Tuesday, October 9, 2018

Week 5 Fantasy Football Winners and Losers (2018 Edition)

Quarterback
MVP: Tom Brady (Patriots)
2 dumb tip drill INT's wasn't enough to prevent Brady from being the king of fantasy QB's this week. Brady registered 341 YDS and 3 scores through the air as well as a rushing TD in yet another comical dismantling of the Colts. Brady should feast yet again in Week 6 against the Chiefs atrocious defense.
Honorable Mentions: Aaron Rodgers (Packers), Drew Brees (Saints), Andrew Luck (Colts)

LVP: Matt Ryan (Falcons)
For the 2nd time in this young 2018 season, the state of Pennsylvania proved to be a house of horrors for the Falcons signalcaller. Ryan followed up 3 straight dominant performances with an erratic stinker (295 total YDS, 1 TD and a lost fumble) against a Steelers defense that had surrendered 12 TD's to opposing QB's (11 passing, 1 rushing) in the opening month of the season. He's in a great place to rebound this week when the Dirty Birds return home for a date with the Buccaneers and their wretched pass defense.
Dishonorable Mentions: Kirk Cousins (Vikings), Alex Smith (Redskins), Andy Dalton (Bengals)

Running Back
MVP: James Conner (Steelers)
After playing so-so following his monster season opener against the Browns, the Steelers de facto starting running back returned to the realm of dominance in Week 5 by putting forth a hell of a dual threat performance against the Falcons banged-up defense (185 YDS from scrimmage and 2 TD on 25 touches). Conner's days of being a useful fantasy option might be numbered as Le'Veon Bell is reportedly set to rejoin the team following their Week 7 bye, but he'll remain a worthwhile starter as long as their star back continues his holdout.
Honorable Mentions: Todd Gurley (Rams), Isaiah Crowell (Jets), Saquon Barkley (Giants)

LVP: Jay Ajayi (Eagles)
The Jay Ajayi train screeched to a halt on Sunday against the Vikings as he picked up a mere 34 YDS on 9 touches and lost a crucial red zone fumble that pretty much cost the Eagles the game. News broke yesterday that Ajayi tore his ACL at the end of 4th quarter, so the impending free agent's tenure as an Eagle has more than likely come to a close. Corey Clement and Wendall Smallwood now appear set to be the co-lead backs in Philly, but neither of them appear to be in-line to be anything more than a middling RB3 moving forward.
Dishonorable Mentions: Alvin Kamara (Saints), Devonta Freeman (Falcons), Marshawn Lynch (Raiders)

Wide Receiver 
MVP: Odell Beckham Jr. (Giants) 
OBJ finally found the endzone! Beckham's receiving TD capped off a very productive 8 REC/131 YD afternoon where he also threw a 57-YD TD to Saquon Barkley on a beautiful trick play. Regardless of the dysfunction in the Giants locker room and general limpness of this offense, Odell makes enough plays to be a weekly WR1.
Honorable Mentions: Antonio Brown (Steelers), Davante Adams (Packers), Adam Thielen (Vikings)

LVP: Will Fuller (Texans)
To be fair, Fuller wasn't 100% after suffering the 89th hamstring strain of his NFL career last week, but you just can't feel good about a guy who Deshaun Watson has an incredible rapport with posting 15 YDS in a game against the Cowboys. Fuller and his brittle soft tissue have a date with the Bills respectable, but beatable secondary in Week 6.
Dishonorable Mentions: Amari Cooper (Raiders), Doug Baldwin (Seahawks), Alshon Jeffrey (Eagles)

Tight End
MVP: Eric Ebron (Colts)
With T.Y Hilton, Jack Doyle and pretty much every other viable receiving option on the roster sidelined, Ebron was the focal point of the offensive attack against the Patriots last Thursday night and boy did he pop. The 5th-year man had a career day (9 REC/105 YDS/2 TD's) in a game where few things went right for this rebuilding squad. Regardless of injuries, Ebron has carved out a nice role on this Colts offense and should be in the weekly starting mix at this scarily thin position the rest of the way.
Honorable Mentions: Zach Ertz (Eagles), Travis Kelce (Chiefs), George Kittle (49ers)

LVP: Vance McDonald (Steelers)
After back-to-back strong performances, new internet meme legend McDonald was pretty much invisible (1 REC, 6 YDS) on a day where the Steelers offense simply crushed the soul of the Falcons. He will look to get more involved in Week 6 against a Bengals defense that has allowed the 9th most fantasy points to tight end.
Dishonorable Mentions: Jared Cook (Raiders), Jordan Reed (Redskins), Ricky Seals-Jones (Cardinals)

Defense/Special Teams
MVP: Bengals 
A trio of takeaways and a pair of defensive scores allowed the Bengals D to make a ridiculous 2nd half comeback against the Dolphins on Sunday. They'll be an interesting dice roll play in Week 6 when they face a Steelers squad that tends to turn the ball over on the road.
Honorable Mentions: Steelers, Vikings, Panthers

LVP: Broncos
Oh how the mighty have fallen. Outside of securing a pair of takeaways, this rapidly regressing defense got absolutely dusted by the Jets young, mistake-prone offense in their 34-16 loss on Sunday afternoon. Until they stop getting murdered against the run and allowing huge chunk plays on a regular basis, the Broncos D will be absolutely useless for fantasy purposes.
Dishonorable Mentions: Rams, Eagles, Packers

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