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Chris Givens's fantasy football stock could rise despite Danny Amendola's return

The St. Louis Rams will probably be getting Danny Amendola back on Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings, but that shouldn't dent Chris Givens's fantasy football stock. If anything, it should boost it.

USA TODAY Sports

The Chris Givens fantasy football bandwagon ran wagon-first into teams finally gameplanning for the St. Louis Rams' rookie receiver in Week 14, when the Buffalo Bills held him to three catches for 25 yards on 10 targets a week after he'd caught 11 for 92 on 14. The Bills' pressure on Givens nearly sank Sam Bradford and the Rams, who only recovered when they found the almost-forgotten Brandon Gibson for several crucial second-half receptions. The Minnesota Vikings probably aren't going to free Givens up because they're afraid of Brandon Gibson, but Danny Amendola's recent return from injury could have that effect, which is why the man whose absence precipitated Givens's breakout games could be the key to his success on Sunday.

The Rams' problem during Sam Bradford's tenure hasn't just been that their wide receiving corps lacks a real No. 1--it's that it lacks the weapons to keep teams honest, even with Steven Jackson running the ball 20 times a game. With Amendola and Givens's asynchronous breakouts, Bradford and the Rams finally know what it's like to have a valuable receiver lining up.

Now, hopefully, we'll be able to see what it's like when two of them line up on opposite sides of the field.