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5 Bold Fantasy Football Predictions About the Second Half of the NFL Season

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Kelvin Benjamin Will Finish As a Top-10 Wide Receiver

By Graham Barfield

So far, Kelvin Benjamin has five top-24 wide receiver finishes (PPR) this season. That's better than Julio Jones and Dez Bryant, who both have four. Benjamin is also a rookie, which makes his fantastic consistency even more impressive.

And he's not done yet.

Benjamin is on pace for 136 targets, 76 receptions, 1,142 yards, and 10 touchdowns. He’s also seeing a very healthy 24.1 percent of Carolina’s targets. It gets better. Carolina’s schedule from here on out is the most wide receiver friendly in the NFL.

As JJ Zacharison mentioned in his 15 Fantasy Football Transactions for Week 9 column, Benjamin’s toughest matchup the rest of the way is a Minnesota Vikings team that gives up the 17th-most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers.

Along with the Vikings, the Panthers play the Saints twice, Eagles, Buccaneers, Falcons twice, and the Browns to finish out the season. Every single one of those defenses is in the bottom-15 of fantasy points allowed to opposing wide receivers. Benjamin’s piece of cake schedule is the embodiment of the fantasy holy grail.

So, Carolina’s schedule could not be more perfect and Kelvin Benjamin has already been a steady producer in an offense that features him exclusively. What more do you need? I say Kelvin Benjamin finishes the season as a top-10 wide receiver in fantasy football. If you still can, go out and acquire the 6’5”, 243-pound monster and use him every week as a WR1.