Fantasy football strategy, rankings, and podcasts

Well, the Vikings twisted the knife that was put in my heart week one by the Saints loss, and ended my dream of survivor riches. Boy am I looking forward to tonight's Thursday Night Football game between the Vikings of Minnesota and the Los Angeles Rams. Clearly, the Vikings have been preparing for this game for two weeks based on their performance last week against the Bills. It has been 23 years since an NFL team has been favored by as much as the Vikings were last week vs the Bills and lost, a truly historic game. I haven't watched much Vikings football this season, but on paper it seems to me that we are all finding out why the Redskins wouldn't pay Kirk Cousins. I got the Rams in this game and if it wasn't for some uncertainty at corner-back caused by injury, I would like the Rams in a runaway.

On to my not-never-wrong survivor lock pick of the week. The three largest favorites this week (as if that means anything) are the Chargers -10.5, Packers -9.5, and the Jaguars -7.5. Out of these three I am going to eliminate the Packers from my options, Josh Allen has two legs and Aaron Rodgers only has one. The Pack still probably get the win here but I'm just not comfortable picking the Packers until Rodgers looks healthier.

I like the Jags at home against Sam Darnold and the Jets. That defense is just too good and I think they will be able to confuse the rookie QB. I was given a little bit of pause by the Jags loss to the Titans last week, but I guess it was “for the boys”.

That brings me to my pick the San Diego - I mean Los Angeles Chargers. If you didn't already use the Chargers in week 2 against the Bills, this is the next best spot for them. They get the 49ers and backup QB C.J. Beathard coming in for a bounce back game. San Francisco's season went down the crapper when Jimmy “G-spot” tore up his knee on a moronic sideline cutback play. Never have I heard so much hate on a guy for an injury. The Chargers looked like a borderline playoff team against the Rams last week and could easily win the division if their defense ever shows up.

Cheers! Drink Five!

Boom! The NFL trade deadline always brings with it tons of changes and this season has been no different: Golden Tate to the Eagles and Demaryius Thomas to the Texans are two recent developments that will have far-reaching consequences in fantasy football. Courtland Sutton will now get more targets in Denver along with Emmanuel Sanders, Marvin Jones and Kenny Golladay will both benefit from Tate's transfer to Philadelphia, and Nelson Agholor will likely exit stage left from fantasy relevance most weeks going forward. Pay attention to these rankings throughout the week, as they will continue to evolve based on the latest injury updates, news, and player/matchup analysis. Good luck in Week 9 and remember, you can tweet us @drinkfive with any of your lineup questions!

Watch out for relative newcomers to regular fantasy production this week, like Ito Smith, Josh Adams, and  Marquez Valdes-Scantling.  We know from history that one or more of these new names will help to take a team in your league to the championship. Pay attention to these rankings throughout the week, as they will continue to evolve based on the latest injury updates, news, and player/matchup analysis. Good luck in Week 10 and remember, you can tweet us @drinkfive with any of your lineup questions!

Players I expect to perform at a higher level this week than other experts include: Chris Carson, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Golden Tate, and Eric Ebron. Pay attention to these rankings throughout the week, as they will continue to evolve based on the latest injury updates, news, and player/matchup analysis. Good luck in Week 10 and remember, you can tweet us @drinkfive with any of your lineup questions!