Week five was dominated by a variety of little thought of players at each and every position. For instance, a top lineup would have included Case Keenum, Wendell Smallwood, Robby Anderson, and Erik Swoope. If you had these four in your starting lineup, you won your Week 5 match-up. Matt Breida and TY Hilton, among others, may not be available this week for fantasy football team owners. Your waiver wire should still be filled with a few quality players if you need the help.
Last week,we advised to be cautious to add Seahawks running back Mike Davis. After a breakout performance where he posted 124 all-purpose yards and two touchdowns in Week 4, we were concerned Davis would find himself in a crowded backfield and regress due to the return of Chris Carson in Week 5. Well, Davis remained a material part of the Seahawks offense and posted a top ten performance in non-ppr fantasy football leagues and will be an “add” off the waiver wire this week.
This week, be cautious to add Case Keenum who finally had a fantasy football game worth talking about as he threw for 377 yards, 2 touchdowns, and one interception on 51 passes. As he hadn’t thrown a touchdown pass since Week 1, it had to do more with game flow than anything else as the Broncos fell behind to the Jets in the second quarter and the Jets never looked back racking up 34 points to the Broncos’ 16 points.
Don’t add a player to your fantasy football team if you don’t need one.
QUARTERBACKS
1 Andy Dalton, Bengals
2 Jameis Winston, Buccaneers
3 Mitch Trubisky, Bears
4 CJ Beathard, 49ers
5 Eli Manning, Giants
The Bengals Andy Dalton threw just one touchdown in Week 5 in a game the Bengals threw the football just 30 times. However, he should continue to roll in the coming month where he may well have the easiest passing schedule among all fantasy football quarterbacks. He’s available in well over a third of leagues and is likely in the top ten of fantasy football quarterbacks in your league.
The Buccaneers announced that Jameis Winston would be their Week 6 starting quarterback. This week, he faces a Falcons pass defense giving up the fourth most fantasy points to the position and makes for a solid streaming option. If you have Ryan Fitzpatrick on your roster, hold on to him if you can as Winston has struggled and it would not surprise for Fitz-Magic to regain the reigns of the offense.
A dynasty league darling, Mitch Trubisky finally broke out with Week 4’s top fantasy football performance including six passing touchdowns. It’s easy to chase the points, but don’t. View him as a back-up with a bunch of upside. One fantastic performance a fantasy football career does not make. But, the upside is there.
In back-to-back games, CJ Beathard threw for 298 yards or more and 2 touchdown passes. The six interceptions does hurt. But, with Matt Breida going down to a mid- to high-ankle sprain, Beathard should continue throwing the football a ton.
Eli Manning is available in over three-quarters of fantasy football leagues. Despite topping three hundred yards passing and tossing two touchdowns, in three of five games he’s thrown zero to one touchdowns. The match-ups don’t seem to matter and the Giants offensive line has struggled to protect him. However, he has a statistically favorable match-up in Week 7 against the Falcons if you need the bye week fantasy football help.
RUNNING BACKS
1 Alfred Morris, 49ers
2 Nyheim Hines, Colts
3 Wendell Smallwood, Eagles
4 Tarik Cohen, Bears
5 Mike Davis, Seahawks
6 Javorius Allen, Ravens
7 Frank Gore, Dolphins
8 Kyle Juszcyk, 49ers
9 Alfred Blue, Texans
10 LeGarrette Blount, Lions
Give these running backs a look if you need help. The running backs with a longer view are ranked higher.
With Matt Breida out the next two to four weeks, Alfred Morris will take over as the 49ers principal running back. Look for Morris to get 20-plus touches a week mostly in the running game. He’s available in more than half the leagues. In addition, the 49ers Kyle Juszcyk makes for a solid addition in deeper leagues as he hauled in six of seven targets for 75 yards.
With TY Hilton missing Week 5, several Colts players stepped up in the offense including Nyheim Hines. Hines impressed in consecutive weeks to take 15 rushes for 45 yards and to haul in seven receptions on nine targets for 45 yards. Even if Hilton returns, Hines is the Colts best running back and should continue contributing in the offense. He’s available in over a third of leagues.
Back in Week 5, Tarik Cohen had the video game performance many fantasy football team owners have been waiting for. On 20 touches, Cohen posted 174 all-purposes yards, most in the passing game, and put one of his receptions into the end zone. More important, Cohen out touched Jordan Howard by a commanding 20 to 11. The hope is this establishes Cohen as a regular target each week going forward. Look at your waiver wire as Cohen is still available in a third of leagues.
With the news Jay Ajayi was placed on injured reserve with a torn ACL, Wendell Smallwood is catapulted to starter with Corey Clement (quad) and Darren Sproles (hamstring) struggling to get back on the gridiron. Smallwood turned six touches into 71 all-purpose yards, a touchdown, and a two-point conversion.
Javorius Allen appears to have overtaken the primary running back duties for the Ravens as Allen had more touches and snaps over presumptive primary running back Alex Collins.
If you have Kenyan Drake on your fantasy football team, you’re highly disappointed. Each week, Drake’s workload has declined. In week 4, Frank Gore had 13 touches for 57 all-purpose yards and one touchdown. In Week 5, Frank Gore had 12 rushes to Drake’s 13 touches (6 rushes). Gore isn’t going away as the team’s primary rushing running back. Frank Gore is a waiver wire option in only the deepest of leagues or for the most desperate of fantasy football team owners.
Alfred Blue was the Texans workhouse running back in Week 5 with Lamar Miller active, but coming off injury. Blue’s twenty rushes for 46 yards was wanting but his eight-for-eight receptions-to-targets was solid for 73 yards. Blue keeps getting work which is why if you have the bench space, consider Blue for future reference.
LeGarrette Blount scored 2 touchdowns in Week 5. However, this came on 12 carries for 22 yards inside the red zone. He’s a touchdown dependent option best suited for deeper leagues or non-ppr leagues only.
WIDE RECEIVERS
1 Tyler Lockett, Seahawks
2 Robby Anderson, Jets
3 Chester Rogers, Colts
4 Dede Westbrook, Jaguars
5 Taylor Gabriel, Bears
6 Donte Moncrief, Jaguars
7 Pierre Garcon, 49ers
Unlike last week, except for the top grabs, the depth of wide receiver gets thin quickly. But we’ll cover a few players here in case you need to pick up a player, even a risky one.
It’s surprising to see Tyler Lockett still available in over a quarter of leagues. Even with Doug Baldwin back, Lockett took three of his five targets for 98 yards and one touchdown, making it four on the season. Lockett should be on a team in every fantasy football league.
For those that still have Robby Anderson on their fantasy football teams, it was a tough day to likely be watching him haul in three of five targets for 98 yards and one touchdown while he was likely on your bench. He’s boom or bust but making a case for more game action. He’s available on almost two-thirds of the fantasy football league waiver wires.
With the Colts TY Hilton missing Week 5, Chester Rogers hauled in eight of eleven targets for 66 yards. He missed two passes that would have added significant yardage and a score. With TY Hilton looking like he’ll miss yet another game, Rogers makes for another solid play this week.
With Leonard Fournette out of the line-up, the Jaguars will likely keep throwing the football, 61 times this past week This makes both Dede Westbrook (24/33-349-1) and Donte Moncrief (18/37-249-2) options, albeit risky ones, each week. In Week 4, Westbrook was targeted 13 times to Moncrief’s 5, and in Week 5, Moncrief was targeted 15 times to Westbrook’s 5.
Taylor Gabriel is strictly a deeper league waiver wire add. While he posted solid numbers hauling in 104 yards and 2 TDs on seven-for-seven receiving, the Bears are on the bye this week and his value will depend on if Mitch Trubisky can maintain his fantasy football value.
Pierre Garcon makes an appearance since he is unowned in over half the fantasy football leagues and was targeted 15 times last weekend. The 49ers play the Packers this week. Expect the 49ers to throw early and often making him a high risk-reward option.
TIGHT ENDS
1 Cameron Brate, Buccaneers
2 Austin Hooper, Falcons
3 Niles Paul, Jaguars
Cameron Brate is the top add if available with OJ Howard (MCL Sprain) expected to miss at least the next two weeks, if not more. The Bucs play the Falcons in what should be a shoot-out. Brate is available in about two-thirds of leagues.
Austin Hooper broke out for 77 yards on nine-for-twelve receiving. This is the most the Falcons have used the tight end position in their offense. But, if you need the help, Hooper is a solid touchdown dependent play available in about half the leagues.
With the Jaguars Austin Seferian-Jenkins missing time, Niles Paul was seven for nine receiving for 65 yards.
DEFENSES
1 Texans
2 Packers
3 Dolphins
The Week 5 match-ups caused many fantasy football team owners to drop some of the top defenses in the league.
The Texans defense is still available in a few leagues and are the top add as they face Bills rookie quarterback Josh Allen this week. The Packers have a home game against the 49ers. And while there likely will be points scored in this game, they’ll be turnovers too. The Packers defense is available in about half the leagues. Except for a game against the Patriots, the Dolphins have posted double digit fantasy football points in most formats except against the Patriots. The Dolphins play the Bears this week. Despite Mitch Trubisky’s six touchdown performance in Week 4, Trubisky is not Tom Brady.
Week 6 Injury Report