After just two teams had a bye in Week 4, four teams will rest up and there will be a lot of fantasy owners scrambling to fill their roster.
NFL byes, Week 5: Fantasy football losses for the Vikings, Steelers, Buccaneers, Redskins
The Vikings, Steelers, Buccaneers and Redskins are on byes, so owners aren’t going to have some of their usual options. We break down the fantasy implications.
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Owners who have played fantasy football before likely were proactive for this dilemma and drafted some depth at receiver and running back. Here’s a look at some players who are on a bye followed by some favorable matchups for teams that are playing in Week 5.
RB Adrian Peterson
WR Greg Jennings
WR Jerome Simpson
WR Cordarrelle Patterson
TE Kyle Rudolph
RB Doug Martin
WR Vincent Jackson
WR Mike Williams
WR Kevin Ogletree
QB Ben Roethlisberger
RB Le'Veon Bell
RB Jonathan Dwyer
WR Antonio Brown
WR Emmanuel Sanders
TE Heath Miller
QB Robert Griffin III
RB Alfred Morris
RB Roy Helu
WR Pierre Garcon
WR Leonard Hankerson
WR Santana Moss
TE Fred Davis
The first thing that jumps out is fantasy consensus top pick Adrian Peterson won’t be helping anyone this week. There are also a handful of must-start backs out with Alfred Morris and Doug Martin also getting a week off. Le’Veon Bell came out hot last week, but his owners are also going to have to wait a week.
There aren't too many receivers on the sidelines with Pierre Garcon, Antonio Brown, Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams as the only usual starters on this list. It's a good thing for Jackson and Williams to get a bye, so now they can work on getting on the same page as new quarterback Mike Glennon.
Robert Griffin III is the only quarterback that fantasy owners have been using, so there shouldn’t be too much of a scramble.
As far as matchups go, the Eagles moved to last in yards allowed thanks to the beating handed to them by Peyton Manning. They'll get the Giants, so a guy like Rueben Randle could turn in a nice game. Eli Manning could also get his disastrous season turned around. It'll take a gamblin' man (or woman) to roll the dice on him, though.
The Chargers are 30th in yards allowed and they'll get the Raiders. Rashad Jennings could prove to be a pickup and plug-and-play guy with Darren McFadden's hammy acting up. Terrelle Pryor may have been cut in your league due to a concussion, so he could be a very strong play.
Green Bay comes off a bye with its 28th-ranked defense to face the Lions. Ryan Broyles let a lot of people down, so perhaps he will be hastily cut.
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