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Peyton Manning, Demaryius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders Post-Week 5 Fantasy Advice

Fantasy Football
October 11, 2015

The Denver Broncos have leaned on their defense in 2015, which has resulted in a 5-0 start to the season but diminishing returns for their marquee fantasy players.

Legendary quarterback Peyton Manning is battling waning arm strength, which subtracts from the fantasy value receivers Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders have. Manning has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns thus far this season.

Read on for more on Manning, the Broncos’ two best wideouts and how their production to date translates to their individual fantasy forecasts moving forward.

Peyton Manning

Sunday marked the second time this season that Manning didn’t throw a touchdown pass. That’s been the case in half of his past six regular-season starts.

Mike Klis of 9News highlighted Manning’s sudden problem with turnovers:

Unless he’s perfectly on his spot and can get his whole body into a throw, Manning’s balls flutter. His legendary accuracy has suffered as a result, because he can’t get the ball to his receivers on time. The throws come with less velocity and more anticipation and are thus more susceptible to being intercepted.

Only the most favorable matchups make Manning worth starting in fantasy. If he’s facing a team with good pass-rushers, such as Oakland‘s Khalil Mack and Aldon Smith, stay away from Manning until further notice.

Week 6 may be a good time to plug Manning in, because he’ll be facing the Cleveland Browns, who lack any consistent threats to pressure the opposing QB.

Demaryius Thomas

Beyond Thomas and Sanders, Manning has few other options in the receiving corps. That means Thomas has to overcome a lot to be productive.

On any given play, Thomas can take it to the house. The problem is that defenses are starting to creep up and jam him, knowing Manning can’t push the ball downfield. Thomas is averaging approximately 11 yards per catch this season.

There are many cost-effective options to explore in daily fantasy. Owners in season-long leagues have no choice but to be patient with Thomas and hope he produces like a WR2 in Denver’s declining passing game.

Emmanuel Sanders

Since Thomas has a ridiculous blend of speed and size, defenses are forced to focus on him more often than not. That leaves Sanders with favorable matchups that he’s able to take advantage of.

That’s not a shot at Sanders, who’s a legitimate playmaker in his own right. Manning can count on Sanders to get open, which was evident in the pair’s proficient performance Sunday.

Sanders is a borderline WR1 and certainly a solid WR2 option. The offseason departure of playmaking tight end Julius Thomas guarantees that Sanders will rack up a ton of targets in 2015. Whether he’ll be able to find paydirt often enough to justify a weekly fantasy start, however, is difficult to determine.

Read more Fantasy Football news on NerdyFootball.com

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