(Getty)
Brandon LaFell is a must-own player in all fantasy football leagues.
The New England Patriots wide receiver, who has spent the first six weeks of the season on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, is eligible to return to practice and play Week 7 against the New York Jets. And it sounds like he’s going to do exactly that.
New England’s bevy of playmakers in the passing game–Rob Gronkowski, Julian Edelman, Dion Lewis–is concerning when it comes to LaFell’s volume. However, he averaged 7.4 targets and 4.6 receptions per contest last year, and this offense remains relatively similar to the 2014 version with the only difference being the addition of Lewis.
Moreover, no one has separated themselves as New England’s No. 2 receiver. Danny Amendola is more of a slot guy. Aaron Dobson has been a healthy inactive the last two weeks. Keshawn Martin has made a couple plays, but he certainly isn’t going to play over LaFell. While the volume may decrease slightly for LaFell, his role shouldn’t change all that much. He’s still the team’s best down-field threat from the wide-receiver position.
At the end of the day, he’s a key player in one of the league’s most explosive offenses. He may be slow out of the gate in the next week or two as he gets back to speed, but he has WR2 upside for the second-half of the season.
If that sounds like something you might be interested in, go after him aggressively on the waiver-wire.
