Josh Jordan

Fantasy football under-the-radar plays — Week 5

Fantasy football under-the-radar plays — Week 5
Calvin Ridley has a tasty matchup against the Steelers this week. Photo via Atlanta Falcons/Facebook

Week 5 is almost upon us and I have more sleeper plays for you. Let’s take a peek at how I did last week, and then look ahead to this week’s slate of games. My standard for a good fantasy game is around 100 total yards and/or a TD, and this is for PPR scoring. Of course, the bar is a little lower for TEs.  

Week 4 Results

RB

Chris Carson (SEA): No play, he was a late scratch. I write this article on Wednesday or Thursday, so make sure your players are active on Sundays before starting them.

Gio Bernard (CIN): Right, huge game with 2 TDs.

Jordan Howard (CHI): Wrong, how the hell did Trubisky score 6 TDs and Howard was so terrible?

WR

Sterling Sheppard (NYG): Really Right, I pushed him hard, so I hope you took my advice.

Allen Robinson (CHI): Right, I said he would score his 1st TD of the year and he came through.

Emmanuel Sanders (DEN): Wrong, the Broncos are looking like an offense to avoid.

Will Fuller (HOU): Right, he produced even though he got hurt and had to leave the game.

Mike Williams (LAC): Wrong, he’s hard to trust at this point but he's talented and in a good offense. The targets are the issue for him.

TE

Eric Ebron (IND): Right, 5 catches and a TD, you’ll take that.

Trey Burton (CHI): Right, I was on this one and he ended up with over 80 yards and a TD.

Austin Hooper (ATL): Wrong, he’s nothing more than a desperation play now.

QB

Andy Dalton (CIN): Right, he was great.

Matt Ryan (ATL): Right Wow, he was amazing again.

 

Another great week! 8-4 picking sleepers, oh hell yeah. I'll try and do it again this week. Here we go. These players are in no particular order.

Week 5

RB

T.J. Yeldon (JAX): The Chiefs give up the most points to the RB position this year and Leonard Fournette is out again. Yeldon looks like a great start this week; just make sure he is active on Sunday. He’s been playing through an ankle injury.

Matt Breida (SF): I was a little worried about Breida last week because he played one week after hyperextending his knee. He ended up playing more snaps than any previous game this season. The matchup is fantastic this week, and the game should be close, so fire him up against the Cardinals.

James Conner (PIT): I haven’t been listing Conner as often in this article because he’s become what I would consider a must-start player, but he didn’t do much last week and people may shy away from him. I would start him with confidence against the Falcons because there should be a lot of points scored in this game, and the Falcons struggle against the run. Also, many people drafted Conner as a late-round flyer and probably have other quality RB options, so I’m including him again this week. He should come through with fantasy goodness.

Dion Lewis and Derrick Henry (TEN): Do you have the courage to start a Titans RB? This is a tough one because Henry has been complete garbage this year, but the matchup is in his favor. I think the Titans run the ball a ton this week, so both RBs could produce. Henry is more of a desperation play, but this article is about sleepers, so he might bail you out as a flex with 2 teams on bye this week.

Sony Michel (NE): He should get a lot of carries tonight, and he looks great. Don’t be afraid to use him again.

WR

Calvin Ridley (ATL): Ridley has clearly been incredible the last few weeks, but I like him this week mostly because of his matchup. Everything is not perfect for him because he is still getting fewer targets than Mohamed Sanu, but he’s making the most out of them. Sanu was a little banged up last week, and Julio will receive a ton of attention, so I like Ridley again this week. I’m not expecting multiple TDs, but he should be a solid flex option against the Steelers shaky secondary.

Jordy Nelson (OAK): The Chargers are giving up 44FPTS/G to WRs this year and Jordy has been pretty good as of late. Nelson has scored and caught at least 5 passes in 2 straight games, so he’s very much involved here. Plus, Carr looks to be playing well and that certainly helps. I also like Amari Cooper this week, but you’re probably starting him every week regardless.

Julian Edelman (NE): There is certainly risk starting him this week, but the Colts were torched by the Texans last week, and are dealing with a ton of injuries in the secondary. Edelman should at least post similar numbers to what Keke Coutee did for Houston last week.

Sterling Shepard (NYG): Can he do it again? With Engram still out, I think he can. He should be heavily targeted against the Panthers. 

TE

Austin Hooper (ATL): If he doesn’t come through this week, he’s dead to me. The matchup couldn’t be any better with the Steelers giving up over 20FPTS/G to TEs. Cross your fingers and hope for the best. He should only be used if you're really hurting at TE.

George Kittle (SF): I’m not going to lie to you, the matchup is not good. This is a really bad week for TE matchups, but Kittle should get ton of targets, so let’s hope he scores.

QB

Ben Roethlisberger (PIT): I love Big Ben this week and he should put up points in this game against the Falcons. He and Matt Ryan should go off here. I’m only leaving Ryan out of my article this week because he’s an obvious start.

Blake Bortles (JAX): He’s been very good with Fournette out of the lineup.

DEF

If you need a defense this week, I like the Titans. They have a good matchup against the Bills.

 

That’s all I have for this week. For more fantasy info, make sure you check out my show Moneyline on ESPN 97.5 every Sunday from 10-noon. Jerry Bo and I will get you ready for kickoff and answer any questions you may have. Also, follow us on Twitter.

 

Good luck in Week 5!

@jordanpfx

@JerryBoKnowz

@Moneyline975

 

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Kyle Tucker returns to Houston this weekend. Composite Getty Image.

Two first-place teams, identical records, and a weekend set with serious measuring-stick energy.

The Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs open a three-game series Friday night at Daikin Park, in what could quietly be one of the more telling matchups of the summer. Both teams enter at 48-33, each atop their respective divisions — but trending in slightly different directions.

The Astros have been red-hot, going 7-3 over their last 10 while outscoring opponents by 11 runs. They've done it behind one of the best pitching staffs in baseball, with a collective 3.41 ERA that ranks second in the American League. Houston has also been dominant at home, where they’ve compiled a 30-13 record — a stat that looms large heading into this weekend.

On the other side, the Cubs have held their ground in the NL Central but have shown some recent shakiness. They're 5-5 over their last 10 games and have given up 5.66 runs per game over that stretch. Still, the offense remains dangerous, ranking fifth in on-base percentage across the majors. Kyle Tucker leads the way with a .287 average, 16 homers, and 49 RBIs, while Michael Busch has been hot of late, collecting 12 hits in his last 37 at-bats.

Friday’s pitching matchup features Houston’s Brandon Walter (0-1, 3.80 ERA, 1.10 WHIP) and Chicago’s Cade Horton (3-1, 3.73 ERA, 1.29 WHIP), a promising young arm making one of his biggest starts of the season on the road. Horton will have his hands full with Isaac Paredes, who’s slugged 16 homers on the year, and Mauricio Dubón, who’s found a groove with four home runs over his last 10 games.

It’s the first meeting of the season between these two clubs — and if the trends continue, it may not be the last time they cross paths when it really counts.

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -112, Cubs -107; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

Here's a preview of Joe Espada's Game 1 lineup.

The first thing that stands out is rookie Cam Smith is hitting cleanup, followed by Jake Meyers. Victor Caratini is the DH and is hitting sixth. Christian Walker is all the way down at seventh, followed by Yainer Diaz, and Taylor Trammell who is playing left field.

How the mighty have fallen.

Pretty wild to see Walker and Diaz hitting this low in the lineup. However, it's justified, based on performance. Walker is hitting a pathetic .214 and Diaz is slightly better sporting a .238 batting average.

Screenshot via: MLB.com



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