Playing Patrick Laird vs. the Giants might get you to the championship
By John Buhler
It doesn’t matter if you don’t know who Patrick Laird is. If you start him in fantasy football in Week 15, he may be the reason you go to the championship.
It’s do-or-die time in fantasy football. Week 15 has arrived. This means you’re playing for the right to go to your league’s championship this week. You’ve built magnificent rosters, played the right players at key times and caught a few breaks along the way. But if you still feel like your roster can use one more move, why not pick up Miami Dolphins running back Patrick Laird off waivers?
You may have never heard of Laird because you don’t religiously follow Pac-12 football. I can’t blame you if you had no idea Laird played at Cal or is now the late-season bell-cow back for the Dolphins, but here we are. Non-obvious pickups like Laird this week will be the reason you will win the fantasy football semifinals. The Fantasy Footballers agree with this.
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No, Andy Holloway, Jason Moore and Mike Wright don’t think Laird is going to lead your fantasy team in points this week as Derrick Henry or Christian McCaffrey do in most weeks. However, Laird will get both volume and catches out of the backfield to get you around a dozen or so fantasy points in Week 15. The Dolphins are playing the truly awful New York Giants at MetLife Sunday.
Because receptions are so crucial in PPR leagues, this will give Laird some extra fantasy value. He’s usually good for about a dozen or 15 carries in this Miami offense, but it is his four catches out of the backfield that could be what gets you over the top on Sunday. Let’s not forget about the significance of the Dolphins’ matchup on Sunday afternoon either.
Miami lost a narrow field-goal contest to the division-rival New York Jets in Week 14. Head coach Brian Flores barked at the officials saying he called timeout before Sam Ficken’s game-winning made field-goal try. Flores has been a godsend as the Dolphins head coach. This team can win games when we all thought the Dolphins were going to go 0-for the season.
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As for the Giants, the G-Men have now lost nine straight games. Pat Shurmur is a dead man walking as their head coach. With them coming off a tough loss in overtime on Monday Night Football in Week 14, facing an angry Dolphins team off a short week is exactly what the Giants don’t need right now. New York will drop No. 10 in a row and Laird will be a big reason for that.