Fantasy Index

24 Hours 'Til Sunday

Snapshot previews of all the games

Every Saturday morning, I'll take a quick look at all the week's games, offering my own brief take on what I think will happen, as well as touching on significant injury news since our Weekly came out. I'll check in every so often over the course of the day to answer questions, too.

What follows is a brief look at all the games with how I'd react in my own lineups to injury developments or other news. The official rankings are the ones in the Weekly. Those are the ones that subscribers are paying for. Sometimes players are very close in the rankings, and if I get questions like that, I'll offer opinions. Sometimes I like certain players more or less than Ian, and sometimes I have different risk tolerance with injuries/weather issues, etc.

Titans versus Chargers across the pond: 9:30 a.m. start on this game, so don't sleep in and forget to get your players in and out of lineups. Not that you should be that excited to start any Titans, coming off a game where they punted every time they had the ball. As mentioned in the Weekly, I'm higher on the Chargers ground game than its pass game, though I'm using Rivers (other QBs on bye or with even worse matchups).

Patriots at Bears: I look for the Bears to make a game of this one. I see all this hype about the Patriots being back because they won three home games over the Dolphins, Colts and Kansas City (on a last-second field goal). Go on the road and do better than you did in Detroit and Jacksonville and I'll be sold. Patriots are great, but too soon to say they're headed to a Super Bowl again. Like Tarik Cohen more than Jordan Howard.

Bills at Colts: Still alive in my Survivor Pool and went with the Colts. I think they're better than their 1-5 record, and the Bills aren't as good as their 2-4 one. I had kind of given up on Andrew Luck but have come back around on him. Though I think fantasy-wise he's better when team falls way behind, which probably won't happen here. I guess Derek Anderson could surprise, but he's seldom been in such an over-matched offense. I guess if you accidentally drafted LeSean McCoy or Kelvin Benjamin, this is the week to use them. T.Y. Hilton returns, I'd use him.

Texans at Jaguars: I don't totally understand the Carlos Hyde trade from Jacksonville's perspective. I guess it's a low-cost move (5th-rounder). Is he better than T.J. Yeldon? Is Fournette really going to miss that much time to make Hyde necessary? As for this week, fairly certain Hyde won't be active and should not be considered. I'm happily using Yeldon. All bets are off for next week. Houston, I'd be fine using DeAndre Hopkins and maybe Keke Coutee, but otherwise best to steer clear of their offense, including Deshaun Watson. Should have maybe made Jacksonville a Survivor pick, but they could lose a low-scoring one.

Lions at Dolphins: The Brock Osweiler fondness surprises me. Nobody who watched last week's Dolphins-Bears game could have really been impressed by his 380 yards, hugely influenced by Albert Wilson taking short throws long distances. He's Brock Osweiler. Miami should run plenty in this one and I'm using Drake over Nick Chubb, though I'm tempted to switch that one. Similar projections. I like the Lions offense, and with Theo Riddick out, am all over Kerryon Johnson, who should pick up those snaps. Hey, Ameer Abdullah might even be active. But not usable. If the Lions can't win this one they don't deserve to be a playoff contender. Miami is 4-2, should be 2-4 or worse.

Vikings and Jets: The Jets are giving away a Hulk bobblehead at this game. I...have no idea what the tie-in is with the Hulk. I mean, I want one! But I've seen my Jets game for the year so I'll miss out. As for the game, risky to use Isaiah Crowell, but probably he'll be active. Tough matchup for the Jets, but can consider both Robby Anderson and Jermaine Kearse with Enunwa/Pryor out. No Dalvin Cook, but hard to get excited about Latavius Murray against a better run defense than he saw last week. Passing game looks better.

Panthers at Eagles: Should be a fun game, with players from both teams healthy unless you count Darren Sproles (I do not). Carolina's offense intriguing because fewer players involved. Eagles have more committee situations going on but Ertz and Jeffery fine, and the quarterbacks. Think I'm using Wentz for the first time all season (also have Rivers and Newton in that dynasty league, really should trade someone...tough to make trades).

Browns at Bucs: Bucs offense looks good, I'm using Peyton Barber for the second straight week. Crazy the Browns would go through practice all week with Hyde as their starting running back and then ship him out. Nick Chubb takes over, and he should be the main runner, although Bucs are worst against the pass. New coordinator, though, who should show little adherence to the previous, abominably bad schemes. Browns are pulling receivers out of the stands and still nobody has signed Dez Bryant, telling.

Saints at Ravens: This is a tough game for those with Saints players. Not that Baltimore shutting out Tennessee means they'll be similarly tough on New Orleans. But I'm sitting down some good options to keep Michael Thomas in the lineup, and it's at least worth considering not doing so. Same with Mark Ingram and (gasp!) Alvin Kamara. They're great, but they're facing a great defense. End of the day I'm starting Thomas and hoping he catches a bunch of passes and maybe a touchdown. But the matchup seems really bad, and I might regret it. For the Ravens, I'm avoiding the running backs, but John Brown and Michael Crabtree look fine.

Cowboys at Washington: Lot of banged-up Washington players, and a tough defense they'll face. Jordan Reed and Adrian Peterson grade out favorably because they're the healthy players. For Dallas, good luck investing in their passing game. I'll take Ezekiel Elliott and pass on the rest. Maybe Cole Beasley in a really deep league, but he's starting at zero like everyone else and I'm not buying last week as some kind of template for the future.

Rams at 49ers: Debated with a friend how secure the Rams are to move to 7-0 here. Their defense hasn't been as tough since losing Aqib Talib; they'll give up some production. And San Francisco can move the ball. So just maybe they have a puncher's chance of winning a higher-scoring affair, assuming they didn't use up all their fight in the tough loss at Green Bay on Monday night. No Cooper Kupp, but other Rams look great, as usual. For San Francisco, Matt Breida, George Kittle and Marquise Goodwin have value. I guess C.J. Beathard make some lineups in a likely loss.

Bengals at Kansas City: My first Survivor pick (sorry if I'm talking about this too much, but it's Week 7 and things are getting tense) was Kansas City. I backed off it because I could see the Bengals winning a shootout with a soft K.C. defense. I'm a little higher on Dalton et al than Ian is/was. Certainly no reason to back off the Kansas City offense; they've been carrying you, you stick with them. I realize this game was flexed into primetime but I can't really agree with giving the same team back-to-back Sunday night games. They couldn't flex Saints-Ravens or Panthers-Eagles? Anyway, start all your key players here.

Giants at Falcons: Speaking of primetime, this is the third Giants game in primetime and it's only Week 7. A little bit ridiculous. Yes, I've got a problem with the schedule-makers these days. Sure sure, it's a tough job. But nobody needs to see Eli this often. Great matchup and I'm using Shepard and Engram (returning from injury), but can't blame anyone who doesn't trust Eli anymore. Falcons have a Tevin Coleman-Ito Smith combo at running back. In a high-scoring game, both have value. The receiver situation is dicier. Mohamed Sanu (hip) probably won't play, helping Calvin Ridley -- but he's not certain to play through an ankle injury, either. Gotta have backup plan in the same game if you want to use Ridley.

Enjoy the games.

43 Reader Comments:

Ian MacEwen

Akron, OH
2018-10-20T13:08:33Z
Good morning Andy - love the column. First thing I check on Saturday mornings and most weeks I check it before you’ve even posted it. Pretty much TD only scoring - 6 points for TDS with extra 1 point for every 10 yards of td distance. Ie 1 yard = 6 points 50 yards = 11 points. I need two of these three: Ty Hilton, Mark Ingram, Marvin Jones. Already starting A.J. Green, Hunt, and Ertz. I think Jones might be the “worst” fantasy player in standard leagues, but he has a knack for scoring TDs, and long ones. And I thing he’s top 10 or something like that in re zone targets this year. Ingram has tough defense matchup and TY Injury concerns - hammys have been brutal this year in fantasy. Thoughts???

Ian MacEwen

Akron, OH
2018-10-20T13:10:30Z
Suppose I could also mention that I have nick Chubb but was planning on waiting a week to see how he looks in a featured role

L.B. GRAHAM

Ballwin, MO
2018-10-20T13:19:49Z
Jets & the Hulk are both green? Or maybe the Jets can't really decide if they're more like Bill Bixby or Lou Ferrigno?

stephen hicks

Holden Beach, NC
2018-10-20T13:23:34Z
Andy. The only tie in for the Jets-Hulk promotion I can think of is the Hulk is green and the Jets are Gang Green. Kind of a stretch but what else could it be?

Andy Richardson

Port Chester, NY
2018-10-20T13:30:52Z
Ian I'd bench Ingram. I don't see much likelihood of him punching in a touchdown against the Ravens. Denver in a blowout loss: those are all the rushing touchdowns against Baltimore this year. I realize the wideouts are hit or miss but I'm comfortable using Hilton and Jones. Rankings probably have Jones 3rd.

Andy Richardson

Port Chester, NY
2018-10-20T13:39:02Z
As a public service, I went looking for info... from the press release:

"The New York Jets have announced a new partnership with Marvel Entertainment. The deal will include various Marvel themed features for fans at MetLife Stadium throughout the season.

As part of the new partnership, the Jets will host a Green Out against the Minnesota Vikings on October 21st. Presented by Toyota, the Green Out will highlight the partnership with a Hulk vs. Thor theme, specifically featuring a 16-page Hulk vs. Thor comic book produced by Marvel and distributed by the Jets. The comic will be written by long-time Marvel Comics contributor Fabian Nicieza, a long-time Jets fan and New Jersey native.

The first 15,000 fans will have the opportunity to receive a limited-edition Hulk bobble head courtesy of Toyota upon entering MetLife Stadium. At the conclusion of the game, fans will receive posters of the Hulk vs. Thor comic book cover when leaving the stadium.

The Green Out presented by Toyota will include: First 15,000 fans to enter MetLife Stadium will receive a limited-edition Hulk-themed bobble head standing on a Jets football field, courtesy of Toyota."

Scott O'Day

Chestnut Hill, MA
2018-10-20T13:46:13Z
Any thoughts at this point where Chubb would rank among the RBs were a redrafted to be created today?

Andy Richardson

Port Chester, NY
2018-10-20T13:57:59Z
Taking a glance at last week’s ReDrafter I’m thinking he might be somewhere between 15th and 20th in Standard. But let’s see how he does this week.

John Ruppe

Fort Myers, FL
2018-10-20T13:58:21Z
So with the bye Crowell or Ekeler Andy? Neither too appealing and Crowell hits every other week, but with the way you believe LA will run the ball this week leaning Ekeler

Andy Richardson

Port Chester, NY
2018-10-20T14:12:56Z
Yeah I like Ekeler better

Lance Reiss

Tarzana, CA
2018-10-20T14:15:05Z
Tough call Goff or Winston?

Ed Gallagher

Lancaster, PA
2018-10-20T14:22:20Z
Morning Andy, who u like as a ppr flex this weekend? Eckeler or john brown? Having a hard time trusting brown after last week's dud....thanks as always!

Andy Richardson

Port Chester, NY
2018-10-20T14:23:01Z
Back to back in rankings. Goff for me

David Kennedy

Steamburg, NY
2018-10-20T14:27:56Z
Watson or Beathard? Any chance White seriously limits TY this week. He has done pretty well shutting down some good WRs. I think Ito Smith will end up with better numbers by years end over Coleman.

Andy Richardson

Port Chester, NY
2018-10-20T14:46:26Z
Ed, I was cool on Brown last week, some will recall. Matchup a lot better with a Saints D that stops the run but not the pass. Although I like Ekeler too, so will go with the rankings. David, I probably wouldn’t bench Watson for Beathard. Healthy Hilton is hard to stop and seems he’s healthy. I like Ito too but he’s the No. 2 in that committee. Better if Coleman gets hurt.

Mark Dresser

Arcadia, CA
2018-10-20T15:06:13Z
Good Morning Andy-- Some quick questions for you. I am using Hill as my WR

Mark Dresser

Arcadia, CA
2018-10-20T15:12:59Z
oops...hit send by mistake. Anyway, Andy, I am using Hill as my WR1 even though he often has a very quiet week after a big week. Too much potential though, have to keep playing him. My question is with my other 3 WRs. I have Winston so I'd like to use DJax.....but I also have Hopkins and Brown. I am leaning towards using Brown and DJax--which two would you play? Also, my defenses are Miami and Tennessee--both mediocre. I noticed that you guys are high on TB this week even though they haven't stopped anyone. Would you pick up TB as a streamer D and play them instead of Miami or Tenn? As always, thank you Andy for your input--I greatly appreciate you taking the time to offer it.

KW Song

Pittsburgh, PA
2018-10-20T15:31:14Z
Andy,
I drafted Wilson and Rivers at QB. Jameis is sitting there on the waiver wire. Would you drop one of these guys for him knowing that someone will claim whomever I drop?

MATT SHEDOR

Algonquin, IL
2018-10-20T16:05:04Z
Andy, looking at the Hyde trade from the Jags perspective, the rationale is that they lost their 3rd back to injury and Yeldon has been dinged up, too. This gives them a solid insurance policy in case Fournette comes back in week ten and does something like gets his foot injured again.. which isn’t a longshot.

My surprise of this trade is that the Browns only asked for a 5th rounder in return. They must have had Hyde’s name out there on the trade block.

BEN HOGEVOLL

Siletz, OR
2018-10-20T16:18:10Z
KW,Unbelievable that Winston is sitting on waiver wire!!I would run not walk and grab him and drop Wilson.The only QB ahead of Winston is Mahomes.CBS and NFL moving KC-Cinn to prime time is a no brainer.Switching a pair of 1st place teams makes total sense!Cinn 4-2 vs KC 5-1 and plenty of scoring.Who wouldn't want that?Its all about ratings.

Jeffrey Martin

Ellington, CT
2018-10-20T16:23:39Z
Couple questions, Andy. John Brown or Marvin Jones, .5 PPR? Also, Kenyan Drake or Mark Ingram, 1.0 PPR. You responses seem to be trending toward Drake, but sitting down Ingram gives me agita. Help!

Eric Goetz

Shoreline, WA
2018-10-20T16:30:07Z
Bye week for Davonte Adams and Juju so I’m reduced to starting two of Fuller, Coutee or Agholor. No FA moves available so I’m stuck with these 3. Right now I’m leaning towards Fuller and Coutee, figuring that between the two I’ll get one serviceable WR. Alternatively, I’d sit Fuller for Agholor. Thoughts?

DAN BYRNES

Tega cay, SC
2018-10-20T18:11:38Z
Where does,Doug Martin fit in redrafter moving forward?

Paul Desimone

Hayward, CA
2018-10-20T18:46:11Z
First, a nod to Andy's humor: "Browns are pulling receivers out of the stands". Instant classic. 2 IMOs: Ram's & 49ers' passing games are too similar (Shanny & McVay are old buddies professionally). When you see the same offense every week in practice, you learn the disguises and see it coming. Thus, I'm going Winston over Goff. NO vs. BAL: Somebody's going to cough this one up. I nominate BAL. Short fields, Ingram outperforms expectations. Thanks for a great column, Andy!

BEN HOGEVOLL

Siletz, OR
2018-10-20T18:51:20Z
Andy,I think Sanu is going to play.

John Evans

Rochester, MN
2018-10-20T19:17:57Z
Andy, Ingram vs Clement vs Dion Lewis in PPR

Richard Jackson

Berkeley, CA
2018-10-20T19:34:59Z
Barring injury, Nick Chubb is top 12 RB ROS -- and that might be being conservative. I've been beating the Chubb drum in the comments on this site since the preseason, so hopefully someone out there listened as the payoffs being now. Never underestimate talent. Like my thoughts on Kamara last preseason; the talent was obvious, but he dropped in drafts only b/c of the perceived lack of opportunity. Talent ultimate creates opportunity, exercise patience in your approach. FF championships aren't won in the first 4 weeks of the season,

Bill Rehor

Culver City, CA
2018-10-20T19:51:50Z
Andy, my thought on the Hyde trade - Hyde is on a two-year deal, while Yeldon is a free agent next year. So for a 5th, they get added depth for this year and a nice potential number two for next year. Takes the pressure off re-signing Yeldon or finding someone else to cover for their oft-injured starter in 2019.

John Evans

Rochester, MN
2018-10-20T20:09:25Z
I’ve said it a million times...the cream rises to the top. Let others select less talented players with good opportunity. Michel and Chubb are both excellent examples from this year and Kamara was from last year.

Brian Barrett

Boulder, CO
2018-10-20T20:25:37Z
Andy, with Gordon now listed as questionable that has to push Ekeler up the list of RB's a bit. You guys have Mack ahead of him on the PPR list. I'm assuming this moves him past Mack now. Thoughts?

Brian Barrett

Boulder, CO
2018-10-20T20:45:25Z
That's pretty big news. Ian might need to address this with amended rankings/double listing. News on Gronk not making trip as well.

dan renzi

Moorestown, NJ
2018-10-20T21:02:48Z
If Gordon is out, would you start eckler over Peyton Barber?

Jeffrey Kozlowski

Maspeth, NY
2018-10-20T22:01:01Z
assuming Gordon is inactive, pick three from Ebron, Drake, Breida, Clement and Ekeler.

Andy Richardson

Port Chester, NY
2018-10-20T22:17:28Z
Answers later this evening

Andy Richardson

Port Chester, NY
2018-10-21T00:37:39Z
OK, sorry for the delay. Fall baseball doubleheader. Here come some answers. Mark, I'd be OK picking up Tampa and using them. Tennessee isn't usable this week and on a bye next week, so I'd drop them without a look back. I couldn't bench Hopkins for DJax. KW, ReDrafter has Winston a lot higher than both, I can't argue with that. Can you trade Wilson, maybe.

Andy Richardson

Port Chester, NY
2018-10-21T00:43:43Z
Matt, deal might partially be a salary dump for the Browns. He's arguably their third best running back yet making $5M per. Just seems weird unless they expect Fournette to miss a lot more time. Jeffrey, I'd use John Brown and Drake. Risky I guess but I don't see Ingram doing much in Baltimore. Brown-Jones is a tossup; one of those guys might catch a 40-yard touchdown, one catches 4 balls for 50 yards.

Andy Richardson

Port Chester, NY
2018-10-21T00:51:49Z
Eric, I'd probably sit Fuller and cross my fingers. Dan, before we knew Lynch's injury was significant, he was 24th on the ReDrafter. I'm guessing Martin would be around 30-35th -- not as good as Lynch, and maybe Richard plays more. Ben, yeah, sounds like Sanu and Ridley are both playing. John, we've got Ingram highest. They're all in possibly even committees, kind of guesswork. Any gut feeling? I'd probably go Ingram first, Lewis second.

Andy Richardson

Port Chester, NY
2018-10-21T00:59:44Z
Richard/John, there are different schools of thought on Chubb's talent. Some people love him and loved him coming out of college, others didn't think he was as good as the other Georgia backs and hasn't looked as good since his 2015 knee injury. He's done great with his few chances in the NFL, so maybe the first group will be proven right. Brian/Dan/Jeffrey, if Gordon is inactive, Ekeler is an automatic start. Ian says elsewhere that Ekeler is No. 3 on his board, which is pretty definitive. We'll know at 8:30 Eastern tomorrow if Gordon is playing or not. So Jeffrey, him-Ebron-Drake. Good luck all.

Bob Heaps

Portage, MI
2018-10-21T02:23:27Z
Andy, struggling picking between Ingram and Michel. Ingram is slightly higher in custom rankings, but if healthy, Michel seems like a better bet to score.

Jeffrey Kozlowski

Maspeth, NY
2018-10-21T06:19:26Z
Bob I am currently facing the aame issue, I am currently leaning Michel.

Andy Richardson

Port Chester, NY
2018-10-21T10:52:47Z
Yeah I would say Michel

Ian MacEwen

Akron, OH
2018-10-21T13:27:21Z
I’ve got Ekeler locked into lineups as suggested with Gordon injury. Two separate flex questions now. 1 ) .5 PPR Tevin Coleman or Jarvis Landry? 2) standard scoring Latavius Murray or josh Gordon? Thanks for the quick response to my question yesterday!

Greg Grimes

2018-10-21T14:57:10Z
Andy, With Gronk & Gordon likely out, is Edelman (Questionable) a definite go? PPI league. Need three WR out of Edelman, Landry, DJack, Ridley, JBrown and Sheppard.
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