Week 5 Sunday Morning London Showdown DFS Primer (Jets at Falcons)

Fire up a pot of coffee, and settle in Sunday morning for the NFL’s return to London. The Jets and Falcons square off at 9:30 AM EDT. Below, I take a look at the standout players on this single-game slate.

Get free start/sit and waiver wire advice for your fantasy team

Game: New York Jets at Atlanta Falcons (London)

Spread: ATL -3.0 Points

Over/Under: 45.5 Points

Jets Analysis: The Jets opened the season with three tricky matchups against talented defenses. Predictably, their rookie quarterback, Zach Wilson, struggled. However, he received a reprieve last week, responding with his best game as a pro. Wilson completed 21 of 34 passes for 297 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. He's primed for a stellar follow-up against another porous defense. Football Outsiders ranks the Falcons 28th in pass defense Defense-adjusted Value Over Average. In addition, Pro-Football-Reference credits the Falcons with the third-lowest pressure rate (18.9%). As a result, Wilson should operate in a clean pocket, making life easier to air it out to his suddenly healthy receivers.

Notably absent from the table above is Elijah Moore. That's not an accident, as he's struggling mightily playing outside instead of in the slot -- where he primarily aligned in college. So, I'm fading him. Instead, I prefer Corey Davis, Jamison Crowder, and, as a darkhorse, Keelan Cole Sr. The prized free-agent signing, Davis, leads the Jets in targets (29), receptions (16), receiving yards (three), and receiving touchdowns (three). Further, according to Pro Football Focus, he leads the team in routes (130).

Crowder played in his first game of the year last week, and he immediately made his presence felt, tallying a 7-61-1 line on a team-high nine targets. Not to be outdone, Cole popped off for a 3-92-0 line on four targets. Unfortunately, he trailed Davis and Crowder in playing time last week, so I'm guessing he's at the most significant risk of losing playing time to Moore. Still, he's capable of making big plays, keeping him in the mix on a single-game slate.

There aren't many high-priced players to pay for, so Ryan Griffin is suggested as a contrarian touchdown-or-bust option, presumably taking on injured Tyler Kroft's role in the offense. As for the running backs, Michael Carter set a new single-game high with a 51% snap share last week, according to our snap counts page. Unfortunately, he ran just 12 routes on 16 passing snaps, only one more than Ty Johnson for both marks. Oof. The most intriguing path for running back value on the Jets is through the air because Football Outsiders ranks them 26th in Adjusted Line Yards. Thus, I'm not expecting them to have much success on the ground, and I'm viewing Carter as a trap selection.

Falcons Analysis: Calvin Ridley is out. That's terrible news for Matt Ryan and Atlanta's offense. They're also still without Russell Gage. Yikes. Matty Ice is already struggling to adjust to life after Julio Jones, so it's easy to imagine the entire offense tanking. Obviously, Ryan's in the mix for inclusion on rosters because he's the quarterback on a single-game slate. However, it's not that crazy to fade him, given the horrendous context.

I'm going to stick to the theme of struggling, and Mike Davis is doing just that. He's faceplanted this year after excelling as a fill-in for Christian McCaffrey last year, averaging a comically bad 3.1 yards per rush attempt. His saving grace is averaging four receptions per game. Still, he's turned those into an underwhelming 20.0 receiving yards per game. As a result of his subpar play, he's in danger of losing more playing time to late-career breakout Cordarrelle Patterson and Wayne Gallman (who made his season debut last week).

Patterson is playing over his head, but this might not be the week regression rears its ugly head. The team needs playmakers, so the former receiver could conceivably be used as a wideout more often this week. The receiver-convert has run 51 routes for the season, aligning in the slot 12 times and kicking out wide 15 times. Patterson's superb play already should have been incentive enough for head coach Arthur Smith to increase his playing time and use. Still, the absence of Ridley gives him yet another reason to dial up more touches for Patterson.

Kyle Pitts is the other player I prioritize rostering from the Falcons. He's second on the team in routes (139) and targets (26), third in receiving yards (189), and fourth in receptions (15). Now, he has a golden opportunity to dominate targets. Pitts is a freakish athlete who the team selected earlier than any tight end had previously been drafted. Now, it's time for Smith to unleash him.

The unexciting trio of Olamide Zacheaus, Tajae Sharpe, and Hayden Hurst are the most likely options to clean up the remaining crumbs vacated by Ridley, which Patterson and Pitts don't gobble up. Zaccheaus has run 99 routes for the year, Hurst has run 81, and Sharpe has run 40. So that's probably the best order for using them. However, Hurst could get a significant shot in the arm if they enhance their already co-league high 12-personnel (one running back, two tight ends, and two receivers) usage. The Falcons have used 12-personnel on 35% of their snaps this season, according to Sharp Football Stats.

Import your team to My Playbook for instant Waiver Wire advice

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | SoundCloud | iHeartRadio

If you want to dive deeper into fantasy football, be sure to check out our award-winning slate of Fantasy Football Tools as you navigate your season. From our Start/Sit Assistant – which provides your optimal lineup, based on accurate consensus projections – to our Waiver Wire Assistant – that allows you to quickly see which available players will improve your team and by how much – we’ve got you covered this fantasy football season.

Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.