Ministry of Pain
Footballguy
The focus is mostly Flex options with better than average chances this weekend. With so many bye week issues, many won't have a lot of options
QB - Many teams carry 2 QBs, last night there were teams that had BOTH Purdy and Geno Smith, hopefully they made the right call.
Caleb Williams - And what's not to love? OK, he didn't look the part first couple weeks but he's had a couple nice games now and a prime match up vs the Jags. These jags have yielded an especially bad 41, 31 and 36 the last 3 WEEKS! They don't just lead the league in FF points allowed to QBs, they're clearing the bar by a good 5-10 per week past the rest of the herd. They are falling apart on Pass Defense so I would roll the dice with Williams this week. There are some things that I don't like aboue Williams, mostly that he's a rookie and his mental awareness might not be that of a 5 year Vet and so when adversity hits or they don't score at the rate most think they should, can Caleb kickstart and propel this offense on his own? I don't know that we've answered that yet but we're just 5 games into his career. The reality is he has a great chance at home vs a weak secondary and pass rush so hopefully he lands some punches
Sleeper Alerts:
Spencer Rattler - The Bucs secondary has been more than giving over the last 3-4 weeks and vs Atlanta they gave up over 500 yds passing to Kirk Cousins, made him look like a HoF QB which he's not. It' s a home game for the Saints and the 2nd week in a row the Bucs have to play in a dome. Those of you in these "Superflex" where you can start 2 QBs, this might be something you want to take a look at
Daniel Jones - The Bengals defense is not very good and whether he has Malik or not, Dev Singletary or not, there are other weapons on this team right now and Daboll is demonstrating that his offense works and can work at a high level when he has guys like Malik Nabers out there. If he can play all the better for Jones, still think he is able to throw for 200-and 2 TDs vs this secondary, with Nabers he was tossing 250 yds a game. Also don't discount how much Daboll is coaching for his life right now, chance to get the team to .500 after Week 6 and start mapping out the rest of their season. A loss here and they will start discussing '25 soon. I think Daboll has to go 9-8 somehow to save his job and I do think if he doesn't make it here that he will get interviews, I don't see him as a one and done just yet. All these things go into the blender when I'm looking at match ups.
Will Levis - He's a turnover machine which is a problem but the Colts are soft on pass defense especially over the last 3 weeks, the opportunity is there for him to kick start himself in '24 and change the narrative on him for at least 1 week. I saw ARich might play this weekend, he also can give the ball away and that cold mean short fields for Levis and Pollard.
Possible Bust
Jayden Daniel - I love this kid and you can see that the Ravens are terrible stopping opposing QBs overall but they got lit up by Joe Burrow, still win that game. They did well vs Josh Allen, they're not as bad as some think. A rookie QB on the road in a hostile environment and I think Daniels will fair OK but it's not going to be like recent weeks and if I had other option I might explore them
RB
Tony Pollard - If you have him you likely have been playing him the last few weeks, his numbers have been better than avg mostly. Great match up this week vs the Colts He appears to be the bellcow for the most part but I would also caution he can't keep this pace up so i do expect Spears at some point to be a little more involved. Titans are no threat to make the Playoff right now but they did ink Pollard to a 3-4 yr deal, they seem like they want to use him a lot so far.
Back ups that have a chance to be relevant this weekend include but not limited to the following...
Tyler Allgheier - The Falcons have the Panthers this weekend on the road, should be enough for both RBs in Atlanta to have success.
Braelon Allen - MNF match up vs the Bills. Of course Breece Hall is going to get his but the Bills have allowed some of the most FF to opposing RBs
Roschon Johnson - Plays the Jaguars at home, another soft rush defense, Swift can be up and down but should have a good game, there might be enough leftovers for Johnson to build on 3 TDs last 2 games
WR
Amari Cooper - Maybe 1 more showcase weekend and they get a trade offer they want. On another POV perhaps they don't play Cooper as much to protect their investment on a trade like LVR-Adams. Philly secondary has been Swiss cheese, there is a good chance Cooper will have a strong game. There cold be other Cleveland WRs that might peak their heads out this weekend vs the Eagles
Rashid Shaheed - The guy was open last week and Carr could not connect with him, perhaps our rookie Spencer Rattler has watched enough voer the last 4-5 games and can figure out how to get the ball to Shaheed who always seems ready to break a 20-30 yd gain on every catch. You only need 3-4 and he approaches close to 100 yds. In the same mold as Pierce from Indy where low volume high production Boom/Bust for sure. Oh and the Bucs just about set a record last week for FF points allowed to Drake London and Darnell Mooney
Sleeper Alert
Jakobi Meyers 6/72 on 9 targets last week, problem is AOC is now the QB, maybe some see that as an upgrade but I'm not so sure. Keep an eye on Tre Tucker with Adams likely OUT again this weekend.
-Update: Meyers has not practiced this week as Anarchy has pointed out below, maybe shift the focus to Tre Tucker
Trade talks with Adams have not heated up this week as some thought they would
-Reason for the Raiders love at WR is the Steelers FF points allowed to opposing WRs the last 2 weeks in a row, almost double their normal average
TE
Dalton Schultz - Nico Collins is on Injured reserve for the next 4 games, there is a hole in the target tree now and I expect Schultz to see a slight uptick. The Patriots are allowing double digits to Tight Ends 3 weeks running so take advantage of Schultz who is ranked about 15th on the board this week, expecting him to hit the Top 10 this weekend vs the Patriots
What say you?
QB - Many teams carry 2 QBs, last night there were teams that had BOTH Purdy and Geno Smith, hopefully they made the right call.
Caleb Williams - And what's not to love? OK, he didn't look the part first couple weeks but he's had a couple nice games now and a prime match up vs the Jags. These jags have yielded an especially bad 41, 31 and 36 the last 3 WEEKS! They don't just lead the league in FF points allowed to QBs, they're clearing the bar by a good 5-10 per week past the rest of the herd. They are falling apart on Pass Defense so I would roll the dice with Williams this week. There are some things that I don't like aboue Williams, mostly that he's a rookie and his mental awareness might not be that of a 5 year Vet and so when adversity hits or they don't score at the rate most think they should, can Caleb kickstart and propel this offense on his own? I don't know that we've answered that yet but we're just 5 games into his career. The reality is he has a great chance at home vs a weak secondary and pass rush so hopefully he lands some punches
Sleeper Alerts:
Spencer Rattler - The Bucs secondary has been more than giving over the last 3-4 weeks and vs Atlanta they gave up over 500 yds passing to Kirk Cousins, made him look like a HoF QB which he's not. It' s a home game for the Saints and the 2nd week in a row the Bucs have to play in a dome. Those of you in these "Superflex" where you can start 2 QBs, this might be something you want to take a look at
Daniel Jones - The Bengals defense is not very good and whether he has Malik or not, Dev Singletary or not, there are other weapons on this team right now and Daboll is demonstrating that his offense works and can work at a high level when he has guys like Malik Nabers out there. If he can play all the better for Jones, still think he is able to throw for 200-and 2 TDs vs this secondary, with Nabers he was tossing 250 yds a game. Also don't discount how much Daboll is coaching for his life right now, chance to get the team to .500 after Week 6 and start mapping out the rest of their season. A loss here and they will start discussing '25 soon. I think Daboll has to go 9-8 somehow to save his job and I do think if he doesn't make it here that he will get interviews, I don't see him as a one and done just yet. All these things go into the blender when I'm looking at match ups.
Will Levis - He's a turnover machine which is a problem but the Colts are soft on pass defense especially over the last 3 weeks, the opportunity is there for him to kick start himself in '24 and change the narrative on him for at least 1 week. I saw ARich might play this weekend, he also can give the ball away and that cold mean short fields for Levis and Pollard.
Possible Bust
Jayden Daniel - I love this kid and you can see that the Ravens are terrible stopping opposing QBs overall but they got lit up by Joe Burrow, still win that game. They did well vs Josh Allen, they're not as bad as some think. A rookie QB on the road in a hostile environment and I think Daniels will fair OK but it's not going to be like recent weeks and if I had other option I might explore them
RB
Tony Pollard - If you have him you likely have been playing him the last few weeks, his numbers have been better than avg mostly. Great match up this week vs the Colts He appears to be the bellcow for the most part but I would also caution he can't keep this pace up so i do expect Spears at some point to be a little more involved. Titans are no threat to make the Playoff right now but they did ink Pollard to a 3-4 yr deal, they seem like they want to use him a lot so far.
Back ups that have a chance to be relevant this weekend include but not limited to the following...
Tyler Allgheier - The Falcons have the Panthers this weekend on the road, should be enough for both RBs in Atlanta to have success.
Braelon Allen - MNF match up vs the Bills. Of course Breece Hall is going to get his but the Bills have allowed some of the most FF to opposing RBs
Roschon Johnson - Plays the Jaguars at home, another soft rush defense, Swift can be up and down but should have a good game, there might be enough leftovers for Johnson to build on 3 TDs last 2 games
WR
Amari Cooper - Maybe 1 more showcase weekend and they get a trade offer they want. On another POV perhaps they don't play Cooper as much to protect their investment on a trade like LVR-Adams. Philly secondary has been Swiss cheese, there is a good chance Cooper will have a strong game. There cold be other Cleveland WRs that might peak their heads out this weekend vs the Eagles
Rashid Shaheed - The guy was open last week and Carr could not connect with him, perhaps our rookie Spencer Rattler has watched enough voer the last 4-5 games and can figure out how to get the ball to Shaheed who always seems ready to break a 20-30 yd gain on every catch. You only need 3-4 and he approaches close to 100 yds. In the same mold as Pierce from Indy where low volume high production Boom/Bust for sure. Oh and the Bucs just about set a record last week for FF points allowed to Drake London and Darnell Mooney
Sleeper Alert
Jakobi Meyers 6/72 on 9 targets last week, problem is AOC is now the QB, maybe some see that as an upgrade but I'm not so sure. Keep an eye on Tre Tucker with Adams likely OUT again this weekend.
-Update: Meyers has not practiced this week as Anarchy has pointed out below, maybe shift the focus to Tre Tucker
Trade talks with Adams have not heated up this week as some thought they would
-Reason for the Raiders love at WR is the Steelers FF points allowed to opposing WRs the last 2 weeks in a row, almost double their normal average
TE
Dalton Schultz - Nico Collins is on Injured reserve for the next 4 games, there is a hole in the target tree now and I expect Schultz to see a slight uptick. The Patriots are allowing double digits to Tight Ends 3 weeks running so take advantage of Schultz who is ranked about 15th on the board this week, expecting him to hit the Top 10 this weekend vs the Patriots
What say you?
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