We survived Week 4 with six teams on bye. Only Miami and Oakland are off this week, so fantasy owners shouldn’t be hurting too bad with their lineups.
Fantasy football start/sit advice: Week 5
Only two teams are on bye in Week 5, which will help fantasy owners fill their starting lineups with less frustration. Here are some suggested starts and sits for this weekend’s games.
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Last week, some of the suggested starts that looked good were Ben Roethlisberger, Lamar Miller and Delanie Walker. The bad suggested sits featured T.Y Hilton and Travis Kelce. Week 4 was a mixed bag.
Looking ahead to Week 5, here are your start/sit suggestions for the weekend’s slate of games.
Start
QB Eli Manning, vs. Falcons
Atlanta's numbers against the pass might not look awful, but consider who the Falcons have played through four weeks: Teddy Bridgewater in his first start, Mike Glennon/Josh McCown, Andy Dalton without A.J. Green and Drew Brees. They made impressive adjustments against the Saints in Week 1, but this is still a defense that needs a lot of work.
The Falcons can be shaky on the road. Manning is coming off a five-touchdown game. The biggest concern about him for Week 5 is Rashad Jennings, who could carry the offense on the ground. Manning is a great start with the way he's playing right now and a prime matchup.
QB Ben Roethlisberger, at Jaguars
I recommended Big Ben last week and he finished with three touchdowns against the Buccaneers. Hopefully, he can continue feasting on Florida teams in Week 5.
Jacksonville is allowing 2.8 passing touchdowns per game, the most in the NFL. The Roethlisberger-Antonio Brown connection can't be stopped right now. Roll with them.
RB Chris Ivory, at Chargers
Ivory continues to get more touches than Chris Johnson every game. He has 57 total touches in 2014, while Johnson is sitting at 49 (only eight in Week 4).
Opposing running backs haven't run the ball a ton against the Chargers, but four backs have double-digit points against them through four games. Ivory is always a threat to wear down defenses. It looks hard to bet against him after watching him take it to the Lions front four.
RB Justin Forsett, at Colts
The Ravens' backfield is a still confusing to fantasy owners, but Forsett is the best option with the way he's playing. The 28-year-old back is averaging 5.8 yards per carry and close to 15 touches per game.
Forsett has 10 carries of 10 or more yards on 44 total attempts. The Ravens’ interior offensive line is opening up plays to big gains, and the Colts have allowed four rushing touchdowns. Forsett is flex worthy with RB2 appeal.
WR Rueben Randle, vs. Falcons
If you're looking for a stack in DFS, Manning and Randle are appealing. Randle has seen 10 targets in each of his last two games. He has seven red zone targets for the season. Now he faces a Falcons defense that just let Jarius Wright go off for eight catches and 132 yards.
Randle was a popular sleeper pick prior to the season. That hype might start to live up to itself if he can put together another solid outing. He caught eight passes last week.
WR Brandin Cooks, vs. Buccaneers
As Dan Schneier of Pro Football Focus writes, Cooks should be seeing plenty of Johnthan Banks in Week 5. When the Saints run 11 personnel, Cooks lines up as the X receiver, the wideout Banks typically covers. Banks has been torched for 17 catches, 207 yards and a touchdown in 2014.
Cooks is a volatile starter in the Saints offense, but you have to like his matchup this week. Plus, the Saints are heading back to the Superdome after a bad loss in Dallas. I’d expect them to want to pile on the points.
TE Delanie Walker, vs Browns
Just keep starting Walker and you'll be fine. The Titans' highest-scoring offensive player has 33 targets over his first four games, and he's turned that into 317 yards and three touchdowns.
The Browns were decimated by Jimmy Graham in Week 2. I'm obviously not going to compare Walker to him, but it's worth point out that this defense is vulnerable to the position. Dennis Pitta caught three passes before leaving the game with an injury. Walker should continue his hot streak.
TE Garrett Graham, at Cowboys
I’m honestly not sure if the Cowboys have any idea how to defend tight ends. They’re giving up 18.9 points per game to the position, by far the worst in the league. Look at the numbers against Dallas.
Week 1, Vernon Davis: two touchdowns
Week 2, Delanie Walker: 10 catches, 142 yards, one touchdown
Week 3, Jared Cook: seven catches, 75 yards (Lance Kendricks also scored a touchdown)
Week 4, Jimmy Graham: eight receptions, 86 yards, one touchdown (Josh Hill also scored a touchdown)
That is unbelievably bad. Graham is by no means a strong fantasy play any week, but if you’re desperate at tight end, he’s probably destined to score against this defense.
Sit
QB Tom Brady, vs Bengals
Cincinnati’s defense has given up two passing touchdowns in three games and picked off six passes in that same span. Does that sound like a unit you want to put Brady up against with the way he’s playing?
The Patriots offense line is struggling, and Brady is getting sacked on average faster than any other quarterback in the NFL. This is not the matchup you're looking for to help Brady get back on track.
QB Kirk Cousins, vs. Seahawks
Seattle’s defense doesn’t look as stout in 2014; the Seahawks gave up six passing touchdowns in their first three games. Despite the fact that they appear more vulnerable on the road, starting Cousins is still a risky move after last week’s debacle.
Cousins was picked off four times against the Giants. He also lost a fumble. This all happened while playing in Washington. I would be concerned about starting Cousins in most leagues until he comes across a better matchup.
RB Toby Gerhart, vs. Steelers
Denard Robinson saw more playing time than Gerhart did in Week 4. That should be an indicator of how you should value him at this point in the season.
Blake Bortles' promotion to starter should help the Jaguars offense overall in the long run, but hope for long-term improvement isn't enough to warrant investing stock in the Jacksonville run game right away. Your best hope for Gerhart is for him to score in a short-yardage situation. That's not enough to put faith in him starting.
RB Alfred Morris, vs. Seahawks
If you’re expecting Cousins to struggle, Morris could easily do the same. The only player to score a rushing touchdown against the Seahawks so far is John Kuhn. Not a good sign for a touchdown-dependent player like Morris.
His receiving points from Week 4 brought some promise for the future of his PPR value, but the Seahawks have shut down Eddie Lacy, Montee Ball and the Chargers backfield in 2014.
WR Kendall Wright, vs. Browns
Wright is averaging just 0.29 fantasy points per route run. He isn't getting the job done with Jake Locker or Charlie Whitehurst under center. It's a disappointing time for most Titans offensive players.
The Browns have only allowed one wide receiver, Antonio Brown, to score on them. Wright isn’t worth starting until he shows improvement.
WR Sammy Watkins, at Lions
Kyle Orton's first start with the Bills will be on the road against a Lions defense that allows the second-fewest passing yards per game. He can't be much worse than E.J. Manuel, but it's a bad matchup for his return to the starting lineup.
Watkins managed to grab his second career touchdown last week, but he still finished with 30 yards. Orton might help his stock in the long run. But a rookie receiver with a backup quarterback starting for the first time? Not the combo I’m looking for.
TE Dwayne Allen, vs. Ravens
Allen scored a touchdown in three of his first four games. It’ll be tough to add a fourth touchdown against a Ravens defense that allows the fewest points to tight ends in the league.
No tight end has finished with more than 37 yards receiving against Baltimore in 2014. Allen is touchdown dependent for your lineup. There are better tight end options this week.
