Sit Em, Start Em – Week Six
Start Em
Odell Beckham – Odell Beckham is, in this writers opinion, the Giants best receiver, and that is by a significant margin. His role will continue to grow week to week and he is likely to lead the Giants receiver corps in touchdowns based on the fact that despite a four game headstart Randle only has two touchdowns on the season. Pen Beckham in as an upside WR3 the rest of the way on course to WR2 territory where he will likely be a fixture for the next decade.
Allen Robinson – Robinson is quickly earning the trust of the coaching staff and QB Blake Bortles and it is only a matter of time before he finds the end zone. As stated elsewhere Robinson projects as the only fixture in the Jags starting lineup due to his his unique size/speed/talent blend and is someone who should be started in deeper formats especially PPR.
Brenden Oliver – Let me start by saying I glossed over Oliver’s addition this off-season thinking that with Mathews, Woodhead, Brown and Mario Grice that Oliver was just practice squad fodder. Boy was I wrong, I declined to watch tape or read reports on Oliver this offseason but after his breakout week five I caught up on my studies and what I found is that Oliver is 100% legit. His college and NFL tape show that he is a smaller back that runs with power and has the open field wiggle and acceleration out of his cuts to make people miss. He is a plus receiver and put up the best yards from scrimmage for a Chargers running back since some guy with the initials LT. Oliver is an elite play against the hapless Raiders this week in what should be a blowout. Oliver is a borderline RB1 until Mathews returns at which time he will be an upside RB3 for PPR formats and a flex play in standard leagues.
Andre Williams – Regular Win My Fantasy League readers will know that I am very high on Andre Williams and have been since he came out of Boston College. I have not seen such an exciting and violent runner since Adrian Peterson. Williams even added a few receptions this past week easing some of the concerns regarding his passing game usage and he should be a borderline RB1 until Rashad Jennings returns. I will say this, Andre Williams is the more talented runner and may run away with the early-down job over the next few weeks. Start Williams until further notice.
Larry Donnell – Donnell was held in check in week five but with teams soon to be forced to respect Odell Beckham Donnell should find easy sledding once again. Donnell is still ranked as a TE1 and while he will not have the impact the rest of the way he did the first four weeks of the season he is still an upside play in McAdoo’s offense. Start him wherever you were lucky enough to land him.
Terry Bridgewater – If you are a Drew Brees owner and have your stud on bye this week Terry Bridgewater is an option that should pique your interest. The game against the Lions has the chance to quickly morph into a shootout and as evidenced by Terry managing 300 plus yards in his first NFL start he has the upside to put up some decent fantasy points, especially if he continues to use his legs as a weapon as well. Bridgewater is an upside QB2 who is currently ranked 18th but may see 16th by game-time. Start him if you lack better options behind Brees.
Sit Em
Doug Martin – If you can afford to we suggest sitting Doug Martin until further notice. Martin is languishing with a horrendous 2.5 yards per carry and with the Bucs expected to be playing from behind this week against the Ravens he is set for another disappointing week. I would also like to take this time to point out that if Charles Sims returns this year Doug Martin will be demoted if he does not increase his level of play. Keep that in mind and perhaps try to package Martin off to some of who still believes in his name.
Toby Gerhart – It should be about time that all Gerhart owners have already made other plans due to their disappointing RB3. Storm Johnson is finally healthy and looked better than Gerhart behind the Jags starting O-line and he should start to get an extended look as soon as this week. With that said Gerhart was supposed to be a volume back with no competition but he is just a middling talent and is in severe danger of losing the volume that gave him any appeal in the first place. Sit Gerhart until further notice.
Hakeem Nicks – Any of our regulars realize that I am an unapologetic believer in Hakeem Nicks’ talent but one has to question if his heart and mind are still in it following multiple injuries to his right leg. Nicks was never a burner to begin with and any lost explosing could hurt his separation and route running skills. It is clear that Nicks is the fourth option at best in the passing game behind TY Hilton, Reggie Wayne and Dwayne Allen but one could also argue he is also behind the Colts running backs who have 40 combined targets to Nicks’ 24. We would still stash Nicks in deeper leagues but those in shallower formats will want to look elsewhere.
Torrey Smith – As a Torrey Smith dynasty league owner there is no QB I dislike more than Joe Flacco; sure as a Dez Bryant owner I have a huge disdain for late game Tony Romo as well but Flacco takes the cake. Smith has continued to be a clear-out, low percentage target for Flacco and he is now no more than a WR1 upside WR3 who is a weekly boom or bust play. Smith does get fed targets over the season but his usage thus far is concerning as he has less targets than waiver wire names like Riley Cooper, Allen Hurns and Jeremy Kerley. I still believe in Smith but am sitting him in all leagues until I see more.
Ladarius Green – Green has been a major disappointment this season and that does not figure to change as the Chargers continue use him as a blocker on a large percentage of the snaps he does play. The Green hype train has offically been derailed and he can be safely dropped to the waiver wire outside of dynasty leagues if you see someone who can actually help your team week to week staring you in the face.
Kirk Cousins – We expect that at this time no too many fantasy owners need to be told to sit Kirk Cousins, but with Patrick Peterson and the Cardinals on deck we want to be sure no one in a bye week crunch decides to take a flier on someone who just two weeks ago seemed to be Jay Gruden’s goldenboy who was tailor-made for his offense. Lets just suffice it to say that Cousins is shaky down the stretch in games and will never be an effective starter without a lights out defense backing him up, and that it something that does not exist in Washington.
