Thanks as always Chaka --
Standard ;
Need 1 RB and 2 flex out of :
Stevenson @ Minny
Pollard vs NYG
Patterson @ Wash
R. White @ Cleve
Foreman vs Denver
Swift vs Buff
TE - Shultz or Knox?
Def: Bills or Steelers?
I fear this is going to be one of those situations where I write a lot and don't say much. But, let's give it a go.
I think benching Swift is probably the right decision. He's healthy, and has been for a couple weeks. There is something more to his limited usage than health. Personally I think it has to do with him freelancing too much and not even trying to follow plays as called. Justin Jackson got more snaps and opportunities than him last week. He is heavily TD dependent, to be fair he has scored in 5 of 7 games but I think that is a lot to hope for and the notion that the Lions will eventually "unleash" him doesn't bump up against the fact that they're on a three game winning streak. Why would they change what has been working?
As much as I hate to do it, it's tough to roll Foreman against that Denver defense...on paper. They're still a great scoring defense and they're still playing very hard but the season has collapsed for them. I guess you have to consider that, at some point they start to lose heart. That's just speculation, until it happens they're a great defense that one should consider better options against. One could also wonder if the Panthers have already lost heart. I love Foreman, think he's a very good talent that had a very bad break, but this week doesn't feel great, does it?
Cordarrelle is the lead back for the Falcons but what does that really mean? 12 opportunities last week and I think a low volume split is the reality. If your league rewards kick returners for their scores then maybe he gets a bump, heck in standard formats he deserves a bump regardless as he has managed a TD (at least one) in 4 of 7 games played. But he has only scored in one of three games since returning from injrury and Washington isn't an easy out. They may also get a bump from the possible return of Chase Young.
White is the real wild card here. If he really is the starter I think you have to start him in a nice matchup. It being standard and not PPR takes the shine off a bit, however relative to Patterson, Foreman & Swift I don't see that as a deal breaker as they are low volume either overall or in the passing game specifically. If the news this week plays out with White being the starter and/or Fournette being limited in practices then I think he is very intriguing and, IMO worth the risk.
Stevenson is still a must start IMO, he loses some shine in standard vs PPR leagues but, even though it seems Harris may be supplanting him after a nice game vs the Jets I don't think it really plays out that way. Rhamondre is too valuable to what the offense is built to do and, despite Harris's nice game he still only saw 24% of the snaps to 74% for Rhamondre. I think we have to operate under the presumption he is the lead back until we see it play out differently on the field.
Pollard should start on most rosters in most formats. At the very worst he is a flex play, at best he is a high end #1 RB
Pollard>Stevenson>White>Patterson>Foreman>Swift
For TE, it seems to me that Knox gets more looks, more consistently. Either has solid TD potential but the Lions have not been very good v opposing TEs while the Giants have been good, better than their ranking (15) honestly because Mark Andrews had a massive game against them and, pretty much no one else has.
So:
Knox>Schultz
For Defense Buffalo has been better & more consistent but the Steelers are a different defense with TJ Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick on the field and they are both available now. The Colts have been a great matchup so far, skewed by the Patriots game, but they also gave up big games to Jacksonville & Tennessee. The Lions also gave up a big game to the Patriots (Colts were worse) and Dallas had a pretty good game, but they have been surprisingly (actually it shouldn't be surprising as their offense really hasn't been their problem). Being Thursday isn't great and Goff is capable of a multi turnover day, that really isn't his M.O. Outside the Dallas game he has four games with 0 turnovers and 5 games with only one INT.
Pittsburgh>Buffalo