The Highlight, NFL Week 5
Welcome to The Highlight, a weekly article where we look at some of the NFL games with the most fantasy significance for the week. All analysis will be based solely on real-life production and matchup. It will not take into account any DFS pricing. With that being said, lets jump into it!
New England Patriots @ Cleveland Browns
Touchdown Tommy is ready for revenge after serving a comical 4 game suspension and I pity everyone in his way. It is a funny coincidence that his first game back is against one of the worst defenses in the league. At the time of this article, Vegas has the Patriots scoring the most points in week 5 at 28.5. The hard part will be figuring out where the points are going to come from.
Tom Brady — There are a few scenarios I can see happening here:
1.) Tom Brady shows no signs of rust, throws for 3 TDs in the first half and they don’t take their
foot off the gas for the rest of the game. I am thinking 2007 Patriots.
2.) He is a little rusty in the first half by missing his receivers here and there, but ultimately gets in a rhythm and finishes the day with 3 TDs.
3.) The Patriots get up early, are satisfied with the lead, and will run it home with LeGarrette Blount, who as a result, will be a top 5 RB on the week.
New England Receivers — Good luck figuring out who Tom is going to be throwing to. The safest bet is Julian Edelman due to their on-field chemistry and off-field bromance. Gronkowski could be dangerous to roster. I believe his lack of production has less to do with the QBs performance and more to do with his lingering hamstring injury. The question is does Martellus Bennett take on the TE1 role for the team? Deciphering who Brady will throw to this week will make him very difficult to stack with (pairing him with one of his receivers).
Cleveland Browns — I do not trust any of the Browns players this week. Terrelle Pryor is by far their best weapon, but Bill Belichik is known for shutting down an offense’s biggest threat.
Bust: Terrelle Pryor
Sleeper: Chris Hogan — Remember, Brady connected with Hogan on a 33-yard TD in preseason week 3. He is there best and really only downfield threat now that Aaron Dobson is gone.
New York Jets @ Pittsburgh Steelers
In week 4 the Steelers showed the league who has the most dangerous offense. Le’Veon Bell returned to the football field in his typical dominant fashion by posting 178 yards from scrimmage. Despite the great production, he makes me nervous this week. The Steelers are going up against a defense that is very good against the run and horrendous against the pass. I think Bell will still have his touches and get his 100 yards from scrimmage, but we need to see 150+ yards and a TD or two to get standard Le’Veon level production. Despite my pessimism on Bell, there is a lot to like about this game.
Ben Roethlisberger — Big Ben dominated a respectable Kansas City defense last week to the tune of 300 yards and 5 TDs. This week he faces the New York Jets. Last week they allowed a run first offense, with a hobbled QB, throw for 309 yards and 3 TDs. Ben should have his way with this defense resulting in another monstrous outing.
Steelers Receivers — You can lock Antonio Brown into your lineup and never look back. No additional analysis is needed. The other pass catcher that is interesting for this game is Sammie Coates. There was a lot of hype around him coming into the season, but the results have been mediocre so far. However, because of his matchup this week and the fact that he led the team in targets last week, this could finally be the breakout game people have hoped for.
Brandon Marshall — So far this season he has been a bit of a disappointment. Between the Ryan Fitzpatrick’s playing poorly and Marshall’s injuries, we have not seen the same production we did last year. There is good news though. Last week Marshall matched up with one of the best corners in the league and produced his best numbers of the season. This week he should have his way with the Steelers secondary.
Bust: Ryan Fitzpatrick — The guy is a hot mess and he is playing in Pittsburgh against a defense that is trending upwards.
Sleeper: Quincy Enunwa — I mentioned him in the previous week’s column, The Patch Work Report (here), but he is flying under the radar due to his tough matchup last week. This week all the defensive attention will be on Brandon Marshall, allowing Enunwa to run free.
San Diego Chargers vs. Oakland Raiders
Ladies and gentlemen, this should be a full on shoot out. We are looking at two teams with awful defenses and QBs who like to throw a lot. There is so much fantasy good-ness you can’t go wrong.
Phillip Rivers — No matter how hurt this offense is, Rivers still manages to find people to throw to. Even in a week he was out of sync with Travis Benjamin and Tyrell Williams, he managed to put up 321 yards and 2 TDs (with 1 INT). Yes, that was against the Saints’ porous secondary, but I do not think the Raiders’ is much better. Playing away from home against a good offense, Phillip could find himself playing from behind early and that’s exactly where we want him to be for a big fantasy day.
Derek Carr — Phillip Rivers is a great play, but Derek Carr is a better play. The game is in Oakland, San Diego can score and the Raiders do not have a consistent run game.
Amari Cooper — Last week, in a great spot, against the Baltimore Ravens, Cooper disappointed. He took the back seat to Crabtree, who went off for 3 TDs. Although, I do not think last week was a fluke, I do think this will be a much better week for Cooper as he has another great matchup and has big play ability. The Raiders pass catchers are also getting a big boost with news that Jason Verrett is most likely out for the rest of the season.
Michael Crabtree — Last week’s game closely resembled last year’s entire season. No, Crabtree was not getting 3 TDs every week, but he was leading the team in targets. You should be able to roster Crabtree with all the confidence in the world this week.
San Diego Receivers — Good luck trying to crack this code. One week it is Travis Benjamin, the next its Tyrell Williams, then last week it was Dontrelle Inman. If I had to roster a San Diego wide receiver, I would take Tyrell Williams as he has the big play ability, but he is also getting majority of the red zone targets.
Bust: Latavius Murray — this is sort of a cop out because everyone by now should know he sucks. His own team knows he sucks. He’s losing more and more touches each week.
Break Out Performance: Hunter Henry — I couldn’t find a true sleeper in this game, so I had to change the category. Hunter Henry has been great so far, don’t get me wrong, but I think there is more upside to come. If Gates is ruled out, I am seeing a 100+ yards from Henry and at least 1 TD. Antonio Gates who?
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