Overall, last weeks picks were mostly successful, with a few outliers here and there. Marshawn Lynch disappointed and continues to do so on a week to week basis. Jay Ajayi ran like his life depended on it, ripping off 130 yards on the ground to help kick-start the Dolphins offense. Tyrell Williams and Jamison Crowder are still struggling to be productive and were useless fantasy plays once again last week. Both are heading towards droppable territory in most leagues.
QUARTERBACK
SWIM
I’m definitely all for not paying up for guys like Matt Ryan, Dak Prescott or Marcus Mariota Sunday in DFS, and instead going with one of these cheap alternatives.
Brett Hundley (Green Bay Packers):
Hundley didn’t look great after coming in for Aaron Rodgers last week, but it’s hard to judge him based of that given the match up and lack of preparation he had going into the week. He has always looked pretty good in the preseason and although the Saints defense has looked better recently, they still have some holes that can be exploited by a good offense. The Saints will score in this one, so Hundley and co. will be in a position where they’ll likely have to keep up.
C.J. Beathard (San Francisco 49ers):
Beathard didn’t look as bad as expected last week after replacing an ineffective Brian Hoyer. He now gets a full week to prepare as the starter, and gets a nice match up for himself going up against a Cowboys defense that has been destroyed in the air all season. Expect Kyle Shanahan to let Beathard loose this week with nothing to lose and the team likely playing from behind early and often.
Deshone Kizer (Cleveland Browns):
Sure Kizer has been pretty bad this season, but this could be a get right match up for him against a bad Titans secondary. He’s always a threat to run too, which gives him some floor cushion and he should have a solid finish as long as he isn’t a turnover machine like he’s been lately.
SINK
Philip Rivers (Los Angeles Chargers):
The Broncos defense typically gives Rivers fits, and there’s no reason to think he will be any better this weekend. As always, if you own a QB facing the Broncos, you best find another option.
Ben Roethlisberger (Pittsburgh Steelers):
He hasn’t played well all season and this Bengals defense, fresh off of a bye, has always done a pretty good job against him in his career. He’s not a QB option to trust this weekend, even in the home match up.
Jacoby Brissett (Indianapolis Colts):
He has surprised for the most part this season, and his fantasy value has been steady most weeks, but this will be his toughest match up to date, so he shouldn’t be in any fantasy lineups.
RUNNING BACK
SWIM
Adrian Peterson (Arizona Cardinals):
All day AP was back last week, breaking off big runs from the get go and showed he clearly still has some juice left in the tank. The match up is solid again this weekend, going against a Rams team that has allowed some big games to opposing RB’s.
Alvin Kamara (New Orleans Saints):
Kamara’s rushing role has been growing on a weekly basis and he should be set for plenty of touches in this game, with plenty of scoring opportunity. He’s a solid RB2 in PPR leagues, with a nice floor/ceiling combination.
Derek Henry (Tennessee Titans):
With Demarco Murray banged up and questionable at best to play, look for Henry to get all the carries he can handle in this game. There should be plenty of clock killing potential here for Henry, and he is definitely a favorite to find the end zone this weekend.
Joe Mixon (Cincinnati Bengals):
The hope here is that the Bengals put an emphasis on improving their offensive line over the bye week, and they will look to get Mixon going this weekend. Regardless of whether or not the o-line improves, Mixon still should continue to receive plenty enough touches to keep his floor in the RB2 range.
Deep Dives–Orleans Darkwa, James White: As long as he is healthy, Orleans Darkwa always runs hard and is capable of being a matchup proof RB2 now, as he showed this past weekend. James White is still seeing a healthy amount of targets each week (7 per game) and it’s hard to ignore how effective he was against the Falcons this past February.
SINK
Jets RB’s (New York Jets):
It looks like the 3 headed RB monster will be back in action in New York, with Bilal Powell returning. It’s anyone’s guess who will see the majority of snaps/touches, but if I had to, I’d say Matt Forte. Even still, Forte isn’t appealing enough option to play outside of deep leagues or for those desperate. Elijah McGuire is looking like a possible drop candidate, now stuck behind Powell and Forte.
Ravens RB’s (Baltimore Ravens):
Buck Allen is an ok low ceiling play in PPR formats, but other than that, I’m staying away from playing either Allen or Alex Collins this weekend. These two will continue to eat into each other potential fantasy production and it doesn’t help that the Vikings are the 2nd best run defense in football right now.
WIDE RECEIVER
SWIM
Nelson Agholor (Philadelphia Eagles):
He continues to see his targets rise and is in a great spot here going against a less than stellar Redskins secondary he already burned this season (week 1). He is truly a differently player this season and has the faith of Carson Wentz this year.
Danny Amendola (New England Patriots):
Similar to James White, Amendola tends to have his biggest games in the biggest spots, so expect him to be used more often Sunday night. Chris Hogan being banged up can only help his usage.
Rishard Matthews (Tennessee Titans):
I was torn between Matthews and Eric Decker but went with Matthews given his higher floor and potential for a breakout game. Matthews was able to still be somewhat productive last week even though he only saw a season low 4 targets and should see more this Sunday, especially with Delanie Walker hurting.
Allen Hurns (Jacksonville Jaguars):
This is contingent on the health of Marqise Lee, but if Lee doesn’t play, Hurns should be in line for some more targets in a plus match up. He doesn’t have the intriguing upside as some other options, but his floor should be steady with Lee out and he does see his fair share of red zone looks.
Deep Dives–Kenny Stills, Josh Doctson: Kenny Stills should be in a position to return decent fantasy value again this week against the Jets secondary if DeVante Parker sits. With Terrelle Pryor and Jamison Crowder being ineffective, the Redskins should look into expanded Josh Doctson’s role starting this week. Even if they don’t, he is the teams favorite red zone receiving option giving him serious TD upside.
SINK
T.Y. Hilton (Indianapolis Colts):
He’s really only put together two quality outings this year, and this will be another game where he is almost guaranteed to bust. The Jaguars continue to be the toughest pass defense in football so Hilton and Jacoby Brissett will have their work cut out for them.
Desean Jackson (Tampa Bay Buccaneers):
He hasn’t been productive nor been targeted this season, so going in to Buffalo won’t be the best spot to predict a break out game for D-Jax. I’d imagine Mike Evans seeing a monster target share this weekend.
Sammy Watkins (Los Angeles Rams):
Watkins hasn’t done much of anything since that early season game against the 49ers and that will likely continue as he draws Patrick Peterson on Sunday. He shouldn’t be used in any formats this week.
TIGHT END
SWIM
Hunter Henry (San Diego Chargers):
The Chargers are finally using him like they should, given that he is one of their top 2-3 receiver options on the roster. The Broncos only weakness in the passing game is against the tight end position, so he should see plenty of targets his way on Sunday. As long as they don’t use him as an extra blocker all game like they did in week 1…
Austin Hooper (Atlanta Falcons):
Hooper has led the team in targets the past two weeks and will be going up against a Patriots defense that has had no answer to opposing tight ends this season. Even with Mohamed Sanu returning, it would be wise for the Falcons to keep Hooper involved in the passing game.
George Kittle (San Francisco 49ers):
Dallas has contained opposing tight ends to begin the year, but also havn’t faced many that are focal points of their offense. Kittle is averaging 8.5 targets over the last two games, and showed great chemistry with his college QB last week, C.J. Beathard. As long as the targets are there, he’s a fine low-end TE1.
SINK
Martellus Bennett (Green Bay Packers):
It’s not going to be easy to rely on any of the Packers receivers this week, so Bennett is certainly out of the question as a potential TE1. He hasn’t had one productive game this season, and is definitely a cut candidate in most leagues.
Jason Witten (Dallas Cowboys):
Somehow, the one thing the 49ers defense has been good at is limiting opposing tight ends on the year. Even so, Witten hasn’t really been a reliable fantasy option this season and has one of the lowest floors among the group.
Big Ben played well for a second straight week. His demise is looking premature at this point. If you take out the 5 pick game (and you can’t), he has throw 9 TD / 3 INT – that offense it explosive if they need to be as well. I can remeber him being written off several years ago as well. I have been playing FFB for a long time and I never put much stock into a week or two. It usually works out. As you can see here, being right is a coin flip at best. Go with the proven talent and you will win more often than the guy trying to fins the next OBJ. I also never care about TE defense rankings – it is 95% game flow.