Fantasy Football News and Notes
Fantasy Football News Recap
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Another NFL week is in the books. Coronavirus is beginning to wreak some havoc on the schedule off the field. But on the field, the big story of the week was the gruesome injury to Cowboys' quarterback Dak Prescott. It was tough to watch as Dak's right ankle snapped when he was brought to the ground on a tackle.
This injury will have plenty of fantasy implications, but that wasn't the only storyline that emerged from Week 5. Here is a look at some news and notes from each game from around the NFL:
Chicago 20, Tampa Bay 19
Bears running back David Montgomery looks to be trending up. He rushed for just 29 yards on 10 carries in this game, but scored a touchdown and added seven catches out of the backfield. Without Tarik Cohen in his pass-catching role, there figures to be more opportunity for Montgomery in this offense.
With Leonard Fournette available, he did not see a carry as Ronald Jones handled the full workload in the backfield. Jones rushed 17 times for 106 yards and caught three passes as well. This looks to be Jones' job at the moment, but that could change once Fournette works himself back to full health.
L.A. Rams 30, Washington 10
Cam Akers returned for the Rams and was the team's leading rusher with nine carries for 61 yards. Darrell Henderson saw 15 carries for 38 yards and a TD and added three catches for 30 yards and a receiving TD. Malcolm Brown saw eight carries for 30 yards. This looks like a full-blown running back by committee situation. It still feels like Henderson has the most upside but week-to-week this could change.
Antonio Gibson remained heavily involved with 11 carries and five catches, but he only managed 27 rushing yards and 24 receiving yards. Gibson is trending up as he has become a focal point of the offense. Better days are ahead for the rookie.
Pittsburgh 38, Philadelphia 29
Chase Claypool was the story for the Steelers this week. The rookie out of Notre Dame exploded with four touchdowns. He was targeted 11 times and caught seven passes for 110 yards and three receiving TDs. He also rushed for another score. Diontae Johnson left the game early giving Claypool an extended opportunity. With this kind of upside he looks like the receiver of the future in Pittsburgh. If he is available I would spend up on FAAB to get him on your team.
Another player worth a look on the waiver wire is Philadelphia receiver, Travis Fulgham. He was targeted 13 times by Carson Wentz and hauled in 10 of those for 152 yards and a TD. With a depleted wide receiver corps, Fulgham could be emerging as the go-to in the passing game. He is also worth spending up for in FAAB.
Arizona 30, New York Jets 10
Kenyan Drake didn't have a monster game (3.3 yards per carry) but he did find the end zone. Drake has been frustrating for those who selected him with an early pick, but he still carries a lot of upside. Chase Edmonds scored a TD in this game and could be a thorn in the side of those rostering Drake. We'll see if this gives Drake some momentum moving forward.
Le'Veon Bell returned to field for the Jets. He carried 13 times for 60 yards and caught one pass out of the backfield. Bell is still talented but is stuck in a very low-upside offense and has Frank Gore to contend with for carries. Gore saw nine carries with a healthy Bell. The arrow is trending down for Bell.
Las Vegas 40, Kansas City 32
Henry Ruggs III returned to the Las Vegas lineup and made his two catches count with a long TD and 118 receiving yards. He only saw three targets from Derek Carr and is still a secondary target to tight end Darren Waller and maybe even Hunter Renfrow moving forward. But he showed what he is capable of in this game. He doesn't need a ton of targets to make a big impact.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire was a popular DFS pick this week and didn't really deliver. He saw 10 carries for just 40 yards and caught three passes for 40 yards. He is still getting opportunities between his rushing and pass-catching, but hasn't had that big breakout game. It seems like that game is coming even if it wasn't against the Raiders.
Houston 30, Jacksonville 14
Brandin Cooks was held without a catch last week, but busted out for a huge game against Jacksonville. He saw 12 targets from Deshaun Watson and caught eight of those for 161 yards and a touchdown. If he is available in your league, Cooks is definitely worth rostering. He showed off his upside and if he gets comfortable in this offense he could have more games like this one.
Gardner Minshew spread the ball around in this game with nine different players hauling in at least three catches. Laviska Shenault Jr. was heavily involved with seven catches for 79 yards and fellow rookie Collin Johnson caught a TD pass. Minshew broke the 300-yard mark and threw two touchdown passes. He is a decent QB option because the Jaguars are usually chasing points like they were in this one.
Baltimore 27, Cincinnati 3
Mark Ingram had a pedestrian game with 11 carries for 57 yards. Gus Edwards had seven carries for 25 yards and J.K. Dobbins had one carry for 34 yards. This continues to be a frustrating backfield situation. It is a good offense and if one back can emerge they would have great fantasy appeal. But for now it's just a sticky situation with a three-back timeshare.
Tee Higgins seems to have overtaken A.J. Green in the wide receiver pecking order. Higgins saw eight targets and caught four passes for 62 yards. Green, meanwhile, was targeted just one time and did not have a catch. Rookie Joe Burrow seems to look for Higgins and Tyler Boyd as his main weapons on the outside, often leaving Green as the odd man out.
Carolina 23, Atlanta 16
Mike Davis had another big game with 89 rushing yards and nine catches for 60 yards and a receiving touchdown. Davis has taken on the Christian McCaffrey role and looks like he could be a potential league winner while McCaffrey is out of the Carolina lineup.
Todd Gurley had a nice game for the Falcons with 14 carries for 121 yards and a score. He has five touchdowns in five games so far and has scored in four of the five games. He is looking like a solid running back option this season.
Miami 43, San Francisco 17
Ryan Fitzpatrick had it going on against the 49ers on Sunday. He completed 22-of-28 passes for 350 yards and three touchdowns. With DeVante Parker and Preston Williams on the outside and Mike Gesicki working the inside of the field, Fitzpatrick has very good options in the passing game. Fitzpatrick is a very good streaming option and could even sneak into QB1 territory. He has 20+ fantasy points in four of five games this season.
On the other end of the spectrum was San Francisco QB Jimmy Garoppolo who threw two interceptions and then was benched and replaced by C.J. Beathard. Garoppolo was returning from an injury so that could have played a part in his poor performance, but he is not consistent enough to be counted on at this point.
Dallas 37, New York Giants 34
The story of the game was the injury to Dak Prescott and the effect it will have on the rest of the Cowboys' season. Andy Dalton has been a decent starter in the past and is not a bad option as a backup quarterback. Fantasy players will be hoping he can support receivers like Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb, and Michael Gallup who had become very reliable fantasy options with Dak under center. That will play out over the course of the season.
Darius Slayton had a nice game for the Giants with eight catches on 11 targets for 129 yards. He is clearly the receiver to roster for the Giants right now. Golden Tate saw just five targets and Evan Engram just two. Slayton is a bit inconsistent game-to-game but is capable of big weeks like this with the right matchup.
Cleveland 32, Indianapolis 23
Kareem Hunt rushed 20 times for 72 yards and he added a receiving touchdown. The Browns are ready to give him a feature role with Nick Chubb sidelined. D'Ernest Johnson will spell Hunt at times, but this is Hunt's backfield. He has always been a good receiving back and has a ton of upside.
Jonathan Taylor found the end zone in this one and had 12 carries for 57 yards. He hasn't had a breakout game yet, but remains the touch leader in the backfield with Marlon Mack out for the season and has proven capable in the passing game when given the opportunity. Fantasy managers should remain patient with the rookie.
Seattle 27, Minnesota 26
DK Metcalf had another big game and is emerging as one of the top receivers in the game. Russell Wilson targeted him 11 times and he caught six passes for 93 yards and two TDs. With Wilson at quarterback, Metcalf possesses tremendous upside and is rewarding fantasy managers who rostered him this year.
Dalvin Cook suffered an injury during this one and backup Alexander Mattison proved why he is one of the best handcuffs to own at the position. He rushed 20 times for 112 yards in Cook's absence. If he is available, he is a primary target while running backs are extremely hard to come by on the waiver wire.
New Orleans 30, L.A. Chargers 27
Without Michael Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders was heavily targeted (14 targets) and caught 12 passes for 122 yards. Sanders is slowly becoming more involved in this offense and should continue to do so once Thomas comes back.
Mike Williams had a big night including a ridiculous catch that set up a potential game-winning field goal. Williams caught five passes for 109 yards and two touchdowns. It was by far his best game of the season (he was shut out at Tampa Bay last week). He looked like he was on the same page as QB Justin Herbert and this could be the start of big things for the big wideout.
Brian Buckey
Brian Buckey is an avid fantasy sports player dating back to his first fantasy baseball league in junior high school, with fantasy experience in all four of the major sports. Brian currently is a sports writer for The Toledo Blade newspaper in Toledo, Ohio where he grew up. Brian is a proud Indiana University graduate, with a degree in journalism and is excited to provide fantasy analysis for FantasyData.