I am a co-founder and the editor of drinkfive.com. In order to stave off fantasy football insanity, Dave and I have branched out to cover a variety of interests. When I'm not knee deep in wikipedia pages, I like to hang out at breweries or a disc golf course (especially both in the same day). FSWA Member for 5+ years.
Hope everyone had a great Turkey Day full of family, friends and delicious food. Due to the Thanksgiving games the pool of players to choose from for the Sunday Million is thin. This week we are going with a QB/WR stack going up against a team with an abysmal defense but an offense that can put up points, taking value picks at RB and grabbing a TE on a team that is depleted on receivers. Good luck this week!
QB - Brian Hoyer, HOU - $7,100 vs. NO: Hoyer returns from a concussion and gets a cake match up against the worst defense in the NFL. This should be a high scoring game so look for fantasy points to be flying around in this one.
RB - Doug Martin, TB - $7,500 at IND: Indianapolis has been torched by opposing running backs many times this season which makes Martin an extremely high upside play. It also helps that Martin has only had less than 20 touches in a game once in the past 7 weeks.
RB - T.J. Yeldon, JAC - $6,500 vs. SD: The Chargers run defense is awful and they have also given up the most fantasy points to opposing running backs this season which makes Yeldon a great value play.
WR - DeAndre Hopkins, HOU - $9,400 vs. NO: Stacking up the red hot Hopkins with Hoyer this week in a game that should see plenty of touchdowns coming through the air.
WR - Brandin Cooks, NO - $7,300 at HOU: Cooks started the season off slow but he has been putting up double digit fantasy points 4 weeks in a row. Pairing him with the Hoyer/Hopkins stack to increase point upside.
WR - DeSean Jackson, WAS - $6,300 vs. NYG: Amazing match up for the Redskins burner this week going up against a Giants team giving of the most receiving yards in the league.
TE - Antonio Gates, SD - $5,700 at JAC: Gates looks to be fully healthy and the Chargers are running thin on receivers which should mean a heavy workload for him against a sub par Jaguars defense.
K - Cairo Santos, KC - $4,900 vs. BUF: Santos is the only kicker to have at least 6 field goal attempts in a game this year and he's been in that range twice notching games with 6 and 7 attempts.
DEF - Cardinals, ARI - $5,300 at SF: Easily the best match up for any defense this week, well worth spending top dollar on.
Hope everyone had a great Turkey Day full of family, friends and delicious food. Due to the Thanksgiving games the pool of players to choose from for the Sunday Million is thin. This week we are going with a QB/WR stack going up against a team with an abysmal defense but an offense that can put up points, taking value picks at RB and grabbing a TE on a team that is depleted on receivers. Good luck this week!
QB - Brian Hoyer, HOU - $7,100 vs. NO: Hoyer returns from a concussion and gets a cake match up against the worst defense in the NFL. This should be a high scoring game so look for fantasy points to be flying around in this one.
RB - Doug Martin, TB - $7,500 at IND: Indianapolis has been torched by opposing running backs many times this season which makes Martin an extremely high upside play. It also helps that Martin has only had less than 20 touches in a game once in the past 7 weeks.
RB - T.J. Yeldon, JAC - $6,500 vs. SD: The Chargers run defense is awful and they have also given up the most fantasy points to opposing running backs this season which makes Yeldon a great value play.
WR - DeAndre Hopkins, HOU - $9,400 vs. NO: Stacking up the red hot Hopkins with Hoyer this week in a game that should see plenty of touchdowns coming through the air.
WR - Brandin Cooks, NO - $7,300 at HOU: Cooks started the season off slow but he has been putting up double digit fantasy points 4 weeks in a row. Pairing him with the Hoyer/Hopkins stack to increase point upside.
WR - DeSean Jackson, WAS - $6,300 vs. NYG: Amazing match up for the Redskins burner this week going up against a Giants team giving of the most receiving yards in the league.
TE - Antonio Gates, SD - $5,700 at JAC: Gates looks to be fully healthy and the Chargers are running thin on receivers which should mean a heavy workload for him against a sub par Jaguars defense.
K - Cairo Santos, KC - $4,900 vs. BUF: Santos is the only kicker to have at least 6 field goal attempts in a game this year and he's been in that range twice notching games with 6 and 7 attempts.
DEF - Cardinals, ARI - $5,300 at SF: Easily the best match up for any defense this week, well worth spending top dollar on.
This year's bye weeks are finally a thing of the past, and while saying that your lineup is back to full strength may be a bit of a stretch, at least nobody is just sitting out a week. Don't forget that there's three games going on Thursday, and Sunday we get to see the Steelers @ Seahawks and Patriots @ Broncos - amazing! To top it all off, we get.....the Ravens @ Browns, ugh.
Philip Rivers has a good matchup against Jacksonville, who give up the 7th most points to opposing Quarterbacks. Malcom Floyd is trying to get back on the field as well, so go ahead and insert Rivers as a solid QB1 this week.
Don't expect a repeat of last week for Russell Wilson, who had an easy time against the 49ers. I expect Wilson to go back under 20 points vs the Steelers, where he's been almost the entire season.
Danny Woodhead is worthy of a standard league start this week, of course facing the Jags who give up the 10th most fantasy points to opposing RB's. Are you noticing a pattern here with a certain defense?
Eddie Lacy had a good game last week, but nothing he's done this year indicates he can sustain that output. I expect to see a lot more of the passing game from the Packers, so if you have an alternative, I'd go with them.
James Jones reappeared in the scoring column last week, and should stay there as the Pack have an easy matchup against the Bears. Jones has a nose for the end zone, and seems to be preferred over Davante Adams by Rodgers.
Brandon LaFell seems to have an OK stat line each week, but it's usually the result of a goofy long pass that salvages an otherwise bad game. Don't put him in the lineup against a tough defense like Denver.
If you need a streaming option at TE this week, look for Zach Miller on the waiver wire. He will be starting in place of Martellus Bennett and facing a Packers defense that gives up the 6th most points to opposing TE's.
Week 10 is in the books and we’re now into the final week of teams being on bye. In Week 11, we won’t have the services of the Steelers, Giants, Saints and Browns. Those guys have played 10 weeks in a row, they deserved this break. It’s certainly a much more convenient break than in week 4.
This week we still like Kirk Cousins, despite his tough matchup vs the Panthers. Now, we’re not crazy, and only advocating him as a QB2. Cousins has a good rhythm with TE Jordan Reed and RB Matt Jones and just got DeSean Jackson back, who should be fully back into the offense this week. As far as QB2’s go, don’t drink the Mark Sanchez kool-aid. Remember, this is Mr. Butt Fumble, so don’t go chasing what you think the Eagles offense is supposed to be and remember that Sanchez is average at best.
Jonathan Stewart may be a smart sit for you this week. The Redskins are in the bottom half of the league giving up points to opposing RB’s, and Stewart hasn’t done much to impress this season, only going over 100 yards once. He’s a heaping pile of “OK”, getting 20+ touches each of the last 5 weeks and never going off with them. His 3.9 yards per attempt tells much of the story, as do his measly 8 receptions. Stewart is simply in Carolina to hold on to the ball and chew the clock. That being said, he’s a borderline RB2/3, so a flex play is still acceptable.
John Brown could be in for a big week if Michael Floyd is out. Brown needs to practice this week, but if he does and Floyd does not, he’s ready to go as a WR2. Carson Palmer throws the ball deep as much or more than any QB in the league, so Brown has a very high ceiling for a low end WR2. On the other hand, you have Davante Adams, who when given 21 targets in a game, still only puts up 7.9 fantasy points. Adams is averaging 10.1 yards per reception, lower than most TE’s and hasn’t scored a touchdown yet. Find someone else to start in place of Adams until he can get going with Rodgers, which seems less and less likely as the season goes on.
Week 10 is in the books in the NFL, so it’s time to take stock of what you have left on your team for the playoff run. This week’s injuries weren’t too bad, with only a couple of high profile players going down. This is the final week of byes, so just one more week to get through until your team is back at full strength for the stretch run.
Sam Bradford went down with a concussion AND a shoulder sprain to his non-throwing arm. He will likely be out for at least a week as Mark Sanchez butt-fumbles his way into the starting job. Other backups getting the nod in week 11 will be Johnny Manziel, officially starting the rest of the season for a perpetually banged up Josh McCown. Case Keenum will also take over for Nick Foles, who, while not injured, probably wishes he had that as an excuse for his poor play.
Landry Jones suffered an ankle injury early in the game, leading to Ben Roethlisberger coming in and throwing for 293 yards and 3 td, just a record for a non-starting QB. Big Ben will return to the starting lineup following the team’s Week 11 bye. Peyton Manning was yanked in favor of Brock Osweiler after throwing for about 35 yards and 4 INT. After the game, it was reported that Manning has plantar fasciitits and a rib injury and will not be starting Week 11. Brock Osweiler gets his first career start against a Bears team that has suddenly been playing well.
Texans QB Brian Hoyer was pulled from the game on Monday night after a possible concussion and did not return to the game. This is the first time I can remember watching a game and having a sideline observer pull a starting QB out of the game when he displayed no symptoms, just based on what had been seen during replay. The Texans hope that Hoyer can be cleared to play the Jets in Week 11, if not, look for T.J. Yates to start for Houston once again.
Ryan Mathews left the game with a concussion and will have to be cleared by NFL protocol before he can return to the field. This should benefit DeMarco Murray, but only a little. Don’t expect a lot more work for Darren Sproles, who seems to have settled into a very minor role in the Eagles’ offense.
Julian Edelman might be the biggest fantasy player to go down win Week 10. Edelman suffered a Jones fracture in his foot, the same injury that Dez Bryant suffered earlier this year, and Julio Jones has dealt with in the past. Edelman is expected to have surgery and this means he’ll be done for the fantasy football season, but may return for the Patriots playoff push. I’m sure he’d hate to miss the final act of the Tom Brady Middle Finger Tour. Look for Danny Amendola to be the main beneficiary of this injury, and the guy to pick up on the waivers this week.
Emmanuel Sanders exited his game on Sunday, right about the time that Manning did. Sanders was iffy at best to play in this game, and had 4 targets and zero receptions. Perhaps if healthy he reels in a pass or two, but his performance has a lot to do with his QB struggling. Sanders, if healthy, should be a WR2/3 against the Bears, who could find themselves overmatched if both Thomas and Sanders are 100%. If Sanders does not play, Osweiler will likely look for one of the targets he’s been practicing with, it’s just tough to guess which one!
Justin Hunter is done for the season after fracturing his ankle against Carolina. With Hunter gone and Kendall Wright still injured, it’s time for Dorial Green-Beckham to shine. Hell, it’s time for anyone to shine on the Tennessee offense, which has been anemic all season.