Sony Michel VS WAS
If you drafted Sony Michel, especially after he saw a bump in ADP after preseason action, you are probably a little disapointed right now. In just this man's opinion, you likely have more weeks filled with missed expectations ahead. Fortunately though, week 5 should not be one of them.
The Patriots have not invested in a first round running back since Laurence Maroney. They really want Michel to work. Even though he has averaged a meager 2.8 yards per carry, they continue to feed him the rock as their main runner.
So far the only team that's ground game has not gained traction against the Redskins run defense is the Chicago Bears. Even this meatball Windy City fan has to admit, David Monty and crew just has not lived up to expectations as of yet. The Eagles, Cowboys, and Giants (minus Barkley) all were able to post above 100 rushing yards against the Skins and Wayne Gallman got into the endzone twice last week.
With rookie QB Dwayne Haskins now manning the helm for Washington, look for New England to attack this flimsy defense at all levels including a rushing attack spearheaded by Sony Michel.
Robby Anderson/Jamison Crowder VS PHI
If Sam Darnold is able to play, I love me some Robby. If Luke Falk is behind center give me some Crowder.
Regardless of the tough start to the season. The difficult cornerback matchups aside. I still believe at some point this season we see the Darnold to Anderson magic that occurred during the fantasy playoffs last year to be revived.
If Luke Falk is still in. I envision, him getting a ton of short yardage passes off to Jamison Crowder (ala his week 1, 17 catch performance). This offensive line is shaky and Crowder perfectly fits the bill for that quick play safety valve.
There is not more fertile ground for this to come to fruition than the Philadelphia Eagles defense. Through 4 weeks they have allowed 5 receivers over 100 yards, including Davante Adams 180 yard atom bomb performance in week 4's Thursday Night Football contest.
Ronald Jones VS NO
I understand, at first glance this does not make a ton of a sense. The last two weeks The Saints have done a pretty spectacular job against opposing rushers. They kept Zeke under 40 yards on 18 carries and they kept Chris Carson contained to a 3.5 YPC clip and got him to put the ball on the ground.
The twist here is that they have been pretty liberal in allowing passing yards to opposing offenses. Cooper Kupp, Deandre Hopkins, and Tyler Lockett all faired extremely well in their contests with the Who Dat Nation. Now the Saints will have to contend with a blossoming Air Raid offense featuring Chris Godwin and Mike Evans. I believe this revitalized passing game will continue to open up running opportunities for Ronald Jones.
Jones saw a big jump in snap share last week and has been pretty efficient with his opportunities, averaging 5.4 YPC on the season. This was the plan when the Buc's grabbed Jones in the 2018 draft. Peyton Barber was never the long term solution here. While there will be some hit and miss weeks still ahead between the TB backfield mates, Jones is my bet against a team reeling from the loss of their future Hall of Fame QB, Drew Brees.
Tyler Eifert VS. ARZ
So... The Bengals have been abysmal. AJ Green is out, Joe Mixon is showing as less than the sure fire 2nd round pick he was drafted to be, and no Cinci WR has provided consistent fantasy profitability.
Then comes the Arizona Cardinals Defense. To say they have been generous to adversary TE's is an undersell. To date, the least productive line a starting TE has put up against ARZ was a 7 reception, 57 yard, 1 TD line by WIll Dissly in week 4. TJ Hockenson, Mark Andrews, and Greg Olsen all were able to walk away from their matchup with over 20 PPR points.
Tyler Eifert has seen 5 targets in 75% of contests on the season and CJ Uzomah is turning into a non factor in the Cincinnati pass game. If you are hurting at your flex or even your TE slot, you could do much worse than seeking Eifert's services for week 5.
Diontae Johnson VS. BAL
Without Jimmy Smith (who is on track to miss yet another week) the Ravens passing D has been less than impressive. Widely it seems as though the BAL game plan has been to limit their opponents #1 WR's. It has allowed challenging offense's secondary receiving options to thrive.
Christian Kirk, Mecole Hardman, and Jarvis Landry all have had their most productive fantasy outings of the season lining up against the Baltimore secondary. Landry, just last week, cut through Raven defensive backs like butter, compiling 8 receptions for 167 yards.
While this is bad new for JuJu Smith Schuster owners, those who recently aquired Diontae Johnson should be all smiles. Johnson's chemistry with Mason Rudolph is apparent. He has seen 6 targets in each of the last 2 games and busted through coverage for a score in each outing.
Phillip Dorsett VS. WAS
For all intents and purposes Dorsett is the #3 WR in New England after Julian Edelman and Josh Gordon. That does not change the fact that in his last 2 games he has been getting #1 looks. Dorsett averaged 8 targets per contest against the Jets and most recently the Bills. While he was hampered by a stout Buffalo pass defense (2 receptions for 10 yards), his upcoming contest should yield more fruitful results.
The Redskins defense has underperformed and Josh Norman is no longer the feared Corner Back he once was. Even Mitchell Trubisky was able to find success and throw for 3 scores against this swiss cheese secondary.
Buffalo was able to stifle Brady and company in a big way last week. This is a great matchup for a rebound in the Josh Daniel's (NE Offensive Coordinator) passing offense.
Jordan Howard VS. NYJ
It isn't the most enticing matchup I have written about this week, still I believe. I was a Jordan Howard advocate pre fantasy drafts that could not be swayed. My line of thinking was always Miles Sander's would not immediately control a monstrous snap share and that the potency of the eagles offense would garner a buch of goal line carries to a Jordan Howard style runner.
At this point, that assessment seeems right on track. Howard's role has grown from the beginning of the season, Sproles has all but been completely phased out, leaving J How and Sanders fairly equally splitting backfield shares. Howard has already crossed the pylons on 4 occasions through 4 weeks.
Especially if Darnold does not play, the Eagles should be able able to build a lead (although I have looked a fool for saying that before). Doug Pederson should lean heavily on his RBBC in the latter stages of the game and Howard is always a threat to break the plane for a TD or two.
Deep League Plays
- Auden Tate has lead the Bengals in receiving over the last two weeks. John Ross is on IR, AJ Green is still sidelined. The Cardinals best coverage Safety, Budda Baker may be tasked with paying attention to Tyler Eifert.
- Chase Edmonds is seeing some increase in usage as the year is growing. Chase is actually averaging more yards per carry than David Johnson. The Bengals defense has been tagged by just about every RB that has faced them. They are especially generous to backs with an ability to catch the ball.
- Ricky Seals-Jones popped offf against baltimore in week 4 for 82 yards and a TD. Jarvis Landry likely will miss the game and Ricky has some tantalizing athleticism for Baker Mayfield to utilize.
- I believe Parris Cambell will ultimately prove to be the most talented WR in the Colts offense not named TY Hilton. Speaking of Hilton, if he plays this week, he may be limited. This shouldprovide the rookie Campbell some increased opportunites.