Game Info
Kickoff: Sunday, October 17th at 1:00 PM ET
Location: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Betting Odds: NYG +10.5, 47.5 Total on Oddshark
Network: FOX
Los Angeles Rams
QUARTERBACKS
Matthew Stafford (Start)
Matthew Stafford has to be pinching himself. A year ago, he was a Detroit Lion, a miserable experience made worse when his best wide receiver failed to stay healthy. Five weeks into this season, Stafford is captaining a Los Angeles Rams team with Super Bowl aspirations to a (4-1) record. Stafford needs only 307 yards to pass Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton for 13th place on the all-time passing yards list, a milestone we expect him to reach in the Meadowlands this weekend.
Stafford, the QB8 so far this season, has exceeded 320 yards passing in three of his five starts. In spite of a game script that could call for the Rams to run the ball often in the second half, we like Stafford’s chances of making it four of his last six. Regardless, Stafford is a set-it-and-forget-it starting quarterback in 12 team leagues.
RUNNING BACKS
Darrell Henderson (Start, RB1), Sony Michel (Sit)
Darrell Henderson has seized the primary running back gig for the Rams, averaging 107.5 total yards from scrimmage over the past two weeks. Even though Sony Michel lurks and threatens to steal some goal line work, we see Henderson as a low-end RB1 in a very favorable matchup at the Meadowlands. Few running backs have been as consistently productive as Henderson this season, a trend we expect to continue for at least another week:
Darrell Henderson is now the only RB to score 15+ fantasy points in each of their first 4 games of this season.
He doesn’t have as high of a ceiling as some other RBs on a weekly basis, but you have to love his consistency in your RB2 spot. pic.twitter.com/tfE3ipfBP2
— Michelle Magdziuk (@BallBlastEm) October 8, 2021
WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS
Cooper Kupp (Start, WR1), Robert Woods (Start, WR2), Van Jefferson (Sit), DeSean Jackson (Sit), Tyler Higbee (Start)
Has any wide receiver *ever* clicked with a new quarterback like Cooper Kupp has so far this season? Through five weeks, he’s *the* WR1 in all of fantasy football in PPR formats. Kupp had stolen the spotlight from fellow wide receiver Robert Woods, but the latter burst back into the spotlight last week with his best game of the season (12-150-0 on 14 targets). We’re starting both with confidence this week in what should be a one-sided, high-scoring rout in the Meadowlands.
Van Jefferson has seen a steady decrease in playing time after logging 92 percent of the Rams’ offensive snaps in Week 2. Meanwhile, DeSean Jackson has been lining up for at least 30 percent of the team’s plays ever since. We’re not comfortable plugging either into our lineups, even during this BYE week, the first of the season. We won’t hesitate to roll out Tyler Higbee, however. In Week 6, he draws a vulnerable Giants defense that ranks 26th in points allowed to the tight end position. The Rams’ top tight end has lined up for at least 75 percent of his team’s snaps in every game so far; we expect him to see at least 6 targets, with half coming his way in the red zone.
New York Giants
QUARTERBACKS
Daniel Jones (Sit), Mike Glennon (Sit)
Daniel Jones was queued up as a low-end starting quarterback this week before sustaining a concussion that left him woozy and wobbly. We were instantly reminded of the famous “I’m Batman” Snickers commercial, so we were therefore glad to see Jones on the sidelines after that hit. We wish him all the best for a speedy and full recovery.
Even if Jones is cleared, we’re leery of trotting him out there against the Rams, despite how incredibly well he has played to date. The Rams’ defense should be motivated to make a statement, much to the chagrin of Jones’ fantasy football managers. If pressed into duty, we simply lack faith in Mike Glennon to serve as a viable starting fantasy quarterback in leagues of any size; he can be safely left on waiver wires in 1 QB leagues.
RUNNING BACKS
Devontae Booker (Start, Flex), Saquon Barkley (Sit), Gary Brightwell (Sit)
Even if Saquon Barkley can shake off a hideous ankle injury and give it a go this weekend, we’re not excited about the idea of feeding him to the Rams defense, a group of men that will be hungry to re-establish themselves as a premier unit after facing the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Arizona Cardinals, and Seattle Seahawks over the past three weeks. We expect Barkley to sit this week and make a non-factor out of our recommendation to
We expect Devontae Booker to draw the start; a strong candidate to lead the team in both touches and receptions in Week 6, Booker should be a factor in the passing game. Gary Brightwell shouldn’t even enter your thought process unless some unfortunate fates befall both Barkley and Booker.
WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS
Kadarius Toney (Start, WR3), Sterling Shepard (Sit), Darius Slayton (Sit), Collin Johnson (Sit), Evan Engram (Sit)
Change has been the one constant in the New York Giants wide receiving corps so far this season. Through five weeks, six different receivers have seen five or more targets in a game at least once, including three different team leaders over the past four weeks. Sterling Shepard succumbed to a hamstring injury after starting off the season on fire, but there’s a decent chance that both he and Darius Slayton could return to the starting lineup this weekend, per the New York Post.
Kenny Golladay won’t be suiting up for Sunday’s tilt against the Rams thanks to a minor knee injury he sustained last week. This should leave plenty of targets for Shepard and Slayton, if they’re healthy enough to suit up. If not, Collin Johnson, who has been an afterthought after leading the team in targets in Week 3, could be pressed into action.
We don’t love any of these options given the high levels of risk and uncertainty, but we are enamored with rookie Kadarius Toney after his breakout performance against the Dallas Cowboys in Week 5. Unfortunately, Toney won’t be sneaking up on anyone this time around, and odds are high that he’ll be seeing plenty of Jalen Ramsey.
We’re still mildly optimistic on Toney after the rookie held his own against Trevon Diggs last week, an early frontrunner for Defensive Player of the Year; he’s the only Giants receiver or tight end we can start with any degree of confidence. We just don’t have that same energy for Evan Engram, who has let us down in one too many smash spots so far this season. He’ll have a monster game at some point; we’re just not interested in enduring a pile of sadness in our tight end slot each week while we wait.