Fantasy Football Outlook: DeVonta Smith, George Kittle, Drake London (Week 5)

Arguably the most frustrating thing in fantasy football is seeing someone in your starting lineup struggle that week. Therefore, the logic behind this article is simple – identify fantasy football lineup landmines.

These are players you’re leaning towards starting this week but could end up being a landmine that blows up and destroys your starting lineup, potentially costing you your matchup. Here are all of my risky starts for the week. Below we dive into a few notable players.

Fantasy Football Lineup Landmines: Week 5

DeVonta Smith (WR – PHI)

Over the first two weeks this year, Smith looked like the new No. 1 wide receiver in Philadelphia. He had 10 targets in Week 1 against the New England Patriots. Then, the former Alabama star had 131 receiving yards against the Minnesota Vikings, while A.J. Brown had only 29 yards. However, it’s been a different story for Smith the past two weeks, averaging 5.5 receptions for 53 receiving yards and 8.1 half-point PPR fantasy points per game. By comparison, Brown has been the WR1, averaging nine receptions for 153 receiving yards and 25.8 fantasy points per game over the past two weeks.

Smith’s target share has also declined since Week 1. He had a 30.3% target share against the Patriots but only a 19.6% target share over the past three weeks. His target share over the past two weeks has been 18.9%, compared to 40.5% for Brown. Meanwhile, the Rams have done well containing wide receivers this season, giving up 23.1 fantasy points per game to the position, the seventh-fewest in the NFL. More importantly, they haven’t surrendered a touchdown to wide receivers since Week 1.

Drake London (WR – ATL)

Fantasy players must be frustrated with Atlanta’s passing attack. London had one target and zero half-point PPR fantasy points in Week 1. While he has averaged seven targets per game over the past three weeks, that has only equated to an average of 3.7 receptions for 42 receiving yards and 10 fantasy points per game. The second-year receiver has gotten double-digit fantasy points in half the contests, but only 4.1 total fantasy points in the other half. Furthermore, according to Fantasy Points Data, London has been the first read on only 23.4% of the pass plays, a lower average than Tutu Atwell.

While some have called for the Falcons to replace Desmond Ridder with Taylor Heinicke, Arthur Smith is sticking with the young quarterback. Unfortunately, the Atlanta passing attack is in for a rough matchup against the Houston Texans. They have held wide receivers to only 19.7 fantasy points per game (the second-fewest) and one touchdown (the fewest) this season. According to Fantasy Points Data, only 59.1% of London’s targets have been catchable. Meanwhile, the Texans have the fourth-best coverage grade (83.9) by PFF this season.

George Kittle (TE – SF)

No one expected Kittle to sustain the 19.4 half-point PPR fantasy points per game that he averaged over the final four contests last year into this season. However, the veteran tight end has been awful with Brandon Aiyuk in the lineup. Kittle has totaled 10 targets and 9.3 fantasy points in the three games with Aiyuk this season. By comparison, he had nine targets and 12.5 fantasy points in the lone matchup without the star receiver. Furthermore, the former Iowa tight end had only one reception for nine yards last week despite Deebo Samuel not earning a target.

Unfortunately, things won’t be better for him this week. The Dallas Cowboys have suffocated opposing tight ends this season, giving up only 6.8 fantasy points per game. Furthermore, they’ve held tight ends to only 43.8 receiving yards per game and haven’t surrendered a receiving touchdown this year. Over the past two weeks, Dallas has picked up their play against tight ends, giving up only eight receptions for 71 receiving yards and 5.6 fantasy points to the position. Fantasy players should consider starting Jake Ferguson or Zach Ertz over Kittle this week.