD$5,800/DK$5,200)

Zamir White missed training this week with a groin injury. This should open the door for Mattison to gain a significant lead on touches. If he does well, White may not return to his feature status.

Tre Tucker WR, Raiders, at Broncos (FD$5,800/DK$4,100)

Davante Adams is expected to miss again. We still like Jakobi Meyers at this point, but last week Tucker got the biggest boost. Plus, unlike Meyers, Tucker can still be found on waivers.

Small weaknesses

Patrick Mahomes QB, Chiefs, vs. Saints (FD$8,300/DK$7,000)

Since Week 8 of last season (13 games), Mahomes has finished among the top 12 QBs only twice (none this year), with the highest-ranked QB8 averaging 16.6. No QB has scored 14 fantasy points against the Saints this season.

Kareem Hunt RB, Chiefs, vs. Saints (FD $7,100/DK $5,500)

We were shocked last week to see Hunt come straight off the street and then take over the majority of the backfield work. We will not Be surprised if it’s a different RB this week – be it Samaje Perine or rookie Carson Steele. I think this will be a mess until Isiah Pacheco returns. Hunt is also struggling with a shoulder problem.

Betting on the NFL?

Keenan Allen WR, Bears, vs. Panthers (FD$5,800/DK$5,800)

We don’t care about the third option in a limited passing offense. He may score randomly 2-3 times over the course of the season, but he will burn you more often in your lineup than on your bench.

Trey McBride TE, Cardinals, at 49ers (FD $6,500/DK $5,900)

He is expected to play after clearing concussion protocol. But his matchup is tough – led by LB Fred Warner. It’s difficult to place him in such a flat position in seasonal leagues, but we’ll leave him out in DFS.

The daily duel of madness

Drew Loftis and Jarad Wilk submit dueling squads for a DFS competition:

Website: FanDuel

Slate: Sun. Main (11 games)

Type: 12 dollar tournament

Main prize: $300,000

Pot: $1.6 million

Drew’s crew

QB: Geno Smith – Sea (vs. NYG) $7,400

RB: Derrick Henry – Bal (at Cin) $9,200

RB: Jordan Mason – SF (vs. Ari) $8,700

WR: DK Metcalf – Sea (vs. NYG) $8,200

WR: Xavier Legette – Car (at Chi) $6,000

WR: Michael Pittman Jr. – Ind (at Jac) $6,100

TE: Erick All Jr. – Cin (vs. Bal) $4,400

Bending: Austin Ekeler – Was (against Cle) $6,000

DEF: Broncos – Den (vs. LV) $4,000

Wilks Warrior

QB: Geno Smith – Sea (vs. NYG) $7,400

RB: Kenneth Walker III – Sea (vs. NYG) $7,400

RB: Jordan Mason – SF (vs. Ari) $8,700

WR: DK Metcalf – Sea (vs. NYG) $8,200

WR: Amari Cooper – Cle (at War) $6,200

WR: Brian Thomas Jr. – Jac (vs. Ind) $6,100

TE: Tucker Kraft – UK (at LAR) $5,300

Bending: D’Andre Swift – Chi (vs. Auto) $6,400

DEF: Broncos – Den (vs. LV) $4,000

Late roster changes, see @NYPost_Loftis on X and @nypfantasymadman on threads

Season risks: $67
Season winnings: Drawn $180, Jarad $56.50