Thursday Night Football played out largely as expected (see yesterday's column). Surely Green Bay's depleted o-line is a concern. But it's not a long-term problem, and in the near term there's enough talent and savvy coaching to compensate. I believe their next contests (@ Dallas and @ Minnesota) will be their offense's two most difficult matchups all season, so the timing isn't great. But hold tight and have confidence that the investments you made in their offense were well-founded.
Reportedly, Davante Adams is doing well in the hospital. Danny Trevathan's frightening hit forced Adams to be carried off the field on a gurney. So it looks like he avoided would could have been a horrific injury.
Ty Montgomery suffered broken ribs while Jamaal Williams suffered a knee injury of undetermined severity. Aaron Jones was the next man up, and he showed enough to be Week 5's presumptive starter. The tough matchup in Dallas should keep him out of the top 20, even if he earns 15+ touches. But he'll be a popular waiver add this week and could overtake Williams (who hasn't looked great) on the depth chart.
At some point last night, the Bears organization had to realize they threw away $18.5 million in guaranteed money on a backup quarterback. If you're in a deep league or two-QB league, it's time to add rookie Mitchell Trubisky in anticipation he'll take over sooner rather than later. While I speculated this summer that Trubisky's unlikely to ever earn his #2 overall draft position--and I doubt he'll be better than Glennon this season--it's time ramp up his potential development by throwing him into the fire.
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Looking around the league, some of you are debating whether to start Chris Johnson. Let's take a step back and see the big picture. As I wrote a few weeks ago, there's only one Cardinal RB worth rostering right now, particularly in deep leagues, and that's the unheralded Andre Ellington. He earned two touches in Week 1, five in Week 2, and 10 in Week 3. What's stopping him from hitting 14-15 this weekend--and against a 49ers D that can't stop a paper airplane mid-flight? (Truthfully, I have trouble catching those things, too.) Don't waste time on heavy-mileage 32-year-olds who couldn't even make the team this offseason. Still available in a shocking 97% if ESPN leagues, Ellington is where it's at.
Amari Cooper has two drops and is averaging 34 yards per game. So what do we do? Find out what your opponent thinks about Cooper. If my league allowed trading (stupid, stupid league rules; I've learned my lesson), I'd be straight-up with whoever has him: "Hey, I want to invest in Amari. He might not be great this year, but he'll rebound enough. What's a fair offer?" If they come back demanding top dollar, conversation over. If they come back with something like a straight-up trade for Chris Carson (a presently serviceable RB whose value might have peaked), I'd jump on it.
A back injury is sidelining Tyler Eifert for multiple weeks. The roughly 200 of you who subscribed to my preseason rankings know that I placed him below Austin Hooper, lower than any national fantasy expert. This is why. The legend of Eifert is based on an injury-plagued 2015 season in which he somehow racked up 13 TDs. For his career he's a four-catch, 51-yards-a-game above-average TE who's chronically hurt. Unless you're in a deep league, he's droppable.
Will we see Andrew Luck this season? Several weeks ago I suggested that Indy's acquisition of Jacoby Brissett was a sign that all the talk about Luck returning early this season was bunk. Then a couple days ago, orthopedic surgeon Dr. David Chao offered sometime in November as a realistic return date for the Colts' franchise QB. If you're carrying Luck in a two-QB league, nothing to lose holding on. But let's not kid ourselves: the best-case scenario is that Luck returns to prime form right after the team's Week 11 bye. What's waiting for him? The following schedule: @ Jacksonville, @ Buffalo, Denver, @ Baltimore, Houston. In most leagues, dump him immediately.
Are Sam Bradford's days numbered? Pro Football Talk recently reported that Teddy Bridgewater (remember him?) will be healthy by Week 7. The Vikings now have an embarrassment of riches at QB (or really, "an embarrassment of adequacy"). If Case Keenum lights things up again this weekend, and if Sam Bradford isn't healthy for Week 5, we're headed toward a potential QB controversy. Those with Stefon Diggs and/or Adam Thielen should keep close tabs. Things are going great right now. In your shoes, I wouldn't want Bridgewater stepping in midseason.
Finally, in case some of you have been laying low since Sunday, Darren Sproles' season--and likely his career--is over. #8 on the NFL's career all-purpose yards list (and he would probably would have jumped to #6 had he finished the game, the 5'6", 190-pound Sproles is one of the great NFL stories of our time. From a fantasy perspective, Wendell Smallwood gets the biggest bump, though I believe the underperformer has a lot to prove in very little time. Corey Clement is running behind him and could step in if Smallwood falters.
Reportedly, Davante Adams is doing well in the hospital. Danny Trevathan's frightening hit forced Adams to be carried off the field on a gurney. So it looks like he avoided would could have been a horrific injury.
Ty Montgomery suffered broken ribs while Jamaal Williams suffered a knee injury of undetermined severity. Aaron Jones was the next man up, and he showed enough to be Week 5's presumptive starter. The tough matchup in Dallas should keep him out of the top 20, even if he earns 15+ touches. But he'll be a popular waiver add this week and could overtake Williams (who hasn't looked great) on the depth chart.
At some point last night, the Bears organization had to realize they threw away $18.5 million in guaranteed money on a backup quarterback. If you're in a deep league or two-QB league, it's time to add rookie Mitchell Trubisky in anticipation he'll take over sooner rather than later. While I speculated this summer that Trubisky's unlikely to ever earn his #2 overall draft position--and I doubt he'll be better than Glennon this season--it's time ramp up his potential development by throwing him into the fire.
---
Looking around the league, some of you are debating whether to start Chris Johnson. Let's take a step back and see the big picture. As I wrote a few weeks ago, there's only one Cardinal RB worth rostering right now, particularly in deep leagues, and that's the unheralded Andre Ellington. He earned two touches in Week 1, five in Week 2, and 10 in Week 3. What's stopping him from hitting 14-15 this weekend--and against a 49ers D that can't stop a paper airplane mid-flight? (Truthfully, I have trouble catching those things, too.) Don't waste time on heavy-mileage 32-year-olds who couldn't even make the team this offseason. Still available in a shocking 97% if ESPN leagues, Ellington is where it's at.
Amari Cooper has two drops and is averaging 34 yards per game. So what do we do? Find out what your opponent thinks about Cooper. If my league allowed trading (stupid, stupid league rules; I've learned my lesson), I'd be straight-up with whoever has him: "Hey, I want to invest in Amari. He might not be great this year, but he'll rebound enough. What's a fair offer?" If they come back demanding top dollar, conversation over. If they come back with something like a straight-up trade for Chris Carson (a presently serviceable RB whose value might have peaked), I'd jump on it.
A back injury is sidelining Tyler Eifert for multiple weeks. The roughly 200 of you who subscribed to my preseason rankings know that I placed him below Austin Hooper, lower than any national fantasy expert. This is why. The legend of Eifert is based on an injury-plagued 2015 season in which he somehow racked up 13 TDs. For his career he's a four-catch, 51-yards-a-game above-average TE who's chronically hurt. Unless you're in a deep league, he's droppable.
Will we see Andrew Luck this season? Several weeks ago I suggested that Indy's acquisition of Jacoby Brissett was a sign that all the talk about Luck returning early this season was bunk. Then a couple days ago, orthopedic surgeon Dr. David Chao offered sometime in November as a realistic return date for the Colts' franchise QB. If you're carrying Luck in a two-QB league, nothing to lose holding on. But let's not kid ourselves: the best-case scenario is that Luck returns to prime form right after the team's Week 11 bye. What's waiting for him? The following schedule: @ Jacksonville, @ Buffalo, Denver, @ Baltimore, Houston. In most leagues, dump him immediately.
Are Sam Bradford's days numbered? Pro Football Talk recently reported that Teddy Bridgewater (remember him?) will be healthy by Week 7. The Vikings now have an embarrassment of riches at QB (or really, "an embarrassment of adequacy"). If Case Keenum lights things up again this weekend, and if Sam Bradford isn't healthy for Week 5, we're headed toward a potential QB controversy. Those with Stefon Diggs and/or Adam Thielen should keep close tabs. Things are going great right now. In your shoes, I wouldn't want Bridgewater stepping in midseason.
Finally, in case some of you have been laying low since Sunday, Darren Sproles' season--and likely his career--is over. #8 on the NFL's career all-purpose yards list (and he would probably would have jumped to #6 had he finished the game, the 5'6", 190-pound Sproles is one of the great NFL stories of our time. From a fantasy perspective, Wendell Smallwood gets the biggest bump, though I believe the underperformer has a lot to prove in very little time. Corey Clement is running behind him and could step in if Smallwood falters.