Daily fantasy start of the week
A.J. Green vs. Pittsburgh
The lost season for Green finally has a pulse.
From week 4 to 12, Green was fairly non-existent as a WR1, other than a blip on the radar in week 8.
In the last two weeks, though, Green has shown why he’s still a top-tier option in the NFL. He has back-to-back 18-point weeks and has found the endzone three times in the past two games.
And remember that blip on the radar in week 8? That happened to come against the fourth-worst pass defense in the NFL, the Pittsburgh Steelers. During the first outing, Green registered 118 yards receiving and one touchdown.
The Bengals have plenty of options and we like the fact the public will likely start backing the Steelers. The only problem with Pittsburgh is that it is awful against the pass.
The Steelers allow 275.5 yards passing per game and give up a 66.5 completion percentage per game. They also have given up 23 touchdown receptions, the ninth-most in the NFL.
We’re not buying into the Pittsburgh hype. Trust Green and Andy Dalton.
Start
Doug Baldwin vs. Baltimore
We were wrong…by a large amount.
Baldwin has been unstoppable recently, generating the most points among wide receivers during the past four weeks. The Seahawks are hot and Baldwin is part of the reason.
He’s reached double-digits in three of the past four games and has six touchdowns during that span. It’s not all about the touchdowns, though, as he’s registered 134, 60, 145 and 94 yards receiving respectively in the last four weeks.
We’ve finally learned our lesson. We’re starting Baldwin. And it comes at an opportune time, since the Ravens have struggled this year against the pass, allowing 243.9 yards per game through the air.
With Jimmy Graham out with injury, Baldwin is the main target of Russell Wilson. And with Wilson being as hot as any quarterback, Baldwin should get several opportunities at fantasy points this week.
Jarvis Landry vs. New York Giants
We know that Ryan Tannehill and the rest of the Dolphins’ passing game was atrocious last week against the Ravens. We’ll chalk that up to learning another new offensive system after the Dolphins recently fired its offensive coordinator.
With another week of practice under his belt, we’re confident Tannehill will find more passing lanes and that should benefit Landry.
Landry is pretty much the only option in the passing game for the Dolphins, despite being held to only two catches last week.
During two of the three previous games, Landry registered double-digit fantasy points, including a 165-yard effort against the New York Jets.
And this week’s matchup against the Giants offers a nice reprieve from treacherous defenses. New York owns the worst pass defense in the NFL, so we have to believe the Dolphins will attempt to chuck it more this week than they did last week.
Daily fantasy sit of the week
Julio Jones vs Carolina Panthers
Have we mentioned we’re selling the Atlanta Falcons this week?
Jones is still a stud, but the Panthers own one of the best pass defenses in the NFL, and we just haven’t seen enough from Matt Ryan lately to have any confidence in his weapons in DFS.
That’s why we’re pulling the full-out fade on the Falcons.
With Jones, he may register plenty of targets, but he’s not seeing any action inside the red zone. He hasn’t had a touchdown since week 8, despite going for more than 100 yards in two of those four games.
The offense is unraveling in Atlanta and that will continue this week.
Sit
Michael Crabtree vs. Denver
We haven’t seen the same Crabtree recently that we saw earlier in the season.
He was a regular fantasy threat in the early going, but since back-to-back 100-yard outputs in weeks 8 and 9, we haven’t seen much out of him.
He’s reached double-digits in points only once in the last four games, and that was thanks to a first-half touchdown reception last week against Kansas City.
He’s still fielding several targets, but he’s not producing, which should bother fantasy owners with Crabtree on the roster.
This week also presents a challenge, with Crabtree facing off against the league’s best pass defense in Denver. The Broncos are the only team that allows less than 200 yards per game against the pass. They’ve also only allowed 11 touchdown passes this season.
If you have another weapon at receiver with a better matchup, bench Crabtree.
Tavon Austin vs. Detroit
We just can’t get on board with Austin in St. Louis.
One week, the offense gets creative and uses Austin in the running and passing game. The next week, they do neither.
Other than Todd Gurley, we can’t think of another option on the Rams’ offense that would hold any fantasy value. But for now, we’re sitting Austin on our bench.
Two weeks ago at Cincinnati, he totaled 96 yards with one touchdown. That’s the good Austin.
But in three of the last four games (not including that Bengals game) he has 82 combined yards and one turnover. That’s the bad Austin.
He’s the main target in an offense that has completely derailed and Nick Foles may be the worst quarterback in the NFL at the moment. Without anyone to give him the ball, Austin will take a step back to other quality options in the fantasy football world.
The Rams’ offense’s inconsistency is holding back Austin’s value, so he should earn a seat on your bench.
