Week 5 added lots of legitimacy to many of the league’s developing narratives in the fantasy football realm. Devonta Freeman, Allen Hurns and Tyler Eifert aren’t slowing down anytime soon. C.J. Anderson, Matthew Stafford and Jimmy Graham are not to be trusted. And since Sunday featured so few big performances from the typical fantasy studs, we are deeming Week 5, “The Week of the Handcuff.”
According to Yahoo Sports, the top five scoring wide receivers in Week 5 were Andre Johnson, Allen Robinson, Allen Hurns, Julian Edelman and Jaelen Strong. Not exactly your cream of the crop there. Josh McCown, Blake Bortles and Andy Dalton were your three highest-scoring quarterbacks.
Rob Gronkowski was outscored by seven other tight ends. That dubious list includes Eifert, Gary Barnidge, Brent Celek, Benjamin Watson, Jacob Tamme, Derek Carrier and Darren Fells.
We’ll try to make some sense of this mess with this week’s rankings, projections and waiver-wire tips. Here is the slate of NFL action in Week 6.
Quarterbacks
Boom: Teddy Bridgewater, Minnesota Vikings
Fresh off a bye week, Bridgewater and his Vikings have a juicy matchup at home against the floundering Kansas City Chiefs. The 1-4 Chiefs will likely be heading north without stud running back Jamaal Charles, who many believed suffered a torn ACL on Sunday in an 18-17 loss to the Bears.
Bridgewater has just two touchdowns through four games, but the Chiefs have been getting impaled by every quarterback they come across. If you surrender 250 yards and a pair of scores—one being a game-winner—to Jay Cutler without his top two receivers, there’s not much hope as a defense.
Teddy Throwsavelt is a somewhat sneaky quarterback play for Week 6. All signs point toward a big game for the sophomore sensation.
Bust: Matthew Stafford, Detroit Lions
Honestly, we could’ve all seen that meltdown coming from a mile away. Stafford threw three picks and was benched in the third quarter while his team fell 42-17 at home to the swarming Cardinals in Week 5.
Eight picks in five games is not going to get it done. Stafford isn’t going to lose his gig to Dan Orlovsky, but fantasy owners should be avoiding him like the plague. He has offered no encouraging signs this season whatsoever, and he has given owners no reason to believe this is a blip on the radar. Stafford is trending in the wrong direction, and it’s been heading this way for years.
A matchup with Chicago would be enticing for most quarterbacks, but not this one. Try going with a sleeper like Sam Bradford or Andy Dalton. Bradford has a great matchup with the Giants, and he has looked much better of late. Dalton has put together five very good games in a row, and there’s no reason to believe that won’t continue.
Running Backs
Boom: Arian Foster, Houston Texans
We saw everything we needed to see on Thursday Night Football from Foster in his battle with the Colts. He had 28 touches, and while he wasn’t very effective on the ground, the nine receptions for 77 yards make him a gem for PPR. He is back, baby.
With Brian Hoyer at the helm, he brings some stability to the quarterback position. Houston is also not deep at receiver to begin with. Add in the fact that Cecil Shorts and Nate Washington are banged up, and Foster will be good to go again when he sees a Jacksonville defense next Sunday that just surrendered three touchdowns to Doug Martin.
Foster is firmly back on the RB1 radar. Just say your prayers that he stays on the field.
Bust: Eddie Lacy, Green Bay Packers
Lacy is off to a puzzling start. He hasn’t scored since Week 1 and tallied just 27 yards on 13 carries in Week 5 versus the Rams.
He gets the Chargers in Week 6 in what should be a solid matchup for him, but with Aaron Rodgers and the passing game having consecutive subpar outings, look for them to feast on the Chargers more than Lacy. His numbers will come, but don’t be shocked if he turns in another mediocre output next week.
For sleepers, Duke Johnson and Shane Vereen have been catching on as receivers out of the backfield. Particularly if you are a Jamaal Charles or C.J. Anderson owner, it would be very tempting to go with either of those options.
Wide Receivers
Boom: Brandon Marshall, New York Jets
It was believed that Marshall heading to New York would hurt his fantasy stock, but he is on pace for 1,600 yards and 12 touchdowns, and has become the top target for Ryan Fitzpatrick. You probably didn’t draft him as a WR1, but he is playing every bit like one.
Only two of the top 15 projected receivers seen above found the end zone in Week 5. Why trust all of them over Marshall? Sometimes you just have to toss projections aside and go with your gut. All you DFS junkies ought to lock and load with Marshall in a matchup with the Redskins next week.
Bust: Demaryius Thomas, Denver Broncos
There’s an elephant in the room that fans are aware of, but the national media and online sports world is turning a blind eye to it.
Peyton Manning stinks. There, I said it.
Yes, the Broncos are 5-0. Credit 98 percent of that to the defense. Every time Manning hauls one to the sidelines, it leaves me enough time to prepare myself a mid-game snack before it reaches its target. Peyton has seven picks to six touchdowns so far and is getting worse each week. There is nothing explosive about this offense, and now Thomas has to deal with Joe Haden of the Browns in Week 6.
You’re probably not crazy enough to bench Demaryius, but some alternate options would be either Willie Snead with a banged-up Marques Colston or Anquan Boldin in the always fun revenge game against Baltimore. You could also hop aboard my Allen Hurns bandwagon if I allow it.
Tight Ends
Boom: Gary Barnidge, Cleveland Browns
After another monster performance, is it crazy to say that Gary Barnidge is a top-five fantasy tight end right now? Could you even make a case that aside from Gronk, he is the best?
It’s only been three games, but the Browns receiving corps is horrible, and Josh McCown has found a bit of a groove. The 6’6″ Barnidge has quickly become his go-to guy and has amassed 319 yards and three scores over the past three weeks. The best part is the 26 targets over that span.
Forget projections, I’m in. Start Barnidge.
Bust: Jimmy Graham, Seattle Seahawks
Ten targets in two games, coupled with a matchup against the Panthers? No, thank you.
No one expected Graham’s numbers in New Orleans to translate after his trade, but he was supposed to be more of a factor than this. You can bank on him catching fire at some point, but it won’t be against this kind of stout defense.
If you feel like starting a Richard Rodgers, a Zach Ertz or maybe even a Derek Carrier over Graham, go for it. I won’t tell anyone!
Defenses
As for that top 10, I’d bank on the Jets eating Kirk Cousins alive. Minnesota should also feast on a Chiefs team without Jamaal Charles.
If your unit is on a bye and you aren’t one of those people who likes to roster more than one defense, Cleveland would be a sneaky play on the waiver wire. The aforementioned Peyton Manning is not his usual self, and his line isn’t as impenetrable as it once was. He is a sitting duck back there, and the Browns could easily force him into a few turnovers.
Waiver-Wire Advice
Can I Trust Josh McCown?
If you’ve absolutely had it with Stafford or Peyton, McCown is likely available for pickup. Many of us were confused with Mike Pettine’s decision to go back to the veteran after Johnny Manziel‘s Week 2 triumph, but he has made his coach look great.
McCown has three consecutive games over 340 yards, tossing two touchdowns in each of them. In Week 5, he went for an incomprehensible 457 yards and those two scores while adding another TD on the ground.
The downside is the Browns have some horrible matchups on the horizon. Their next four games are against Denver, St. Louis, Arizona and Cincinnati. Those are four of the most brutal and unforgiving defenses in the NFL.
If you really need a QB, go ahead and scoop up McCown, but tread lightly over this next month if you plan on starting him.
Grab Kamar Aiken
Steve Smith Sr. is on his way back next week, but Aiken has made enough of an impact to warrant consistent targets despite the veteran’s presence.
Flacco is always a fan of the long ball with his rocket arm. He and Torrey Smith clicked well, but his departure left a hole for a deep threat. Aiken has gone over 75 yards in three of his last four contests.
He is not an immediate long-term solution for your receiver woes, but this is a very interesting target. Maybe as the season progresses, he continues to take the reins from Smith and becomes Flacco‘s new franchise receiver.
Charcandrick West Is Next Up
You know the drill. Stud running back goes down, hot-start backup steps in! It’s fantasy 101.
West surprisingly overtook Knile Davis as Charles’ primary backup in recent weeks, but now this handcuff is about to see a heavy workload. Kansas City doesn’t have the passing attack to carry the team, so both he and Davis will be key cogs. West is an intriguing young talent who won’t make us all forget about Charles, but he could create a ton of happy fantasy owners. He is a must-add in all formats.
All stats and projections courtesy of Yahoo Sports and ESPN. Follow me on Twitter @Hussington to talk fantasy!
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