Last week was one of the wonkiest I’ve ever experienced in my life as a football fan. Things were kicked off with Ezekiel Elliott‘s on-again, off-again suspension switching from on to off, and that was merely the appetizer. Deshaun Watson‘s season came to an end when he tore his ACL in practice last Thursday. Zach Ertz was inactive due to a hamstring injury he suffered in practice, and Leonard Fournette was made inactive about an hour and a half before the 1:00 PM ET games as a result of breaking a team rule. The craziness didn’t end there, and it will leak into this week. A.J. Green and Jalen Ramsey were ejected for fighting, and Mike Evans was inexplicably not ejected for taking a cheap shot at Marshon Lattimore, but the former has been handed a one-game suspension (he’s appealing, but Tampa Bay’s ranking below is treating him as if he’s suspended). Hopefully, the train gets back on the track this week. After back-to-back weeks of six teams on bye, there are only four on bye this week.

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21-32

 
The Packers are a tire fire without Aaron Rodgers, and literally no one is a must-start. Jordy Nelson and Davante Adams are Flex plays at best. Adrian Peterson was force fed the ball 37 times in a 20-10 win over the 49ers, and he turned the gaudy workload into 159 yards rushing. He also added a pair of receptions for eight yards. I’m sure the Cardinals would love to run him early and often again this week, but they’re unlikely to have that luxury as a 5.5-point home underdog. Peterson’s a low-end RB2/Flex, and Larry Fitzgerald is a low-end WR3/Flex with better numbers at home than on the road, but saddled by Drew Stanton leading the offense (for full disclosure, Fitz led the team in targets (nine), receptions (70), and receiving yards (70) last week). The Giants and 49ers have some appeal as a potential garbage-game shootout, though, the game’s over/under total of only 41.5 points, according to Pinnacle, isn’t optimistic. The Giants fantasy relevant options are Orleans Darkwa, Sterling Shepard, and Evan Engram. The 49ers are a one-man show. Carlos Hyde carried the ball 12 times for 41 yards and led the team in receptions (nine), receiving yards (84), and targets (11) last week — the first with Pierre Garcon on season-ending IR.

11-20

 
The Colts are double-digit underdogs, but that should lead to a game flow that helps their best fantasy options — Jacoby Brissett (stream option), T.Y. Hilton, and Jack Doyle. The backfield is a timeshare between Frank Gore and Marlon Mack that is best avoided if possible, and even off of a big game, Hilton is best viewed as a boom-or-bust WR3 who has WR1 upside and a sub-5 point floor. Doyle’s the best and most reliable option of the bunch as Brissett’s go-to guy. The Titans came out of their bye as healthy as they’ve been on offense since early in the season. They’re a better real-life team than source of fantasy goodies. DeMarco Murray played 71% of the offensive snaps to Derrick Henry‘s 37%, but Murray carried the ball just nine times for 19 yards and Henry rushed for 26 yards and a score on eight carries. Both backs reeled in a pair of receptions. Murray’s still the slightly more valuable player due to the playing time gap, but he’s in a precarious position, and Henry’s a touchdown-dependent play until the playing time distribution changes. Marcus Mariota continues to underwhelm through the air and on the ground, and only Delanie Walker and Rishard Matthews are truly trustworthy fantasy starters on a weekly basis. Corey Davis‘ 75% offensive snaps played trailed only Matthews at wide receiver, and his big-play ability puts him in the Flex mix.

The post-Kelvin Benjamin trade Panthers scored 20 points, and Cam Newton passed for only 137 yards on just 24 attempts. He continued doing damage on the ground, though, rushing for 86 yards and a score on nine attempts. Christian McCaffrey caught five of six targets for 28 yards, but it as more noteworthy that he led the team in carries (15), rushing yards (66), and scored on the ground, too. Devin Funchess led the team in targets (seven), receptions (five), and receiving yards (86). They’re joined by the Panthers D/ST as the fantasy relevant options against the Dolphins this week. Curtis Samuel isn’t relevant just yet, but I’ll use this piece to point out that he started the game and played 75% of the offensive snaps (most among wide receivers on the Panthers). Samuel carried the ball one time for 14 yards and hauled in three of five targets for 23 yards. The Jets lack high-end fantasy talent, but they boast depth in a great matchup with Tampa Bay’s porous defense. Josh McCown is streamable, Matt Forte and Bilal Powell are usable at RB or Flex, Robbie Anderson is a WR3 and Jermaine Kearse is a Flex option thanks to the matchup. Austin Seferian-Jenkins and the D/ST round out the playable options this week bringing the total to a whopping seven! The funny thing is, in a 10-team league, it’s entirely possible only one or two of those options is a fantasy starter. They’re a weird group, and they were the hardest to rank.

6-10

 
Welcome to the land of the RB1. The Jaguars are tough as nails on the pass, but they’ve surrendered the sixth most rushing yards (878) and five touchdown carries to running backs this year, per Pro-Football-Reference. Melvin Gordon‘s well-round skill set will help him add points through the air against the Jaguars, too. Leonard Fournette will be back this week, and he should have little trouble racking up points against a Chargers defense that’s yielded the ninth most fantasy points per game to running backs. LeSean McCoy is coming off of a clunker, but he’s back home in a solid bounce-back spot. Buffalo’s offense will get a lift from new No. 1 receiver Kelvin Benjamin, could get tight end Charles Clay back, and Tyrod Taylor‘s home/road splits that favor playing at home in his time with the Bills makes him an easy top-10 signal caller this week while raising the floors and ceilings of the other offensive options. The game has shootout potential with the Bills serving as two-point underdogs and a game over/under total of 46 points, and it’s also worth pointing out the Bills have averaged 27.75 points per game in four games at home this year.

The Rams and Vikings are a cut above the other teams in this section, and both were nipping at the heels of the last team in the top five. The host Rams have a huge implied over/under total of 29 points. Todd Gurley is the feature piece on the team, but Jared Goff is a strong play again this week in a favorable matchup after besting 300 yards passing for the second time this year (first time since the opener) last week. Goff’s willingness to spread the football around lowers the floors and ceilings of each of his receivers, but the Texans have allowed the fifth most fantasy points per game to receivers, making Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp, and Sammy Watkins playable at WR3 or Flex. An 11.5-point spread favoring the Rams as well as the fact the Texans are led by unqualified signal-caller Tom Savage makes them a legit threat to lead D/STs in fantasy scoring this week. Minnesota’s touches are more consolidated among their top options, making them the better source of fantasy options this week. Jerick McKinnon is a high-end RB2 or low-end RB1, Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs are WR2s, and Kyle Rudolph is a starter at tight end who has a great matchup. Washington has coughed up the fourth-most fantasy points per game to tight ends this season. The Vikings D/ST rounds out their fantasy options this week.

5 – Falcons (vs. Cowboys)

Devonta Freeman‘s status for this weekend will require monitoring since he has a new undisclosed injury, but Freeman is expected to play. If things change and Freeman doesn’t suit up, Tevin Coleman would go from fringe Flex to RB2 in fantasy leagues for this week. In the linked article above, it’s noted that Julio Jones is also dealing with a lower leg injury. Jones is seemingly always playing through some sort of injury, and as long as this isn’t serious enough to sideline him, he’ll be a WR1 this week. He dropped what would have been only his second touchdown of the year last week, but it’s hard to argue with averages of 5.4 receptions and 82.3 yards receiving per game — even if they’re light by his standards. Matt Ryan‘s encore to his 2016 MVP winning campaign has underwhelmed — putting it mildly. This isn’t a Cam Newton-like MVP encore. Ryan and the Falcons are at home against a giving Cowboys defense, and the Falcons have a huge implied team over/under total of 31.75 points in a game with a shootout-friendly spread of only three points favoring the Dirty Birds. I don’t love Austin Hooper, but he’s a defensible option at tight end.

4 – Patriots (@ Broncos)

The Patriots come out of the bye as a 7.5-point favorite with an implied team over/under total of 26.75 points in Denver. Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski are the crown jewels of the offense, especially in this matchup. Chris Hogan‘s playing status is murky this early in the week after suffering a shoulder injury prior to the team’s bye. Hogan’s a WR2/WR3 if he plays. Brandin Cooks is a WR2 regardless of Hogan’s status. In a crowded RBBC situation, skilled pass-catching backs James White and Rex Burkhead are my favorite options, but Dion Lewis is low-floor, low-ceiling option after seeing his carries rise every week from Week 4 through Week 8 when he set a season high with 15. The Patriots D/ST were among my streaming suggestions this week, and they should continue their run of playing better against the Brock Osweiler-led Broncos offense.

3 – Cowboys (@ Falcons)

Here’s what you need to know about Zeke’s ongoing battle with the NFL regarding his suspension. Dallas’ ranking operates under the assumption he’ll play again this week, but honestly, I have no idea. Alfred Morris is an RB2 if Zeke starts serving his suspension this week. Dez Bryant avoided serious injury despite a scare last week, and I’m treating him as if he’s playing, though, you’ll want to keep tabs on him, too. Dak Prescott is having an excellent sophomore campaign and is a top-five QB this week.

2 – Saints (@ Bills)

The Bills just had the ball shoved down their throat by the trio of Forte (14-77-2), Powell (9-74-0), and Elijah McGuire (13-30-0), and they’re nowhere near as talented as the combo of Mark Ingram and Alvin Kamara. Both are must-starts every week, and they’re both arguably RB1s this week. Michael Thomas remains the most reliable wide receiver and is a WR1, but Ted Ginn is WR3/Flex material in a season in which he’s averaging 3.5 receptions and 60.0 yards per game with three touchdown receptions. Drew Brees‘ 276.8 passing yards per game thus far this year is his lowest total since 2007, and with 13 touchdown passes through a half of season, he’s on pace for his lowest passing touchdown total since tossing 26 since 2006. There’s nothing wrong with Brees, though. He simply isn’t being asked to carry the load all on his own as he has been in recent years since the defense is playing better this year and the running game has been explosive. He remains a fantasy starter, albeit one whose ceiling isn’t as exciting this year as other years. As I noted discussing the Bills above, this game has shootout potential, and that coming to fruition would be great for all fantasy-relevant Saints offensive players.

1 – Steelers (@ Colts)

Le’Veon Bell is my top ranked RB this week. Antonio Brown is my top ranked WR this week. Those two alone would justify this ranking. The Colts have coughed up the third most fantasy points per game to running backs this year, and they’ve been beaten up on the ground and through the air by them. Bell’s ceiling is off the charts. The Colts have also surrendered the sixth most fantasy points per game to receivers, and Brown’s leading the league in targets (94), receptions (57), receiving yards, receptions per game (7.0), and receiving yards per game (104.4). Ben Roethlisberger is having a down year and has a track record of playing much better at home than on the road, but he’s startable against the hapless Colts. Rookie JuJu Smith-Schuster exploded for a 7-193-1 line against the Lions just before the bye. He’s reached the end zone in back-to-back games, and he’s scored four touchdowns overall this year. His floor is fairly low if the studs on Pittsburgh push this game out of hand quickly, but he’s a WR3/Flex. The Steelers D/ST is an elite play, too.

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Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.