Ryan burned owners last week with 15.4 points in what on paper
looked like a great matchup. The former MVP’s splits have
been striking so far, with Ryan averaging 35.7 points at home
at the Mercedes Benz Stadium and 12.62 points on the road. Going
forward I will only use Ryan in home games against subpar opponents
like this week against the Bucs.
I am not a fan of Winston, and I do not believe he is the long-term
solution for the Bucs at quarterback. What I am a fan of is starting
inexpensive quarterbacks with excellent skill position players
in a matchup against a beat up defense in what should be a shootout.
Pair Winston with Chris Godwin and Cameron Brate for a GPP stack.
Cousins has been a Jekyll and Hyde QB this season with two 30-plus
point games sandwiched between two games less than 20. By no means
is this a tough matchup, but the way to beat the Cardinals is
running the ball and with defense. My gut tells me this is a big
day for Cook (if healthy) and the Vikings defense.
Paying a premium to get Melvin Gordon last week worked well for
readers who followed my advice from the Week
5 article. Going with Gordon again is not a terrible play
and even Gurley at 10K might just be worth it. But I am leaning
on McCaffrey against the Redskins defense that just allowed three
rushing touchdowns to the Saints.
Cohen is the perfect boom or bust running back this week to pair
with an expensive play of Todd Gurley against the Broncos. Cohen
had a season-high 13 carries before the bye against the Bucs and
seven catches for 121 yards and a score. Miami allows the fourth-most
points to opposing running backs and Cohen could be in line for
another big scoring play.
The squeaky wheel got the oil last week as Antonio Brown posted
six catches for 101 yards and two touchdowns against the Falcons.
Although JuJu Smith-Schuster caught all four of his targets for
34 yards and a score, it was his first single-digit target game
of the season. I anticipate that the sophomore wideout will once
again be a favorite target for Big Ben and deliver a solid floor
for cash game players.
I would like this play a bit more if Fuller were priced closer
to $6,000. The logic here is that Fuller was missing in action
last week with the emergence of Keke Coutee. Although I believe
Coutee will continue to be involved and is a nice GPP pick in
his own right, Fuller could be in line for a few deep touchdown
passes with Tre’Davious White shadowing DeAndre Hopkins.
Robinson will be matched up against Xavien Howard, a cornerback
who has quickly become one of the best shutdown players at the
position. Yes, Robinson is a reasonably cheap play, but I would
instead use that money elsewhere on someone with a much easier
matchup.
What kind of sick world do we live in that Eric Ebron of all
people is the tight end with the highest floor heading into Week
6? In cash, you pay for targets and guys with high floors, and
Ebron has 36 targets in his last three games. It may smell terrible,
but Erbon is the play this week.
In sticking with my trend of playing players in the matchup between
the Falcons and Bucs, Hooper is an excellent low-cost risk at
the tight end position for owners looking for a home run play.
While I don’t anticipate another 11 targets like he received
last week, the Bucs have allowed the second-most points to tight
ends and Hooper is playing well.
I’m not sure why owners would want to fork up the second-most
money at the tight end position for a player who has yet to score
more than 14 points in a game and is playing against a Panthers
defense with both linebackers Thomas Davis and Luke Kuechly healthily.
I’d much rather pay $3.5k for Brate and spend that money
on a better running back.
Defense & Special Teams
High Priced Option Worthy of the Cost:
Vikings ($3,800) vs. Cardinals
Bargain Priced with Upside: Cowboys ($2,300)
vs. Jaguars
