Hot Fire Fantasy Football Questions: Week 5
Our “Hot Fire Fantasy Questions” series follows the happenings of Week 5 following up recent news, fantasy performances, and implications for owners moving forward. Our Hot Fire contributors from our Fantasy Footballers writing staff includes Matthew Betz (@TheFantasyPT) and Kyle Borgognoni (@kyle_borg). Give them a follow on Twitter along with all of our Footballers accounts to get goodness like this:
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1. What was Week 5’s biggest fantasy surprise performance?
The biggest fantasy surprise for me was the underwhelming performance of Matt Ryan. Entering Sunday as the highest point total according to Vegas, the Atlanta offense in general really struggled as they only put up 14 points. I had high hopes for Ryan to finish as a top 5 QB this week against a Steelers defense who hadn’t stopped any quarterbacks all season long. He really let owners down on Sunday with just 14 fantasy points. –Matthew Betz (@TheFantasyPT)
I’m not gonna lie… I didn’t see Isaiah Crowell ending the day with a Jets franchise-record 219 rushing yards against the Broncos. Crowell has now perfectly flip-flopped good and bad games through 5 weeks. Through all the ups-and-downs, he currently sits as the RB10 in 0.5 PPR scoring before Monday night’s game. His usage is still concerning as he only saw 40% of the snaps this week while Bilal Powell is on the field more. Despite not seeing much work in the passing game, we can’t continue to bury our heads in the sand any longer. –Kyle Borgognoni (@kyle_borg)
2. What should owners do with James Conner after his big day?
After James Conner exploded on Sunday with a huge performance, I’m selling at all cost. I personally believe that when Le’Veon Bell comes back during the team’s Week 7 bye, he will go right back to being the team’s workhorse, leaving Conner on the outside looking in. Use Conner’s big game as your last chance to get value, and trade him before it’s too late. –Matthew Betz (@TheFantasyPT)
I understand this is a fluid situation, but I’d rather package Conner and another piece to move up and get a top-tier RB or WR. The Steelers came in with a game plan to ride Conner as the Falcons have been exposed all year on the ground and to pass catching RBs. With the buzz extremely high, I still would rather move on especially if you own Le’Veon Bell. –Kyle Borgognoni (@kyle_borg)
3. Which 2nd year WR would you rather have ROS: Cooper Kupp, Juju Smith-Schuster, or Kenny Golladay?
Give me JuJu. I like all three of these guys, but JuJu finds himself on one of the most prolific offenses in the league and has a clear relationship with Ben Roethlisberger. The offense is more predictable than the Rams or the Lions (given how many weapons there are in Detroit and Los Angelos) so I lean towards Smith-Schuster. Given how much teams need to game plan to stop Antonio Brown, JuJu will continue to benefit and provide low-end WR1/high end WR2 numbers all season. –Matthew Betz (@TheFantasyPT)
Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images
Kupp was on his way to an even bigger game before being knocked out of Sunday’s game with a concussion. This is the NFL’s most efficient offense and Sean McVay will not take his foot off the gas pedal anytime soon. Kupp has seen at least 6 targets in every single game and is a matchup nightmare in the slot. This is a vote for this offense and getting a substantial piece of the passing pie. He is a TD waiting to happen as his 5 TDs on the year are tied for 2nd in the league. –Kyle Borgognoni (@kyle_borg)
4. Give us one under-the-radar stat line that owners need to pay attention to.
Fantasy football owners need to pay attention to David Njoku’s 6 receptions for 69 yards on 11 targets. In Weeks 1-3 with Tyrod Taylor taking the majority of snaps under center, Njoku averaged just 5.3 targets/game. However, in Weeks 4 and 5 with Baker Mayfield calling the plays, Njoku is seeing a huge uptick in his usage. Over the past two weeks, he’s been targeted a total of 18 times. His stat line from today may not blow you away, but Njoku can be viewed as a mid-range TE1 moving forward. Better days are ahead for the former Miami Hurricane. –Matthew Betz (@TheFantasyPT)
C.J. Beathard is obviously a step-down from Jimmy Garoppolo for the entire 49ers offense. However, there is going to be some sneaky fantasy appeal with Beathard as he showcased last year. In 2017, had as many top 4 QB1 weeks as Marcus Mariota, Matt Ryan, Aaron Rodgers, AND Drew Brees…. COMBINED. This week he had 54 passing attempts including some major roommate chemistry with George Kittle. He’s also not afraid to run the ball with 7 attempts last week and a rushing TD this week. Don’t throw away this offense yet. –Kyle Borgognoni (@kyle_borg)