Ok, week 5 and more of your pickup and plays. Quite unsatisfied with last week’s results (I at least found a gem in 3 different categories) I’ve buckled down and have much better picks heading into a light Bye Week, which sees only the Bears and Bucs taking time off. Note regarding them: if you are not in need of fill in starters this week both of those teams have quarterbacks and receivers that are great grab and stash value if you want to get ahead of next week.
But let’s talk about this week!
QUARTERBACKS
Marcus Mariota, TEN: He was drafted in a decent number of leagues this year, then cut by many after his train wreck first 3 weeks. I’m going to jump on the train here though, not just for a nice matchup against a Bills team really looking for something but also for his long term impact. I think he’s exactly the type of #2 QB you want: he’s a solid QB2 with enough upside via his rushing potential to be a fringe QB1. Disclosure: I was a guy who did draft and cut him, and intend to add him back to my roster in a mulligan.
Ownership: Yahoo 34%; NFL 10% & ESPN 20%.
Andy Dalton, CIN: I picked him last week at lower ownership #’s, and he still sitting at 50% internet wide one week later. I’m not going to ask “is this finally the year” for the Bengals because that might be found insulting by you – isn’t that asked every year at this time? Yes. But despite a decent defense coming to town in the form of the Dolphins, I do think the Bengals look like they’re rolling, and there a nice chance he puts up top ten numbers again this week.
Ownership: Yahoo 54%; NFL 15% & ESPN 50%.
RUNNING BACKS
T.J. Yeldon, JAX: Wow. Just wow. How this guy is still available in half of all online leagues blows me away. I’m pretty sure 100% of online leagues have a Leonard Fournette owner. This is an absolute oversight and must be taken advantage of immediately if this has happened in any of your leagues. He is still ranked right at #10 overall on the year (!), and if this past week showed us anything it’s that Fournette isn’t fully healed yet. You can expect a very healthy dose of Yeldon against the very soft KC defense.
Ownership: Yahoo 52%; NFL 50% & ESPN 47%.
Nyheim Hines, IND: even in a non PPR scoring system, he provides a lot of value. Yes, I am not a fan of matchup on a short week against the Patriots, but that also makes it an all hands on deck game for the Colts. Hines has emerged as a strong contender for the lead point producer in this backfield.
Ownership: Yahoo 17%; NFL 1% & ESPN 16%.
Mike Davis, SEA: his name is everywhere and it’s likely you’re going to consider him strongly this week. Now, if Carson remains a major question mark/scratch during this week then by all means pick up and play him. Otherwise, if Carson begins to emerge as healthy just keep in mind you are buying into areal backfield mess with just a decent offensive line. In short: unless there’s absolute clarity with Carson don’t forget Pete Carroll really likes to show how clever he is (no, not a fan) and still has Rashaad Penny on the roster. Proceed with caution – the two RBs above represent safer choices.
Ownership: Yahoo 1%; NFL 1% & ESPN 1%.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Dede Westbrook, JAX: he’s emerged as the clear cut #2, and surprisingly the Jaguars have been throwing and doing a decent job of it. He’s averaging a nice 5 receptions per week, and his worst week was 3. That’s an good floor of production, trending in the right direction for this time of the season.
Ownership: Yahoo 18%; NFL 3% & ESPN 12%.
Chester Rogers, IND: I’ll be honest, I’ve had this guy stashed on a few dynasty roster the past few years and have never seen anything from him basically until last week. It is extremely unlikely that TY Hilton will play on this short week given his multiple injuries. As noted above with Hines, that really makes this an all hands on deck game for the Colts. The matchup this week also favors him: NE allows points to wide receivers at a healthy rate. You’re chasing potential volume here but I think the potential is really high this week for Rogers.
Ownership: Yahoo 1%; NFL 1% & ESPN 1%.
Taywan Taylor, TEN: this guy might be in the “right place at the right time”moment. Rishard Matthews walked, creating a promotion for him. Mariota looked to be finding the form that made his 2016 so good. The matchup against the Bills this week represents one of the best for WRs. And, he has some real skills. He;s not quite at 5 catches per week after week 4 (he didn’t see the field week 1), but 4 catches against a soft D could mean a TD worked in there somewhere. He will have decent odds for that this week.
Ownership: Yahoo 1%; NFL 1% & ESPN 4%.
TIGHT ENDS
Vance McDonald, PIT: here’s the definition of brutal: 5 of the top 20 tight ends are currently listed as OUT or on Bye this week. Given his recent ascension and the basic collapse of depth at this position I’d expect him to be both the #1 pickup of the week and an easy shoo in for starter #s for week 5.
Ownership: Yahoo 44%; NFL 15% & ESPN 29%.
TEAM DEFENSE
Tennessee Titans: this is something you might see from me at this position when allowed: chasing the Buffalo Bills. They have perhaps the least organized offense right now, which one can charitably call growing pains. Ye, the Titans are on the road but Buffalo is dead last preventing defensive fantasy points.
Ownership: Yahoo 20%; NFL 8% & ESPN 40%.
That’s it for this week folks – best of luck out there!
PICKUPS & PLAYS WEEK 4 RESULTS:
QB – Ryan Tannehill, MIA: 32nd
QB – Andy Dalton, CIN: 9th
RB – Javorious Allen, BAL: 37th
RB – LaGarrette Blount, DET: 63rd
RB – Aaron Jones, GBP: 17th
WR – Calvin Ridley, ATL: 12th
WR – Mike Williams, LAC: 94th
WR – Tyler Boyd, CIN: 31st
TE – Ben Watson, NOS: 32nd
D/ST – Arizona Cardinals: 26th
