Sit/Start Week 5: Reviewing All the Fantasy Relevant Players In Every Single Game

Patriots@Redskins

 

Game Info

Kickoff: Sunday, October 6th at 1:00 pm EST

Location: FedExField, Landover, MD

Betting Odds: WAS +15, 44 Total via Oddsshark

Network: CBS

Sleeper Spotlight: Phillip Dorsett II

 

New England Patriots

 

Quarterback:

• Tom Brady (Start/ QB1)

 

Tom Brady had a pretty rough go of it last week against the Bills. Before his Week 4 stinker of only three fantasy points, Brady had not scored less than 20 points each game. He many have struggled against the Bills’ top-five pass defense but Brady should bounce back well against a Redskins’ pass defense that’s currently 18th in the league. I doubt the Patriots defense allows enough points for this game to become a shootout, so temper your expectations on Brady. We all know that if the Patriots get up to an early lead, Bill Belichick will likely keep the ball on the ground and dare the Redskins to stop them.

 

Running Backs:

• Sony Michel (Start/ RB2)
• James White (Start/ FLEX)
• Rex Burkhead (Sit)

 

Despite some unimpressive performances to start the season, it still seems like Sony Michel is the back to own on this team and his match-up against the Redskins should have fantasy owners salivating. The Redskins’ defense is currently ranked in the bottom five against the run. Michel should receive plenty of carries while the Patriots try to slowly plod their way downfield. I know he hasn’t exactly blown away the league this year. According to Sports Info Solutions, Michel’s broken tackle percentage is zero. Be that as it may, I think Michel should have a solid RB2 floor with plenty of upsides in this one. James White is looking like a pretty consistent FLEX play so far this season. He hasn’t had any break-out performances and his carries have been trending down with each week, but White is consistently putting up respectable PPR floors with his receiving work. He had more targets last week than any other Patriots player. He isn’t an incredibly sexy option, but if you just need a dependable 11 or 12 fantasy points in your match-up, you could do worse. 

 

With the return of White last week, we saw Rex Burkhead get his lowest point total so far this season. That could have something to do with Burkhead’s nagging foot injury. Either that or it’s going to be tough to pin down Burkhead’s usage when Michel and White are both healthy. If Rex is on my team, I’m benching him this week and monitoring the New England backfield situation. 

 

Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends:

• Julian Edelman (Start/ WR2)
• Josh Gordon (Start/ FLEX)
• Phillip Dorsett II (Start/ FLEX)

 

Julian Edelman and the rest of the receivers had a tough performance last week, but most of them should bounce back well. Edelman had his lowest point total so far this season but still ended up with a pretty solid seven targets. Hopefully, improved health and an exploitable secondary should be just what Edelman needs. He should have a good WR2 performance with possibly WR1 upside against the Redskins. Josh Gordon had his second-worst performance last week with the second-most receiving targets he’s had all year. Again, the Patriots just couldn’t get their passing game going last week. Gordon should be another bounce-back candidate this week but I wouldn’t expect much more than FLEX production, especially with Phillip Dorsett II competing for targets each week. 

 

Dorsett has been pretty hot-and-cold so far this year, scoring less than 7 fantasy points or more than 18 each week. I’m also beginning to wonder if he’s a touchdown-dependant player. Dorsett’s two best fantasy performances have been helped by three touchdowns. He’s scored zero touchdowns in all of his more disappointing performances this year. I’ve mainly listed both Gordon and Dorsett as FLEXs this week because it’s difficult to predict who will be a bigger part of the game plan. That being said, both receivers should have plenty of opportunities to break out. 

 

Washington Redskins

 

Quarterback:

• Case Keenum (Sit)
• Dwayne Haskins (Sit)
• Colt McCoy (lol)

 

As of this writing, I don’t have a clue which quarterback will be starting for the Redskins in Week 5. One would assume it’s rookie Dwayne Haskins after Jay Gruden benched Case Keenum. Here’s the thing though, Gruden said he wouldn’t put Haskins out there until the kid was ready. That turned out to be a lie because Haskins was not ready last week against the Giants. If Haskins couldn’t hack it against the Giants, how the heck is he supposed to perform against the Patriots’ defense that’s currently ranked first, allowing the least opponent yards per game. I don’t get it. Gruden has said he doesn’t want to throw Haskins straight into the fire, but that’s exactly what he’s doing if he decides to start the rookie. There have even been some reports that Gruden is considering starting Colt McCoy.

 

Should Case Keenum get the start, I think he would be a more serviceable quarterback. That being said, I wouldn’t trust any of these guys against the Patriots. They could rack up some respectable garbage-time points if they fall behind quickly and are forced to throw the ball, but I wouldn’t rely on that. 

 

Running Backs:

• Adrian Peterson (Sit)
• Chris Thompson (FLEX)

 

It’s looking like Adrian Peterson will not be the inexplicably good running back that he was last year. He’s been averaging 11 carries a game the past three weeks and his 2.6 average yards per carry aren’t helping much. For the time being, it seems the Redskins will continue giving Peterson most of the groundwork. Those yards will be especially tough to come by this week against a Patriots defense that’s allowing the second-fewest rushing yards per game in the NFL. That alone should be enough to downgrade an extremely risky FLEX play to the bench. 

 

Chris Thompson, on the other hand, is looking like a pretty reliable low-end FLEX play from week to week. He hasn’t scored one touchdown yet this year, but he also hasn’t scored less than 10 fantasy points each week. If Thompson gets more red-zone targets I could see his fantasy stock rising, but his current consistency has been a comfort. If the Redskins need to abandon the run, Thompson could see more passing targets. That being said, I still think Thompson will be a risky FLEX play this week against a tough New England defense. 

 

Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends:

• Terry McLaurin (Start/ WR2)
• Jordan Reed (Sit)
• Vernon Davis (Sit)
• Paul Richardson Jr. (Risky FLEX)
• Trey Quinn (Sit)

 

Unfortunately, the Redskins were without star rookie wide receiver Terry McLaurin last week. The kid has been electric so far, putting up rookie numbers we haven’t seen since Calvin Johnson. It’s likely the ‘Skins go down early in this one, which should mean plenty of targets for Scary Terry if he’s active and the hamstring injury has healed up. That being said, I’m tempering expectations slightly against a Patriots pass defense that’s currently allowing the second-fewest passing yards per game. 

 

With Jordan Reed still out due to concussion issues, Vernon Davis has been a pretty underwhelming backup in his place. Davis had one respectable performance in Week 1 but has been pretty much fantasy irrelevant since then. As someone who had to use Davis as a bye week fill-in last week, just stay away from Redskins tight ends this year. Even if Jordan Reed comes back, a particularly strong breeze could end his career at this point. Trey Quinn has been getting respectable work, but he isn’t likely to become fantasy-relevant this year.

 

Many were expecting Paul Richardson Jr. to step up last week without Terry McLaurin in the lineup but he ended up with his lowest fantasy point total of the season. I’m wondering if he’s incapable of being “the guy” on this offense and mainly just benefits from defenses focusing most of their attention on McLaurin. I can’t help but feel like Richardson is a risky FLEX play at best this week. There are too many unknowns. Who will be throwing the ball? Is Scary Terry playing? Will the Pats’ defense completely shut them down anyway?

 

-Ryan Kruse (@ryanpkruse)