Fantasy football strategy, rankings, and podcasts

It's always an exciting week in the NFL! Week 5 brought us a little more stability as far as fantasy performances, but there were still plenty of upsets going on in the league. As offensive lines gel a little more and the players that you're starting each week solidify, rankings such as these take on even more importance in setting your lineups each week. Some guys that I'm targeting to start when possible this week (and that I like a little more than other experts) are: Phillip Rivers, Andy Dalton, Tarik Cohen, Wayne Gallman, Randall Cobb, Sammy Watkins, Hunter Henry, and the Detroit Lions. Best of luck this week!

Week 6 rolls along with some serious shake-ups in the league, including the demolition of the Giants' passing offense (Marshall and Beckham both out for the season and Shepard in a walking boot). We're still seeing some offensive weapons in fantasy that are remaining stagnant, and now is the time to consider cutting bait with them and moving on. Let's focus on the players that should provide your team with a boost this coming week - some of those guys include: Derek Carr, Mark Ingram, Elijah McGuire, Emmanuel Sanders, Amari Cooper, Austin Hooper, and the Baltimore Ravens.

Week 7 is on the horizon and in addition to losing some more big names out there in fantasy-land, we've really begun to see a trend in RB production that is surpassing the last several years. Generally WRs outperform RBs early in the season, but this year we're seeing a return to more touches for a primary ball-carrier. We'll see how it all shakes out! These rankings will be updated throughout the week, but the players that I'm looking at outperforming the consensus this week are: Jared Goff, Jerick Mckinnon, Derrick Henry, Adam Thielen, Eric Decker, Jimmy Graham, Nick O'Leary, and the Minnesota Vikings.

We hit on more than a few guys this past week, and with all of the bye weeks upon us it's more important than ever to pick upside players that can dish out a good performance as a fill-in for your roster. Hopefully you're going into week 8 with a good record and a lot of confidence, but even if you have not been doing so well it's not too late to turn the ship around. Pay attention to this week's rankings, with special consideration to a few guys: Tyrod Taylor, Ameer Abdullah, Matt Forte, Michael Crabtree, Robby Anderson, Austin Hooper, Steven Hauschka, and the Pittsburgh Steelers.