Fantasy football: These receivers will get boost from staff changes

This can be a precarious point in the season for some fantasy football players, and for others it serves as a fantastic opportunity. 

The days surrounding the Thanksgiving holiday are often a time when many abandon their fantasy teams. Whether they are already out of contention or feel like they are in a comfortable situation for the playoffs, their mid-week research and waiver work is pushed to the wayside. That should afford you the opportunity to unearth a few hidden gems to throw into your lineups. With a few changes on NFL coaching staffs occurring prior to the week, some are definitely out there.

When the Bills fired offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey, quarterbacks coach Joe Brady took over and there was an immediate difference seen. The snap shares for both Stefon Diggs and Gabe Davis were reduced, and Josh Allen distributed targets in a much more even fashion.

Diggs remains the No. 1 priority in the passing game, but the uptick for the fringe receivers was interesting. Not enough to warrant using someone like Deonte Harty or Trent Sherfield, but enough to notice that slot receiver Khalil Shakir’s snap count and target share remained consistent enough to see he was a focal point for Brady’s play-calling.

The results for Shakir were strong as he hauled in three of four targets for 115 yards and a touchdown, but more importantly was how much Allen watched his routes. Brady is notorious for using underneath crossing routes and slants in order to get his quarterback to hit the receivers in stride more, highlighting the speed of the wideouts and producing more yards after the catch.

That should be featured this week against an Eagles team that uses zone coverage 72 percent of the time. Shakir thrives against zone coverage and should be unleashed this week.

Another player who may be available to you this week due to past week frustrations is George Pickens of the Steelers. The switch at offensive coordinator from Matt Canada to Mike Sullivan is expected to open things up more for Kenny Pickett and, subsequently, Pickens. 

We expect to see more deep shots taken downfield, and this week’s matchup is the perfect time to unleash the fury. Cincinnati uses zone coverage at a 71.4 percent rate, and that is where Pickens thrives. His target rate has been a bit lower against zone coverage, but we’ve also seen more air yards per play because he’s finding the open pockets. Sullivan should have Pickett locking into him downfield.

Teams don’t often change coordinators midseason, but we’ve seen two so far, and based off some teams’ playoff chances, we could see more. Identify the change and look to see who should benefit the most. Shakir and Pickens are the tip of the iceberg, so keep looking toward the horizon for more.

Howard Bender is the head of content at FantasyAlarm.com. Follow him on X @rotobuzzguy and catch him on the award-winning “Fantasy Alarm Radio Show” on the SiriusXM fantasy sports channel weekdays from 6-8 p.m. Go to Fantasy-Alarm.com for all your fantasy football advice.