By Ian Rosen (@iozen9)
A moment of honesty: My picks for Weeks 1-3 were nothing special. However, if you didn’t give up on me in Week 4, then my advice should have paid off for you. I don’t know about you guys, but I won some nice money this past week. Let’s keep it going in Week 5.
Week 5 is the first week where bye weeks are taken into account. Luckily for us, bye weeks usually cause problems for the average DFS player, so it’s time for the advanced players to regain their dominance.
[sc name=”Google Inline Ad”]
Stacks that I like
Aaron Rodgers and Randall Cobb (GB, $8,100 and $6,700) — Last week’s game against the Rams made two things pretty clear: The Cowboys offense is great, but their defense is TERRIBLE. I’m sorry, Cowboys fans, but there is no other way to put it. The Rams are one of the most one-dimensional teams in football and they manhandled the Cowboys defense. Enter the Packers, the most potent offense in the NFL, and we should be in for another great offensive display. The Cowboys are very weak in the slot and with Adams most likely out, look for Cobb to get a ton of targets.
Jacoby Brissett and T.Y Hilton (IND, $5,600 and $6,000) — I would only recommend this one for tournaments, as the floor for this stack is very low. The Colts are at home this week versus a very beatable 49ers secondary. As we saw two weeks ago against the Browns, this stack has a very high ceiling. One cannot ignore Brissett’s running ability, as he has already rushed for 69 yards and two touchdowns.
Dak Prescott and Dez Bryant (DAL, $6,800 and $6,500) — In Dez’s career versus the Packers, he has put up 417 yards and 4 touchdowns in five games. The Cowboys are at home this week and I expect at least 50 points to be scored in this game. The Dak and Dez stack is as sure of a bet as Tom Brady is a future Hall of Famer.
Jay Cutler and Devante Parker (MIA, $5,200 and $6,600) — OK, I get it, Jay Cutler sucks. If Cutler doesn’t do well this week, I am officially avoiding him for the rest of the year. The Titans have given up the most fantasy points to QBs and WRs this year. The Dolphins are back at home as well, something that they definitely need after being humiliated in London.
QBs that I like
(SEE ABOVE)
RB’s that I like
Ezekiel Elliott (DAL; $8,800) — He’s at home versus a mediocre defense. Zeke will be in almost all of my lineups.
Projection: 155 yd 1 td
Leonard Fournette (JAC, $7,000) — Fournette has been nothing short of superb over the last couple of games. He has an incredibly high usage rate and should be great again this week versus a Steelers defense that has been just average against the run.
Projection: 100 yd 1 td
WRs that I like
Pierre Garcon (SF, $6,100) — The Colts are most likely going to put eight in the box to try and shut down Carlos Hyde. This should open up the passing game for the 49ers and while their passing game hasn’t been great, this matchup is incredible. I expect the 49ers to throw the ball a ton, as they should be playing from behind in this game.
Projection: 6 rec 84 yd 1 td
Jaron Brown (ARI; $4,500) — Give the man some respect. He has been playing great ever since his opportunity has come. He has a gorgeous matchup with the Eagles this week at home. If you are not willing to take this risk, which I would understand, Fitz should be a great option as well.
5 rec 104 yd
TEs that I like
Martellus Bennett (GB; $4,100) — Aaron Rodgers wants to get Bennett rolling early this week as he understands how talented he is. After a month in this offense, Rodgers and Bennett are slowly building up a lethal chemistry. I expect Bennett to be utilized a lot this week.
Projection: 7 rec 88 yd 1 td
Jared Cook (OAK, $3,900) — E.J. Manuel is starting this week, which is good for only one person: Jared Cook. We have already seen how much Manuel likes Cook, as he was targeted eight times last week, mostly when Manuel was behind center. When a quarterback needs to get used to a system, there is no better person to rely on than the tight end.
Projection: 6 rec 66 yd 1td
DST’s that I like
Giants ($3,600) — The reason why the Giants defense hasn’t been playing as well as everyone expected is because they are always on the field. This week I expect the Giants offense to give them a break. Do not forget that Philip Rivers threw the most interceptions in the league just one year ago.
Projection: 11 pts
Bengals ($3,300) — The Bills just lost Jordan Matthews and tend to play worse on the road.
Projection: 12 points
My Busts of the Week
Joe Mixon (CIN, $5,500) — His usage has been through the roof, but he averaged an abysmal 2.28 YPC last week on 21 carries. The Bills have a very good run defense and I believe that this game will be very low scoring. He could salvage his day with a TD based on his usage.
Keenan Allen (LAC, $7,200) — He’s a great player with an awful matchup. The have one of the best secondaries in the league and are hungry for a win.
My Hail Mary Tournament play
Tyreek Hill (KC, $6,700) — Vegas predicts this game to be among one of the highest-scoring of the week, due to the Texans’ banged-up secondary, as well as the high-scoring potential their offense showed last week. Alex Smith has been a very reliable quarterback this year as well.
Ian Rosen will be contributing DFS/DraftKings advice to 5thDownFantasy.com this season. Check out his blog at fancavelive.com for more football and other sports posts.
