Week 5 Fantasy Football Stock Watch: Rookies Amaze

There are three guarantees in life. Death, taxes, and one position being a hot mess in Fantasy Football. My hatred of not having Rob Gronkowski grows but I will hop off my TE soapbox for one week.

The 2017 rookie class has amazed me so far, well Kareem Hunt and Deshaun Watson. It is amazing how the Cleveland Browns passed on Watson in 2017 and Carson Wentz/Jared Goff in 2016. The kid could win in college and he is finding ways to win or put his team in situations to win, after a brief adjustment to the NFL in Week 2.

Hunt has had a great first three weeks in the NFL and should be in the conversation for early MVP. No, I have not made a hot take on his Monday night performance. This issue is being written a day as I am on vacation.

But if he bombs against the team from Washington we can chalk it up to me have supernatural powers.

Week 5 Fantasy Football Stock Watch

Quarterbacks

Up

Jameis Winston, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

You can ignore every stat for Winston and just look at who he is playing on Thursday. I could get open against the New England Patriots’ secondary.

Odds are Bill Belichick will fix the defense soon, but fix it in just a few days? No chance. Winston will build on his 300-plus yard, three touchdown performance and light up the Pats in my upset of the week.

I know this is Fantasy Football, but the Bucs will beat the Pats and Winston’s aerial attack will be the reason. Expect a big day for Winston and get the crab legs ready.

Deshaun Watson, Houston Texans

Watson seemed to struggle adjusting to the NFL game the first two weeks of the season and some slammed him for being just another college quarterback who could not adjust to the NFL game.

He silenced everyone after five total touchdowns against the Tennessee Titans en route to a 57-14 blowout. Watson may not be ready to be your QB1 but he sure has proven that he can be a good start given he has the right matchup.

Upcoming games against the Cleveland Browns and Indianapolis Colts put him in a position to be a solid bye week fill in.

Down

Joe Flacco, Baltimore Ravens

Flacco is the worst quarterback in the NFL right now. He has no talent around him, no legitimate WR1 and no offensive line. He has four touchdowns to go with six interceptions, never looks comfortable and the offense is an embarrassment.

Throw Flacco and the Ravens in the dumpster, and hope for better things in 2018.

Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons

Drafting Ryan was a risk given how many years he had been just average until he had Kyle Shanahan and then exploded onto the scene and was the MVP last season.

His numbers now sans Shanahan are modest at best with five touchdowns to five interceptions. Throw in an injury to Julio Jones and his numbers will not be on the incline anytime soon. I know that Jones’ hip injury was not serious but after a year of nagging injuries, another nagging injury is not what the doctor ordered.

Jones could be sapped of his explosiveness for the next month if the injury sticks around and Ryan just is not the same in his new offense. Time to start your backup and let Matty Ice cool off on the bench.

 

Running Backs

Up

Latavius Murray/Jerick McKinnon, Minnesota Vikings

This is my weekly upish. They are an up for deep leagues looking for a decent waiver wire pickup/bye week fill in. Neither play will be a consistent 10 points per game, expect 4-6 on average from the two with a pray for a one-yard stumble modifier.

LeGarrette Blount, Philadelphia Eagles

Blount is still a great runner, the Eagles just needed to get him the ball. He managed 136 rushing yards on just 16 carries and has been averaging 5.9 yards per carry for the season. It should be only a matter of time before the Eagles realize what they have in Blount and feed him 20 carries a game.

Bilal Powell, New York Jets

Matt Forte’s injury thrust Powell into the starting role and he responded with 163 rushing yards and one touchdown along with 27 receiving yards.

He will never be a workhorse back given his stature but has the explosiveness to take advantage of every touch. The Jets offense is being sneakily good and Powell will do the same as long as Forte does not regain the starting role.

Down

Mike Gillislee, New England Patriots

Gillislee is the Pats best runner but without any contribution in the passing game. A defense that has more holes than swiss cheese forces to pass early and often leaving Gillislee the odd man out.

He will have his games when he scores two touchdowns for a total of two yards but predicting that should be left to future seers. Owners need to accept this is in the LeGarrette Blount role with none of the upside right now.

 

Wide Receivers

Up

Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

A flair up last week in Minnesota summed up everyone’s feelings with the Bucs offense, frustrated. After a great performance against the New York Giants (five catches for 67 yards and one touchdown), owners should feel good about Evans.

A Thursday Night Football date with the New England Patriots only sweetens the pot.

DeAndre Hopkins/Will Fuller, Houston Texans

The Texans needed a quarterback. Enter Deshaun Watson. He brought stability to the team and their scoring output. Hopkins and Fuller are now firmly in their respective WR1/WR2 role.

A tough game against Kansas City would be a great time to buy low.

Down

Miami Dolphins’ Receivers

Jay Cutler is not the answer for the Dolphins in 2017, and he certainly does not care for the Wildcat.

Jay Cutler had zero interest in pretending to be a wide receiver in this wildcat set pic.twitter.com/gaoYyqFXpg

— Eric Fawcett (@Efawcett7) October 1, 2017

He looks old, washed up, and lacks accuracy. An offense with a lot of potential has come to a screeching halt due to his play. Just like the Ravens, move on from the Dolphins and hope for a buy low 2018.

 

Tight Ends

Up

Charles Clay, Buffalo Bills

No one thinks of the Bills as explosive or an offensive powerhouse. Nevertheless, Clay has gotten the job done scoring 11 points in two games. The other two games were duds but the way tight ends are performing this year, he will be a good gamble against the Cincinnati Bengals.

Zach Ertz, Philadelphia Eagles

Ertz has been a steady performer and gets an up just for that. Averaging 9 points a game? Yes, I will take that and so should any Fantasy owner.