BYES: Carolina, Miami, Minnesota, New York Jets
QBs
1.Tom Brady
3.Matt Ryan
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15.Alex Smith
The #1 fantasy QB in Week 4 was Philip Rivers, who was sitting on my bench in my money league behind Russell Wilson. This week I moved Rivers way up my rankings, so obviously I'm leaning toward him on Monday Night Football versus Wilson at Cincinnati. Philip has been much better at home versus the road this year, and the Steelers are giving up a ton of points to opposing QBs. I'd feel a lot better if I knew Stevie Johnson and Malcom Floyd were both healthy, but at least he's getting Antonio Gates back.
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| I guess I'll go back to eating crackers and reading the newspaper |
Anyway, last week I was high on Ryan Fitzpatrick (ESPN #23, ME #15) and down on Ryan Tannehill (ESPN #14, ME #18) versus the ESPN experts. These teams faced each other in the first of three games in London this season, and the Jets pretty much dominated. I didn't think Tannehill would get more garbage time fantasy points, but that's exactly what he did yet again. In any case, both guys finished right around 20th among fantasy QBs, so I'll count this one as a quasi-win for both. I was definitely right about Tannehill though, and the Dolphins have now fired their head coach during their bye week. |
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I'm not really high/down on any QBs versus the ESPN experts this week (at least not by more than 2 or 3 spots), so I'm skipping that part for this position. Don't worry, I'll make up for it with the tight ends!
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RBs |
1.Le'Veon Bell
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2.Jamaal Charles
3.Eddie Lacy
4.Matt Forte
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5.Devonta Freeman
6.Justin Forsett
7.Arian Foster
8.Todd Gurley
9.Mark Ingram
10.Joseph Randle
11.Marshawn Lynch
12.Dion Lewis
13.TJ Yeldon
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14.Frank Gore
15.Carlos Hyde
16.Latavius Murray
17.Jeremy Hill
18.Doug Martin
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19.Melvin Gordon
20.Alfred Morris
21.Boobie Dixon
22.DeMarco Murray
23.Ronnie Hillman
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24.Giovani Bernard
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25.Danny Woodhead
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26.LeGarrette Blount
27.Chris Johnson
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28.Ameer Abdullah
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29.CJ Anderson
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30.Isaiah Crowell
31.Rashad Jennings
32.Duke Johnson
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33.CJ Spiller
34.Antonio Andrews
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35.Matt Jones
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For the second week in a row, Devonta Freeman was the top fantasy running back. He found the endzone three more times against the Texans, but I'm hoping my Redskins can slow him down this week. Clearly I don't have faith in that actually happening because I'm ranking Freeman in my top-5. Last week I was high on CJ Anderson (ESPN #25, ME #18), but it was actually Ronnie Hillman who finished as a top-10 fantasy RB against the Vikings. Anderson finished outside of the top-25, but still managed 70 total yards. It sounds like this backfield may be split pretty evenly, but I have both as top-30 plays this week. I was down on Lamar Miller (ESPN #21, ME #27), as I was pretty low on most Dolphins against the Jets in Week 4. He finished somewhere in the 40s, and you'll need to consider leaving him on your bench when he returns from his bye week...
I'm high on: Joseph Randle (ESPN #15, ME #10)
I didn't have many guys to choose from this week for this spot, so Randle seemed as good as any to talk about. Through 4 weeks, he's the 8th best fantasy RB in points/game and has 4 TDs in his last two games. With Brandon Weeden at the helm, what are the Cowboys going to do, pass the ball...?
I'm down on: DeMarco Murray (ESPN #14, ME #22)
The guy Randle replaced in Dallas isn't doing too well with his new squad. In fact, DeMarco isn't even a top-30 RB in fantasy points/game so far this season. Sure, he might turn it around against New Orleans. But I'm not ranking him like a 1st round fantasy draft pick until he proves he was worth that price tag in 2015. And if he continues to only get 10 touches or so per game, he'll keep sliding down my rankings.
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WRs
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1.Julio Jones
2.Odell Beckham, Jr.
3.DeMaryius Thomas
4.Randall Cobb
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5.Julian Edelman
6.DeAndre Hopkins
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7.Keenan Allen
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8.Emmanuel Sanders
9.Larry Fitzgerald
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10.AJ Green
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11.Antonio Brown
12.Jeremy Maclin
13.Calvin Johnson
14.James Jones
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15.TY Hilton
16.Alshon Jeffery
17.Mike Evans
18.Allen Robinson
19.Donte Moncrief
20.Jordan Matthews
21.Vincent Jackson
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22.Amari Cooper
23.John Brown
24.Kendall Wright
25.Pierre Garcon
26.Allen Hurns
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27.Brandin Cooks
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28.Terrance Williams
29.Leonard Hankerson
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30.Golden Tate
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31.Percy Harvin
34.Travis Benjamin
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Last week saw a ton of underperforming WRs near the top, but it was also rough near the bottom (at least for my pick of Marvin Jones). I was high on him in Week 4 (ESPN #49, ME #32), but he did next to nothing against the Chiefs. Andy Dalton had 321 passing yards, and Marvin Jones had one run and one catch for a total of 10 yards. Yikes! But I was right about Golden Tate (ESPN #28, ME #39), who didn't do much better. He had 35 total yards and finished well outside of the top-50 WRs in Week 4. I've moved him back up a bit this week, but I'm not getting too crazy with Stafford struggling. I hope I'm right in being down on Tate again because I'll likely be playing against him in my money league...
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| I hope I'm wrong about Hurns this week... |
I'm high on: Allen Hurns (ESPN #37, ME #26)
Speaking of guys I'm playing against, Allen Hurns is in my opponent's flex spot this week. You might have noticed Blake Bortles in my top-15 QBs above, and the ESPN experts like him at Tampa Bay as well. And while they rank Allen Robinson highly, they're not as high as I am on Hurns. He has scored in each of his last two games, and Bortles targeted Hurns 15 times against the Colts last week. I don't expect that many targets two weeks in a row, but I think if he gets 8-10 looks in this game, he'll have a productive afternoon.
I'm down on: Michael Crabtree (ESPN #29, ME NOT RANKED)
Derek Carr has looked pretty good in his last three games, but now he faces a true test against arguably the best defense in the league. Yeah, the Broncos are coming to town, and I had a hard time even ranking Amari Cooper as highly as I did. Denver is giving up the fewest fantasy points to opposing QBs and WRs, and I just couldn't rank Crabtree in my top-35 knowing that.
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TEs
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1.Rob Gronkowski
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2.Travis Kelce
3.Charles Clay
4.Martellus Bennett
5.Owen Daniels
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6.Tyler Eifert
7.Jimmy Graham
8.Antonio Gates
9.Delanie Walker
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10.Jason Witten
Last week, my top-7 was exactly the same as ESPN's consensus rankings. But after that, the glaring difference between my rankings and theirs was Coby Fleener, who I squeezed into my top-12 but who ESPN had ranked 20th! I talked up Fleener, citing the fact that you should have faith in the mediocrity of the Jaguars. With Dwyane Allen out again with an ankle injury, Fleener put up big fantasy numbers and ended up tied with Martellus Bennett for the #1 TE in Week 4. The big injury news for tight ends (at least for my actual team), is Jordan Reed. Apparently he's dealing with a concussion to go along with knee and ankle issues. None of that is good news obviously, but especially for a guy like Reed. His concussion history has me worried about his status for the next several weeks.
I'm high on: Charles Clay (ESPN #9, ME #3)
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| Don't sleep on Charles Clay in Week 5... |
I'm thinking Sammy Watkins sits out another week, and that means plenty of looks again for Clay. He has 20 targets in his last two games, and he scored double-digit fantasy points in both of them. I like him to put up 75 yards and a touchdown against a Titans squad surrendering top-5 fantasy points to the tight end position so far this year.
I'm down on: Jason Witten (ESPN #5, ME #10)
I mean, pencil him in for about 58 yards...but that's about it. Witten doesn't get me excited enough to rank him as a top-5 tight end. I'd much rather take the upside of, well, everyone I ranked above him. |
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DEF
1.Broncos
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2.Cardinals
3.Packers
4.Bills
5.Seahawks
6.Patriots
7.Bengals
8.Giants
9.Chiefs
10.Falcons
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Last week, my top-10 was the same as ESPN's (just in a different order from their consensus rankings), so I wasn't high/down on any defense versus them. I'd been struggling to pick a solid unit through 3 weeks in my money league, but the Bengals came through for me against the Chiefs. Speaking of the Chiefs, I had a hard time ranking them this week. They've been brutal in their last two games, but both have been on the road. They're at home again this week facing Jay Cutler and the Bears, which is a VERY nice matchup. Their best fantasy performance this season came in their only other home game, which was that heartbreaking loss against the Broncos.
And speaking of the Bengals, I like them too...just not enough to start them again this week. I had a lot of choices on the waiver wire in my money league, and I just couldn't pass up the Patriots coming off a bye facing Brandon Weeden and the Cowboys. Other available options on the wire included the Giants and Falcons, who I also have in my top-10 this week. I hope I made the right choice and don't end up facing one of those other teams in my matchup. Right now my opponent has the Texans, who I didn't rank...BUT if Andrew Luck doesn't start for the second week in a row, I'd definitely put them in the top-10!
I'm high on: Giants (ESPN #14, ME #8)
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| A defense facing him right now = $ |
I'm sure no one saw this coming before the season started, but the G-Men are actually a top-10 fantasy defense through four weeks. And you couldn't ask for a better prime time matchup than the 49ers, who are giving up the most fantasy points to opposing defenses this season. I'm actually really surprised the experts didn't rank this unit higher in Week 5.
I'm down on: Ravens (ESPN #6, ME #NOT RANKED)
One of the ESPN experts actually ranked Baltimore as their #1 fantasy defense this week (whaaaaaaat?). I'm sure my wife won't like this pick, but she doesn't read my blog anyway so there! Since getting blown out by the Jets in Week 1, the Browns have put up 28, 20, and 27 points in their last three games. Meanwhile, the Ravens defense hasn't looked the same since losing Suggs and I don't see Flacco moving the offense very much in this one without any receivers to throw to. This could be a tough game for the Ravens (even at home), and I don't feel comfortable ranking them in my top-10 this week.
Good luck to everyone in Week 5!
(Except you, Tommy...)
Cheers,
Bart
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