Bank On
Running Back
T.J. Yeldon, Jacksonville at Kansas City. He’s coming off a big performance against the Jets (100 yards from scrimmage, two touchdowns) and will again fill in for Leonard Fournette (hamstring). Yeldon should see north of 20 touches and will have a safe floor in a plus matchup against the Chiefs terrible run defense. They allow opposing backs to average 5.4 yards per carry and score over 37 fantasy points per game.
Phillip Lindsay, Denver at New York Jets. Take away Week 3 when he was ejected for fighting and Lindsay is averaging over 13 PPR points per game. He leads the team in rushing yards (267) while averaging 5.9 YPC. In an about face, Royce Freeman is the one cutting into Lindsay’s workload. But it’s Lindsay who has proven to be a much more effective back in both rushing and receiving. The Jets are not a matchup to shy away from.
Wide Receiver
Robert Woods, Los Angeles Rams at Seattle. The Rams offense is potent and exciting to watch, and Woods is a big part of that even though he flies under the radar a bit. He’s been on an absolute tear the past two games, catching 15 of 16 targets for 205 yards and three touchdowns. Seattle’s defense has been solid, but it just lost Earl Thomas and hasn’t faced a pass attack this fierce.
Amari Cooper, Oakland at Los Angeles Chargers. Cooper still has a lot to prove in terms of consistency, so this week will be a big test after Week 4’s outburst. Against the Browns he caught 8 of 12 targets for 128 yards and a touchdown, his best performance of the season. It was also the second time he’s topped 20 fantasy points, but his other two games have been duds. He’s got a great matchup against the Chargers, whose defense gives up the fifth-most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers. I like his chances for another 20-plus fantasy points.
Quarterback
Derek Carr, Oakland at Los Angeles Chargers. Carr has topped 300 passing yards in all but one game so far (288 against Denver). He also just threw four touchdowns and passed for 437 yards in torching the Browns, who rank eighth in the league in sacks (12). He won’t face that kind of resistance from the Chargers, who rank in the bottom 10 in the league for total defense. Los Angeles just gave up 27 points to the C.J. Beathard-led 49ers.
Tight End
David Njoku, Cleveland vs. Baltimore. With Baker Mayfield starting under center he topped 10 PPR points for the first time this season. Njoku is due for some more positive regression as despite ranking eighth in targets at his position with 23, he only has 14 catches and 121 yards to show for it. I don’t love the matchup against the Ravens, but it’s fair to think that Mayfield will need to lean a little more on his tight end.
D/ST
Tennessee at Buffalo. Hopefully you were able to grab the Titans defense off the waiver wire like I did this week. They’re quietly a top-10 fantasy defense and will face the Bills, who are starting a rookie quarterback in Josh Rosen. Rosen just face-planted against Green Bay, throwing two picks and losing a fumble while being sacked seven times. The Titans, who have recorded 10 sacks, should get ample pressure on Rosen and force some turnovers.
Bench
Running Back
Adrian Peterson, Washington at New Orleans. Revenge game be damned, the chips are already stacked against Peterson in this one. While he’ll be fresh coming off an early bye, he probably won’t get much of a chance to thrive. News flash: the Saints score a ton of points (137, third-most in the league) so I don’t see a game script in which Peterson gets the 20-plus touches he’ll need to produce a good fantasy line.
Jay Ajayi, Philadelphia vs. Minnesota. He came back strong from a back injury in Week 4, gaining a season-high 70 yards on 15 carries. But it will be hard for him to repeat that against the Vikings. While Minnesota’s pass defense has been unspectacular by its own standards, the run defense has remained solid. The Vikings have not yielded a rushing touchdown this season. They don’t give up many fantasy points on average to running backs (18.8) and Ajayi’s workload scares me in a possible shootout.
Wide Receiver
Devin Funchess, Carolina vs. New York Giants. He’ll face a tough test against the Giants, who have only given up 495 receiving yards and one touchdown to opposing wide receivers this season. That’s an average of less than 125 receiving yards per game. The Giants are also the stingiest fantasy defense against receivers, who score an average of 23.4 points per game. This feels much more like a Christian McCaffrey game, as the Giants have yielded 221 receiving yards and three touchdowns to opposing running backs.
Demaryius Thomas, Denver at New York Jets. After averaging 10 targets over his first two games, Thomas only saw a combined 12 targets in Weeks 3-4. He has not topped 63 receiving yards yet this season and hasn’t scored since Week 1. Quarterback Case Keenum is also driving Thomas’ stock down with his inconsistent play. The Jets are a solid, if not spectacular, pass defense. They’ve only allowed three touchdowns to opposing receivers, and I don’t think Thomas finds the end zone.
Quarterback
Baker Mayfield, Cleveland vs. Baltimore. If you picked him up off waivers you’re probably itching to play him, but wait one more week. As evidenced by his underwhelming Week 4 fantasy performance, Mayfield will experience growing pains like the two interceptions he threw and two fumbles he lost. The Ravens boast the third-best fantasy defense against opposing quarterbacks and have recorded 10 sacks. It’s likely that the Browns offense will stall more often than not, leaving much to be desired.
Tight End
Jesse James, Pittsburgh vs. Atlanta. James is trending down and Vance McDonald is trending up. Over the past two games James has seen a total of two targets, while McDonald has seen 10. It was also McDonald who capitalized on Tampa Bay’s league-worst fantasy defense against tight ends (4-112-1). The Falcons haven’t given up much to the position this season (19-194-1), and if I have to start a Steelers tight end it’s going to be McDonald.
D/ST
Atlanta Falcons at Pittsburgh. The Falcons defense allows opponents to average 30.5 points per game, third-most in the NFL. Things won’t get any easier for them against the Steelers offensive machine. Pittsburgh averages over 25 points per game. Look for the Steelers to utilize James Conner in the passing game, as Atlanta has had a hard time defending pass-catching backs.
