By: Ryan Hawks (@RyanWorldEater)
It’s not too late to set lineups for tomorrow morning’s games. There are plenty of matchups to exploit, and plenty to stay away from. Here is part two of World Eater’s start and sits, featuring running backs and tight ends.
While he may not be an every week starter, and will largely be touchdown dependent, this is a week where he is a must start. The Los Angeles Chargers run defense has been basically nonexistent this season. Running backs are averaging the sixth most fantasy points this season against the Bolts, and their run defense is ranked last in the league.
In addition to that, quarterback Derek Carr is coming back from missing a game with a back fracture, and the coaches likely want to keep him out of the way from the Charger’s ferocious pass rushers in Joey Bosa and Melvin Ingram.
If Lynch is on your squad, don’t end up crying after a loss by leaving him on the bench. This could be one of the few games this season we get to see some vintage beast mode.
Allen looks to get the start this week against the Chicago Bears, who have lost a ton of defensive players to injury. West is out with a calf injury, so his only threat is Collins, who the coaches don’t completely trust yet due to ball security issues.
He also looks to have a solid floor, especially in PPR. On the season, he has 20 receptions, averaging a healthy five overall the last four weeks. He only has 3.5 YPC, but his usage and role as a receiver makes him a good play against the Bears this week.
His role will likely decrease from here though, with rookie Marlon Mack looking to steal a chunk of his touches. Last week, Mack burst onto the fantasy scene with 15.3 points in standard leagues. In his only other full game of the season, he had 10.5 points. Performance like that will get players starting jobs.
Frank the Tank might not fade completely into obscurity yet in the real world, but Mack might be the fantasy back to own on the Indianapolis Colts going forward. It’d be best to leave both on the bench this week to see how it all plays out.
The facts are that it is still a RBBC, and Mark Ingram is still the starter. Peterson was only averaging about six carries a game anyway, which are likely to be split between both backs. Who knows how the touches will really be divided, and more could even go to Ingram.
Kamara looks to have a bright future in the NFL, but it is not smart to rely on a rookie player who is not even a starter in the NFL yet. Teams should give Kamara at least another week to see how the backfield split pans out.
This was largely due to Diggs going out with a groin injury. Well, Diggs is missing time again this week, so Rudolph has a good chance of continuing to put up nice stat lines. Going up against Green Bay, Minnesota is going to have to put up points to stay in this game, so there should be plenty of targets going to Rudolph.
Some might want to shy away from this matchup, because the Packers have given up the second fewest points to tight ends this season. There shouldn’t be too much stock put into this, given that the only real threat the Packers have played at tight end has been Jimmy Graham week one.
With Dalvin Cook out of the picture, the Vikings will have to rely more on their passing game, so Rudolph’s performance last year could be the new norm.
Last week was the first week he put up reputable numbers, scoring 8.9 points in standard leagues, mostly because he scored a touchdown. He has a great chance to top those numbers this week against the New England Patriots lackluster defense. They have given up the fourth most points to tight ends this season.
This year, tight end options are as thin as ever, and with guys like Jimmy Graham on bye this week, Seferian-Jenkins makes for a great streaming choice. He is only 60% owned in yahoo leagues.
Snatch him up this week if possible, and teams might even find they want to keep him around for the long haul.
Many thought he would be an excellent complement to Rob Gronkowski in New England last year. Even when Gronk went down for the season, Bennett was a non-factor in the Patriot’s offense. Still, many took the bait when he moved over to play with Aaron Rodgers, and his potent passing attack.
He has gone on to average 38.8 yards per game and has yet to score a touchdown. It looks like a nice week for Bennett to finally break out. The Vikings have only held tight ends under 40 yards in a game once. Again, don’t take the bait.
Rodgers never really consistently targets his tight ends, and Bennett just doesn’t look like the game-changing tight end he used to. He’s still a good blocker, and the Packers are likely to just keep him as that, so he can have more time to throw to his plethora of wide receivers.
It’s time for teams to look for better options at tight end than Bennett, and not just for this game, for the rest of the season.
For those holding onto hope that he might turn it around, don’t. Ebron had one game this season where he had 10.2 points, catching five passes for 42 yards and a touchdown. Any team’s tight end will have a game or two like this each season.
His other games this season though? Horrible. He has a combined 5.1 points in his other four games. Perhaps we even need to create a new word for how bad he has been. Let’s call it Ebron-esque.
Teams need take this trash off their squad before he starts affecting other players. There are plenty of other options out there that have a good shot of outscoring Ebron’s entire season in one game.