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

Bills@Titans

 

Game Info

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

Location: Nissan Stadium, Nashville, TN

Betting Odds: TEN -2.5, 38.5 Total via Oddsshark

Network: CBS

Sleeper Spotlight: Dawson Knox

 

Buffalo Bills

 

Quarterback:

• Josh Allen (Start if healthy/ QB2)
• Matt Barkley (Sit)

 

Josh Allen began the week in concussion protocol after an incredibly dirty hit last week during a game against the Patriots. But, it’s the Patriots, so nothing was called and nobody was ejected from the game. Allen has been pretty good so far this year but was having a tough go of it last week, throwing three interceptions before his injury. If he’s good to go this week, Allen will have another difficult match-up against the Titans who have shown they can bring the pressure against opposing quarterbacks. That being said, Tennessee’s pass defense is pretty middling so far this year. A solid game plan could lead to some success for Allen. If Matt Barkley has to start for the Bills this week, then everything I just said goes out the window. I have zero faith in him.

 

Running Backs:

• Frank Gore (FLEX if Singletary sits)
• Devin Singletary (FLEX if he’s active)
• T.J. Yeldon (Sit)

 

Frank Gore has been the primary Bills back the past few weeks in Devin Singletary’s absence. Gore has done pretty well picking up the slack, but his last three fantasy performances would have averaged around 10 points without his goal-line work and touchdowns. Gore would have likely had another good shot at low-end RB2 or FLEX production, but the imminent return of Singletary could make Gore a tough start this week. Devin Singletary was close to playing in last week’s game against the Patriots and will likely play this week against the Titans if he’s practicing all week. The Titans defense has been middling against the run, so if the Bills come out passing well it should open up some opportunities for the run game. Hopefully, this isn’t a two-headed backfield if and when Singletary returns. It’s tough to trust either of these guys with anything more than FLEX production while there are still so many unknowns before kickoff. 

 

T.J. Yeldon had his best performance of the season last week, but that still only amounted to roughly 10 points and a large chunk was from pass-catching. I wouldn’t expect that sort of performance again, especially if Singletary returns. 

 

Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends:

• Cole Beasley (Start/ FLEX)
• John Brown (FLEX/ higher upside if Barkley starts)
• Dawson Knox (Start/ TE2)

 

With 23 targets the past two weeks, it’s looking like Cole Beasley will continue to be a big part of the Bills’ passing attack. He’s been averaging a respectable 13.8 fantasy points the past three weeks, giving fantasy owners pretty consistent FLEX production. That’s all without one touchdown so far this year. His production should stay about the same, and if he can find the end zone, he’s got plenty of upside. John Brown is going to be tough to pin down this week mainly because we don’t know who will be throwing the ball to him. If Allen is out, I would give Brown a slight bump considering he had his highest target total so far this year with Barkley throwing to him. Given his production so far this year, I still wouldn’t trust him with much more than a FLEX performance this week. 

 

Dawson Knox has been pretty darn good the past two weeks while he’s filling in for starting tight end, Tyler Kroft. His stats weren’t amazing last week, but it’s undeniable that he’s a big part of this offense. I wouldn’t recommend everyone drop tight ends to pick him up, but Knox could be a sneaky pickup if you need someone to fill-in for a tight end on a bye week. 

 

Tennessee Titans

 

Quarterback:

• Marcus Mariota (Sit/ QB2 at most)

 

Marcus Mariota has been playing pretty good football so far this year. The only problem is that he seems to struggle when opposing defenses take away his passing game. I know that may sound silly to say about the Titans — a team that hardly throws — but they look incredibly one-dimensional when their passing game is shut down. Unfortunately for Mariota, this week should be a tough matchup against a Bills defense that is top-four in passing yards allowed per game. So far this year, quarterbacks going up against Buffalo’s defense have averaged 10.7 fantasy points per game. I’m not expecting much from Mariota in this one. 

 

Running Backs:

• Derrick Henry (FLEX)
• Dion Lewis (Sit)

 

Derrick Henry hasn’t been particularly efficient for the past two weeks. In that time, he’s been averaging 11.7 fantasy points and 22 carries each game. This week’s matchup against a tough Bills defense isn’t very comforting. Buffalo is currently top-seven in opponent rushing yards per game. To make matters worse, most people likely don’t have good enough depth to bench Henry. I don’t know what kind of talent is on your team, but if you need to start Henry, I wouldn’t expect more than FLEX production. Dion Lewis is nothing more than a bench stash for Henry owners at this point. 

 

Wide Receivers/ Tight Ends:

• A.J. Brown (Sit/ FLEX at most)
• Corey Davis (Sit/ FLEX at most)
• Adam Humphries (Sit)
• Delanie Walker (Start/ TE2)

 

People will likely think I’m crazy advising you sit A.J. Brown after his monster performance last week, but I think Brown is looking pretty “boom or bust” this year. His production is all over the place. Last week was his best so far, Brown caught two touchdowns and ended his day with more than 24 fantasy points. The problem is that Brown had two TD catches on only three targets, his lowest target share of the entire season. He scored just 5.5 and 1.4 fantasy points on weeks where he had the most targets (five). I just don’t have enough faith to put him in my starting lineup, especially against a very good Bills secondary. I feel similarly about Corey Davis, the fool’s gold of wide receivers. He had a good game last week but this is exactly what Davis does. He will have one or two solid performances, everyone will overspend their FAAB budget to get him, and he will immediately return to mediocrity. The Bills are ranked fourth in the league in opponent passing yards per game. I expect Davis to regress again. 

 

The Titans simply don’t pass the ball enough to support any more than two fantasy-relevant receivers at any one time. Adam Humphries’ production will likely stay too inconsistent to be rostered in most leagues. I’m not expecting much from Delanie Walker this week, but at the end of the day, he’s still scoring top-10 among fantasy tight ends so far this year. If Walker is on your team, you likely need to keep him in the starting lineup and hope for the best. If you have another tight end option with a better matchup you may need to decide between the two. 

 

-Ryan Kruse (@ryanpkruse)