I put the perfect quarterback onto my NFL Week 5 DraftKings Team. Bears' QB Mitch Trubisky threw 6 TD passes, but it meant nothing at the end because none of the low salary players I added to my team stepped it up.
It's back to the drawing board for NFL Week 5. Of the 8 players on my DraftKings Classic Team, 3 play in the Falcons at Steelers game. I'm hoping for a shootout. If I get my wish, I might finally cash a DraftKings ticket this season.
NFL Week 5 DraftKings Classic Team
QB Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons, $6,600
Ryan's averaging close to 30 fantasy football points per game. He's thrown 10 TD passes to only 2 interceptions. More importantly, he's got a sweet match up this Sunday versus Pittsburgh's defense. The Steelers allow 304.8 passing yards per game, ranking the defense 29th in the NFL. Opponents average 29 points per game against Pittsburgh.
Even Baltimore's offense scored 26 points against the Steelers. Kansas City scored 42. I'm hoping that Matt Ryan has one of those games where he goes off. If he does, I should be in a decent position (hopefully!) to finally cash.
RB Melvin Gordon III, L.A. Chargers, $8,600
Gordon had an awesome game in the Bolts' 29-27 win over the San Francisco 49ers. He caught 7 of 10 targets for 55 yards and a TD while also rushing for 104 yards from 15 carries. Just like he's done throughout his NFL career, Gordon's provided huge fantasy points.
This week, the Chargers play the rival Oakland Raiders. The Raiders finally won their first game of the season in Week 4. It took overtime for the Raiders to do it. The Browns scored 42 points to again expose Oakland without linebacker Khalil Mack.
If Cleveland's able to score 42 points, the Chargers should score at least 30 to 35, right? How many of those touchdowns will Gordon III acquire? Plenty, is my guess. Gordon might be the single must add to any NFL DraftKings Classic Team in Week 5.
RB T.J. Yeldon, Jacksonville Jaguars, $5,600
Jaguars' starting running back Leonard Fournette is out with an ankle injury. Although Yeldon will share backfield duties with Corey Grant, Yeldon's likely to get the most work. He's been a steady, good performer for the Jaguars even when Fournette's healthy. Yeldon't got RB1 skills that, hopefully, will show up with Fournette on the bench.
If the Jaguars commit to Yeldon, he could have a massive fantasy game against Kansas City's defense. The Chiefs have surrendered over 105 rushing yards, 1.5 touchdowns, and 96.3 receiving yards per week to the running back position. If Yeldon can get more carries than Grant, and more looks in the passing game, he should perform like an RB1 this Sunday.
WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pittsburgh Steelers, $7,500
Although Smith-Schuster's only scored a single TD this season, he does have 31 catches in 4 games. That equates to 7.75 catches a game. Not only that, but JuJu's amassed 416 receiving yards. Ben Roethlisberger targeted wide receiver Antonio Brown 11 times against the Baltimore Ravens. Big Ben also targeted Smitch-Schuster 11 times, though.
This game should be a shootout from the very beginning with Big Ben and Matt Ryan playing catch up at different points in the game. Don't expect much from the running backs because both defenses must commit to stopping the rush. JuJu's got a chance to have a huge game in Week 5.
WR Calvin Ridley, Atlanta Falcons, $5,800
Like every team that plays the Atlanta Falcons, the Steelers must try to stop Ryan's passes to the great Julio Jones. That should leave Calvin Ridley open, like it did in Week 4, to catch passes and run them into the end zone for touchdowns.
Ridley caught 4 of 6 targets for 54 yards and 2 touchdowns against the Cincinnati Bengals. Ridley should see up to 8 targets in NFL Week 5. If he can catch 6 of those targets, I think he scores at least a couple of touchdowns while racking up over 100 receiving yards. Hopefully, the Steelers will double Julio. If they do, Ridley could have an even bigger game, maybe, even 10 targets and up to 3 TDs.
WR Tyler Lockett, Seattle Seahawks, $4,600
Seattle faces the Rams' defense on Sunday and although on paper L.A. looks to have one of the better ones in the NFL, things have turned sour. L.A.'s secondary is a mess now that Aqib Talib is on IR and Marcus Peters is banged up. Peters, even if he plays at 100%, must cover Seattle's top wide receiver, Doug Baldwin. That should leave Lockett out there to run free once he catches a pass.
The real question is if quarterback Russell Wilson will have time to stop the Rams' pass rush. The Rams average 2 sacks per game, but they have yet to face a mobile quarterback like Wilson. If the Rams score, which they should, Wilson must keep pace. Hopefully, touchdown passes to Lockett is the way Russell keeps pace on Oct. 7.
TE C.J. Uzomah, Cincinnati Bengals, $2,900
The tight-end position looks like a throwaway for my NFL DraftKings Team because C.J. Uzomah has only 7 catches in 4 games for 74 yards. He's caught only 1 touchdown pass. I'm bullish on Uzomah to possibly have the best game of his career on Sunday, though.
DraftKings says that Cincinnati's opponent on Sunday, the Miami Dolphins, rank 17th against tight-ends. Bengals' top tight-end Tyler Eifert is on IR. Without Eifert, Andy Dalton should throw to both Uzomah and Kroft. My hope is that he leans more heavily on Uzomah then he does on Kroft.
Flex – RB Marshawn Lynch, Oakland Raiders, $5,500
The Raiders limited Lynch's participation at practice on Wednesday. Beast Mode's dealing with a shoulder issue. It doesn't appear to be a big deal because he dealt with the same shoulder issue last week before rushing for 157 yards versus a much better defense than what he faces this Sunday.
Raiders versus Chargers has turned into big time shootouts over the years. Lynch should be a part of that shootout. Finally, Oakland targeted Lynch in the passing game in Week 4. He caught 3 of 5 targets for 27 yards. Lynch could post Melvin Gordon III type fantasy numbers on Oct. 7.
DST – Arizona Cardinals, $2,900
Arizona's defense has stepped it up big time in the past couple of weeks. The Cardinals held Chicago to 16 points in a 14-16 loss in Week 3. The very next Sunday, Arizona held Seattle to 20 points in a 17-20 loss.
The Cardinals face a back-up quarterback in Sunday's game against San Francisco. I'm taking a shot, but I feel the Cards stop the 49ers' offense in Week 5.
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