New York Giants vs Dallas Cowboys
Date/Time: Sunday October 10, 4:25pm ET
BettingPros Consensus Spread: Cowboys -7
BettingPros Consensus Over/Under: 52 points
Implied Vegas point totals: Cowboys 29.5, Giants 22.5
Quarterbacks
Daniel Jones: Jones had his best passing day of the young season in the Giants’ upset win over the Saints last Sunday, throwing for 402 yards and two touchdowns and wrecking a bunch of survivor pool entries. But it’s his running ability that has made him the QB6 in fantasy scoring. Jones’ 188 rushing yards rank third among quarterbacks, behind only Lamar Jackson and Jalen Hurts, and he’s run for a pair of touchdowns. So far, Jones has been able to keep the turnovers to a reasonable level, with one interception and one lost fumble. But he’s running into a Dallas defense that has recorded a league-high eight interceptions, five of them by Trevon Diggs. Jones is a high-end QB2 this week.
Dak Prescott: Since throwing 58 passes in the season opener, Prescott has attempted 27, 26 and 22 passes over his last three games. Four of his 22 attempts against the Panthers in Week 4 went for touchdowns, so the puny passing volume didn’t matter much. But is this how it’s going to be for much of the season, with an unexpectedly good defense keeping the Cowboys awash in positive, run-friendly game scripts? Prescott is still the QB12 in fantasy scoring so far even with the muted passing volume, and there are no doubt some shootouts ahead. Maybe he’ll end up in one this weekend against a mediocre Giants pass defense that’s letting opponents complete throws at a 75% clip. Consider Dak a midrange QB1 this week, and consider firing him up for $6,900 in DraftKings cash games, where I think he’ll provide a stable floor.
Running Backs
Saquon Barkley: Well, he’s pretty much back to being the old Saquon, isn’t he? A little over a full calendar year after tearing his ACL, Barkley reclaimed superstar status by shredding a high-quality Saints defense for 13-52-1 rushing and 5-74-1 receiving last weekend. The increased passing-game usage is huge for Barkley since pass-catching has always helped set Saquon apart from other backs. He had three targets in each of his first two games, but he’s had 13 total targets in the last two. It will be interesting to see how the Giants deploy Barkley this week against Dallas. The Cowboys have a pass-funnel defense, with opponents throwing on 72% of their offensive plays against the Cowboys so far this season. Dallas has faced a league-low 69 rushing attempts but has given up 4.7 yards per carry. Barkley checks in at RB5 this week and will find his way into at least one of my DraftKings lineups at $7,300.
Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard: We’ve gotten some vintage Elliott lately. He’s banged in four touchdowns over the last three weeks, with 238 rushing yards in his last two games. Against the Panthers in Week 4, Pollard got a couple of early carries inside the 10-yard line and almost scored on the second with a tough run. He was brought down at the 1, and then Zeke came on and punched it in for the touchdown. The Giants’ run defense ranks 26th in DVOA and is allowing 4.5 yards per carry, so this game sets up pretty well for Zeke. He’s a mid-range RB1, while Pollard is a low-end RB3.
Wide Receivers
Kenny Golladay: Injuries to Giants WRs Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton may be hastening the development of chemistry between Giants QB Daniel Jones and Golladay. The latter just had his first 100-yard day as a Giant, catching six passes for 116 yards Sunday against the Saints. Golladay missed most of training camp with a hamstring injury, and he and Jones looked out of sync in their first couple of games together. Their timing seems better now, and maybe Golladay is ready to go back to being the colossus he was with the Lions in 2019, when he had 1,190 yards and 11 touchdowns. In Sunday, Golladay figures to see a lot of Cowboys CB Trevon Diggs, who’s been a marvel this year, leading the league in both interceptions (5) and passes defensed (8). Even with Shepard and Slayton unlikely to play this week, Golladay falls outside of WR3 range and will be a borderline start/sit call in a lot of leagues.
Kadarius Toney: Whoa … Toney is giving off some serious rookie-year Odell Beckham vibes. Remember how Beckham pulled his hamstring in the first practice of his rookie training camp in 2014, wasn’t able to do anything all summer, then finally made his debut with the Giants in Week 5 and needed only a few weeks to become a full-fledged star? Toney came down with COVID-19 at the start of training camp, then dealt with a hamstring issue. He didn’t play much in Weeks 1-2, but injuries to Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton have ramped up his usage, and Toney looked amazing in Week 4, with 6-78-0 on nine targets. Dare I say Toney looked special? This guy just moves differently than everyone else on the field. Tyreek Hill looks fast. I don’t know if Toney looks as fast, but he has a way of making everyone around him look slow, if that makes any sense. Realistically, there’s probably less than a 5% that Toney turns out to be another Beckham, and maybe the FAAB money spent on Toney this week will turn out to have been a waste. For now, all I know is that I can’t wait to see more of this kid on Sunday. I have him at WR50 this week.
John Ross: Between Ross and Kadarius Toney, the Giants put some major speed on the field in Week 4. Ross scored on a 52-yard TD catch and finished with 3-77-1 on four targets. I don’t think he’s playable this week, but I wanted to mention him because he’s a fascinating player who’s had some staccato bursts of production while trying to get a foothold in the league. Ross still has that amazing speed. It’s probably a long shot that he carves out a role amidst a WR group that also includes Kenny Golladay, Sterling Shepard, Darius Slayton and Kadarius Toney, but stranger things have happened.
CeeDee Lamb: The frustration of Lamb investors is palpable. After opening the season with two solid weeks, he has 5-79-0 over his last two games, including just 2-13-0 in Week 4. It’s unusual that the Cowboys have attempted 27 or fewer passes in three straight games, and I don’t think this is the new normal for their offense. Lamb is still awesome, and the Dallas passing game is destined to pick up the pace. Lamb stakeholders just need to hang in there and resist the urge to trade their young star for a handful of magic beans. I have Lamb at WR7 this week and will confidently play him in DraftKings at a sale price of $6,200.
Amari Cooper: A hamstring issue limited Cooper to 48% of the Cowboys’ offensive snaps in Week 4, but a 35-yard touchdown catch on a perfect throw from Prescott helped Cooper turn in a respectable 3-69-1 stat line. The tender hammy introduces an element of risk, and Cooper may also end up getting plenty of face time with Giants CB James Bradbury, a talented cover man. Consider Cooper a midrange WR2 this week.
Tight Ends
Evan Engram: It’s a bad sign for Engram’s career that in a week where WRs Sterling Shepard and Darius Slayton were both inactive, Engram could muster only 5-27-0 on six targets. Even against a Dallas defense that’s giving up 11.0 fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends, I can’t boost Engram any higher than TE20 in the rankings.
Dalton Schultz and Blake Jarwin: Schultz has exploded over the last two weeks, catching 12-138-3. He’s now the TE5 on the season. Schultz had a season-high 79% snap share in Week 4 and saw a season-high eight targets, so it’s not as if his recent outburst is a small-sample fluke, as we see with so many TE eruptions. Jarwin hasn’t seen more than four targets in a game this season, and he’s become second fiddle to Schultz. Against a Giants defense that’s given up 10.9 fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends, the fourth-highest total in the league, I have Schultz conservatively ranked at TE 11 and Jarwin at TE22.
San Francisco 49ers vs Arizona Cardinals
Date/Time: Sunday October 10, 4:25pm ET
BettingPros Consensus Spread: Cardinals -5.5
BettingPros Consensus Over/Under: 50 points
Implied Vegas point totals: Cardinals 27.75, 49ers 22.25
Quarterbacks
Trey Lance: What a fun QB matchup this is going to be. Jimmy Garoppolo developed a calf injury in Week 4, leading to the insertion of Lance. The rookie proceeded to hang up 20.4 fantasy points in just the second half of the 49ers’ 28-21 loss to the Seahawks. Now, granted, the Seattle defense is bad. Really bad. One of Lance’s biggest plays was a 76-yard TD pass to Deebo Samuel on which members of the Seattle secondary were so far out to sea that Deebo had time to fix himself a sandwich and eat half of it while waiting for the ball to arrive. Lance added 41 rushing yards, and there’s more where that came from. The Cardinals’ pass defense has been sound, limiting opponents to 6.7 yards per pass attempt. But I have Lance at QB11 this week, and he’s going to be in more than one of my DraftKings lineups at a bargain-priced $5,700.
Kyler Murray: Murray wasn’t spectacular in the Cardinals’ 37-20 win over the Rams last week, but he was rock-solid, throwing for 268 yards and two touchdowns and adding 39 rushing yards. It was Murray’s highest rushing total of the year but the first time this season he didn’t have a TD run. This week, Murray faces a 49ers defense that hasn’t been quite as good against the pass as it was last year. In his two meetings with the 49ers in 2020, Murray didn’t have much success as a passer, completing 57 of 90 throws for 477 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions, but he did some serious damage with his legs, rushing 21 times for 166 yards and a touchdown. I wavered between Murray and Josh Allen as the QB1 this week and settled on Murray. I can’t wait to see him go head to head with the rookie on the other side.
Running Backs
Trey Sermon and Elijah Mitchell: The shoulder injury that’s kept Mitchell on the shelf for the last two games is the wild card here. Sermon played his first good game of the season in Week 4, with 19-89-0 rushing but zero targets. He didn’t play at all on third downs, ceding snaps to Kyle Juszczyk in those situations. The big question is how 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan currently regards his running backs. Is Mitchell still ahead of Sermon, as he was in Week 1? Or has Sermon forged a tie or pulled ahead? If Mitchell is able to play this week – and he’s been cleared for contact, which is a good sign – we should learn more about this backfield on Sunday. Rankings for these two are meaningless until we know Mitchell’s status.
Chase Edmonds and James Conner: With 120 rushing yards and 139 yards from scrimmage against the Rams in Week 4, Edmonds has moved into the top 20 in RB fantasy scoring even though he hasn’t scored a touchdown. He’s averaging 98.8 yards from scrimmage per game, and some of his efficiency numbers are outstanding. Edmonds is averaging 5.9 yards per carry and has a 90.9% catch rate. Conner, meanwhile, has scored four touchdowns and has 172 rushing yards, but he’s a nonfactor in the passing game, with three catches for 26 yards. The Edmonds-Conner duo will face a San Francisco run defense that’s been average so far. Connor is a low-end RB2 this week, Conner a high-end RB4. Edmonds is mildly intriguing at $5,900 on DraftKings, and I might get him into a GPP.
Wide Receivers
Deebo Samuel: Already off to a blazing start, Samuel turned up the heat a little more in Week 4 with an 8-156-2 performance on 12 targets. Both of his touchdowns were on second-half throws from Trey Lance, one a 76-yard bomb where miscommunication among Seattle’s defensive backs left Samuel all alone, the other an 8-yard strike with 1:20 left to play. Samuel is now WR3 in fantasy scoring, trailing only Cooper Kupp and Tyreek Hill. Samuel has commanded a 33.1% target share, and though he won’t be able to maintain such a massive stake, it seems clear that no other receiver on the 49ers’ roster is going to challenge him for the alpha role. On Sunday, Samuel will face an Arizona defense that’s been good against the pass overall but is allowing 28.3 fantasy points per game to opposing wide receivers, seventh-most in the league. Samuel checks in at WR11 in the rankings. He’s a bit too pricey at $7,100 on DraftKings because it seems unlikely that Lance will air it out 35 or more times in his first NFL start.
Brandon Aiyuk: The disappointing sophomore campaign continues. Aiyuk played 32 snaps against the Seahawks in Week 4, saw three targets, and had one catch for 15 yards. Maybe rookie QB Trey Lance holds the key to unlocking Aiyuk? Investors are holding onto whatever thin branches of hope they can find because there have been few encouraging signs of an imminent turnaround. We need a “show me” game from Aiyuk before we can trust him in lineups again.
DeAndre Hopkins: Investors may have good reason to be nervous about Hopkins’ sluggish start. It’s not that Hopkins has lost anything. It’s that Christian Kirk is thriving with more work in the slot, A.J. Green is looking more and more like his old self, and Rondale Moore is showing immense promise. Even TE Maxx Williams has been getting into the act. As a result, Hopkins hasn’t seen more than eight targets in any game this season. He’s still the WR21 in fantasy scoring (0.5 PPR), so it’s not like all hope is lost, but the supporting cast might be too good for Hopkins to finish top five at the position. I’ve got Hopkins as a low-end WR1 this week and don’t want any part of him at a DraftKings price of $7,600.
Rondale Moore: The rookie from Purdue had 182 receiving yards and a touchdown in his first two games but has been quiet since, with only 5-29-0 receiving. His snap share hasn’t fundamentally changed – the Cardinals are still using him on about 30% to 45% of their offensive plays every week – but Moore has seen only five targets over the last two weeks. On the bright side, he’s had three rushing attempts since Week 3, though they’ve produced only 12 yards. Consider Moore a low-end WR4 this week.
Christian Kirk: After getting off to a 15-239-2 start over his first three games, Kirk had just one catch for five yards last week. As noted in the DeAndre Hopkins entry, this offense is now brimming with viable pass-catching options, and someone is going to be left behind every week. Kirk is a midrange WR4 this week against the 49ers.
A.J. Green: Since Week 2, Green has been the WR14 in fantasy scoring. He’s averaged 12.4 yards per target over that stretch, with a catch rate of 72.2%. The numbers suggest that the revival is real, as hard to believe as that may be for anyone who watched Green wear cornerbacks like scarves last year. I have to admit I’ve been lost with where to rank Green every week. He’s still in WR5 range for me, and I admit that’s probably too disrespectful.
Tight Ends
George Kittle: Kittle continues to deal with a calf injury and missed practice on Wednesday, but all indications are that he’ll be ready for the Cardinals in Week 5. The 49ers’ star tight end hasn’t had a touchdown or a 100-yard day yet, and he’ll be facing a Cardinals defense that’s giving up a mere 2.3 fantasy points per game to tight ends. In two games against Arizona last year, Kittle had 8-136-0. He’s the TE4 this week, but he’s a full fade at his DraftKings price of $5,600.
Maxx Williams: he played a season-low snap share of 58% last week but still caught 5 of 5 targets for 66 yards and his first touchdown of the season. He’s the TE13 in fantasy scoring, and QB Kyler Murray officially has an embarrassment of pass-catching riches when even an Arizona tight end is getting into the act. The 49ers have limited opposing tight ends to 5.6 fantasy points per game, so Williams is a high-end TE3.
Buffalo Bills vs Kansas City Chiefs
Date/Time: Sunday October 10, 8:20pm ET
BettingPros Consensus Spread: Chiefs -2.5
BettingPros Consensus Over/Under: 56.5 points
Implied Vegas point totals: Chiefs 29.5, Bills 27
Quarterbacks
Josh Allen: On a rainy day against a feeble opponent, Allen probably wasn’t destined to have a smash game when he took on the Texans in Week 4. He was perfectly fine in a 40-0 blowout, hanging up 21 fantasy points to finish just a smidge outside of QB1 range. The setup is much better this week. The Chiefs’ defense has been laughably bad through four games, allowing 8.8 yards per pass attempt and ranking 31st against the pass in Football Outsiders’ DVOA metric. In last season’s playoffs, Allen had 287 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception against the Chiefs, and he ran for 88 yards. The Kansas City defense has deteriorated since then, so we should expect a big game from Allen. He’s the QB2 this week, but his DraftKings price of $8,100 is too high.
Patrick Mahomes: Buffalo’s pass defense is the best in the league by nearly every meaningful metric: DVOA, opponent passer rating, yards per attempt. But of course, you’re not going to bench Mahomes in season-long leagues. If he’s not matchup-proof, he’s at least highly matchup-resistant. He torched a tough Browns defense for 337 yards and three TDs in Week 1, then hung 343 yards and three TDs on the Ravens in Week 2. Those are quality defenses. Mahomes threw for 325 yards and three TDs against the Bills in last season’s AFC Championship Game. He’s the QB3 in this week’s rankings.
Running Backs
Zack Moss and Devin Singletary: Moss continues to hold a slight edge over Singletary in snaps and is also getting the touches close to the goal line. He’s had 27 carries for 121 yards and a touchdown over his last two games, while Singletary has 25 carries for 105 yards over that span. Both have seen three targets the last two weeks. Moss has become more valuable due mainly to the TD potential. They could both make hay this week against a leaky Kansas City run defense that’s giving up 5.4 yards per carry and has yielded eight rushing touchdowns. Moss and Singletary should be regarded as midrange RB3s this week.
Clyde Edwards-Helaire and Darrel Williams: Edwards-Helaire owners couldn’t have felt good about Williams scoring on a goal-line carry last week. CEH had his second consecutive 100-yard rushing day (a career first) and scored a touchdown on a 1-yard shovel pass. But Williams played a season-high 36% snap share and had 10-42-1 rushing and 2-16-0 receiving. It was the biggest role Williams has played all year, and while we can’t call this a committee yet, Williams may be starting to chip away at Edwards-Helaire’s value. Against a Buffalo defense that’s giving up 3.2 yards per carry and has allowed one rushing touchdown, Edwards-Helaire is a midrange RB2 and Williams is a low-end RB4.
Wide Receivers
Stefon Diggs: A 40-0 blowout isn’t always the best scenario for a fantasy star, but Diggs managed to pile up 7-114-0 against the Texans last week before the Bills dialed down the offense. Still only the WR19 in fantasy scoring, Diggs just needs a few more trips to the end zone. He’s averaging 10.5 targets per game, which is pretty much the same pace he maintained last season in a career year. Chiefs CBs Deandre Baker and Mike Hughes will probably share the task of trying to keep Diggs under control, and it seems unlikely that either will be capable of doing that.
Emmanuel Sanders: With an average depth of target of 16.0 yards, Sanders has managed to command at least six targets in every game, and that’s a nice recipe. He’s never going to draw the same sort of huge target numbers that we associate with Stefon Diggs, so it’s good that Sanders is seeing half a dozen high-value targets a game. It’s a formula that currently has Sanders WR23 in fantasy scoring. I have him ranked as a back-end WR3 this week, but a sketchy Chiefs defense and the shootout potential of this matchup leave room for a much better outcome.
Cole Beasley: Slot corner L’Jarius Sneed is probably Kansas City’s best cornerback, and that’s who Beasley figures to run most of his routes against. Beasley had 7-88-0 against the Chiefs in last season’s AFC Championship Game. The Beaz offers a high PPR floor, but he’s now gone 10 consecutive games without scoring a touchdown, including last season’s playoffs, so the ceiling is limited. He’s a midrange WR4.
Tyreek Hill: After two relatively quiet weeks, Hill roared back to life last week, catching 11 of 12 targets for 186 yards and three touchdowns in a 42-30 win over the Eagles. Hill faces a good group of Buffalo cover men this week, led by Tre’Davious White. But Hill ripped the Bills apart in last season’s AFC Championship Game, with 9-172-0 on 11 targets. I’m “fading” Hill this week by ranking him WR5. His $8,900 salary on DraftKings is a bit too rich.
Mecole Hardman: The recently signed Josh Gordon may be active for the Chiefs this week. If so, we’ll get a better idea of what sort of role Gordon might play and whether the Chiefs have room for Hardman to be a significant contributor. Hardman’s snap shares have been trending slowly downward, with a season-low snap share in Week 4. Hardman is averaging 4.5 targets, and he’s averaging an inefficient 6.8 yards per target. At 6-3 and 225 pounds, Gordon has always been a magnificent physical specimen, but how good can he be at age 30 after another NFL hiatus? I can’t recommend using either, but hopefully we’ll get a better read on both.
Tight Ends
Dawson Knox: Two more touchdowns in Week 4 gave Knox four on the year, and he’s now the TE6 in fantasy scoring (0.5 PPR) even though he has yet to reach 50 receiving yards in a game. Knox has displayed his above-average athleticism, and Bills QB Josh Allen seems to enjoy throwing to a big target in the end zone. With Stefon Diggs, Emmanuel Sanders, and Cole Beasley all soaking up targets, there might not be enough yardage potential for Knox to remain in TE1 range, but he’s no worse than a TE2 with attractive touchdown potential. I’m ranking him as a lower-end TE1 this week in a game with O.K. Corral potential.
Travis Kelce: You know Kelce has to be fired up for this game after being held to an uncharacteristic 4-23-0 stat line against the Eagles last week. He’ll be facing a Buffalo defense that’s giving up just 4.1 fantasy points per game to tight ends, but the Bills had no answer for Kelce in last season’s AFC Championship Game, where he exploded for 13-118-2 on 15 targets. Of course, Kelce is the TE1 regardless of the matchup, and he’s always a strong DraftKings option at any price.
Indianapolis Colts vs Baltimore Ravens
Date/Time: Monday October 11, 8:15pm ET
BettingPros Consensus Spread: Ravens -7
BettingPros Consensus Over/Under: 47.5 points
Implied Vegas point totals: Ravens 27.75, Colts 20.25
Quarterbacks
Carson Wentz: You’d need a plum matchup to even consider starting Wentz in a single-QB league, and a road game against the Ravens ain’t it. Wentz’s weekly fantasy finishes so far: QB19, QB17, QB31, QB19. There’s just not much promise here. In superflex leagues, fine, start him if you must. In other formats, no way.
Lamar Jackson: It will be interesting to see what the Baltimore passing game looks like if rookie WR Rashod Bateman makes his debut. He’s been out with a core injury, but he’s a first-round pick with the potential to be a much-needed weapon for Jackson. The Ravens face a Colts pass defense that ranks 26th in DVOA and has allowed 11 TD passes, tied for the league-high. Jackson has thrown just one TD pass in each of his four games, but he has a pair of rushing touchdowns. Jackson is the QB9 in fantasy scoring so far, but he checks in at QB4 in this week’s rankings.
Running Backs
Jonathan Taylor and Nyheim Hines: The Colts hadn’t seen many positive game scripts in 2021, but they got one last week in a 27-17 road win against the Dolphins, and it led to a nice game for Taylor, who had 16-101-1 rushing and 3-11-0 receiving. Taylor had reportedly been dealing with a minor knee issue, but it didn’t show in Week 4. A positive game script turned out to be less positive for Nyheim Hines, who had two carries for six yards and two catches for five yards against Miami. Marlon Mack played a 31% snap share last week and had 10-22-0 rushing. Taylor is a must-start, checking in at RB9. Hines, my RB40 in half-point PPR, is ultra-sensitive to game script and might fare best if the Colts fall behind early.
Latavius Murray and Le’Veon Bell: Is Murray the new Gus Edwards? The Ravens chose not to dress Ty’Son Williams in Week 4, and it’s unclear whether he’ll be active in Week 5. Murray played 62% of the Ravens’ offensive snaps and finished with 18-59-1 rushing. He hasn’t seen a target this season, so Murray’s value is pretty one-dimensional, and he looks … um, not fast. Le’Veon Bell made his Ravens debut last week and carried four times for 11 yards. Could Bell’s role expand? Perhaps, but Pittsburgh-era Le’Veon Bell has left the building. Devonta Freeman was a third wheel last week and may not be active if the Ravens decide to dress Williams against the Colts in Week 5. This is still a pretty inscrutable backfield, and Williams still offers the most potential, but the Ravens have his usage on a yo-yo. Opponents have run the ball against the Colts on 48% of their offensive snaps. Indy has a run-funnel defense, in other words, so maybe Murray has some sneaky upside here. He’s still just a high-end RB3 for me.
Wide Receivers
Michael Pittman: The only disappointing thing about Pittman’s season so far is that he hasn’t scored a touchdown, and he came tantalizingly close last weekend, being tackled at the 1-yard line on one of his catches. Over his last three games, Pittman has seen 32 targets and has caught 20 balls for 250 yards. He’s commanding a 26.5% target share making him no worse than a flex consideration every week. He falls just outside WR3 range against a Ravens defense that’s given up the 10th-fewest fantasy points to opposing wide receivers.
Zach Pascal: Pascal draws a favorable matchup against Ravens slot corner Tavon Young and could be snuck into lineups in larger leagues. But Pascal hasn’t topped 44 receiving yards in a game this season, and the three touchdowns he scored in Week 1-2 were a small-sample mirage. The PPR floor is decent for Pascal, but he’s got a basement rec room ceiling.
Marquise Brown: If Ravens rookie Rashod Bateman is active and plays more than a handful of snaps, it will be interesting to see how QB Lamar Jackson divides targets. After his drop-fest against the Lions in Week 3, Brown responded with a 4-91-1 outing against the Broncos in Week 4 – not a bad showing considering how good the Denver defense has been. Brown is the WR10 in fantasy scoring, but he’s a back-end WR2 in this week’s rankings.
Rashod Bateman: The rookie from the University of Minnesota will make his debut in Baltimore after missing the first four games of the season with a core injury. He’s a terrific prospect with no discernible weakness in his game. He’s a good route runner, he’s good at the catch point, he’s good after the catch, and he can line up inside or outside (though he does his best work outside). As a Midwesterner who’s seen this Big Ten product play a lot of college football, I wouldn’t be surprised if Bateman passed Marquise Brown to become Baltimore’s top receiver by the end of the season.
Sammy Watkins: He’s performed capably as a starter while rookie Rashod Bateman recovered from a core injury, catching four passes in each of the Ravens’ four games, but whatever fantasy relevance Watkins might have had is about to evaporate with Bateman’s arrival. Sorry, Sammy.
Tight Ends
Mo Alie-Cox and Jack Doyle: Alie-Cox broke out with a 3-42-2 game last week and did so with a season-high 69% snap share. His five targets were also a season-high. We’d like to see his target counts consistently fall into the 5-8 range before investing, but last week was a start. Doyle stopped being interesting the minute Alie-Cox showed signs of usefulness. The Ravens have given up 12.9 fantasy points per game to tight ends, tying them with the Texans for last in that category, so Alie-Cox at least warrants midrange TE2 consideration.
Mark Andrews: He has five catches in each of his last three games, but Andrews is still looking for his first touchdown of the season. That’s unusual, since Andrews scored in the 2019 and 2020 season openers, and as a rookie in 2018 he got his first touchdown in Week 2. Andrews currently ranks TE9 in fantasy scoring, and he checks in at TE5 in this week’s rankings.
Los Angeles Rams vs Seattle Seahawks
Date/Time: Thursday October 6, 8:20pm ET
BettingPros Consensus Spread: Rams -2
BettingPros Consensus Over/Under: 54.5 points
Implied Vegas point totals: Rams 28.25, Seahawks 26.25
Quarterbacks
Matthew Stafford: After lighting up the Buccaneers for 343 yards and four touchdowns in Week 3, Stafford was just so-so in a lopsided loss to the Cardinals last week, completing 26 of 41 passes for 280 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. This is a nice bounce-back spot for Stafford, provided he isn’t rattled by Seattle’s raucous 12s on Thursday night. Seahawks fans can yell, but they can’t cover, and neither can the Seattle cornerbacks. Opposing quarterbacks have completed 66.9% of their throws against the Seahawks this season, averaging 7.9 yards per attempt, with eight touchdowns and one interception. Seattle’s opponent passer rating is 105.1, eighth-worst in the league. And the Seahawks haven’t exactly faced the crème de la crème of NFL quarterbacks so far: Carson Wentz, Ryan Tannehill, Kirk Cousins, and Jimmy Garoppolo/Trey Lance. They could be in big trouble against a big-league passer like Stafford. He’s my QB7 this week, and he’s close to a mandatory buy at $17,100 in the DraftKings showdown slate.
Russell Wilson: If you’re a Wilson investor, you’re probably a little nervous that Russ is averaging 27.3 pass attempts per game. But maybe it’s not about the Seahawks failing to let Russ cook. Seattle has run a league-low 200 offensive plays and ranks last in time of possession. That doesn’t have much to do with a slow pace – Seattle ranks a middling 18th in seconds per offensive play. In some ways, Wilson is a victim of his own success. The Seahawks’ offense was so efficient early in the season and had so many touchdowns on long scoring plays – they had TDs of 69, 68, and 63 yards in their first two games – that they simply didn’t have the ball very often. The greater concern for Wilson stakeholders this week is the matchup. Russ had just one TD pass in two games against the Rams in 2020. But is the Rams’ pass defense still elite? They allowed a league-low 14.5 fantasy points per game to opposing QBs last year. They’ve given up 20.7 points per game to opposing QBs so far this year, putting them in the middle of the pack. I have Wilson ranked QB 12 this week.
Running Backs
Darrell Henderson and Sony Michel: After Michael lost a fumble early in the season quarter of the Rams’ 37-20 loss to the Rams in Week 4, he didn’t get another touch the rest of the way. Henderson dominated the workload against Arizona, playing 90% of the snaps and finishing with 14-89-0 rushing and 5-27-0 receiving. If Henderson sees that sort of usage on Thursday night, he could be in for a big game. The Seahawks are giving up 24.1 fantasy points per game to opposing running backs, the third-highest total in the league. Consider Henderson a high-end RB2 this week. You could probably make a case for Henderson as an RB1, but I don’t know if he’ll see enough rushing volume to get there in a game that also sets up beautifully for Matthew Stafford.
Chris Carson and Alex Collins: Carson has been regarded as one of the more secure lead backs in the league. Could Collins give us a reason to second-guess that? With Carson generating little yardage Sunday against the San Francisco defense and also dealing with some sort of hamstring issue, Collins provided a spark, rushing 10 times for 44 yards and a touchdown. He looked frisky on his 14-yard TD run, making a decisive cut to blast through a crease and then cutting back again before reaching the end zone. And though he’s never been much of a pass catcher, Collins also had two receptions for 34 yards, including a 28-yarder, and this wasn’t garbage-time work either. Carson had 13-30-1 rushing and one catch for one yard. He played 25 snaps; Collins played 22. Carson’s lead role isn’t being threatened, but his share of the workload could drop if Collins continues to play well – or if Carson isn’t fully healthy. The Seahawks face a Rams defense that hasn’t been stellar against the run through the first four games, giving up 4.7 yards per carry and six rushing touchdowns. Cardinals RBs Chase Edmonds and James Conner pasted the Rams for a combined 30-170-2 on the ground last weekend. Carson missed practice early in the week with a neck injury. If he isn’t able to play, Collins would get most of the early-down work with Travis Homer playing on passing downs. Collins is a must at $4,800 in Thursday-night DraftKings showdowns.
Wide Receivers
Cooper Kupp: He had the rare inefficient day in Week 4, with 5-64-0 on 13 targets against the Cardinals, but Kupp has seen at least 10 targets in every game this season and is still the WR1 in 0.5 PPR fantasy scoring at 21.9 points per game. Kupp figures to take most of his snaps against Seattle slot corner Ugo Amadi in what should be a smash matchup. PFF had graded Amadi 106th out of 108 cornerbacks through the first four weeks of the season. I have Kupp ranked WR4 this week, but there’s basically nothing separating the top four receivers in this week’s rankings. At $18,600, Kupp is even pricier than Matthew Stafford or Russell Wilson in DraftKings showdowns, and it’s probably justified.
PRISTINE MATCHUP OF THE WEEK
Each week, we’ll pick a matchup of the week, presented by Pristine Auction. For Week 4, Cooper Kupp is Fitz’s Pristine Matchup of the Week.
Robert Woods: He scored his second touchdown of the season Sunday against Atlanta, but it was a garbage-time special, coming with 1:14 remaining in a game the Rams trailed by 24 points at the time. Woods entered the fourth quarter of that game with just two targets and finished with 4-48-1 on six targets. There are bound to be better days ahead for Woods, who’s currently WR39 in half-point PPR fantasy scoring, but the value gap between Woods and Cooper Kupp has gone from a crevice to a chasm. With Seahawks CB Tre Flowers recently demoted Woods will take most of his snaps against ex-Eagle Sidney Jones in a matchup the Rams’ receiver should be able to win. Still, Woods only slots in as a midrange WR3 this week.
Van Jefferson: Jefferson had six targets against the Buccaneers in Week 3, six more against the Cardinals in Week 4, and he has a decent chance to match that total in Week 5 against a Rams defense that’s been somewhat of a pass funnel, with opponents throwing 63% of the time against the Rams so far this season. Jefferson has the least favorable matchup of the Rams’ receivers, drawing D.J. Reed, though Reed is by no means a lockdown cover man. Jefferson checks in at WR59 and probably won’t merit lineup consideration this week in season-long leagues, but his $7.200 price tag makes him a nice money-saving option in the DraftKings showdown slate.
D.K. Metcalf: Even with the Seahawks ranking last in the league in time of possession and number of plays run, Metcalf is the WR15 in half-point PPR scoring, just 2.3 points out of WR1 range. There’s nothing to worry about long-term. But in the short term? In his two games against the Rams last year, Metcalf had a combined 8-87-0. He was blanketed by Rams CB Jalen Ramsey to the tune of 2-28-0 in the first meeting. He had a more respectful but not exactly impactful 6-59-0 in the second game. Metcalf lined up in a variety of spots in the second meeting and didn’t see Ramsey’s coverage as often, and some of the Rams claimed the Seahawks were trying to hide Metcalf from Ramsey’s coverage. Fantasy managers run the gamut in terms of their sensitivity to tough matchups, but I hope no fantasy manager in America would bench Metcalf in a season-long league. Fade him in DFS if you must (I probably will, too), but he’s my WR8 this week.
Tyler Lockett: If D.K. Metcalf sees the shadow coverage of Jalen Ramsey on Thursday night, maybe this will be a big Lockett game. But then again, maybe not. When Ramsey shadowed Metcalf in Week 10 of last year, Lockett only had a 5-66-0 game. Perhaps Lockett investors are already wondering if they’re going to see a repeat of 2020 when the receiver started fast but then faded. He started 2021 with 12-278-3 in his first two games, but he’s had 8-55-0 in his last two. Be patient. The Seahawks have run the fewest plays of any team in the league. Business should pick up for Lockett soon. He’s my WR9 this week.
Tight Ends
Tyler Higbee: He has yet to pop, but Higbee has checked in with at least four catches and 36 yards in three out of four starts. Higbee is dealing with some sort of ankle injury, so double-check that he’s active before slotting him into your lineup.
Gerald Everett: A positive COVID-19 test kept Everett out in Week 4, but he’s reportedly tested negative once this week. Since he’s been vaccinated, Everett would need only one more negative test to be cleared to face his old team. In three games, Everett has caught 8 of 9 targets for 77 yards and a touchdown. The Rams are giving up 9.6 fantasy points per game (0.5 PPR) to opposing tight ends. Consider Everett a low-end TE2 for his revenge game.
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Pat Fitzmaurice is a featured writer and editor at FantasyPros. For more from Pat, check out his archive and follow him @Fitz_FF.