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 lineup 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 take precedence. But sometimes players are very close, and in those cases I'm glad to offer opinions on how I'd approach those situations. Sometimes I like certain players more or less than Ian, and sometimes I have different risk tolerance with injuries etc. If I don't get to your question, either I missed it (it happens) or the rankings are very clear.
Bills at Jets: After they lost in Jacksonville, I will not make any promises about Buffalo's offense. But the Jets D hasn't offered much resistance to anyone or anything lately, so I'll sign off on the wide receivers and returning tight end Dawson Knox. Zack Moss questionable, if he's in I'm wary of the running backs, if he's out I'm intrigued by Devin Singletary. For the Jets, uh, tough defense they're facing. Michael Carter is about it for options.
Bucs at Football Team: Chris Godwin is a gametime decision with a foot injury. Things I don't like: gametime decisions, foot injuries. No Antonio Brown or Gronkowski. Thumbs up, this week, on Tyler Johnson, especially with the Godwin uncertainty. For Washington, passing game better than run game, so J.D. McKissic looks better (PPR) than Antonio Gibson. Terry McLaurin and Ricky Seals-Jones, sure.
Falcons at Cowboys: Atlanta passing game and entire Cowboys offense look good. Dallas has not yet activated Michael Gallup from what is apparently the world's longest calf injury. But Cooper, Lamb, and Schultz look good, even moreso if Gallup remains on IR. When I say Atlanta passing game I mean Ryan, Pitts, and Patterson. I do not trust the usage of Gage-Zaccheaus-Sharpe, although Gage is the desperation choice. Dallas kicker viable if you're into streaming. I'm not going to look up the spelling of his name here, he's in the rankings.
Saints at Titans: Should be a good game, although a small part of me wonders if the bailing wire patched together Saints might not get really punked in this one. No Alvin Kamara. Trevor Siemian at quarterback. Ugly receiving corps for New Orleans. Mark Ingram looks like a nice choice for volume. For the Titans, working against them punking the Saints is New Orleans' excellent defense. I like Tannehill and A.J. Brown, but would steer well clear of the running back committee and the other receivers, including gimpy Julio Jones who probably won't play.
Jaguars at Colts: Colts have struggled against the pass, so maybe Trevor Lawrence has a nice game. At running back, it's not really clear whether it will be James Robinson playing hurt for some reason or Carlos Hyde. Either way, matchup tougher for the run. Would consider Hyde if no Robinson. For the Colts, so glad I didn't trade away Michael Pittman in dynasty. Guy looks great these days. Jonathan Taylor should be very good, perhaps Carson Wentz and T.Y. Hilton too.
Lions at Steelers: Not too long ago the Lions were the plucky group that could spring an upset against anyone. Then they got blown out by the Eagles and now they're a doormat again. I'm not dismissing the possibility of them making things interesting, it's not like Pittsburgh has been winning big. But glad to have Najee Harris going against them. I picked up James Washington, with the idea that he's the No. 2 with Chase Claypool out. But for now, I'm leaving him on the bench, since Ray-Ray McCloud will also play and Pat Freiermuth might be the de facto No. 2. For Detroit, options begin and end with D'Andre Swift and T.J. Hockenson.
Browns at Patriots: No Nick Chubb, and probably no Damien Harris or Rhamondre Stevenson. J.J. Taylor just sitting out there in my leagues, but I think Brandon Bolden is a better bet to be the main runner. Against one of the league's best run defenses, so I'd rather have the passing downs guy (Bolden) anyway. But for both offenses it's a tough matchup. I'll sign off on D'Ernest Johnson and just maybe the No. 1 wideouts for each team, probably Jarvis Landry and Jakobi Meyers. But I'm also expecting more defense than offense.
Vikings at Chargers: And in this one, probably more offense than defense. Keenan Allen is questionable, but I'm expecting he'll play something close to normal. I'd sit him for a comparable option in the rankings, but not for just anyone. Dalvin Cook should be good for the Vikings, Austin Ekeler, to a lesser extent the main tight ends for both teams. Minnesota wideouts, Mike Williams, quarterbacks. Did I mention more offense than defense? Yes.
Panthers at Cardinals: Picked up P.J. Walker early in the week in dynasty. Cause you never know, even though he's been lousy and is facing a tough defense here. Dropped him yesterday, because maybe you never know, but the Panthers apparently know enough to commit up to $10 million to Cam Newton for half a season. Newton isn't getting $10M (one of the incentives involves a Super Bowl MVP), but he's going to make probably $6 million for eight games. Which you don't do if you think Walker is any good, although Carolina has made some missteps in this area. As for the game, Arizona has Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins as gametime decisions (Rondale Moore too, but nobody should be considering Moore). I am not planning to start either AZ player. James Conner, Christian Kirk and Zach Ertz, sure. For Carolina, McCaffrey, with DJ Moore a desperation choice.
Eagles at Broncos: Is one of these teams a legit playoff contender? It's probably not the Eagles. But Hurts, Smith, Goedert look OK. Denver run defense not great but hard to get excited about actually using Jordan Howard or Boston Scott. For Denver, both running backs look viable, the WR trio and Noah Fant don't seem to have a go-to, which is tricky.
Seahawks at Packers: No Chris Carson, so Alex Collins is kind of viable. Russell Wilson returns, so Tyler Lockett is, and DK Metcalf has been all along. Aaron Rodgers should return, I'm pretty sure we'll hear about it if he needs to miss another game due to a positive test of some kind. Seattle defense pretty poor and Rodgers probably has some hostility to work out, so Rodgers-Adams-Jones and just maybe other offensive players like Dillon and Deguara are viable.
Kansas City at Raiders: I usually stay out of this kind of stuff but was a little surprised to see that Gruden is suing the NFL. While he may have a case that his reputation was ruined by the league, I'm not sure how the lawsuit will help that, if anything it will just keep the story going and lead to more stuff coming out, right? Financially, I had figured the guy was set for life between the Raiders contract and prior money from ESPN. I dunno. I'm just not sure what his goal/upside to this move is. Oh yeah, the game. Should be higher-scoring, like both meetings a year ago, but Raiders have lost their No. 1 wideout and Kansas City has sputtered for a while, so it can't be 100 percent relied on. But certainly Mahomes-Carr-Jacobs-D.Williams-Kelce-Hill-Renfrow-Waller...I mean, whose fantasy teams at this point are deep enough that they've got better options than these guys? Not mine.
Rams at 49ers: Regarding OBJ to the Rams, I guess I like him a little more than Ian does. I don't think he's playing behind Van Jefferson, I view him as more than No. 3 than aging DeSean Jackson was. As for this game, I don't know if he'll even be active let alone play much, so I'll pass. Stafford-Kupp-Woods-Henderson-Higbee, sure. For San Francisco, it's a tough defense they're facing. I think there's some value in the passing game and Elijah Mitchell. No. 2 running back might be Jeff Wilson this week, I would not use him any more than I would have a week ago. The game being in San Francisco makes me think it will be competitive, but hard to really feel good about Garoppolo versus Aaron Donald and company.
Enjoy the games.
55 Reader Comments:
Jack Sandler
KW Song
Andy Richardson
Dennis Salisbury
Johnny Bazzano
We have a strange scoring system giving 3 points to all sacks, fumble recoveries and intereceptions, 6 points for punt, kickoff, interception and fumble returns for touchdowns. No minus points for points scored. Our defenses tend to score a lot of points, thus the importance of decided who to start between Dallas or New England. O/U for Dallas/Atlanta is 54.5. O/U for New England/Cleveland is 45. Both teams at home. New England leads Dallas in almost every defensive category yet Dallas is projected to score 13.33 vs 11.86 for New England. Thoughts?
Jack Sandler
Jack Sandler
NOTES:
- Ian's Final rankings pick Cooper and Woods IN- Jefferson OUT
- You say Pts Pts Pts in Vikings game so maybe Jefferson IN and Woods out due to possible OBJ situation -which you are more concerned with for Woods than Ian.
-NFL Network Fantasy Show says "BEWARE OF AMARI COOPER" this week since he will be covered by Falcons All Pro.
Dennis Salisbury
Tyson Traveller
Appreciate the advice!
Lance Reiss
Renfro over Elijah Mitchel for flex.
Already starting Jacobs and Waller
Fred Wright
Mahomes (27.0) or Stanford (28.3)
3 of the following 4: McCaffery (8.9), Jacobs (9.3), Cee Dee Lamb (9.5), or Mike Williams (9.3)
I enjoy reading all your material... Thanks!
Eric Goetz
David Kennedy
TOM RICHARDS
George Tampakes
GARY SCHWINDENHAMMER
1/2 PPR — Wentz or Carr, E. Mitchell or B. Bolden, Arnold, Conklin, or Freiemuth.
STANDARD — Need 2 from Gainwell, Hines, Hyde, or McNichols to go with J.Taylor and J. Williams. (we start 4). Also need 4 WR… starting M. Williams, Pittman, Lockett, need 1 from DJ Moore M. Gallup, M. Jones. Thanks for the advice
TOM RICHARDS
Andy Richardson
Jack - Are you in a TD-only league? That's the only place I see Jefferson lower than the others in Ian's rankings. In PPR and Standard, they're all close (in Standard they're actually back to back to back). So coin flip decision. I'd be inclined to bench Woods. A.J. Terrell is having a very good season but has not yet been named an All Pro, and I don't know if he'll be on Cooper all the time regardless.
Dennis the refs must have different replays. Certainly the ones we saw were crap.
More answers in a minute.
Craig Larimer
PERRY ROSE
Need a RB2 out of these three, .05 ppt PPR---Eli Mitchell, Darrell Williams or D'Ernest Johnson???
Thanks for your help!
Andy Richardson
Lance in PPR I'd be using Renfrow. In Standard I'd probably lean Mitchell, but only slightly. Just seems a better bet to score.
Fred...tough choices. I would never know what to do on QBs. Stafford has been more reliable though. On the others, I'd probably sit Jacobs.
Eric, I would bench Henderson this particular week.
David yeah I'd sit Deebo. Sutton in the first league, Javonte in the 2nd. Don't trust Robinson with the injury. Collins I'd consider, I just don't know exactly how Seattle will use its backs.
Tom, Ingram and D.Johnson (presumably D'Ernest, not David) are definites for me. Bolden probably my No. 3, once we're sure Harris/Stevenson inactive.
George I'd still be using Deebo among those choices. Sanders 2nd.
Good luck all.
Andy Richardson
Perry, bench Mitchell.
Philip Haines
Jeff Zwiers
And different league - standard scoring, pick 1: Landry, Aiyuk, J. Howard, DJ Moore
Thanks and good luck this week-end!
Ben Hogevoll
Andy Richardson
Phillip, Thielen. Go-to red zone target for years. The others are just guys. Let’s not focus on matchups when looking at a guy who’s caught 1/2 his QB’s TDs.
Jeff, I’ll take Ingram and either Aiyuk or Moore...whatever rankings say on that one.
Charles Raifman
Brutal news on Woods. Guess no excuses now for Odell “Tonya Harding” Beckham.
Ben Hogevoll
Jack Sandler
Jordan Simons
Ed Gallagher
David Kasch
Ray Sala
DRAKE OR TY HILTON
Jim Kontopoulos
Aiyuk
Cory Davis
TY Hilton
Thank you!!
Andy Richardson
Will give opinion on where I'd slot Jefferson/OBJ this week and rest of season shortly...
Mark Rapley
Robert Schule
Andy Richardson
Short version: I like Beckham better the rest of the season. But this week, with Beckham having just joined the team, I prefer Jefferson.
I published something skeptical about Beckham's impact with a new team after he was released by Cleveland. That article is now out of date. Beckham as the No. 3 with the Rams, or in Kansas City or New Orleans, was not as dramatic a potential as stepping into Robert Woods' role in a pass-focused Rams offense, which I think is happening. I think they will choose to go with Beckham in the Woods role, with Jefferson staying as the No. 3. But for this week, there might be issues with Beckham knowing the playbook and certainly having a rapport of any kind with Stafford, so he's a little riskier than I would prefer. I think Jefferson will see more targets this week.
In the Weekly (PPR), we had Woods at about 22 among receivers. I think Jefferson should be around the mid-30s, maybe a little higher. OBJ, early to mid 50s. Maybe he debuts by catching a long touchdown, there's certainly some lottery ticket appeal to that. But I think limited snaps and targets is the most likely scenario.
In the ReDrafter we had Woods about 21 and Jefferson down around 60 (before adding OBJ). I think OBJ belong around 29th-30th, Jefferson up around 50th.
Andy Richardson
Robert, I wouldn't start Rhamondre over Mitchell. Javonte is closer. I agree that there's some risk in counting on Belichick giving him a huge role after no practice. Safest to bench him (plus Cleveland's really good against the run anyway).
Yaesha Newman
The NFL is an organization with zero woman head coaches or players, zero trans coaches or players, and 1 openly gay player. I have a difficult time believing there isn’t some discrimination in that league despite the fake BS they put out to satiate the woke mob.
Eric Degerman
Andy Richardson
My question is what he stands to gain here. “Yeah I went down, now I’m gonna take others with me!” I just don’t see any way this benefits him. More stuff coming out about others won’t help his reputation. Will just increase his enemies. I guess if that’s what he wants.
Ed Gallagher
Andy Richardson
John Heim
Andy Richardson
Russ Neis
John Heim
Daniel Martinez
jim toon
dean stewart
dean stewart
Walker Fenci
Andy Richardson
Dean, Diontae. I think he moves down a little due to the uncertainty, but we didn't have Ben projected for big numbers -- 239 yards, 1.5 TD passes. Is Rudolph capable of those numbers, I think so. I'd drop him just a little.
"Is Mason worth starting?" I don't think Roethlisberger was worth starting. I think we pretty much know what we're getting with Rudolph.
John, the DeVonta recommendation was factoring in Woods tearing his ACL on Friday.
Mike Williams and Deebo not close in rankings.
Rodgers' lack of practice not a concern. I expect he'll still be passing, but he and Wentz are close in rankings if you're concerned about it.
John Heim