Before posting my Studs & Duds selections for the upcoming week of fantasy football, I'll review some of my picks from the past Studs & Duds article. I'll do this every week, so you can track who I correctly predicted (slam dunks) as a Stud or a Dud, as well as who I got wrongly placed as a Stud or Dud (airballs) . I'll name players that I hit or miss completely, but I won't be naming ones who performed average. For example, I picked Cam Newton as a stud and he ended up as a top-15 QB. While he wasn't a slam dunk, he wasn't an airball either. I'll also cover a few sleepers that I listed who delivered good numbers. Let's get started. Studs who were Slam Dunks: WR: Martavis Bryant (PIT) @ KC: I pegged Martavis Bryant as a solid WR2 this week in Kansas City, even with Landry Jones throwing him the ball. Once again, he delivered solid numbers, mainly due to his third TD in only two games this season. If you read my article on Martavis Bryant last week, you may have noticed that I researched his TD ability and found that a whopping 31.25% (slightly more than 1 out of every 3) of his NFL catches have gone for TDs. Well, he proved my formula right by catching 3 balls for 45 yards and, of course, 1 touchdown. WR: Mike Evans (TB) @ WAS: Another player I predicted to have a big game in Week 7 was Tampa Bay wideout Mike Evans. After a sluggish beginning to the season, Evans was coming off his bye week to play the Redskins, who were previously torched by the Jets WR duo. I said to leave him in your WR2 slot and expect a big game, one that he would score his first TD of the year. That's exactly what he did, posting a stat line of 8 catches for 164 yards and a touchdown. Owners who kept him in their lineup and remained patient are obviously thrilled about his huge game. WR: Eric Decker (NYJ) @ NE: I was tempted to leave Decker off the list after what was a seemingly average outing, but he actually delivered slightly more than his season average. While a touchdown certainly would have made his day against the Pats, he still had a very solid WR2-like game, which is what I guessed he would provide in last week's Studs & Duds. Decker actually outperformed his mate, Brandon Marshall, by snagging 6 balls for 94 yards. He also received a team-high 12 targets, 5 more than Marshall. He didn't explode like Evans or get into the end zone like Bryant, but he surely posted very startable numbers. Duds who were Slam Dunks: QB: Eli Manning (NYG) vs. DAL : Routinely being ranked inside the top 10 across the fantasy world, I correctly predicting Eli Manning to struggle this week. I even chose the name, "Bad Eli", to describe who he would play like versus the Cowboys. Well, he squeezed out a measly 6.4 fantasy points this week, which ranked him the 25th QB in the league. If you listened, you're happy. QB: Sam Bradford (PHI) @ CAR : Based on his thin WR corps and struggling offensive line, I listed Bradford in my Duds for Week 7. In addition, he played on the road against a very tough Panther defense. Finishing right in front of my other Dud as the 24th scoring QB in fantasy with 6.8 points, Bradford has been brutal in both real life and fantasy alike. Hopefully you sat him. RB: Joseph Randle (DAL) @ NYG : After just two carries in his Week 7 game, Randle was injured and left the game for good. He proceeded to hand the reigns over to Darren McFadden, who may have won the job for good. Albeit in a a way I didn't predict, Randle proved to be a Dud. RB: Alfred Morris (WAS) @ TB : Morris was the definition of a Dud this past week against the Bucs at home. Even with Matt Jones being banged up, Morris only managed to gain a pathetic 5 yards on 6 carries against a beatable Tampa defense. Yikes. WR: Julian Edelman (NE) vs. NYJ : As my boldest Dud of the week, my prediction didn't disappoint. Contrarily, Julian Edelman did disappoint. Knowing that stud CB Darelle Revis would be shadowing Edelman, I wisely told owners to temper their expectations this week. While he wasn't completely shut down, his ceiling was certainly limited. He caught 5 balls for 54 yards. WR: Golden Tate (DET) vs. MIN : I also told readers that Golden Tate would be underwhelming in his Week 7 matchup against the Vikings. I mentioned that he has failed to exceed 80 yards once this year, while only catching one lucky TD. Tate caught two balls for a measly 14 yards. Hopefully you let him ride the pine like I recommended. WR: Travis Benjamin (CLE) @ STL: Even after coming into this week as the 4th overall WR in fantasy points, I called Benjamin on his bluff. I actually predicted that he would take a back seat to Gary Barnidge and have one of his worst games of the year, if not his worst. Well, he caught 4 balls for 47 yards, while tacking on a fumble that his team lost. Scoring 2.7 points in ESPN standard leagues, this "Top 4" wideout was a great Dud selection. TE: Larry Donnell (NYG) vs. DAL : After picking Eli Manning as a Dud, I also listed his TE Larry Donnell as a Dud. This was based on his very underwhelming potential even when he receives a healthy amount of targets. He got 5 more targets this week, turning them into 4 catches for an abysmal 18 yards. He belongs on the waiver wire. Studs who were Airballs: QB: Matt Ryan (ATL) @ TEN: I was anticipating a big game from "Matty Ice" in Tennessee. He had performed much better on the road this season, and I really thought that would continue. He only put up 9.7 points in ESPN standard leagues, which was barely good enough for the top 20 at his position. He had a potential TD to Julio Jones that was reviewed and ruled to be not a score. That would have made his week better, but he only finished with 251 yards and a poor 2:1 ratio of INTs to TDs. QB: Blake Bortles (JAC) vs. BUF: Still ending up as a top 16 fantasy QB in Week 7, I had to think about if Bortles was an Airball or not. Ultimately, I included him in this section because I had top 10 aspirations for Bortles in London versus the Bills. He only managed to complete 13 of his 29 attempts for 182 yards, while throwing 2 TDs and 1 INT. He won his team the game, but he probably didn't win many fantasy games for his owners. I expected more from him. Duds who were Airballs: RB: T.J. Yeldon (JAC) vs. BUF: While I predicted Bortles to succeed, I thought that the Jags, like most teams, would struggle to run the ball against a stout Bills front line. Well, oddly enough, Yeldon had his first big game of his rookie season against a very tough defense. He toted the ball 20 times for 115 yards and scored his first rushing TD of the year. Going into the bye, Yeldon should come out in Week 9 ready to be an RB2. Sleepers who panned out: QB: Ryan Fitzpatrick (NYJ) @ NE: In what was somewhat of a shootout, Ryan Fitzpatrick delivered top 10 QB numbers at the position. He had a clean stat line, completing 22 of 39 throws for 295 yards and 2 TDs. He also added on 29 rushing yards. WR: Allen Hurns (JAC) vs. BUF: Hurns had another quality game for fantasy purposes, and many owners had him as their WR3/flex. He only grabbed 2 balls, but went for 53 yards and a score. WR: Michael Crabtree (OAK) @ SD: Another WR3/flex that delivered from my sleeper section was Michael Crabtree. While Amari Cooper feasted, "King Crab" had himself a decent game too. He posted 63 yards and a touchdown from his 6 receptions. WR: Michael Floyd (ARI) vs. BAL: Floyd finished up MNF with 59 yards on 3 receptions, adding on his second touchdown in as many weeks. TE: Ladarius Green (SD) vs. OAK: As Antonio Gates was banged up all week, I pegged Green to be a sneaky TE sleeper this week. Well, Gates ended up sitting, and Ladarius posted top 4 TE numbers of 4 catches for 49 yards and a touchdown. TE: Eric Ebron (DET) vs. MIN: My other TE that I chose as a sleeper was the freshly returning Eric Ebron, who finished right ahead of Green as the third overall scorer in the position. Summary of Week 7's Studs & Duds: All in all, the first week of Studs & Duds went very well. I didn't have any QB Stud predictions pan out very well, but Cam Newton wasn't a terrible start. On the flip side, I correctly picked 2 out of 3 of my Duds for QBs. While none of my RB Studs did amazing, they also didn't do poorly - Murray and Gore had 70+ overall yards. I went 2 for 3 in my RB Duds section. As for my WR section, I struck gold. All of my Studs delivered, all of my Duds struggled, and ALL of my Sleepers even panned out. My Stud TEs may not have exploded, but tossing up 73 yards each, Kelce and Witten did just fine. I called out Larry Donnell being a Dud, which he definitely was. Lastly, both of my Sleeper TEs finished as top 4 options at the position... Hopefully this follow-up article was helpful after reading my Studs & Duds from last week. Check back on Thursday for Studs & Duds for Week 8. |
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