Last week: 10-10: Season: 95-66-22
Week 9 Recap: Well that’s what I get for bragging a little last week. I got overconfident after going 15-7 with my week 9 picks and the fantasy gods gave me a little slap in the face with my first non-winning record since week 1. I’m not embarrassed about going .500, but it’s not helping anybody. I finally picked the right week to start Gio, Alshon out produced his projected like usual, and my “sit” Matt Ryan call was pretty solid. Unfortunately, I severely underestimated Zac Stacy in my worst Sit’em pick of the week. That kid is a beast. It’s nice to see a return of the power RB this year with Lacy, Le’Veon Bell, and Stacy all looking like old-school 4 yards and a cloud of dust types. I missed pretty bad on CJ3, Ryan Mathews, and Andy Dalton last week too but hey nobody is perfect. I’m over it and already feel better about this week’s picks.
Note: Only players started in less than 75% of yahoo leagues will be listed in Start’em section. These recommendations are for players you may be on the fence about that I think will over (Start) or under (Sit) perform their projections (Yahoo).
Start’em:
QB:
Nick Foles @GB (37%, 21): I’m not expecting a repeat of his 7 TD week, but with GB’s defense banged up (Clay Mathews, Nick Perry) I expect a solid game from Foles.
Jake Locker JAX (22%, 19): Jacksonville is horrible. Sometimes this game is pretty simple.
RB:
Jennifer Stewart-USA TODAY Sports
Andre Ellington OU (30%,9): Mendenhall has supposedly looked “great” in practice. I haven’t seen him look great since 2011, so I’m not buying. It takes more than a bye week to fix slow. Ellington was awesome in his only start of the year in week 8 (154 yards) and is averaging 7.7 YPC which is the best in the league. The Cards would be crazy to not feature Ellington this week. Just a warning, they might be crazy.
Mike James MIA (45%, 15): Somehow James put up 22 fantasy points @Seattle last week. In comparison a home match-up against the Dolphins 21st ranked run defense should feel like playing against a high school JV team. James is averaging 3 catches a game since he took over as a starter, making him a little more valuable in PPR leagues.
Rashard Jennings NYG (26%,11): You might not believe this, but DMC is hurt again. He re-injured the same hamstring that kept him out earlier this year and will be out for the foreseeable future. Those of you who have owned McFadden in the past know that he won’t play unless he is 100%, so Jennings could be the guy for a while and played very well last week once McFadden went down (176 total yards).
Ben Tate @AZ (14%,7): With Arian Foster out this week, Tate should get the start against a very tough Cards run D. I think Tate gets enough touches (23 last week) to crack double-digit fantasy points anyway.
WR:
Terrance Williams @NO (57%,9): His streak of 4 consecutive games with a TD was broken last week, but he’s still the #2 option on a team that loves to throw the ball. I think he bounces back with 15+ fantasy points this week.
Hakeem Nicks OAK (54%,12): The Raiders #2 CB, DJ Hayden got absolutely destroyed by Riley Cooper last week and Nicks is quite a bit more talented than Cooper will ever be. I’m expecting good things.
Marvin Jones @BAL (37%, 8): Jones had a long TD called back last week which would have given him close to 20 fantasy points on the day. He’s legit and I think he’ll double his 8 projected points.
Kendall Wright JAX (33%, 10): The Jags can’t stop anybody and Kendall Wright has been Locker’s most consistent target over the last few weeks. He hasn’t found the end zone in almost 2 months, but has over 60 yards the last 4 games and I think he’s due for a TD.
Riley Cooper @GB (20%, 8): I know you hate this guy, but his stats since Foles took over are ridiculous. In three games he has 15 catches, 347 yards, and 4 TDs.
TE:
Martellus Bennett DET (48%,9): The Black Unicorn’s number have been down lately, but on film it is clear he’s playing with an injury as he looks much slower than he did the first few weeks of the season. I’m hearing he’s healthier than he’s been in a while and primed for a big game Sunday.
Coby Fleener STL (31%,7): The Rams are tough on TEs (2nd fewest points), but Fleener is averaging just over 5 targets a game the last 3 weeks and I think he’ll do enough this week to get you 10+ fantasy points which is pretty solid for a non-Graham TE.
Zach Ertz @GB (1%, 6): Another guy who’s fantasy viability is tied to Nick Foles. Ertz has at least 5 targets in Foles’ last 3 starts and the Packers are giving up the 4th most points to TEs this year.