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Every Tuesday of the regular season, I will be updating my rest of season rankings for PPR leagues, in hopes of helping you with roster construction and trade negotiations. These are not Week 5 matchup rankings, which I will release every Wednesday. The List is created with the rest of the season in mind.
Player Notes
- Nick Chubb exploded in Week 4 against a tough Ravens run defense and jumps up three spots in my rest of season rankings. His three touchdowns on 165 yards solidify him as an elite option, and he was already climbing my ranks due to elite snap rates and usage. While the return of Kareem Hunt still lingers after Week 10, Chubb has established himself as a top-end fantasy running back that can carry teams to the playoffs.
- Davante Adams drops seven spots due to a turf toe injury that may cause him to miss Week 5 at least. Turf toe injuries can linger, so this is just enough uncertainty to knock Adams down the tightly packed elite receiver ranks. Be careful if trading Adams, as this injury still lacks a definitive timetable. But his performance in Week 4 (10 catches, 180 yards) shows why Adams was drafted in the first round of fantasy drafts.
- I was flat out wrong on Melvin Gordon, as I thought he would hold out for the maximum amount of time and return as the fantasy playoffs approached. Gordon was the emergency fill-in this week and should be eased back into something close to his old role. But with prior injury concerns, the impressive play of Austin Ekeler, and no training camp participation, there are enough reasons to keep Gordon down lower than his pre holdout ranking. Ekeler owners should hold, as I think a James White type role could be possible in an offense that is lacking of weapons. With as often as Philip Rivers throws to his running backs, I would expect Ekeler to still have value in PPR leagues. And he gets the added bonus of being the top handcuff in the league, as we have seen his ceiling without Gordon.
- Wayne Gallman looked impressive in his first start, but it should be taken with a grain of salt. The Redskins are among the worst teams in the league, and Saquon Barkley may just return on the lower end of his recovery timetable. Gallman is ranked much higher week to week, but rest of season I remain unsure of how many weeks we will actually get out of him.
- Injuries drop T.J. Hockenson, Cam Newton, and Josh Allen significantly down my ranks. In these fantasy positions where we only need to start one player, keeping an injured player on your bench makes less sense than with a running back or wide receiver. It takes a player with substantial upside to be worth it, and I don’t think any of these players possess that upside right now. All three can be dropped.
- With Tyreek Hill looking just a few weeks away from returning, secondary options Mecole Hardman and Demarcus Robinson see their value fall slightly. Sammy Watkins could actually have an easier time getting open once Hill returns, and could get back on track as a result. Things aren’t looking encouraging in general for Watkins, but this could be a good buy-low opportunity if the Watkins owner in your league has given up hope.
- The Bengals look like a disaster, and Joe Mixon is getting no help from his teammates or coaches. Until Mixon is unlocked in the passing game, which doesn’t look close to happening, his floor and ceiling are severely affected.
- Darrel Williams continues to rise, and Damien Williams continues to fall. The return of Damien Williams may completely muddy this Chiefs backfield, though LeSean McCoy seems to have a fairly safe role. Whenever Damien does return, however, it will be a tough week or two of sorting out the pecking order in this committee. It is looking less and less likely that any of these running backs will truly breakout, barring a major injury to one of the committee members.
Featured Image by Justin Paradis (@freshmeatcomm on Twitter)