Fantasy football strategy, rankings, and podcasts

Quarterbacks

Andrew Luck (IND, QB)

Week 3 vs. SD – 24/37, 331yds, 1 TD, 1 INT, 14.24pts

Week 4 @JAX – 27/42, 234yds, 2 TD, 1 INT, 18.66pts

Week 5 vs. CHI – 28/39, 322yds, 2 TD, 0 INT, 22.18pts

After a huge fantasy performance in week 1 against the Detroit Lions where he put up 35.5 points, Luck and the Colts offense in general has been having issues, starting with the offensive line play which has Luck currently on track for 60+ sacks this season. Still, there’s something to be said for playing from behind and Luck is always capable of a good performance. How will he fare this week in Houston – can he put up at least 18 points to stay afloat as a weekly starter?

Kirk Cousins (WAS, QB)

Week 3 @NYG – 21/35, 296yds, 2 TD, 0 INT, 19.34pts

Week 4 vs. CLE – 21/27, 183yds, 3 TD, 1 INT, 18.32pts

Week 5 @BAL – 29/41, 260yds, 1 TD, 1 INT, 13.30pts

Cousins was ranked pretty highly overall by most experts this preseason, but his recent performance has most of us sliding him to the bench in favor of other upside QBs. Week 6 does not bring Cousins any favors, statistically, as he’ll be going up against the Eagles’ #2 ranked passing defense, allowing only 194yds per game on average and only 3 total passing touchdowns so far this season. Can Cousins buck the trend, scoring at least 17 points in a standard scoring league?

Running Backs

Ezekiel Elliott (DAL, RB)

Week 3 vs. CHI - 30/140yds, 0 TD, 2rec, 20yds, 0 TD, 16.00pts

Week 4 @SF – 23/138yds, 1 TD, 1rec, 19yds, 0 TD, 21.70pts

Week 5 vs. CIN – 15/134yds, 2 TD, 3rec, 37yds, 0 TD, 29.10pts

Elliott has actually been trending up from his very first NFL game this year. Each week he has performed better than the last. It doesn’t look like he’ll be very involved in the passing game at all (for now, at least), but that doesn’t really impact his fantasy value. The Cowboys are full-speed ahead now, even with a rookie under center. Is it possible for Elliott to keep it going and bring owners at least 22 points on his first trip to Lambeau field to face the Packers?

Duke Johnson Jr. (CLE, RB)

Week 3 @MIA – 10/69yds, 0 TD, 5rec, 12yds, 0 TD, 8.10pts

Week 4 @WAS – 8/45yds, 0 TD, 6rec, 31yds, 0 TD, 5.60pts

Week 5 vs. NE – 4/1yd, 0 TD, 2rec, 21yds, 0 TD, 2.20pts

The Browns are a disaster this year, and although Johnson was drafted as the more valuable running back before the season started, Isaiah Crowell has taken the mantle thus far. Although one could argue that Johnson has some PPR value, he has not shown up as a productive fantasy player so far this year in standard leagues. Will he continue to fall off of benches everywhere? Will Johnson score less than 5.3 points this week against the Titans?

Wide Receivers

Cameron Meredith (CHI, WR)

Week 3 @DAL – 2/3, 24yds, 0 TD, 0.40pts

Week 4 vs. DET – 4/5, 28yds, 0 TD, 2.80pts

Week 5 @IND – 9/12, 130yds, 1 TD, 17.60pts

Welcome to the NFL, Cameron. Sorry you’re on the Bears! Regardless of his situation, though, it looks like Hoyer and Meredith are enjoying some great chemistry and – due to Cutler’s fall from grace and White’s serious injury – both will probably be starting for the foreseeable future. The real question here is if Meredith can keep up the production on a high level in the weeks to come. Let’s put the number at 8 points or more to continue this trend. Yay, or nay?

Victor Cruz (NYG, WR)

Week 3 vs. WAS – 3/3, 70yds, 0TD, 7.00pts

Week 4 @MIN – 5/9, 50yds, 5.00pts

Week 5 @GB – 0/2, 0yds, 0.00pts

Over the last 4 games, Cruz has had at least 50 yards or a touchdown. At the beginning of the season things looked super promising for a resurgence to Cruz’s career and for the Giants’ offense in general – but things aren’t looking quite so bright now. Will the Giants regain control of their offensive play and utilize Cruz in week 6 in Baltimore? Will Cruz score less than 4 points, continuing the downward trend?

Tight Ends

Martellus Bennett (NE, TE)

Week 3 vs. HOU – 2/3, 10yds, 0 TD, 1.60pts

Week 4 vs. BUF – 5/6, 109yds, 0 TD, 10.90pts

Week 5 @CLE – 6/8, 67yds, 3 TD, 24.70pts

Bennett’s first outing with Tom Brady as quarterback was fruitful, to say the least. Even though Gronkowski was back in action and looking healthier than he has so far this season, Bennett was the primary red zone target for most of the game, scoring 3 touchdowns against the hapless Cleveland Browns. In order to keep up this trend, Bennett will need to put up 12 or more points in a standard scoring league. Can he pull it off?

Injuries are a huge part of the fantasy football season. This year, they have already taken a bite out of the fantasy production of many teams with extended injuries to such players as Adrian Peterson, Keenan Allen, Danny Woodhead, Ameer Abdullah, and more. The hits just keep coming! This week we’ll look at a few key injuries that may change the direction of some fantasy match-ups.

Cam Newton (QB, CAR)

Newton is in the league’s concussion protocol and has a number of tests to go through and pass before he can suit up on Monday Night Football. Still likely to play, but it puts a lot of owners in a tough spot if he ends up sitting out!

Carson Palmer (QB, ARZ)

Palmer is no ‘Spring Chicken’ and he is also in the concussion protocol for now. The difference for Palmer is that he is scheduled to play on Thursday. If he doesn’t go, Drew Stanton will fill in and likely make the Cardinals look even worse than they already have this season.

Trevor Siemian (QB, DEN)

Siemian has been one of a few surprises this season, putting up some great numbers recently. With a sprain in his non-throwing shoulder, Siemian could easily start under center on Sunday but the Broncos’ healthy new toy Paxton Lynch is also chomping at the bit to play after getting his first NFL snaps in week 4. Regardless, Kubiak has said, “Trevor is our starting Quarterback”, so as of right now we should expect him to resume active duties.

Dez Bryant (WR, DAL)

A hairline fracture (and not having Tony Romo as QB) are both keeping Bryant from being especially fantasy relevant so far this year. With only Jerry Jones speaking up on the issue, we have no idea whether or not Bryant will start against the Bengals in week 5. Even if he did start, Bryant may be a suggested sit depending on your bench depth.

Kevin White (WR, CHI)

A sprained ankle has sidelined Bears’ wide receiver Kevin White for now – watch for more news later this week. White has yet to score a TD in the NFL, but with Hoyer playing QB his stats have improved over the beginning of the season. One of these games could prove to be a breakout for White if he avoids serious injury.

Zach Ertz (TE, PHI) & Tyler Eifert (TE, CIN)

Both Ertz and Eifert are scheduled to return to fantasy rosters everywhere. Temper expectations for Eifert in what could be his first game of the season this week, but the Bengals desperately need more targets on that offense and there’s a reason why Eifert is already nowhere to be found on waiver wires. Ertz has been sidelined with a rib injury since week 1, but he’s an exciting prospect with rising star QB Carson Wentz controlling his fantasy destiny. Could be a good year for Ertz.

Chris Johnson (RB, ARZ)

Now on IR indefinitely for a sports-hernia injury, this just means more carries for David Johnson.

Dwayne Washington (RB, DET)

A sprained foot and ankle could sideline Washington for a few games. Be aware of the situation, as The Lions are rapidly losing depth at the position and may look to someone like Karlos Williams or make a trade for other talent at the position if they cannot get healthy.

Doug Martin (RB, TAM)

Looks like Martin will miss one more week (the following week is a bye for the Bucs) and so Sims will continue to fill in as the lead back in Tampa Bay. Not a great play against Carolina, however.

Rob Gronkowski (TE, NE)

News is starting to bubble up in the media about Gronkowski’s hamstring injury and subsequent lack of fantasy production. Not many people expected him to be this hampered early in the season, but if he can’t perform this week with Brady under center it’s already past time to panic.

Jordan Cameron (TE, MIA)

Cameron is out with another concussion and his past history of them means that we can’t expect him back anytime soon. Deep league? Dion Sims is not a terrible choice at the position against a Titans defense with some holes in it.

Taking a look at the player trends over the past few weeks can reveal some surprising things - it's important, though, to temper expectations in some cases and realize that some great (and some awful) performances can be the product of gameflow as much as the talent and/or rising production of a player. But since each player can only be owned by one team at a time in most standard fantasy leagues, you've got to scoop them up before anyone else and make smart decisions as far as when to play a rising (or falling) star. What do you think about these scenarios? Will the players listed below live up to expectations based on recent weeks?

We discuss our thoughts on the below players on this week's podcast: 

Quarterbacks

Trevor Siemian (DEN, QB)

Week 1 vs. CAR – 18/26, 178yds, 1 TD, 2 INT, 11.12pts

Week 2 vs. IND – 22/33, 266yds, 0 TD, 1 INT, 12.34pts

Week 3 @CIN – 23/35, 312yds, 4 TD, 0 INT, 28.98pts

Siemian was an underdog from the beginning of the preseason, and had a rough start in 2016, but he lit it up against the Bengals in Week 3 and has constantly improved since the opening game against the Panthers. He is now the 12^th highest scoring QB in standard scoring leagues after 3 weeks, can he score 18 points or more this week against the Bucs?

Kirk Cousins (WAS, QB)

Week 1 vs. PIT – 30/43, 329yds, 0 TD, 2 INT, 11.96pts

Week 2 vs. DAL – 28/46, 364yds, 1 TD, 1 INT, 19.56pts

Week 3 @NYG – 21/35, 296yds, 2 TD, 0 INT, 19.34pts

Similar to Siemian, Cousins has increased his effectiveness and gotten better at protecting the football every week so far in 2016. The Redskins go up against the Browns’ lackluster defense in week 4 – can he put up 17 or more points?

Running Backs

Tevin Coleman (ATL, RB)

Week 1 vs. TB – 8/22yds, 0 TD, 5rec, 95yds, 0 TD, 11.70pts

Week 2 @OAK – 12/46yds, 1 TD, 2rec, 25yds, 0 TD, 13.10pts

Week 3 @NO – 12/42yds, 3 TD, 3rec, 47yds, 0 TD, 26.90pts

Coleman has been more involved in the Falcons’ offense this year and it doesn’t look like that will change anytime soon. He does go up against the Panthers’ defense in week 4, however. Will Coleman be able to continue this burst of productivity and put up 17 or more points?

Theo Riddick (DET, RB)

Week 1 @IND – 7/45yds, 1 TD, 5rec, 63yds, 1 TD, 22.80pts

Week 2 vs. TEN – 11/37yds, 0 TD, 4rec, 28yds, 0 TD, 6.50pts

Week 3 @GB – 10/9yds, 0 TD, 7rec, 39yds, 0 TD, 4.80pts

Riddick was a huge waiver wire add after week 1’s performance, and was hyped up in the fantasy football world after it was revealed that lead back Ameer Abdullah may miss the entire 2016 season. The emergence of Dwayne Washington makes us give pause, however, and his sinking production isn’t helping. Can Riddick step it back up in week against the Bears and score at least 11 points to make himself fantasy relevant once again?

Wide Receivers

Quincy Enunwa (NYJ, WR)

Week 1 vs. CIN – 7/8, 54yds, 1 TD, 11.40pts

Week 2 @BUF – 6/6, 92yds, 0 TD, 9.20pts

Week 3 @KC – 4/11, 37yds, 0 TD, 3.70pts

Enunwa has been a hot topic this year and since Marshall has been a little hobbled by his knee injury in week 2, it was assumed that Enunwa may be able to step up and provide some fantasy production. Granted week 3 was a terrible one for the Jets’ offense in general, but with Marshall getting healthier once more and Fitzpatrick looking to get back on track in week 4 against Seattle is it possible that Enunwa gets lost in the mix? Will he be able to score at least 8 points among all of the other mouths to feed in that offense?

Jamison Crowder (WAS, WR)

Week 1 vs. PIT – 6/10, 58yds, 0 TD, 5.80pts

Week 2 vs. DAL – 6/8, 39yds, 1 TD, 9.90pts

Week 3 @NYG – 4/7, 78yds, 1 TD, 13.80pts

Crowder looks to be supplanting Pierre Garcon as the starting WR opposite DeSean Jackson. He has been displaying great elusiveness and doing everything that the team asks him to. Going up against the Browns in week 4 should certainly not prove any more difficult than the other teams that he has played so far this year. Will he continue this positive trend and put up at least 10 points this week?

Tight End

Jimmy Graham (SEA, TE)

Week 1 vs. MIA – 1/1, 11yds, 0 TD, 1.10pts

Week 2 @LA – 3/4, 42yds, 0 TD, 4.20pts

Week 3 vs. SF -  6/9, 100yds, 1 TD, 14.00pts

Graham had a gruesome injury last year (patellar tendon) that many athletes never return from in full-form. Even when he was healthy he was still having some issues gelling with the Seahawks offense and finding his place within it. Amazingly, it looks like he did make a full recovery and was doing Jimmy Graham-like things in week 3 and playing a full complement of snaps. Can Graham keep it up against the Jets in week 4 with a backup QB and score at least 7 points?