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Hopefully by now you are planning your week five lineups with help from our Assistant G.M. tools and my week five fantasy football rankings. But as good of a job as we do with our rankings there are always questions as to why so and so is so high and others so low down. That is why I will try my best to answer your questions even before they are asked, here in the Wekly Rankings Review.
Time To Unleash The Fury.
At this point in the season we have a pretty good idea of who the impactful fantasy players are. Waiting on early round picks is fine in the first few weeks but the next segment of games are absolutely vital to your fantasy season. Whether you are 0-4 or 4-0 or anywhere in between, these next four weeks will define if you are a contender or a pretender.
Therefore, tough lineup decisions are going to have to be made. Let’s go over some of the new rules for players who either used to be every week starters or simply roster fillers.
Here is the Week 5 Rankings Review:
QB’s To Use
Ben Roethlisberger, QB, Steelers (#7 QB)
Roethlisberger is ranked 9th in passing attempts, 7th in yards, 8th in completion percentage and 12th in TD’s. He is averaging more fantasy points per game than Cam Newton, Tony Romo and Nick Foles. This week he goes up against Jacksonville who ranks dead last in defense overall and against the pass. Get him in your lineups this week everybody.
Mike Glennon, QB, Buccaneers (#16 QB)
Oddly both the Buccaneers and their week five opponent Saints have allowed the exact same number of passing yards so far this season 1,090. That is good for third to last (30th) in the NFL. Thus, this is going to be a high scoring affair which would obviously favor the Saints and Drew Brees. But Glennon is an under the radar play this week as he has much better chemistry with his WR’s Vincent Jackson and Louis Murphy. I expect another 300+ yard effort with 2 TD’s or more likely.
Two For You
Matt Asiata (#10 in PPR; #7 in Non-PPR)
The fact of the matter is Asiata isn’t a good RB. He is slow, not entirely powerful and has average hands at best. But he is in a great situation here in Minnesota where they are always falling into goal line carries. The Packers rank dead last against the run giving up an amazing 176 yards per game and 4.6 yards per attempt.
Jerick McKinnon (#27 in PPR; #32 in Non-PPR)
It is coming down to a game time decision on whether Vikings QB Teddy Bridgewater is going to play this week. If he can’t go, Christian Ponder will get the start against the Packers and the Vikings may elect to never put the ball in the air whatsoever. If Bridgewater doesn’t play I am moving McKinnon up even further in the rankings. Even if Teddy plays I think McKinnon is a very solid FLEX play with huge upside potential.
Sleeper RB Of The Week
Bishop Sankey (#19 in PPR; #22 in Non-PPR)
At first glance you wouldn’t think much of Bishop Sankey, a split time RB going against a top ten overall defense in the Cleveland Browns this week. But, as we all know Sankey is getting more and more snaps and carries the past couple of weeks and is ripe for a full complement here soon. A closer examination of the Browns defense reveals that despite giving up only 461 yards on the ground thus far (which is still only 18th in the league), they are giving up an astonishing 6.2 yards per carry to RB’s. With Jake Locker banged and Charlie Whitehurst not impressing last week, we should see a steady diet of Bishop Sankey this week against the Browns.
Yeah I Said It
Victor Cruz (#9 in PPR & Non-PPR)
Cruz is back to being a top 10 WR in fantasy football…at least for this week. The Falcons are 30th in the league against the pass and are fresh off rookie QB Teddy Bridewater taking them for 317 yards. Factor in the Falcons awful road record and the Giants recent resurgence on offense and you have a terrific situation this week.
Kelvin Benjamin (#11 in PPR; #10 in Non-PPR)
This may surprise some of you but as I mentioned at the start this is the time of the season to let it fly. Kelvin Benjamin is 9th in the NFL in receiving yards, 10th in targets, 10th in TD’s and 7th in both PPR & Non-PPR fantasy scoring for WR’s. The Bears defense doesn’t present any formidable challenge this week either. The Panthers need a win after back to back humiliating losses and are literally starting their fifth string RB Darrin Reaves this week. It’s going to be Kelvin Benjamin all day on Sunday folks.
Under The Radar TE
Garrett Graham (16th in PPR & Non-PPR)
Yes I am back on the Texans TE bandwagon. This is the perfect matchup for Bill O’Brien to exploit the Cowboys obvious weakness against the TE position. In four game this season the Cowboys have given up 37-395-6 to TE’s alone. That includes only a mild outing from Saints TE Jimmy Graham last week. If you are hurting for a TE this week, remember the Texans and Garrett Graham.
The Bad News
Tony Romo (13th QB)
Coming off a solid game on Sunday night against the Saints it may be tempting to roll with Romo again this week but I don’t like it. The Cowboys are committed to the run game and will attack the Texans defense accordingly. The Texans can flat out rush the passer which isn’t good for Romo and company anyways. It’s going to be DeMarco Murray day once again in week five.
Tom Brady (23rd QB)
Do I really need to even say anything here? Brady has been as mediocre as any QB in the NFL over the last year and a half and hit rock bottom on Monday against the Chiefs. The Bengals defense is one of if not the best in the NFL. Brady is an absolute must sit this week even in two QB and SuperFLEX league formats.
Dippin’ Low
(20th in PPR; 24th in Non-PPR)
Bradshaw has been so good so far this season but we all know that he is due for a clunker here soon. The Ravens certainly don’t make it easy on RB’s either ranking 5th in RB points against so far this year (meaning 5th least given up).
Doug Martin (25th in PPR; 20th in Non-PPR)
Despite the TD last week I was disappointed with Martin’s production. It isn’t going to get any better against the Saints this week either as the Bucs offense will be forced to play from behind and thus abandon the running game. Martin is still a solid FLEX option but I would limit your expectations for him in this matchup.
Not This Week
(22nd in PPR; 26th in Non-PPR)
Normally I don’t back away from star players even in tough matchups but I will say this. Close your eyes and imagine the Monday Night Game between the Seahawks (coming off a bye) and the Redskins (coming off a crushing loss to the Giants). It’s not good for the Redskins is it? I imagine Kirk Cousins throwing a couple interceptions and the offense being shut out until late in the game. I would look for another option than Garcon this week.
Jarius Wright (#52 in PPR; #64 in Non-PPR)
Wright broke out in a major way last week against the Falcons with 8-132 yards performance. It’s clear that Wright has great chemistry with rookie QB Teddy Bridgewater and that is good news in the weeks to come. But Bridgewater injured his ankle last week and is questionable for Thursday’s game against the Packers. I expect a full on running attack by the Vikings this week.