If you’ve ever wondered why daily fantasy has become so popular, look no further than the injury report on a weekly basis. In a season becoming defined by the unexpected, season-ending injuries have become the expected. Week 5 claimed perhaps the biggest name yet: New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham.
Beckham wasn’t alone, however. Teammates Sterling Shepard and Brandon Marshall didn’t finish the game either. In Indianapolis, San Francisco 49ers running back Carlos Hyde failed to see the field much in the second half and overtime. 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan decided to ride the “hot hand” and reward Matt Breida. A feeling of familiarity emerges when a talented running back is benched by a Shanahan.
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Studs
Carson Wentz (QB – PHI)
For the first time in Wentz’s career, he threw three touchdowns in a single game. Then, in the fourth quarter, came another phenomenal touchdown pass to Nelson Agholor. Altogether, Wentz threw for 304 yards and four touchdowns.
#Eagles QB Carson Wentz today on 3rd down: 11-of-12 (91.7%) for 225 yards (18.8 avg.), 3 TDs, 9 first downs.
– Adam Caplan (@caplannfl) October 8, 2017
Can you say clutch?
Since the Eagles lost to the Kansas City Chiefs, the Eagles offense has become incredibly balanced. Wentz is averaging only 31 passing attempts per game in the last three games. The efficiency, however, has skyrocketed.
In the last three games, Wentz is completing 64.1% of his passes for 722 yards, six touchdowns, and only one interception. In the unlikely event Wentz is available in your league, he could provide better results than Matt Stafford or even Russell Wilson for the rest of the season. The next three games on the schedule have a positive outlook too. The Eagles face the Carolina Panthers, Washington Redskins, and the 49ers.
A.J. Green (WR – CIN)
On the first play of the Bengals’ second drive, Green exploded for a 77-yard touchdown. He would then add an additional four catches for 90 yards over the remainder of the game. Green finished with seven catches for 189 yards and a touchdown.
Green now has 504 receiving yards on the season and has scored a touchdown in three consecutive games. The squeaky wheel has gotten a boatload of grease. Since the Bengals fired Ken Zampese, Green has 22 catches on 33 targets, 363 receiving yards, and three touchdowns.
Melvin Gordon (RB – LAC)
Speaking of squeaky wheels, let’s discuss Gordon. The Chargers snatched victory from the jaws of defeat against the Giants due largely because of Gordon’s contributions. There’s a hole in the Earth to prove it. There’s also box score results we’ve been waiting for.
Gordon rushed 20 times for 105 yards. He also caught six passes for 58 yards and two touchdowns. Gordon wanted more work and he got it. The Chargers wanted their first win and they got it. It’s amazing what happens when you get the ball to your best play-maker repeatedly.
Leonard Fournette (RB – JAC)
A year ago, the fantasy community anointed Fournette as the next outstanding rookie running back. He hasn’t disappointed. Fournette entered Week 5 with the third most rushing attempts in the NFL.
On Sunday, Fournette added a lot more carries. The rookie had 28 rushing attempts on the day. He scored his second touchdown of the day on a 90-yard run. Fortunately for his fantasy owners, Fournette did not go to the Brian Westbrook school of game-sealing runs.
With his dominating performance thus far, it’s time to take Fournette, and the Jaguars, seriously. A pesky defense paired with no competition on the roster puts Fournette in a great spot to continue his high level of play. His presence also helps reduce the workload of Blake Bortles. In the three Jaguars wins, Bortles has averaged 22 passing attempts while Fournette is averaging nearly 24 rushing attempts.
Duds
Carlos Hyde (RB – SF)
The 49ers totaled 402 total yards of offense against the Indianapolis Colts. Only 66 of those yards came on the ground, and Hyde accounted for only 11 of those. Though, to be fair, Hyde did also add a catch for seven yards too.
The question moving forward is how to perceive Hyde’s value. Perhaps more important is how to perceive his health. Injury prone is a phrase that gets tossed around a lot. With Hyde, it’s about as appropriate as placing that label on Redskins tight end Jordan Reed. His hip ailment is causing him to miss valuable snaps. Breida’s contributions could cause even more snaps to be lost moving forward.
When healthy, Hyde is a great running back. Trying to figure out when that is can prove to be difficult. Hyde might be a great sell if you can get anything of value in return. Unfortunately, the red flags are likely going to diminish any solid return in a trade.
Evan Engram (TE – NYG)
No Shepard. No Marshall. For the final drives of the game, there was no Beckham either. None of that mattered for the rookie Giants tight end.
Engram was targeted on only four plays on a day where Eli Manning attempted 36 passes. The Chargers hadn’t given up a lot of fantasy points to the position this year, so moving forward Engram should be able to bounce back mightily. Given the number of injuries to the Giants receivers, Engram could have top-10 value at tight end for the rest of the season.
Amari Cooper (WR – OAK)
Umm. It’s bad enough that Cooper was held to just one catch. Having just two targets on the day? It’s time to start worrying about Cooper and the Raiders offense. After all, it’s not like Cooper has produced much since Week 1.
Defenses are becoming surprisingly efficient at shutting Cooper down. Granted, the Baltimore Ravens were a very difficult opponent. Football Outsiders ranked them as the number one DVOA defense against the pass. Two targets, though? Unacceptable.
The Raiders trailed by double digits starting at the 11:10 mark of the first quarter until four minutes remained in the third quarter. Soon after the fourth quarter began, it was double digits again. For whatever reason, the Raiders play-calling remained stagnant throughout. When Seth Roberts has twice as many targets as Cooper, something isn’t functioning properly.
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Matt Giraldi is a correspondent at FantasyPros. To read more from Matt, check out his archive or follow him @Mgiraldi.
