Bye Weeks: Green Bay, Oakland, Pittsburgh, Seattle
A QB1 in Week 7? Baker Mayfield finished
as the QB13 in Week 5 - his best fantasy finish to date.
Grab a Helmet
Baker
Mayfield @ TB: The shine on Mayfield’s strong start dulled
quite a bit last week in the beating the Browns took at the hands
of the Chargers. Baker got roughed up to the tune of 5 sacks, and
an ankle injury may have a played a part in the sloppy outing. Luckily
for Mayfield and the Browns offense Tampa Bay is on a historically
bad defensive trajectory. They’ve fired their D-coordinator and
figure to offer little resistance to Cleveland. The game script
should keep the Browns passing attack busy, as Tampa can score in
bunches and Cleveland’s defense can struggle away from the Dawg
Pound. Look for 35+ attempts for Mayfield and an improvement in
efficiency making him a back end QB1 for Week 7.
Eli
Manning @ ATL (Mon): The popular scapegoat for all of
the 1-5 Giants ills, Manning is gifted a “get right” matchup in
Week 7. The Falcons defense is another of the NFC South’s disaster
areas, and Manning has some of the most elite skill position talent
in the league. I get what the Giants are trying to do. They figure
it’s prudent to get the ball in Barkley and Beckham’s hands quickly
and let them hit the home runs. This mediates the bad line and Eli’s
lack of mobility. But the problem is defenses have figured this
out and Manning’s skills have eroded quicker than anticipated. Luckily
for the G-Men, Atlanta’s back end isn’t good enough to contain New
York’s receivers. Manning should be the beneficiary of a few big
plays from his guys, enough to make him a sneaky bye week streamer.
Carson
Wentz vs CAR: Looking spry and healthy, and getting his
groove back with Alshon Jeffery, Wentz looked like his MVP-self
last week against the Giants. Philly still has a set of the most
complete pass catchers in the league, as they create mismatches
at all levels of the defense. Carolina’s defense was torpedoed by
short fields against Washington, and I don’t like their chances
on the road this week either. As good as the linebackers for Carolina
are, they can’t run with Ertz, and Jeffery commands attention. I
like Agholor and a few of the lesser utilized deep threats to hit
a few big plays. Philly runs the ball a lot more at home than they
do on the road, but Carolina’s defensive weakness resides in the
secondary. He’s getting hot, so take advantage of Wentz as a top
end QB1.
Grab a Headset
Drew
Brees @ BAL: Having Brees in this spot is more a testament
to the tremendous defense the Ravens are playing. While everyone
else is surrendering 40 points and 400 yards a game, the Ravens
lead the NFL in scoring defense by a wide margin. Surrendering
a microscopic 12.8 points per game, Brees faces a unit fresh off
an 11-sack undressing of the Titans offense. On the road against
such an elite defense, I see this as a low-scoring physical game
where the splash plays of the Saints passing game will be limited.
I’m going to start Brees if I have to, but in daily leagues I’m
looking elsewhere.
Deshaun
Watson @ JAX: While the yardage has been there all
year, Watson and the Texans offense just can’t seem to find the
endzone frequently enough. They are 21st in the NFL in scoring,
and Watson has just 10 total touchdowns to go with 7 interceptions.
The Dallas and Buffalo defenses have held Watson in check the
last two weeks, and now comes a very angry Jacksonville team playing
at home for the first time in a while. The lack of explosive scoring
production and a wounded but prideful opponent make Watson a poor
bet in Week 7.
Case
Keenum @ ARI: There is certainly a good chance that
by the time this article goes live that Keenum could be benched,
and that’s a true measure on just how bad things have gotten
in Denver. Hardly an upgrade on the dredges that the Broncos have
trotted out at quarterback in recent seasons, Keenum just hasn't
been able to capture the magic of his playoff run with the Vikes.
Most of the offense comes too little, too late in games, and the
crowd even cheered when back-up Chad Kelly briefly entered the
game last week. The Cards are a bad team, but the defense has
been respectable, especially at home. With his back to the wall
maybe Keenum lights it up, but there’s an equally good chance
he could be yanked after halftime. With that much uncertainty
you should look elsewhere for a starter.
