Studs & Duds Week 5
Welcome back to my weekly Studs & Duds article. Last week my picks turned out fairly well, as most of them hit. I am hoping for the same for this week. I apologize for getting this out a little later than I have normally released it. This should once again be another high scoring week and I can't wait for it. As always, my Studs are guys who I believe can outperform their projections and have a nice game. While my Duds, will be guys you may you wish you benched this week. Not sure how 5 weeks have gone past already, but lets get into another week of my Studs & Duds.
STUDS-
QB-Matthew Stafford: The more I looked into this matchup, the more I got intrigued. For the start of the week, I was having to decide between Stafford and Luck. Now, its the gap is widened. I currently have Stafford as my QB13 but has been moved up in my updated rankings, which i will be releasing soon. He has had multiple passing TD's in 3 straight games. He also has thrown for over 300 yards in 2 of the last 3. This week he gets to go against a huge rival in the Packers. In the last 3 games against Green Bay, Matthew Stafford has thrown for a total of 1,416 yards and a 10:2 touchdown to interception ratio. He has been lights out against this team. I'm expecting Stafford to go 5 straight great games against the Packers. They are at home this week and Stafford performs better at home, rather than away.
RB-Matt Breida: He is surprisingly third in the NFL in rushing yards this season. Now, once McKinnon torn his ACL I was team Breida. I thought he had more talent and more explosiveness than Alfred Morris. I know most of the fantasy analysis's out there were saying Morris was the lead back and I'm glad I got that call right. Last week Breida took over the RB job in my eyes by logging 63% of the snaps, while Morris logged 23%. He gets to go up against the Cardinals this week who has given up 141 rushing yards per game. Breida is currently averaging 7.6 yards per carry, which is among the league leaders. He should have a day against this team.
RB-T.J. Yeldon: I was lucky enough to be able to scoop him up in a few leagues this week and I cant wait to start him. Leonard Fournette is already ruled out for this game, so Yeldon will get the bulk of the touches. He gets a matchup against the Chiefs, who have been the 5th worst against the run. Last week the Chiefs gave up 136 rushing yards and 6.8 yards per carry against the Broncos. Yeldon has been very successful in Fournette's absence. Yeldon should be given tons of opportunity to perform in this game. The Jaguars have shown they are not afraid to give him the ball. He has 11 total redzone touches along with 25 evaded tackles, which is 2nd best in the league. He adds a pass catching dynamic that should be exploided in this game. The Chiefs have given up 31 catches for 385 yards to RB this season. Start up Yeldon anywhere you can.
WR-JuJu Smith-Schuster: I may have been to low on him coming into the season, but this guy can play. He has defiantly proved me wrong. He currently averages 12 targets a game and owns . 26.5% target share. That's insane numbers for a WR2 on a team. He currently has more fantasy points than his teammate Antonio Brown. Last week ended his streak of 3 straight games over 100 yards. I think he gets back to those performances. He gets a matchup against the Falcons, who have given up 284 passing yards per game. I am expecting this game to be one of the highest scoring games of the week and JuJu will contribute to that. He gets a matchup against Desmond Trufant and possibly Brian Poole. Last week Trufant got burned by Tyler Boyd and Poole allowed over 70 yards last week. Start up JuJu.
WR: Tyler Boyd- He has been amazing lately. He kind of came out of nowhere, after a quite year last season. In his last three games, he is averaging 108 yards. He has more routes ran than A.J. Green. Andy Dalton also continuously looks for him all game long. He caught 11 passes on 15 total targets. Boyd should be the favorite target in this matchup. Green has a tough matchup facing Xavier Howard who has been a surprising shutdown corner so far this season. With Green possibly locked up most of the game, Boyd should see plenty of passes.
TE: Vance McDonald- He has been a popular name in the past few weeks. It all started with a poster-worthy stiff arm on Chris Conte for a 75 yard TD. He is huge and tough to get down. He has a league high 13 yards per catch for TE's. He has also ran a total of 58 routes the past two weeks. Jesse James has taken a backseat. He gets a matchup against the Falcons who I outlined in the JuJu analysis. In the past 2 weeks, the Falcons have given up 115 yards to the TE. This should be a high scoring game and McDonald will get his fair share of looks.
DUDS:
QB: Baker Mayfield- He was a popular waiver pickup last week and while its warranted, I would be keeping him on the bench this week. He had decent numbers last week throwing for 295 yards and 2 TD's against the Raiders. He also had 2 picks and 2 fumbles in this game. This week, he gets a matchup against a stout Ravens defense. The Ravens has only given up 193.2 yards per game this season. Last week they came out and defeated the Steelers. They allowed 274 yards a TD to Big Ben last week. In the past 2 games the Ravens as only allowed 1 passing TD. I don't expect Mayfield to have a good game.
RB: Lamar Miller- He hasn't been that good so far this season. With Watson in at QB last year, he was a top 15 RB. It just hasn't happened this year. The Texans have a bad O-Line so that could be part of the reason for Millers struggles. He has didn't see a single target last week, which is not what you want to see in PPR leagues. He has only averaged 50 yards in the past 2 games. Miller shouldn't be a factor in this game against the Cowboys.
RB: Jay Ajayi- This backfield is a full-blown committee. We have seen Clement and Smallwood be used in Ajayi's absence. Now you add the addition of Darren Sproles who is returning from injury. It's a backfield I want nothing to do with. You're really hoping Ajayi scores a TD in this game and that's it. I wouldn't be surprised if he only got 10 touches. He goes up against the Vikings defense who has only allowed about 100 yards per game to opposing backfields. This is a great run defense and Ajayi should struggle all game long.
WR: Corey Davis- He had a breakout last week, but I don't think it happens again. He has an awful matchup with Bills cornerback Tre'Davious White. White has allowed an average of 35 yards per game this season. He has been one of the bright spots for this awful Bills team. He has been holding opposing team's number one options to almost nothing. I think Davis will get his targets, but he shouldn't do much with them. You might want to put him in your lineup because of his career day last week, but don't expect that type of performance against the Bills.
WR: Larry Fitzgerald- He is a returning player on my Duds list. He just doesn't seem to have it this year. It isn't really all his fault either. The play calling by the Cardinals has been terrible, along with the QB play. Josh Rosen came in and looked alright, but Fitz only had 3 catches in a game they almost won. He would be playing this game banged up and that will affect his play even more. He matches up against K'Waun Williams this week. Last season in this matchup, Fitz had 4 catches for 32 yards. He also added a TD in that game but that came in overtime. Williams has been pretty good in coverage this year, only allowing 28 yards to the Vikings and 24 yards against the Chargers. Both teams who have a great WR core. I am benching Fitz this week if I have better options.
TE: Kyle Rudolph- With how my TE picks have been lately, I'm sure he goes off. I'm personally tempering my expectations for him. Through the first 4 games he has only averaged 47 yards a game. He gets a decent number of targets but has only seen one redzone target this season. The Eagles have played the TE fairly well this season, allowing 40 yards per game. It looks like a tough matchup for Rudolph. If you have him, you are probably starting him. There just aren't many options available on most waiver wires.