Fantasy Football: The Things I Learned – Week 6, 2015

By Chet Gresham – @ChetGresham
Follow @walterfootball for updates.

Below, check out my fantasy-centered recaps of key players from this week’s contests. For instance, did a player come back to earth after an aberrant breakout, or were they simply affected by something like game flow?

Broncos 26, Browns 23
Your 2015 Denver Broncos offensive player of the year so far is kicker Brandon McManus. He missed his first field goal of the season, a 50+ yarder, on Sunday, but he also made four others, including the game winner in overtime. He has now hit 16-of-17 field goals, with four over 50 yards and leads all fantasy kickers in points. McManus’s still just a kicker, so if you can find someone to trade a real player for him, do it, but this Broncos’ team would not be undefeated without him.

Peyton Manning once again couldn’t connect downfield with his receivers. On passes over 15 yards in the air, he was just 3-of-12 with a touchdown and an interception. The touchdown was a beautiful strike to Emmanuel Sanders, which has become a rarity, like Halley’s comet or a month without a NFL player getting arrested. He threw three interceptions on the day and has now thrown seven over the last three games to go along with just two touchdown passes. He hasn’t hit double-digit fantasy points over the last three weeks and should be dropped for a quarterback with more upside.

Amazingly, Manning’s receivers continue to get enough targets to put up nice numbers. Both Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas topped 100 yards, plus Sanders caught that long touchdown. As long as these two are getting all the targets funneled their way, they will continue to be useful fantasy players, even while Manning is not.

Your Browns MVP so far has either been Josh McCown or Gary Barnidge. I’ll go with Barnidge here because it’s truly amazing how well he’s played. This was the week he was supposed to come down to earth. The Broncos’ defense is the best group in the league, while Barnidge is breaking out at 28 years old. He didn’t put up a ton of yards, but he did find the end zone twice, which gives him touchdowns in four-straight games. Keep running him out there no matter the matchup.

The Browns had no luck on the ground against Denver, but were able to get some yards through the air, and Travis Benjamin was the lead receiver once again. The diminutive pass-catcher saw 13 targets and caught nine for 117 yards. He now has 25 receptions over his last four games, and if he can do that against Denver, he can do it against anyone.

Lions 37, Bears 34
This game was a fantasy love-fest for many players, but the most love went to Matthew Stafford, who put up 405 yards and four touchdowns with one interception. This was a far cry from last week when he was benched after getting destroyed by the Cardinals. Coming up, he faces Minnesota then Kansas City, and he should be able to keep from getting benched in those games.

The Bears’ defense helped Stafford get right and, in turn, helped Calvin Johnson do the same. Megatron caught 6-of-9 targets for 166 yards and a touchdown. After three-straight poor games, it was nice to see Johnson put together a big game, even with the easy matchup. There’s no doubt that he still has elite ability when healthy, so this game could be the start of something good.

After Zach Zenner left with a chest injury and Ameer Abdullah fumbled yet again, it was Theo Riddick as the main back. He ended up with seven rushing attempts for 28 yards and three receptions on six targets for 50 yards. This backfield is not going to come into focus for fantasy anytime soon, but I do think if you were holding onto Abdullah, it’s probably time to drop him for someone who can hang onto the ball.

Jay Cutler had his best fantasy game of the season against the Lions on Sunday. He finished with 26 completions on 46 attempts for 353 yards, one touchdown and one interception. His numbers were boosted by the return of Alshon Jeffery, who made some great catches and abused cornerbacks for pass interference calls and big plays on his way to eight receptions on 11 targets for 147 yards and one touchdown. I really hope you started him after waiting through his seemingly endless nagging injuries.

Matt Forte had trouble getting going, but as usual, he put together a nice fantasy game with 89 total yards and a touchdown on 27 touches. There is some worry that he is being overworked, which is probably why we saw Jeremy Langford get seven looks, including a goal-line touchdown. He’s as consistent as any running back this season, so keep riding him.

Texans 31, Jaguars 20
DeAndre Hopkins is destroying the competition this season, and it doesn’t hurt that he’s averaging almost 15 targets per game. Hopkins has turned those targets into 8.6 receptions for 121 yards per game and five total touchdowns. He’s only had one down game, and his schedule doesn’t look too daunting going forward. Hopkins very easily could finish as the best fantasy wide receiver in the league this year.

One of the reasons Hopkins has been extra awesome of late (three-straight games with 148 receiving yards or more) is Brian Hoyer. This season, Hoyer is now 83-for-131 (63.4 percent) for 1,073 yards, eight TDs and two interceptions. I doubt he keeps that up, but when you have a player like Hopkins, who wins most jump balls, it sure does help the completion percentage.

Arian Foster looked a little better this week and seems to be getting close to 100 percent slowly, but thankfully, even a less-than-perfect Foster is able to put up good fantasy points. His rushing stats weren’t great, with 18 carries for 53 yards (2.9 yards per carry), but he made up for it with five receptions on six targets for 59 yards and a touchdown. His trade value is always going to be slightly capped due to his injury history, so I’d just ride him as long as you can, because he is a difference-maker.

Blake Bortles looks awesome one play and then craps that awesome down his leg the next play, but his inconsistency doesn’t hurt you as bad in fake football as it does in real football. He threw the ball 50 times in this game, completing only 30 for a pitiful 56.6 percent completion rate, but thankfully his 331 yards, three touchdowns and 37 yards rushing pushed his fantasy day high enough that his three interceptions didn’t kill him. As long as the Jaguars’ defense (and Bortles’ offense) is keeping them behind and Bortles is throwing, then he should continue to have enough volume to put up good numbers.

Last week, Julius Thomas was on a snap count, but was let loose this week and led the team with 13 targets, which he caught seven for 78 yards and one touchdown. Of course, when you throw the ball 50 times, there are going to be plenty of targets to go around, but Thomas leading the way is a good sign for him moving forward.

Bengals 34, Bills 21
Another game, another win for the Bengals and another 20+ fantasy point game for Andy Dalton. After tossing three touchdown passes and no interceptions against the Bills, Dalton now has 14 touchdown passes to two interceptions and is on pace for 4,696 yards, 37 touchdowns, and five interceptions. You just keep starting him until you can’t anymore, if that happens.

Marvin Jones was the most targeted receiver this week with 12, and he caught nine of those for 95 yards and a touchdown. It’s starting to get tough to predict the leading receiver for the Bengals, because Hue Jackson is doing such a good job at attacking a defense’s weakness instead of needing to force his strengths on the opposing defense.

The Jeremy Hill and Gio Bernard committee came up big this week, with a touchdown apiece. With a lead, we saw Hill get 16 carries for 56 yards and one reception for a touchdown, but Bernard still outgained him on fewer looks. Gio keeps the fantasy edge.

E.J. Manuel wasn’t very good, but had a nice fantasy game due to a rushing touchdown. Tyrod Taylor will most likely be back next week, so let’s not waste too much energy on Mr. Manuel.

LeSean McCoy said he wasn’t 100 percent, but he played well, totaling 94 yards and a touchdown. It appears he came out of the game without a hitch, so that’s great news for his backers. He’s got a bit of stink around him due to this hamstring injury that keeps popping up, and I could see trading him if you can get a good price.

Jets 34, Redskins 20
So the Jets produced three strong offensive fantasy games from Ryan Fitzpatrick, Chris Ivory and Brandon Marshall. This has become an actual thing that happens for the New York Jets. Fitzpatrick had his best fantasy game of the season due to his rushing touchdown that helped supplement his two passing touchdowns. Fitz is still just a game manager and isn’t going to win you a fantasy championship, but he can be a useful bye-week filler in good matchups.

Chris Ivory had his third big game in four starts this season, with this one being the biggest. He ran the ball 20 times for 146 yards and a touchdown, and also added three receptions for 50 yards. I think you’ll take 196 yards and a touchdown from your mid-round pick.

Eric Decker and Brandon Marshall both caught a touchdown and caught 11 of Fitzpatrick’s 19 completions. As long as both receivers are healthy, they will see the majority of the targets, and even in games that the Jets control, they should get enough work to be fantasy relevant.

When your kicker leads the team in fantasy points, you know there was some sort of problem. That’s where Washington was this week against the Jets, with Kirk Cousins throwing for under 200 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions on 43 attempts.

Not one Washington player surpassed 40 yards and Pierre Garcon, who caught their only touchdown, had just 28 yards. If it weren’t for a defensive touchdown, the shellacking would have been worse.

Vikings 16, Chiefs 10
The Minnesota Vikings can thank the loss of Jamaal Charles for this win. They had a lot of trouble moving the ball, but fortunately for them, Kansas City was just as pitiful on offense sans Charles.

The one bright spot in this game for the Vikings was rookie Stefon Diggs, who started opposite Mike Wallace and caught 7-of-9 targets for 129 yards. No other Minnesota receiver topped two receptions in the game. This receiving group has underachieved for a while now, so any player who brings a little juice to the passing game should keep getting targets. Diggs will be worth a pick up; yah dig?

Adrian Peterson was stymied all game by the Chiefs as they dared Teddy Bridgewater to throw. Peterson finished with 26 carries for 60 yards; that’s 2.3 yards per carry. We should hopefully see a rebound against the Lions next week.

Kansas City’s chances in this game weren’t helped by Jeremy Maclin suffering a concussion, and once he was down, there was only one above-average talent left on the team and that was Travis Kelce. Kelce did end up catching 5-of-7 targets for 88 yards, but also tied for the target lead with Chris Conley, who caught 3-of-7 targets for 16 yards. This team can’t force the ball to its best players effectively with Alex Smith behind center.

The running back situation wasn’t any better, with Charcandrick West rushing nine times for 33 yards and catching 1-of-2 targets for six yards, while Knile Davis rushed five times for 13 yards and caught one pass for 12 yards. That’s not anything you would want to write home about, unless you are one of Minnesota’s defensive linemen.

Steelers 16, Cardinals 10
The Steelers are somehow 2-1 without Ben Roethlisberger. and if it weren’t for Josh Scobee, they’d be 3-0. That’s not due to Mike Vick, because Mike Vick is no longer a viable NFL football player. After passing for six yards, he came out of the game with a hamstring injury in the third quarter and much-maligned backup Landry Jones went on to win the game, completing 8-of-12 passes for 168 yards and two touchdowns, with almost all of that going to Martavis Bryant, who showed once again that he is an unstoppable beast.

Bryant took a Jones pass 88 yards, outrunning the whole Cardinals’ defense. This is the Cardinals’ defense we’re talking about. Get your popcorn ready after Roethlisberger returns. Oh, and do what you can to acquire any of these top Pittsburgh players in the mean time.

Carson Palmer wasn’t his usual accurate self, but still managed to throw for over 400 yards, but he only found the end zone once and had two interceptions. This Steelers defense is overachieving, but they still give up plenty of fantasy points. Keep targeting them.

Michael Floyd caught his first touchdown of the year and almost had another. In the right matchups, he should have some value going forward.

The Cardinals’ biggest star of the day was John Brown, who caught 10-of-14 targets for 196 yards, while Larry Fitzgerald had a nice game, with eight receptions on ten targets for 93 yards. Brown’s targets fluctuate more than Fitzgerald’s, so he will continue being more of a boom-or-bust play, but his busts haven’t been horrible and his booms can get pretty boomy.

Dolphins 38, Titans 10
Lamar Miller backers need to send some muffin baskets Dan Campbell’s way. After averaging nine rushing attempts through the first four games, Miller had 15 in the first half of Sunday’s game against the Titans. He ended up with 21 touches on the day for 118 yards and a touchdown and gave way to Jonas Gray after the lead got out of hand. Campbell seems genuinely committed to the rush, and that’s the best news Miller and his fantasy owners could ever hear.

Tannehill continues to toss some poor interceptions, and in a game where the defense did a lot of the work, he didn’t have enough volume to overcome those picks. Tannehill’s still a bit matchup and game flow dependent, but things are looking up for the offense.

Rishard Matthews continues to play well as he secured all six of his targets for 85 yards. He’ll share targets with Jordan Cameron and Kenny Stills, but he looks like the safest play of the non-Jarvis Landrys.

Marcus Mariota took a shot to the knee and never looked the same after. He lost two fumbles and threw two interceptions on the road to his worst fantasy game as a pro. That’s two down games in a row, and now, he’s going for a MRI on his knee.

Delanie Walker was the only Titan to put up strong numbers, with eight receptions on 10 targets for 97 yards. Walker remains a diamond in the Titans’ rough and is worth holding onto.

Panthers 27, Seahawks 23
Cam Newton didn’t have the best statistical game of his career, but it might have been the best fourth quarter of his career, as he led his team back to beat the Seahawks in Seattle. But thankfully for his fantasy owners, his two interceptions were offset by his rushing touchdown. And that’s why Cam is such a great fantasy player.

Jonathan Stewart ended his touchdown drought with two, in Seattle, against Seattle! That’s not something I thought even had a chance of happening. Stewart is a good running back, but the goal-line carries just haven’t been there until today and Newton got one of those as well. I’d try to sell him, but there’s a good chance this one game won’t raise his price to where you can get a nice win in the trade.

The Seahawks truly can’t cover tight ends. Greg Olsen showed that with his seven receptions on 11 targets for 131 yards and the game-winning touchdown. As long as the Panthers are in games where they have to throw more than 25 times, Olsen is going to get enough targets to be worthwhile in fantasy.

So, Jimmy Graham saw 12 targets. His high this season had been eight, so that’s a nice change. He ended up catching eight of those for 140 yards. I don’t think we can count on these targets, but if the Seahawks’ defense keeps taking on water, they’ll need Graham to help bail them out.

Marshawn Lynch returned from his injury and beast-moded into the end zone for the first time this season. He didn’t have a huge game, but against this Panthers’ defense, I think we’ll take what we can get, especially after his painfully slow start.

49ers 25, Ravens 20
Yes, Baltimore’s defense is bad, but two weeks ago, I would have told you that there was nothing in the world quite as bad as Colin Kaepernick. That is no longer even close to a true statement. After putting up 227 yards, no touchdowns and five interceptions in Weeks 3 and 4, Kaepernick has thrown for 602 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions between Weeks 5 and 6. That’s a remarkable turnaround, and one we probably should take notice of in fantasy. But unfortunately, he faces Seattle and St. Louis the next two weeks. He’ll still be hard to trust in those bouts.

The revenge narrative for Anquan Boldin and Torrey Smith worked out okay this week, as both had nice games. Smith had a long touchdown reception, while Boldin moved the chains on his way to a 102-yard game. Boldin remains the safest receiver on the team, but if Smith could see some steadier targets, he could get some more consistency.

The sheer ineptitude of the Ravens’ defense is keeping Joe Flacco a viable fantasy player since his passing volume increases as the deficit increases. This week, he threw the ball 53 times and completed 33 for 343 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. With Steve Smith Sr. as his only great target, he’ll continue to struggle when needing to throw to Marlon Brown, Kamar Aiken and friends.

Steve Smith Sr. is the folk hero we deserve. At 73 years old with a severed spine, he caught 7-of-10 targets for 137 yards and a touchdown. Smith truly is remarkable and enjoyable to watch and this is coming from a non-Ravens fan. He’s now had three games with over 137 yards receiving, in this, his 43rd year in the league.

Justin Forsett shook off his ankle injury and looked pretty good as he accumulated 102 total yards and seven receptions. It wasn’t a huge game, but this day could have gone much worse for him.

Packers 27, Chargers 20
So, it’s Defcon-5 for Eddie Lacy’s fantasy owners. He was out-touched and out-played by James Starks in this game, and the difference was obvious. Lacy may still be feeling some ill-effects from his ankle injury, but at this point, it seems like he should be back to full speed, especially since he’s not on the injury report.

Starks caught a 5-yard shuttle pass for a touchdown and out-ran the Chargers’ defense on a 65-yard touchdown carry, his second touchdown of the day. He finished with 112 yards rushing on 10 carries and is a must pickup if he’s on your waiver wire. I may cry.

The Packers have now faced two good pass defenses in a row, but that usually doesn’t stop Randall Cobb from getting his. He did not, “get his” this week, and he hasn’t “gotten his” since Week 3. I think his shoulder is bothering him still and he’s just not comfortable out there, especially against tough defenses. Hopefully, the bye week will help him.

Philip Rivers broke his own Chargers’ passing-yardage record with 503 yards, completing 43-of-65 attempts and throwing touchdowns to Dontrelle Inman and Ladarius Green. Rivers has now thrown for 1,226 yards, seven touchdowns and one interception over the last three games. And the rest of his schedule is amazingly easy. See if you can pry him from someone trying to sell high. People “selling high” don’t think the player they are dumping will keep up his play. I think Rivers will.

Melvin Gordon fumbled twice, losing one and was then benched. He’s now fumbled four times this season and is going to need to work hard to get his snaps back. I could see dropping him for James Starks.

Patriots 34, Colts 27
LeGarrette Blount absolutely owns the Colts. After scoring two touchdowns Sunday night against them, he has averaged two in each of the five games he’s faced them. If Blount were LaDainian Tomlinson, that might make a little more sense, but Belichick and Blount have some kind of crossroads-demon deal to put those kinds of numbers up.

Tom Brady completed 23-of-37 passes for 312 yards, three touchdowns and a pick-six, that was in no way his fault. Julian Edelman couldn’t hold on to a perfectly thrown pass and flipped it up in the air to be returned for a touchdown. Brady continues to be the top fantasy quarterback, with every game he’s played ending with 22 to 28 fantasy points. That’s amazing consistency.

After Julian Edelman started off hot, he slowed down after mangling up his finger and getting Vontae Davis’d, and that led to Danny Amendola leading the team in receptions and yards. He’s played well when needed, but will continue to lack consistency and Brandon LaFell is due back soon.

Andrew Luck had plenty of errant throws in this one, but he managed to not throw an interception for the first time this season on his way to his best fantasy game of the year, by a wide margin. He ended up completing 30-0f-50 passes for 312 yards and three touchdowns, while also running for 35 yards. This is the Luck we’re used to. He’s not always perfect, but he moves the ball and gives his receivers a chance at big plays.

The Andre Johnson revival has been shut down once again. He started ahead of Donte Moncrief, but by the time the game was over, Johnson had caught 3-of-6 targets for 35 yards, while Moncrief caught 6-of-11 targets for 69 yards and a touchdown. Luck feels much better throwing to Moncrief and Johnson had yet another drop Sunday night. He’s still waiver fodder.

For more thoughts, check out Walt’s updated NFL Power Rankings, which will be posted Tuesday morning.

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