Goal Line Stand: Week 5 Rankings

Updated 10/9 at 6:45 ET. Removed Marshawn Lynch and Karlos Williams. Removed Alshon Jeffery and Eddie Royal. Moved Thomas Rawls and Anthony Dixon up. Added Dan Herron. 

The Week 5 case for T.J. Yeldon isn’t effectiveness: It’s volume. Yeldon is averaging just 3.7 yards per carry, but only Adrian Peterson and Matt Forte have gotten the ball more times on the ground. Yeldon has surpassed 22 totes in two of his past three games, and been held below 15 total touches only once. That was in Week 3, where Yeldon still managed 11 carries and two catches in a game the Jags lost 51-17.

Game flow won’t be an issue against the lowly Bucs, and neither will Lovie Smith’s defense. Only Cleveland and Miami have allowed more rushing yards. The Bucs are coughing up 21.4 fantasy points per game to enemy rushers even though they haven’t exactly faced a murderer’s row of opponents (Tennessee, Mark Ingram, Arian Foster-less Houston and Jonathan Stewart).

There’s no question Yeldon needs to run better, but he has a role most running backs could only dream of. He’s not just averaging 20 touches, he’s playing darn near every snap, including 78-of-84 last Sunday and 62-of-73 in Week 2. The Jags aren’t taking Yeldon off the field for Toby Gerhart, no matter the situation. I’d prefer to promote a back who’s running circles around the competition, but the next best thing is one who’s simply running more. Guaranteed to be on the field with the ball in his hands, Yeldon is an RB1 for Week 5.

Editor’s Note: Play against our writers in the Rotoworld Football Championship – a series of one-week fantasy contests on FanDuel with $20K in FREE prizes! Enter the Week 5 contest before it fills.  

Week 5 Quarterbacks

Editor’s Note: The first-ever Daily Fantasy Sports Players Conference is taking place November 12-14, 2015, in New York City. Presented by RotoGrinders and sponsored by FanDuel, the event will give players of all levels a chance to learn from top-ranked experts, socialize with some of the biggest names in the industry, and even sweat a Playboy Mansion live final qualifier. Register today.

QB Notes: The Rams held Carson Palmer to one score last weekend, but didn’t exactly shut him down, getting burned for 352 yards on 46 attempts (7.65 YPA). Not even Jeff Fisher’s imposing defense can slow Aaron Rodgers at Lambeau Field. … The Cowboys’ defense has limited the damage through the air, but is permitting a 66.7 completion percentage. That’s a problem since they’re no longer playing keep away on offense, enabling opponents to once again rack up time of possession and attempts. Tom Brady will poke at the soft underbelly of Rod Marinelli’s defense until it bursts. … Matt Ryan is just 10th in fantasy points per game, but second in yards (1,202) and seventh in YPA (8.41). Devonta Freeman can’t keep scoring three touchdowns forever. Ryan’s TD rate is due to pick up. … Completing 63.4 percent of his throws, Palmer gets a Lions defense allowing a hard-to-believe 78.0 completion percentage. Throw in the fact that Jim Caldwell’s team is coming off a brutal loss on a short week, and you have a Cardinals receiver corps that should be getting open at will.

The Steelers’ pass defense hasn’t been quite as bad as advertised, but is still allowing a 69.5 completion percentage and 100.4 QB rating despite facing the unimpressive trio of Colin Kaepernick, Nick Foles and Joe Flacco since getting torn apart by Tom Brady in Week 1. Even with his weapons in flux, Philip Rivers should have a huge day at home. … Russell Wilson has been held below 20.0 fantasy points in 2-of-4 starts, but is completing 71.4 percent of his throws, and on pace for career highs in both passes (508) and rushes (136). Big days are ahead. … Peyton Manning’s four starts have been: Dreadful, passable, great and mediocre, in that order. The 39-year-old signal caller is on pace for just 24 touchdowns compared to 20 interceptions. His play has got to pick up if he’s going to remain in the top eight. Thankfully he gets a Raiders defense for Week 5 that’s allowed the fifth most fantasy points to quarterbacks, and been routinely flayed by Manning in a Broncos uniform.       

The 49ers’ defense put up a surprisingly tough fight against Aaron Rodgers last week, but traveling 3,000 miles to take on Eli Manning in New York, they should collapse like they did against Ben Roethlisberger in Pittsburgh three weeks ago. … Coming off injury in Week 4, Drew Brees was excellent against the Cowboys, but I’m still not prepared to trust him as a top-eight quarterback on the road. His health remains a question mark, and his “weapons” are among the shakiest in the league. … Andy Dalton has been phenomenal this season — only Tom Brady is averaging more fantasy points — but four good starts doesn’t wash away four years of unevenness when a defense like Seattle comes to town. Dalton has earned the QB1 benefit of the doubt, but not high-end QB1 benefit of the doubt. … Sam Bradford finally got the deep ball working in Week 4, hitting Riley Cooper and Miles Austin for long scores, and Jordan Matthews for a 30-yard gainer. He averaged 9.64 yards per attempt, bringing his season mark to 6.54. At the very least, the Saints will have to think twice before selling out on the box. Only the Chiefs are allowing more fantasy points to enemy QBs.

Only Brady, Dalton and Rodgers are averaging more fantasy points per game than Marcus Mariota through his first three career starts. He’s yet to be held below 22.8, an average that would rank ninth on the year. Meanwhile, though it’s fearsome on paper, the Bills’ defense is actually surrendering the fourth most roto points to signal callers. Mariota gets the edge over Tyrod Taylor with their showdown coming in Tennessee. … For the second time in three weeks, Taylor didn’t really get going until the Bills were forced into comeback mode last Sunday. The dual threat was also held to fewer than 20 fantasy points for the second time in four starts. Taylor has flashed all kinds of upside, but the QB1 borderline is where he belongs for a road matchup with a Titans defense that’s been surprisingly stingy against the pass. … Alex Smith averaged 338 yards during Kansas City’s tough two-game road trip through Green Bay and Cincinnati, but in typical fashion, has only one touchdown to show for it. Either way, he’s passing far more than he ever has in a Chiefs uniform, and is on pace for career highs in attempts (572) and yards (4,440). The Bears have already called off the dogs on 2015, and are a cake home matchup.

Jay Cutler has averaged 20.1 fantasy points in the two starts he’s finished. The Chiefs have allowed the most passing scores in the league (11). Don’t be afraid to fire Cutler up in DFS. … Blake Bortles is still completing just 54.5 percent of his passes, but has been a more reliable playmaker than he was as a rookie. He’ll have a decent day against the Bucs. … The matchup is right for Joe Flacco in the Browns’ collapsing defense, but his receiver corps is simply too banged up to put him in the top 16. … One thing that remained clear last week: Michael Vick still has a big arm. The presence of Le’Veon Bell, Antonio Brown and Martavis Bryant makes him impossible to keep out of the top 20. … Derek Carr has been one of this season’s most improved players, but the Broncos’ league-best defense is also allowing the fewest fantasy points to quarterbacks. Keep Carr out of two-QB and DFS lineups if possible. … Josh McCown has temporarily silenced the Johnny Manziel crowd, but he’s a road leap of faith against a Ravens defense that’s had 10 days to prepare. … Colin Kaepernick is in danger of getting benched. Even in supposedly good matchups, he’s well off the radar.

Don’t forget, for the latest on everything NFL, check out Rotoworld’s Player News, or follow @Rotoworld_FB or @RotoPat on Twitter.

This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service – if this is your content and you’re reading it on someone else’s site, please read the FAQ at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php#publishers.