Patriots@Jets
Game Info
Kickoff: Monday, October 21st at 8:15 pm EST
Location: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, NJ
Betting Odds: +10 NYJ, via Oddsshark
Network: ESPN
Sleeper Spotlight: Jamison Crowder
New England Patriots
Quarterback:
Tom Brady (Start, QB1)
Tom Brady off extended rest? In primetime? Against a division rival? As a Jets fan, I don’t like it, but fantasy-wise it’s a great spot. Although he didn’t throw any touchdowns last Thursday against the Giants (in fact he had one uncharacteristic interception), Brady was still able to go 31/41 for 334 yards.
Brady has not lost at MetLife Stadium against the Jets since 2015; which happened to be a must-win game for New York to keep their playoff hopes alive. In reality, if the Jets want to build off their thrilling, first win of the season against Dallas this past week, Monday night’s game is also a must. Even so, Brady with ten days rest is too hard to pass upon.
Running Backs
- Sony Michel (Start, RB2)
- James White (Start, FLEX)
- Rex Burkhead (Sit)
The Patriots backfield is not very fantasy-friendly and hasn’t been for years. More often than not there is such uncertainty of who gets the start, who will be featured the most, etc. Sony Michel has turned it up in recent weeks, carrying the ball 17, 16, and 22 times, respectively. The touchdown scoring may not be there each week, but you have to love the volume. The same goes for James White, who may not be doing it on the ground, but is continuously involved in the passing game. White was targeted nine times (to which he caught them all) for just 46 yards, but nine grabs add up in PPR formats.
Rex Burkhead has missed the past two games with a foot injury. Even if he suits up against the Jets, I wouldn’t trust starting him.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends:
- Julian Edelman (Start, WR1)
- Josh Gordon (Flex at best)
- Phillip Dorsett II (Sit)
- Ryan Izzo (Sit)
Coming off a 15 target night against the Giants, Julian Edelman is locked in as a WR1 for New England. Through his last two games, he has 17 receptions for 223 yards. The Jets notoriously have trouble against Edelman, and I’d expect another solid game for him. Josh Gordon has not been a reliant WR2 for the Pats post-Antonio Brown, and at best he can only be considered for your flex. He only saw one target against the Giants, but that number should increase against the Jets. If Phillip Dorsett plays, I wouldn’t start him. He’s been productive in real life, but in a fantasy landscape, he has not gained true WR3 or flex relevance.
The Patriots do not have a viable tight end on their roster. Therefore, Ryan Izzo is not worth a start, nor a roster spot on your squads.
New York Jets
Quarterback:
Sam Darnold (Start, QB2)
Mono no more. Sam Darnold came back from a three-game hiatus with a vengeance. On 32 attempts, Darnold completed 23 passes for 338 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. The pick was a mere blemish in an overall strong return. Darnold made some great throws, and successfully aggressive when he needed to be. While he’ll have a tougher task this week against the Pats, the league’s best defense, he very well may end up being a viable streamer.
Running Backs:
- Le’Veon Bell (Start, RB1)
- Ty Montgomery (Sit)
A primetime game like this upcoming one is why the Jets went out and got Le’Veon Bell. And if they want any shot at winning, they’ll need to utilize him as often as they did early on without Darnold in there. Having him back should only help Bell. He ran the ball 14 times against Dallas, a season-low. He did score though for his first on the ground this year. Another issue worth noting was Bell was only targeted once versus the Cowboys, but no doubt we’ll see an uptick in that Monday night.
Ty Montgomery, a summer darling, has been only that. He has done nothing this season. You wonder if he’s a product of suffering from Luke Falk the past few weeks, but this has been quite the disappointing start to his season.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends:
- Robby Anderson (Start, WR2)
- Jamison Crowder (Start, FLEX with WR3 upside)
- Demaryius Thomas (Sit)
- Ryan Griffin (Sit)
- Chris Herndon* (Start if you’re feeling risky)
Two receivers that have already benefited greatly with Darnold back are the top two on the team, Robby Anderson and Jamison Crowder. Anderson caught five of eight targets for 125 yards and a touchdown. The score came off a 92 yard breakaway after a huge 4th and 2 stop by the Jets defense in their red zone. Anderson has been getting open practically all season long and fell victim to the dark days of Falk.
Crowder saw nine targets, of which he caught six for 98 yards. He alongside Anderson has flex value with WR3 upside, as Darnold trusts him in the slot into the middle of the field. I’m looking at him as my ‘sleeper spotlight’ for this game. Demaryius Thomas got involved as well, reeling in four of his five targets for 62 yards. At the moment though, he shouldn’t be considered as a must-own.
Ryan Griffin is seemingly the Jets only pass-catching option at the tight end right now. While he did score against Dallas, I would not trust starting him against the Patriots. Chris Herndon is working his way back from a hamstring injury that kept him of his suspension-returning game that would have been against Dallas. As of writing, it’s possible he returns to practice today & suits up Monday night. If he does, I would be okay with starting him; see Hunter Henry on Sunday against the Chargers. It was led to believe he would be active but limited and wound up scoring twice on eight catches out of nine targets. So much for limited. Who’s to say Herndon can’t have a strong debut?
–Matthew Cava (@cavaM_ Twitter & Reddit)
Featured Image by Nathan Mills (@NathanMillsPL)
You have Justice Hill listed as the handcuff, so I’m wasting a roster spot on Gus?
If something happened to Ingram, I think it’s fair to say that it would be a committee approach to replace him. Depends if you would prefer the workhorse and TD role of Gus or the passing game role with Hill. As someone who drafted Hill everywhere, I have long since dropped him. Gus is probably the safer handcuff in my opinion, Hill maybe has more upside in a PPR league.
Might be worth noting Josh Gordon had one target after he left the game with a knee injury in second quarter.
Odd that you’re taking that stance on Murray. Everything that i’ve read has said that Kamara possibly has a high ankle sprain and is most likely not playing. Even with Kamara playing last week, Murray spit out 10 points in my half ppr league.
Great breakdown of the QBs in Week 7! It’s really helpful to see everything in one place. Thanks for the time and effort you put into this post!