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Week 5 brings bye weeks for more teams and some trend information to think about. Guys like Kenyan Drake that many of us were high on before the season started have not performed consistently at a high level and those kinds of things are reflected in the rankings as we march onward into Fall. This week I'm wary of T.J. Yeldon, but bullish on Brandin Cooks, Will Fuller, and LeSean McCoy compared to other experts. Good luck in Week 5 and remember, you can tweet us @drinkfive with any of your lineup questions!

 

You just drafted a shiny new team and you’re ready to just let the chalk go and start all the guys you drafted in the top half of the draft. Seems like a good idea, right? After all, you did draft the best team in your league. You did the research. You’re anxious to prove that, despite the lack of preseason, you, Football Nostradamus, know exactly what to do here.

 

Slow down. Just stop. It’s Week 1 and nobody has really been hit yet. This season is going to take some time for all the players to get used to it. So, here’s five players that are going to bust out week 1 and you should keep on your bench until they’re properly warmed up for the season.

 

Le’Veon Bell (NYJ) @ Buffalo – I can’t think of a greater disparity between the talent a player has and the level with which his coach does not want him around for no damn reason. Bell has had a rough time in New York and it’s not going to get any easier this week. When asked about what to expect the first week without real practice, Jeff Fisher said on Slow News Day, “There’s going to be a lot of balls on the ground…It’s hard to hang on to that brown thing.” Fisher is truly the 7-9 of NFL poets. However, he does have a point. My prediction this week is that Le’Veon Bell fumbles twice, is benched, and that Frank Gore will lead the Jets in carries week 1. Keep Bell on your bench and hope that he has better days ahead. Or gets traded. The second one is probably a better option for him.

 

Everyone but Christian McCaffrey and Josh Jacobs in the OAK @ CAR game. I say, with great confidence that these two players will combine for about 60% of the entire offensive output of this game. That leaves little else to be spread throughout the rest of the two teams. The Raiders are stuck with two rookie wideouts and one second-year guy. The Panthers have a brand new QB after riding the backup QB carousel most of the year last year. The featured back for both teams are likely to be used so heavily that production from a third player in this game will likely be a fluke at best. The Panthers gave up the 7^th fewest points to opposing TEs last year, so even Darren Waller is a risky start here. Just start McCaffrey or Jacobs if you have them and refer to your bench if you have anyone else in this game. That’s what they’re there for!

 

Leonard Fournette (TB) @ New Orleans – Going off the board as the #20 RB in half ppr (the new official scoring format of drinkfive.com), one might be fooled into thinking that Fournette is worthy of at least a flex start. Do not fall in to this trap! Fournette is firmly behind both Ronald Jones and LeSean McCoy on the Bucs depth chart. You must wait until Jones blows a protection and gets Brady sacked (now a felony offense in on the gulf coast of Florida) and McCoy reveals that he is not, in fact, Frank Gore, the ageless one. Only then will it be safe to start Fournette. Besides, I’m imagining a game where both teams throw the ball 40+ times in what could easily be the highest scoring game of the week.

 

Will Fuller (HOU) @ Kansas City – Fuller is entering this season, presumably, as the Texans #1 WR. He’s had success on the Texans in fits and starts, even putting up an absurd 50+ points in a game last year. There’s just one problem. Fuller has never taken the field as a pro without Deandre Hopkins also being on the field. This means that he has very rarely received the attention from opposing defenses that he’s about to get this year. The Chiefs gave up the second fewest points to opposing WRs last year. They’re also set to open the season all fired up from their Super Bowl win 7 months ago. If you can, steer clear of Will Fuller this week and let the Texans find their groove in the next couple of weeks, because it’s not happening on Thursday night.

 

Bold Bust of the Week:

 

Derrick Henry (TEN) @ Denver – Derrick Henry is notoriously a slow starter. Until last year, he didn’t crack 26 rushing yards in the first game of the season. He’s never had a game with 100+ rushing yards before week 4. Last year he did have a solid showing, but that was against Cleveland, and they’re, well, the Browns. This year the Titans face the Broncos to put a cap on week 1. The Broncos are suddenly without two of their best pass rushers, which leaves the door open for Ryan Tannehill to follow up his 2019 Comeback Player of the Year award with a big performance. You probably drafted Henry too high to bother listening to me, but keep him out of your daily fantasy lineups and remember that I told you so when he puts up fewer than 10 points in the season opener.

Week 4 was not kind to many across the league. Only one undefeated team remains, Tom Brady barely escaped Foxboro with a victory, Matt Nagy has saved his job for another week, Urban Meyer might have lost his job (certainly his locker room), and we learned that even domes can have weather delays. Not sure who to thank for that last one, probably El Niño. Regardless, let's get updated on what you need to know going in to Week 5.

 

• Jimmy Garoppolo was initially thought to have a multi-week calf injury and exited Sunday’s game after a lackluster performance. Garoppolo has not been very good this year, not topping 20 fantasy points in any game. NBC Sports Edge even went as far as to speculate that Garoppolo had played his last snap with the 49ers immediately after the game. Trey Lance threw a pair of TDs, threw for 157 yards and rushed for an additional 41. The news on Tuesday was that the injury to Garoppolo is not as bad as they thought, and that he might play Week 5 against the Cardinals. Frankly, I can’t understand why they would rush him back to play in that situation when the 49ers are on bye the following week. Trey Lance is probably their best chance in a shootout and in my opinion SHOULD be the starter.

 

• Josh Gordon is back!!! He was probably already picked up in your league by that one guy who is still living in 2013. Tuesday, he was promoted to the 53-man roster on the Chiefs and is worth a stash spot on your bench since he’s on the 2nd highest scoring offense in the league. 

 

• David Montgomery is going to be out 4-5 weeks which should land him on the IR, providing a little bit of roster relief for those leagues that are taking advantage of the new rules. Montgomery had a huge share of the Bears rushing attempts, and also had his best game on Sunday, running up over 100 yards and 2 TDs. This loss is definitely going to hurt and I don’t expect there to be a direct replacement for him. Damien Williams and Khalil Herbert will fill in for him while he’s gone, with Williams likely to get the majority of the work.

 

• Teddy Bridgewater left the game at halftime on Sunday and entered concussion protocol. Going into week 4, he was averaging 17.6 points per game, which put him right at the end of superflex startability. Now Drew Lock is going to start if Teddy can’t go and that feels like a downgrade for all fantasy players on the Broncos.

 

• Joe Mixon has an ankle injury. Initially, it was thought that he would be week-to-week, but now it appears that he’ll be day-to-day, so keep an eye on his practice status throughout the week. Of course, last year he was week-to-week in Week 5 and didn’t play again that season, so take all of this with a grain of salt. Mixon was playing over 75% of his team’s snaps, and now Samaje Perine will have to fill that role.

 

• Will Fuller has a broken finger and is considered week-to-week. This has been a frustrating start to his first season in Miami. For now, cut him loose and look for your fantasy points somewhere other than the Dolphins passing game.

 

• Logan Thomas is week-to-week with a hamstring injury. Thomas was a popular draft pick this year who actually showed up and played well. His loss is tough, especially the zero points he got for you in Week 4. You’re better off streaming a TE from another team than trying to replace him with Ricky Seals-Jones.

 

• DJ Chark is going to the IR after breaking his ankle last Thursday night. Chark was off to a good start, playing on over 80% of snaps in the first 3 games, scoring 2 TDs and averaging 22 yards per reception. Now his absence should bump up the production numbers for Marvin Jones and Laviska Shenault as the Jaguars get their passing offense going. 

 

That's it for this week! Make sure to join us live on the Fantasy Finish Line Podcast, Wednesday at 9pm CST. Bring us your lineup questions, trade evaluations, and things you generally need advice on in your life. We're guaranteed not to make it any worse than it already is.