"Studs & Duds" is designed to serve as a "Start/Sit" or "Love/Hate" guide. I'll try to pinpoint players, by position, that I think will have a good chance to deliver better or worse performances in comparison to their season averages. I consider "Studs" as quality starters and "Duds" as possible busts that may deserve to be on your bench, depending on the depth of your league and team. I'll also offer up a couple sneaky sleeper picks for each position. Keep in mind that I won't be including some of the "no-brainer" starting options, nor will I tell you to bench someone who isn't a realistic option. For clear-cut lineup decisions, be sure to check out my rankings and in-depth analysis on a bunch of relevant players. Quarterbacks Studs Derek Carr (OAK) vs. MIN: Averaging 26.3 fantasy points per game over the last three weeks, Derek Carr is firmly in the Stud conversation. He's been extremely safe with the ball over that span, tossing 11 touchdowns and only 1 interception. What's more impressive are the teams he did that against, including two top-half defenses against fantasy QBs (Pittsburgh & San Diego), and one that was previously dominating QBs (New York Jets). Now, he'll get another sturdy defense up against him in a home matchup, but with Cooper and Crabtree playing at an elite level, I'm trusting him as a QB1. Blake Bortles (JAC) @ BAL: The second sophomore signal-caller on my Studs list is Blake Bortles, who shares a fantasy point total with Carr at 150 in ESPN standard leagues, coming in at 9th overall. His only problem is controlling his turnover tendencies, which has resulted in 7 combined turnovers in his last three weeks. He makes up for that, however, by throwing for plenty of yards and touchdowns to his breakout WRs. He finds himself in the QB1 discussion this week on the road in Baltimore, who has one of the leagues worst secondaries to date. They have given up scores up 35.4 an 22.6 to subpar QBs like Josh McCown and Colin Kaepernick, respectively. With Bortles averaging 20.4 points per game and the Ravens giving up 21.8, I see no reason he can't capitalize on this golden opportunity. Duds Russell Wilson (SEA) vs. ARI: I am always big on fantasy quarterbacks with solid rushing ability, which gives them a safe weekly floor. However, even in a home matchup, I'm not so sure about Russell Wilson this week. The Arizona defense has been very solid against fantasy QBs this year, coming in at #6 in points allowed. The Cards have yet to allow a fantasy quarterback to score 20 points this season, which is truly a tough feat to accomplish in today's pass happy NFL. They're also coming off a bye week, making it very hard to trust Wilson as anything more than a QB2. Marcus Mariota (TEN) vs. CAR: Yes, this former Heisman trophy winner undoubtedly has a bright future in the National Football League. He showed everybody why last week, going to New Orleans after a 2-game absence, and proceeding to chuck 4 TDs and 371 yards. His monster outing was good for 33.3 points in standard leagues, but this week will be much more difficult. He'll face a Panthers defense that has only given up 19+ fantasy points to one QB this year: Aaron Rodgers. Mariota is clearly no A-Rod at this stage of his career, and I wouldn't be surprised to see last week's point total cut in half this week. Oddly enough, he also offers no rushing floor either. I see him as a middle-of-the-pack QB2 this week, but not for long. Sleepers Sam Bradford (PHI) vs. MIA: The Eagles get a home matchup against a very weak Dolphins secondary, and Bradford is likely feeling confident after last week's walkoff touchdown strike in OT. Jameis Winston (TB) vs. DAL: For the second week in a row, I have Winston as an intriguing sleeper option even versus a good Dallas defense. Once he gets V-Jax back and his schedule lightens up a bit, he might find his way into Stud territory. Running Backs Studs Darren McFadden (DAL) @ TB: I'm getting Darren McFadden in my Stud section for this week, because he'll be a no-brainer Stud if he has another solid performance. For the third straight week, he'll be going up against a very tough run defense in Tampa Bay. However, that didn't stop him from gaining 110+ yards from scrimmage against the top 5 ranked Seahawks and Eagles run defenses, so I don't think the Bucs will be any different. He's getting more volume than ever before, and his health has actually been intact 10 weeks into the regular season (!). In the Cowboys' last game without Romo, I look for him to push for 25-30 touches out of the backfield, and if he can get a touchdown this week, he'll be a Stud-caliber RB1. Doug Martin (TB) vs. DAL: Slowed down after a red-hot start, Martin has produced only 102 rushing yards in the past two weeks combined. Owners shouldn't fret though, as he gets a bottom-of-the-barrel Dallas run defense that will be without Sean Lee. While the Boys are stout against the pass, I look for Martin to push for 20 carries and have a very solid effort in Week 10. I'm starting the "Muscle Hamster", or the "Dougernaut", or whatever it is that you want to call him, as a safe, high-end, RB2 with a reasonable floor. James Starks (GB) vs. DET: After multiple weeks of proving his effectiveness over "Fat Eddie", Mike McCarthy finally said that Starks will get the start this week in Lambeau. Going up against a Lions defense that has allowed an average of 130.5 rushing yards to opposing backfields over their past four games, I can easily see Starks approaching the century mark in Week 10. While I don't think Lacy will be completely out of the picture, it would take a very impressive performance for him to usurp the starter's role. I'm rolling out James Starks as an RB2 with Stud potential. Duds Chris Johnson (ARI) @ SEA: On pace for the third most rushing yards in the NFL, the man formerly known as "CJ2K" is having an unexpected revival year. He may have to put his impressive pace on hold for this week, however, as he'll be traveling to Seattle and taking on their fierce defense. They're the #1 defense in terms of fantasy points allowed to RBs, serving up an average of only 11.8 points to opposing backfields. As we know, the Cardinals are always willing to deploy a committee approach when necessary, so even if Johnson gets the bulk of the work on Sunday night, I'm not seeing a scenario where he reaches 100 yards or exceeds about 12 points. The ceiling is low here, and the floor is lower than you may think as well. He's an RB3 for me. Charcandrick West (KC) @ DEN: I love this kid's running style, looking like a slightly similar version of Jamaal Charles. He's also coming off two straight 24-touch games before his rest week, which both turned into 18 point fantasy performances. So why am I down on Charcandrick? I wouldn't say that I'm down on him, necessarily, but I do think he's in for a much quieter game against the Broncos. He has to travel to Mile High Stadium and face a defense that is allowing a league-low 3.3 yards per carry to RBs this year. Unless he gets a short touchdown, I'm not seeing a performance that warrants anything better than a low-end RB2 or flex play. Antonio Andrews (TEN) vs. CAR: After touching the ball 20 times last week for 111 total yards, Antonio Andrews seems to be the workhorse of the Titans' backfield. Although the Panthers run defense seems relatively soft, they have enough talent in the middle to stop a below-average ball carrier such as Andrews. No offense to his running style, but there's nothing that particularly stands out to me. He's a bruiser that will likely have less touches this week as the Panthers take a lead over the Titans. With the rookie David Cobb being activated this week, I don't think Andrews will have the backfield to himself for much longer. He is an uninspiring RB3 in my books, and I wouldn't be surprised if he produced a Dud outing. Sleepers Karlos Williams (BUF) @ NYJ: Even with McCoy getting the start, Williams has enough skill to make an impact on just a few touches. He has 6 TDs in only five games and averages a ridiculous 6.6 yards per carry. Alfred Blue (HOU) @ CIN: The Bengals have allowed the third-most yards per carry in the league (4.8) this season, and I can't see the Texans limited offense being able to totally abandon the run game. Shane Vereen (NYG) vs. NE: I'm always a fan of "revenge game" narratives, and Vereen will be up against his old Patriots team. He's also had 10 touches + 1 TD in two games in a row. Wide Receivers Studs Stefon Diggs (MIN) @ OAK: After his first mediocre outing of his sensational rookie season, Diggs is primed to bounce back. His 5 catches for 42 yards seem like a reasonable floor, and this week he'll need to double that output to keep pace with the high-flying Raiders offense. Assuming Bridgewater is fully healthy, I think the playmaking Diggs can take advantage of a weak Raiders secondary that was just shredded by the Steelers WR corps for a tune of 313 yards and a touchdown. He's an upside WR2 with Stud written all over him. Jarvis Landry (MIA) @ PHI: After catching 11 balls last week and only managing to gain 69 receiving yards, Landry showed that he is certainly much more valuable in PPR leagues. Still, his rushing and returning abilities make him a safe option in every fantasy format. He's getting almost 10 targets per game, and now he travels to Philadelphia and takes on their 30th ranked defense against fantasy WRs. He's a very safe WR2 who I think has plenty of Stud potential in Week 10. Michael Crabtree (OAK) vs. MIN: Surely, it isn't very often that a football player goes to Oakland in hopes of reviving their career. Nevertheless, that is exactly what "King Crab" has done in 2015. Coming in as the 14th overall WR on standard ESPN leagues, he is firmly on the every-week WR2 radar. Add in the fact that Derek Carr is playing the best football of his young career, and you have a great chance for Crabtree to keep things going in Week 10. Playing across from Amari Cooper has tremendously helped Crabtree's play, and I'm thinking another Stud performance is on the way in Week 10. Duds Sammy Watkins (BUF) @ NYJ: After abusing Miami's secondary in his return from injury, Watkins will draw a much rougher matchup this week on Revis Island. Aside from Allen Robinson's solid performance last week, Revis has shut down opposing #1 receivers all season long. Sammy has the speed to burn any corner in the league, but the Jets have a secondary that could easily shut him down, especially with Revis shadowing Watkins. Like usual, he's a boom-or-bust WR3, but I think he's more likely to bust than boom in this TNF outing... Jeremy Maclin (KC) @ DEN: Going up against the top overall defense in the NFL, Maclin has a tough task ahead of him in Denver this week. Even with Talib suspended for this game due to his eye-poking tendencies, the Broncos still debatably field the best secondary in the league with Chris Harris Jr. likely to cover Maclin. Add in the fact that Alex Smith has no deep passing game, I think benching Maclin in Week 10 is a very good call. I'm calling Dud. John Brown (ARI) @ SEA: To a lesser extent, I'm also not a fan of Michael Floyd this week either. Fitz gets a pass since he'll probably be getting a decent number of targets on under routes, running across the middle of the field. However, Brown thrives in the deep passing attack, which doesn't bode well against the Legion of Boom. They rarely allow big plays, and Brown's small frame running across the middle of the field sounds like a nightmare up against Kam Chancellor and Earl Thomas. He's a risky WR3 option in Seattle. Sleepers Jordan Matthews (PHI) vs. MIA: After finally breaking out on MNF last week, J-Matt gets an easy task of facing the Dolphins weak secondary at home, putting him in the upside flex discussion. Davante Adams (GB) vs. DET: There's still hope that Adams can regain some of his preseason hype of being a solid WR3 this season, and a game versus the Lions sets up a great opportunity. Rueben Randle (NYG) vs. NE: In my rankings, I said that it wouldn't surprise me if the Pats paid extra attention to ODB. That might free up Randle for a few chunk yardage plays. Tight Ends Studs
Jordan Reed (WAS) vs. NO: I have Reed ranked a few spots higher than most this week, but there are plenty of reasons for that. In fact, I'll just list them: He'll have less attention from the defense with D-Jax returning to form. Kirk Cousins is playing very good football. Reed is getting 9 targets per game. The Saints are the second worst defense against fantasy TEs and just got smashed by the Titans tight end corps. Martellus Bennett (CHI) vs. STL: Sure to receive plenty of targets with Eddie Royal still injured, I think Marty B has his second strong performance in a row. Cutler really only trusts one pass catcher outside of Alshon, and that would be Bennett. The Rams are solid on the perimeter, so I think Martellus will find some room to work with in the middle of the field and hopefully the red zone as well. Duds Richard Rogers (GB) vs. DET: There isn't much TE depth this year, but I think owners can do better than rolling the dice with Rogers. If he doesn't catch a very short TD, his day will likely end with under 30 yards and owners will be wishing they rolled the dice with a higher upside or a sleeper option. Charles Clay (BUF) @ NYJ: I like Clay's style of play. He's sneaky athletic and has nice upside, but he hasn't lived up to his huge offseason contract this year. He has two lame performances in a row, and now he face a Jets defense who ranks inside the top 10 versus fantasy TEs. There should be better days ahead, but I'm letting Clay ride the pine until further notice. Sleepers Zach Ertz (PHI) vs. MIA: A very gifted athlete, Ertz figures to see more action (and success) as the season goes on, specifically in the TD column. Julius Thomas (JAC) @ BAL: Even in a pretty tough matchup for the TE position, Thomas may see more action with Allen Hurns hobbled. |
Categories
All
Archives |