QBs
1.Aaron Rodgers
2.Ben Roethlisberger
3.Cam Newton
4.Derek Carr
5.Tom Brady
6.Andrew Luck
7.Philip Rivers
8.Carson Wentz
9.Eli Manning
10.Matthew Stafford
11.Joe Flacco
12.Dak Prescott
13.Matt Ryan
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14.Kirk Cousins
15.Brian Hoyer
16.Jameis Winston
17.Andy Dalton
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18.Tyrod Taylor
19.Ryan Tannehill
20.Ryan Fitzpatrick
I did much better with all of my position picks versus the ESPN experts in Week 4. Let's start with the QBs where I was high on Matt Ryan (ESPN #16, ME #11). I was a little worried about this one because I thought it might come back to bite me, seeing as how I was planning to start him myself. Well I didn't, and I felt like an idiot waiving him for Joe Flacco. Of course hindsight is 20/20, but Ryan actually torched the Panthers for 500 yards and 4 TDs. He would've been the #1 fantasy QB in Week 4 if it weren't for Big Ben throwing 5 TDs against the Chiefs on Sunday night. I have dropped Ryan considerably this week as he travels to Denver. But if he lights them up, it's time to forget everything you know, and it's time for me to seriously regret sending him to the waiver wire after Week 3.
As for Flacco, he also ended up in the top-10, and I got the W anyway, so I can't beat myself up too much over it.The QB I was down on was Eli Manning (ESPN #14, ME #20), who finished as the absolute worst starting fantasy QB in Week 4. If you are in some crazy league where you start like 3 QBs, you would've gotten more fantasy points from guys like Derek Anderson and Paxton Lynch (who came in as injury replacements). I think it's time to stop ranking QBs who are facing Minnesota's defense... |
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I'm high on: Dak Prescott (ESPN #18, ME #12)
This rookie has been a top-15 fantasy QB through his first 4 games, and he also hasn't thrown an interception yet. No, he likely won't have Dez in this game. But he didn't have him last week and still was a top-10 fantasy QB. The Bengals have given up the 3rd most passing TDs in 2016, and Dak has actually thrown a handful of those in his last two starts. I think he'll have a solid game and will be in the QB1 mix for the THIRD week in a row.
I'm down on: Andy Dalton (ESPN #7 ME #17)
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What has the Red Rifle done this year to justify his top-10 placement in every ESPN expert's rankings? Based on average fantasy points per game, he's outside of the top-25 fantasy QBs through 4 weeks. He hasn't thrown for more than 1 TD in any of his games, and AJ Green is the only guy worth throwing to in that offense (aside from Gio). I think he'll have an OK game, sure. But I don't get how he's ranked 7th this week.
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RBs |
1.David Johnson
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2.Ezekiel Elliott
3.Le'Veon Bell
4.DeMarco Murray
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5.Melvin Gordon
6.Todd Gurley
7.C.J. Anderson
8.Lamar Miller
9.LeSean McCoy
10.Carlos Hyde
11.Frank Gore
12.LeGarrette Blount
13.Jordan Howard
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14.Isaiah Crowell
15.Terrance West
16.Eddie Lacy
17.Devonta Freeman
18.Matt Forte
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19.Jeremy Hill
20.Matt Jones
21.Jerick McKinnon
22.Ryan Mathews
23.Charles Sims
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24.Theo Riddick
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25.Giovani Bernard
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26.DeAndre Washington
27.Cameron Artis-Payne
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28.Rashad Jennings
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29.Arian Foster
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30.Duke Johnson
31.Tevin Coleman
32.Fozzy Whittaker
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33.James White
34.Darren Sproles
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35.Bilal Powell
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36.Kenneth Dixon
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37.Jalen Richard
38.Matt Asiata
39.Wendell Smallwood
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40.Chris Thompson
41.Jay Ajayi
42.Dwayne Washington
43.Josh Ferguson
44.DeAngelo Williams
45.Orleans Darkwa
46.Alfred Morris
47.Derrick Henry
48.Kenyan Drake
49.Devontae Booker
50.Bobby Rainey
I had to dig deep into my rankings to find a RB I was high/low on versus the ESPN experts, but they were DeAngelo Williams (ESPN #46, ME #35) & Jamaal Charles (ESPN #43, ME NOT RANKED). I mentioned DeAngelo would continue to be a TD threat, and he found the endzone against the Chiefs on Sunday night. He finished as the #31 fantasy RB in Week 4, just ahead of where I had him ranked. As for Charles, I said I wouldn't rank him until after the Chiefs bye week, thinking he'd play a series or two if he even played at all. Well, he did suit up and only played 11 snaps. He totaled 7 yards on 2 carries and was well outside of the top-50 fantasy RBs. I'm sure he'll move way up my rankings in Week 6 when Kansas City returns from their bye week, but being ranked 43rd by ESPN last week was obviously ridiculous.
I'm high on: Chris Thompson (ESPN #52, ME #40)
I'm digging deep into my rankings again this week, but I like Chris Thompson as a top-40 RB. The Week 3 game against the Giants was really the only stinker of a game he's had so far this season. Otherwise, he has been doing the most with his 5-10 touches a game. I doubt he'll find the endzone for the second week in a row, but this guy is a playmaker. I think he'll break off a big play and rack up enough yards to be in the RB3 conversation.
I'm down on: Derrick Henry (ESPN #38, ME #47)
The Dolphins give up a ton of rushing yards, but I see all of them going to DeMarco Murray this week. What started as a decent timeshare has turned into DeMarco being the workhorse. I'm not sure Henry gets more than 4 or 5 touches in this game, and I don't see him doing much in Miami.
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WRs
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1.Antonio Brown
2.A.J. Green
3.Jordy Nelson
4.Julio Jones
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5.Odell Beckham, Jr.
6.Mike Evans
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7.Brandon Marshall
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8.Kelvin Benjamin
9.Michael Crabtree
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10.TY Hilton
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11.DeAndre Hopkins
12.Marvin Jones Jr.
13.DeMaryius Thomas
14.Julian Edelman
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15.Alshon Jeffery
16.Terrelle Pryor
17.Jarvis Landry
18.Emmanuel Sanders
19.Amari Cooper
20.Jordan Matthews
21.Steve Smith, Sr.
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22.Travis Benjamin
23.Will Fuller
24.Stefon Diggs
25.Randall Cobb
26.DeSean Jackson
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27.Sterling Shepard
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28.Eddie Royal
29.Quincy Enunwa
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30.Larry Fitzgerald
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31.Tyrell Williams
34.Robert Woods
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36.DeVante Parker
37.Cole Beasley
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38.Dontrelle Inman
39.Michael Floyd
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40.Phillip Dorsett
41.Victor Cruz
42.Tavon Austin
43.Kenny Stills
44.Jamison Crowder
45.Chris Hogan
46.Golden Tate
47.Tajae Sharpe
48.Brice Butler
49.Davante Adams
50.Nelson Agholor
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I was high on the Raven WRs in Week 4: Mike Wallace (ESPN #40, ME #30) & Steve Smith, Sr. (ESPN #43, ME #32). Steve Smith was actually a top-10 WR, but Wallace barely finished inside the top-50. That being said, he was targeted 10 times, totaled 47 yards, and notched a two point conversion. So he was serviceable. I was down on Mike Evans (ESPN #12, ME #20), who was facing a tough Denver secondary. He continued to be a target monster (11), but he only managed 59 receiving yards and nearly finished outside of the top-50 himself. In fact, he finished just a couple of spots behind Mike Wallace in Week 4...*wink.
I'm high on: Kenny Stills (ESPN NOT RANKED, ME #43)
The consensus rankings on ESPN show nearly 60 WRs, but not one guy thought to include Stills in their rankings. I'm sure some of that is his dependency on the big play, but you could say the same for a guy like DeSean Jackson (who is ranked in the top-30). As far as fantasy production, Stills has at least 7 points in each of his last 3 games and has been a top-25 WR in that time span. That's better than the likes of OBJ & DeAndre Hopkins to name a few! And while that name dropping doesn't prove much of a point in this small sample size, I still feel like Stills is worth ranking based on his production.
I'm down on: Larry Fitzgerald (ESPN #21, ME #30)
Speaking of production, Fitzgerald hasn't done much of that lately since his hot start to the season. Now the old man is on a short week without his buddy Carson Palmer throwing to him against the 49ers tomorrow night. I'm sure he'll see around 10 targets, but I'm not sure he does much more than 60 or 70 yards with those looks (which could land him well outside of where I've ranked him, much less where ESPN has).
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TEs
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1.Greg Olsen
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2.Jordan Reed
3.Rob Gronkowski
4.Kyle Rudolph
5.Delanie Walker
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6.Zach Miller
7.Zach Ertz
8.Dennis Pitta
9.Martellus Bennett
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10.Eric Ebron
11.Gary Barnidge
12.Richard Rodgers
13.Hunter Henry
14.Cameron Brate
15.Jason Witten
16.Dwayne Allen
17.Jacob Tamme
18.Clive Walford
19.Jesse James
20.Jack Doyle
Last week I was high on Sam Bradford's new buddy, Kyle Rudolph (ESPN #9, ME #5). He has now caught a TD in each of Bradford's 3 starts, and he finished as a top-5 fantasy TE in Week 4. I was down on Coby Fleener (ESPN #6, ME #11), saying you shouldn't forget all of those bad weeks (and drops) just because of one good performance. He only caught 3 of 5 targets against the Chargers for a grand total of 19 yards. I'm not ready to trust him as a top-10 fantasy TE just yet.
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I'm high on: Richard Rodgers (ESPN #20, ME #12)
 Jared Cook is going to be inactive in Week 5, which leaves a Rodgers to Rodgers TD all the more likely to happen against the Giants on Sunday night. I think Aaron will throw 3 or 4 TDs in this game, and I like the TE position to be a recipient of one of them.
I'm down on: Hunter Henry (ESPN #7, ME #13)
Similar to the Coby Fleener situation last week, I think ESPN just needs to pump their breaks before vaulting the rookie into the top-10. Sure, Oakland's pass defense has been horrible, but they held Dennis Pitta to a mere 17 yards last week. Antonio Gates is practicing and actually could be back this week, but I'm not counting on that. I'm just counting on Henry coming back down to earth after a big week against the Saints (which everyone has these days).
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DEF
1.Vikings
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2.Patriots
3.Broncos
4.Cardinals
5.Panthers
6.Rams
7.Eagles
8.Bills
9.Bengals
10.Texans
11.Packers
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12.Steelers
13.Ravens
14.Raiders
15.Dolphins
Last week I was high on the Indianapolis Colts (ESPN #21, ME #14) and down on the Kansas City Chiefs...for the third week in a row (ESPN #10, ME NOT RANKED). Let's start with the Colts, which turned out to not be a great pick. I warned you that they weren't a good defense, but I did like the matchup. Turns out you probably can't trust that defensive unit, even against the Jags. In fact, only 4 defenses finished worse than Indy in Week 4. One of those defenses though was the Kansas City Chiefs, who finished dead last. In fact, you might've been better off not starting a defense, depending on your league's scoring system. They gave up 43 points and had just the 2 sacks. I'm sure I'll rank them after their bye week, but you were smart to stay away from them last week in Pittsburgh.
I'm not that high/down on any defenses this week, so I'm not going to split hairs...
Good luck to everyone in Week 5!
(Except you, Andy...)
Cheers,
Bart
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