Start Of The Week
Quarterbacks
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Carson Wentz PHI vs DAL
Wentz had his best week so far against the Giants with 359 passing yards, two touchdowns, and one pick. With a disappointing season so far for fantasy owners Wentz finally delivered two weeks in a row. This hot streak will not stop this week against Dallas, where the whole team is a mess and is giving up points left and right. He is a high-end number one this week.
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Nick Foles CHI vs NO
Nick Foles has been dud after dud after dud. This week is no different, even if it’s a soft matchup. Foles has thrown at least one pick every game he has played in. The volume is there, but in this case, that the problem. Stay away from him if you can until he proves himself.
Runningbacks
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Josh Jacobs LV vs CLE
Josh Jacobs is going against the Browns in Cleveland. Jacobs has been lackluster recently, only averaged 1.7 yards last game against the stingy Buccaneers. This week’s game will allow him to get back on track as Cleveland allows graciously 92 rushing yards and 1.3 rushing touchdowns per game this year. The pass defense is even worse, which bodes well for Jacobs in the passing game also. Jacobs is a high-end RB 2 this week.
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Carlos Hyde SEA vs SF
Even if Carson is out, I still do not like Hyde this week. His hamstring injury is worrying as he had a history of soft tissue problems. What I find more troubling is that Dallas is the only “healthy” active running back on the team who will steal work from Hyde. It won’t be a clear-cut workhorse like all the experts say if Hyde is ready to go. If you are hurting for a running back this week, go ahead and take a risk but do not reach for him. I would avoid him if you can.
Wide Receivers
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AJ Brown TEN vs @CIN
Brown has been explosive ever since he came back from injury. He is getting solid work and scoring at least once in every game since the injury and also averaging over 11 yards per catch in those three games. He is in for another big one against the soft Bengals defense where he could easily be a top-three wide receiver this week.
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JuJu Smith-Schuster
JuJu finally saw some targets last game, and it was a whopping nine catches. The problem is he won’t see that many catches most weeks, and he hasn’t seen the end zone since week 3. Four out of the six games, he averaged under 10 yards per catch. Which means he would have to receive a high number of catches to make JuJu good in fantasy. That is unreasonable, especially in the Pittsburgh offense. He is not the number one receiver in Pittsburgh anymore and should be treated as such. He is a flex play at best this week.
Tight Ends
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Jared Cook NO vs @CHI
Cook hasn’t seen a lot of work, but when he does, he makes the most out of it. He has also found the endzone in the last two games. This matchup against Chicago bodes well for him also since it is a formable defense brees will make shorter throws targeting cook and Kamara. He should get more volume this week and is a lock in lineups.
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Robert Tonyan GB vs MIN
After his breakout game of three touchdowns in week 4, he has been horrible fantasy-wise. The reason being is there is an equal three-way timeshare at tight end in Green Bay. The timeshare limits him hard. Hard enough to make him an afterthought in fantasy. He is unstartable until he gets more playing time, and the timeshare stops. He is not worth starting this week.
Defense
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Saints NO vs CHI
Earlier this year, I said never to play the Saints defense, but then the Bears offense decided to implode and do everything in their power to help make any defense look great. As I mentioned earlier, Foles throws at least one interception a game. The offense as a whole is not good either, making mistakes left and right, which should be easy pickings even for the Saints defense. They are a good streaming option this week.
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Colts IND vs @DET
Normally when you would see a defense going against Detroit, you would play them. However, this Lions team is way better than what they were at the start of the season. The offense is a high-powered scoring machine. Also, the line upfront does not allow much pressure allowing Stafford to make precise, smart throws. This game will be high scoring at least around the 24 mark for the Lions, which is a death penalty for defenses in fantasy. The colts won’t be able to have the turnovers and sacks like they are used to this week. They are better off on the bench this week.