You know that feeling when you step up to the plate for slow pitch softball with all eyes on you and you swing and miss at the ball? That’s the feeling I have after my Week 5 B-Team performance. One week after achieving the 100 point goal, we lay an egg. It doesn’t help when you get a combined 3.88 points out of your quarterback, tight-end and flex. Anyhow, we can only go up from here, right?
This is a series where I construct a hypothetical fantasy football lineup using players that are owned in less than 40-percent of Yahoo and/or ESPN leagues. The goal of the series is to top 100 PPR fantasy points using the make-shift team. The premise is to show that there is readily available value at all times across most waiver wires. You can find last week’s results below and the result of previous weeks at the bottom of this article.
Jimmy G’s benching against the Miami Dolphins really hurt us. Well, his play leading up to the benching hurt us. We had a few good suggestions like both our runningbacks (Justin Jackson and J.D. McKissic) combining for 25.3 points and Keelan Cole scoring 10.9 fantasy points. We also had just as many bad calls such as Ian Thomas laying a goose egg and Tre’Quan Smith scoring just 2.8 points. I’m happy with that Dallas Cowboys’ defense pick though.
Week 5 Results
Jimmy Garopollo (San Francisco 49ers) - 1.08 points
Justin Jackson (Los Angeles Chargers) - 14.4 points
J.D. McKissic (Washington Football Team) - 10.9 points
Golden Tate (New York Giants) - 8.2 points
Keelan Cole (Jacksonville Jaguars) - 10.7 points
Ian Thomas (Carolina Panthers) - 0 points
Tre’Quan Smith (New Orleans Saints) - 2.8 points
Dallas Cowboys - 9 points
Total: 57.08
Week 6 Lineup
Quarterback
Andy Dalton (Dallas Cowboys) - Owned in 29% of Yahoo and 23.4% of ESPN leagues
Andy Dalton is no Dak Prescott, but he’s a quality NFL quarterback and should be a starter in this league. This Dallas Cowboys’ offense will obviously take a step back, but it won’t be as drastic as some may say. Dalton steps into arguably the most talented skill positioned team in the league. He’s had fantasy relevance his entire career in Cincinnati with much less. I expect a top-12 weekly performance out of Dalton for the rest of the season. He gets his first start of the season on Monday Night Football, just in time to put out a statement performance for all of the teams who passed on signing him.
Runningbacks
Frank Gore (New York Jets) - Owned in 28% of Yahoo and 25.5% of ESPN leagues - Just as we thought 2020 couldn’t get any odder, Frank Gore is once again a starting runningback in the NFL. The Jets surprisingly cut Le’Veon Bell mid-week, which frees up touches for the likes of Gore and rookie LaMical Perine. Do I suggest playing Gore in all but 1-percent of rare occasions, no, but for us, he’s guaranteed some touches against the team that has allowed the eighth most fantasy points to opposing runningbacks (Miami.)
J.D. McKissic (Washington Football Team) - Owned in 10% of Yahoo and 21.7% of ESPN leagues
I’m going back-to-back weeks with McKissic in my lineup. I liked what he did last week, serving as the safety blanket for both Kyle Allen and Alex Smith in route to an eight target day. On top of that, he’s now seen eight targets in back-to-back weeks. In PPR formats (which we use for this series) he’s a sneaky flex play, especially this week against the Giants who have allowed the 12th most fantasy points to opposing runningbacks thus far this season.
Wide Receivers
Travis Fulgham (Philadelphia Eagles) - Owned in 29% of Yahoo and 43.2% of ESPN leagues
This one is simple. Fulgham saw 13 targets last week, catching ten of them for 152 yards and a touchdown. He’s now scored in back-to-back weeks. The Eagles get a match-up with the Ravens this week and almost certainly will be playing from behind, meaning Carson Wentz will be throwing a lot. Fulgham seems to be his top option and I expect that to continue into this week.
Cole Beasley (Buffalo Bills) - Owned in 32% of Yahoo and 30.1% of ESPN leagues
I’m going back to the well. Beasley will forever be enshrined in this series’ hall-of-fame for his appearances last year and his already multiple appearances this season. Rightfully so however. He has scored at least 11.3 fantasy points in all but Week 1 of this season. On top of that, the Bills have a Monday night clash with the Kansas City Chiefs, a match-up that’s guaranteed to see a ton of points put up. Beasley is a safety valve for Josh Allen and he’ll forever hold fantasy value as long as he is on the field.
Tight-End
Trey Burton (Indianapolis Colts) - Owned in 16% of Yahoo and 3.8% of ESPN leagues
No Mo Alie-Cox allows for Trey Burton to step into the TE1 role for the Colts. Even with Alie-Cox on the field, as well as Jack Doyle, Burton saw a combined 11 targets the last two weeks. Doyle has turned into a non-factor since the early part of this season. We know Philip Rivers’ love for the tight-end and being the top player at that position calls for fantasy value. They get the Bengals this week who have also given up the 12th most fantasy points to opposing tight-ends.
Flex
James Washington (Pittsburgh Steelers) - Owned in 10% of Yahoo and 4.1% of ESPN leagues
Diontae Johnson won’t play this week, opening up a slot for Washington to sneak into. What a time that is as well, as the Steelers get the Browns. The Browns’ defense has allowed the second most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers thus far this season. They have also allowed 12 receiving touchdowns through the first five weeks of the season. There’s going to be a lot of points scored in this one, many by the Steelers’ through the air. I’m swinging for the fences with my flex with Washington sneaking in some added snaps against a very bad defense.
Defense
Washington Football Team - Owned in 28% of Yahoo and 40.4% of ESPN leagues
Again, this is simple. I’d like to do Miami here against the Jets but they’re way over the 40-percent owned mark. What’s the next best thing? The defense playing the team that shares a stadium with the Jets, the New York Giants. The Giants have allowed the second most fantasy points to opposing defenses thus far this season. Washington has some great pieces on the defensive side of the ball. Prior to the Giants’ playing the Cowboys last week, they hadn’t topped 16 points in any game. This offense is bad. Real bad. Look for Washington to harass Daniel Jones all day long.
Week 1 Results
Derek Carr (Oakland Raiders) - 13.56 points
Boston Scott (Philadelphia Eagles) - 7.4 points
Jerick McKinnon (San Francisco 49ers) - 13.4 points
Kendrick Bourne (San Francisco 49ers) - 5.4 points
Bryan Edwards (Oakland Raiders) - 1.9 points
Jack Doyle (Indianapolis Colts) - 7.9 points
Marquez Valdes-Scantling (Green Bay Packers) - 19.6 points
Detroit Lions - 1 point
Total: 70.16 points
Week 2 Results
Philip Rivers (Indianapolis Colts) - 11.86 points
Peyton Barber (Washington Football Team) - 0.10 points
Frank Gore (New York Jets) - 6.3 points
Corey Davis (Carolina Panthers) - 12.6 points
Scotty Miller (Tampa Bay Buccaneers) - 3.2 points
Logan Thomas (Washington Football Team) - 6.6 points
Tre’Quan Smith (New Orleans Saints) - 13.6 points
Seattle Seahawks - 3 points
Total: 57.26 points
Week 3 Results
Mitchell Trubisky (Chicago Bears) - 12.62 points
Jeff Wilson Jr. (San Francisco 49ers) - 21.9 points
Frank Gore (New York Jets) - 7.2 points
K.J. Hamler (Denver Broncos) - 5.8 points
Cole Beasley (Buffalo Bills) - 16 points
Logan Thomas (Washington Football Team) - 7.1 points
Marquez Valdes-Scantling (Green Bay Packers) - 1.5 points
Cleveland Browns - 14 points
Total: 86.12
Week 4 Results
Ryan Fitzpatrick (Miami Dolphins) - 23.3 points
Jeff Wilson Jr. (San Francisco 49ers) - 2.9 points
Brian Hill (Atlanta Falcons) - 4.3 points
Cole Beasley (Buffalo Bills) - 12.2 points
Greg Ward Jr. (Philadelphia Eagles) - 7.8 points
Robert Tonyan (Green Bay Packers) - 33.8 points
Hunter Renfrow (Las Vegas Raiders) - 10.7 points
Cincinnati Bengals - 5 points
Total: 100 points
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