Fantasy Football

The Eagles allowed over 120 total yards to Leonard Fournette last week and have allowed four straight games with 80-plus rushing yards given up to a lead RB. Philadelphia has also allowed 4 or more receptions to RBs every game this season. While Kenyan Drake is generally the primary pass-catching back, Jacobs has 11 receptions in four games this season and will continue to see targets from Derek Carr. Jacobs is set up for a great matchup against Philadelphia Week 7.

Sterling Shepard is left standing, but will likely face one of Donte Jackson, A.J. Bouye, or C.J. Henderson (if healthy). The Panthers allowed less than 200 passing yards to opponents four of the last five weeks. A Week 6 Vikings matchup broke that streak (Kirk Cousins threw for over 370 yards). Despite a bad performance against a great Vikings WR corps, the Panthers secondary has been sneakily solid against opposing WRs. Now they face Daniel Jones, who has 4 touchdowns to 4 interceptions this season. Shepard and the limping Giants WR corps is not in for a good matchup this week.

Khalil Herbert may still be available in some leagues. We recommended Herbert last week and hopefully, you have him rostered. If he is somehow still available, he may have taken over Chicago’s RB job with his strong performance against Green Bay. He rushed 19 times for 97 yards and a TD and added two catches. He looks explosive and instinctual as a runner. This week, Damien Williams may or may not be off the COVID list, but Herbert is an ascending player who is earning more and more opportunities.

Rashod Bateman was recommended as an addition in previous articles and now I am stomping my feet for you to please add him. This past week, he was tied for a team-high six targets. The Baltimore offense is humming, and Bateman could quickly become a weekly starter. Get him rostered before the inevitable breakout game.

Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills are steamrolling everyone in their path and improving every week. This week’s improvement is going to be in the Josh Allen/Stefon Diggs connection. The Bills playmakers are valuable fantasy assets this week in a likely beatdown of the Titans.

The Titans took a 180-degree turn from last season. This is the toughest turn-around spot struggling stars Ryan Tannehill and A.J. Brown could ask for. The only bright spot has been the production of Derrick Henry, who looks to be fed yet again in an attempt to jump-start the offense.

Through five weeks, Mark Andrews is seeing a 74.6-percent (No. 15 among qualified tight ends) Snap Share; an improvement from 2020. The fourth year TE owns a 24.5-percent (No. 3) Target Share, trailing only George Kittle and Darren Waller. Andrews leads the position with 400 receiving yards, churning out a healthy 13.8 (No. 4) yards per reception. The biggest TE gainer on the dynasty rankings, Andrews gains 17.22 Lifetime Value points to rise two spots to TE6.

Hopes were high for the Jets’ second round pick throughout the offseason. To this point in the season, Elijah Moore has failed to meet expectations. Playing four games, Moore has hauled in eight of 20 targets for 66 yards (No. 114). He has averaged 66.1-percent of snaps (No. 65). Moore drops five spots to WR40, this could be a good time to take advantage the value dip. After all, the rookie does have 206 Unrealized Air Yards (No. 20).

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers enter today with one of the best overall teams in the NFL. Tom Brady is playing like he’s 25, Leonard Fournette has unlocked bell-cow mode, and all three starting receivers are in the top 16 in Fantasy Points Per Game. The Bucs have a tough matchup on a short week, but look to stay firing on all cylinders.

The Philadelphia Eagles come in with a struggling, but talented, offense and a firewall of a defense. Jalen Hurts has been electric for fantasy, accurately spreading the ball around and staying effective on the ground. Rookie Devonta Smith, his number one target, is primed for his biggest game of the season against washed veteran Richard Sherman.

Darrell Henderson is seeing all of the fantasy-relevant backfield touches in LA, and has a mouth watering schedule going forward. Tee Higgins doesn’t see the same elite level of Opportunity Share, but is an alpha receiver who is the secondary target on a team increasing in pace by the week.

DeVante Parker is soaking up opportunity and dominating production in Miami’s receiver room. Miami is throwing the ball at a high rate, getting Tua Tagovailoa soon, and hitting their softest stretch of schedule.

Justin Fields averaged 9.4 (No. 5 among qualified quarterbacks) Air Yards Per Attempt prior to Week 5 and has looked a bit better each week. He hasn’t been running the ball as much as expected, but that will come given his speed. The Packers will be without Jaire Alexander, and replacement corner Kevin King ranks outside the top 100 among CBs for yards per receptions allowed and Passer Rating allowed. Fields has been airing the ball downfield in his first few starts, so expect him to connect on a couple of those against a Packers secondary that is a little more breakable without Alexander.

Cleveland’s defense has been stingy against the run, with Austin Ekeler’s 66 rush yards being the most an RB has gotten against the Browns so far this season. Cleveland’s opponents often go pass-heavy, a game plan that favors Arizona’s receivers and Chase Edmonds more than James Conner. With 5 TDs this season, Conner has been the goal-line back for the Cardinals. However, he only has 4 total receptions and averaged 3.2 (No. 58) True Yards Per Carry prior to Week 5, before gaining just 2.9 yards per tote. Conner won’t see a good matchup for his skillset this week in Cleveland.

Devontae Booker should draw a few starts while Saquon Barkley deals with an ankle injury. Booker filled in well this past week when Barkley left the game, finishing with 58 yards rushing and a TD. Expect high-volume touches for as long as Barkley is out. He certainly meets the criteria if you are a “pay for touches” type with your FAAB bidding.  

David Njoku is coming off an incredible seven-catch, 149-yard and a TD performance in Cleveland’s shootout loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. Njoku saw 10 targets. This game is most likely a one-off, but he should be added this week on the chance that he sees increased usage based on production.  

The Indianapolis Colts have struggled to move the ball all season, and now they face an uphill battle against the Baltimore Ravens. Carson Wentz has been serviceable, but his lack of upside makes him a tough start in standard roster formats. He has shown an ability to get the ball to Michael Pittman. Despite negative Game Scripts, the team continues to feed running back Jonathan Taylor.

The Ravens have the much better team. Lamar Jackson is primed to scorch the Colts, in route to feeding Marquise Brown and Mark Andrews. Baltimore’s running back room remains a crap shoot that makes it impossible to trust any of them in seasonal leagues.

In college, Kenny Gainwell stood out in a loaded Memphis backfield. It appears to be deja-vu in Philly. On the season, Gainwell has 19 carries and earned 18 targets, compared to Sanders’ 37 and 14, respectively. While the two are equal in terms of True Yards Per Carry (4.4), Gainwell has been the more efficient back. He leads his running  mate in metrics such as Evaded Tackles (7 to 4), Juke Rate (21.9 to 8.3-percent), and Yards Per Touch (6.2 to 5.7). Gainwell earns 14.29 Lifetime Value points to jump eight spots to RB28.

Ben Roethlisberger has struggled mightily since the first snap of 2021. This shouldn’t come as a surprise, since he wasn’t necessarily sharp to close out 2020. Big Ben leads the league in both Danger Plays (20) and Interceptable Passes (18). He’s averaging a weak 6.1 Yards Per Attempt (No. 31) with a True Passer Rating of 48.4-percent (No. 30). Four weeks and three losses into the Steelers’ 2021 campaign, Roethlisberger has yet to post a Top 20 QB fantasy finish. His best result is a 15.2 point QB23 performance in Week 3. The stock of the 39-year-old signal caller continues its decent losing another four spots to QB38.