FitzMagic officially went FitzTragic in week 4. Originally, Bucs coach Dirk Koetter wanted everyone who played fired, but he settled on benching Ryan Fitzpatrick for Jameis Winston going forward, a decision that I’m sure will work out. This week also gave us 1,000+ yards of offense in a Thursday Night Football matchup that featured two of the league’s top defenses. We also had head coaches making terrible decisions in overtime, since we don’t play the game to tie. Well, apparently you don’t play to win either.
I, however, only play to win. You should know if your team is good or bad at this point, so now is the time to make some moves. Pull off some trades if your leaguemates aren’t too stubborn. But if they are, you can still make some big moves on waivers. Fill the needs on your roster and survive these bye weeks. Here are my favorite Add/Drops of the week, accompanied by their ownership percentage in ESPN fantasy leagues.
Teams on Bye: Bears and Buccaneers
QB/RB Adds
QB Marcus Mariota, TEN (20.3%)
It’s crazy what gaining feeling in their hand can do to improve a quarterback’s play! Mariota finished the game against the Eagles with 344 yards and a touchdown passing to go with 46 yards and another score on the ground. He faces the Bills this upcoming week before a tough game against Baltimore.
QB Andy Dalton, CIN (52.9%)
Dalton has continued to be really solid this year. In fact, he’s QB10 through four weeks! I don’t think losing Eifert affects much, and getting Joe Mixon back will only make this offense more dangerous.
QB Blake Bortles, JAC (18.1%)
Much like how Dalton continues to impress, so does my man, Mr. December Blake Bortles! If you don’t get the nickname, listen to the FlurrySports Podcast sometime you uncultured plebeian. Anyways…Bortles is QB12 through the first month of the season. He has looked good, and if Fournette misses more time, it has meant Bortles passes more often. The Jags go to Kansas City this week to face a high-powered offense, but lackluster secondary. Seems like a great streamer to me!
QB C.J. Beathard, SF (2%)
Last week, I said to pick this guy up. Now that he’s gone out there and impressed, will you listen now? He’s a talented quarterback that is in a great system. He is more willing to use and trust all of his weapons than Jimmy G, and he will give you points with his legs.
RB T.J. Yeldon, JAC (46.8%)
Leonard Fournette came back last week, but exited again due to his hamstring. It wasn’t necessarily a setback, but it’s still catching. Therefore, Yeldon may get another start this week. He is a must-own if you’re a Fournette owner anyways, so make sure he’s picked up.
RB Nyheim Hines, IND (15.5%)
Hines came to play this week! We were told that he would be the “Darren Sproles” role in this offense, and it showed against the Texans in week 4. He caught 9 passes for 63 yards and two touchdowns. The Colts have a short week, playing against the Patriots on Thursday. Indy may also be without their top pass-catcher, T.Y. Hilton, which would mean Hines needs to help pick up some of the slack in the passing game.
Pass Catcher Adds
WR Keke Coutee, HOU (0.4%)
Coutee made his rookie debut and did not disappoint! He caught 11 of his team-high 15 targets for 109 yards. He was the go-to guy for Watson on many big third downs. Coutee is an obvious pickup no matter what, but especially so if Will Fuller misses time.
WR Taylor Gabriel, CHI (6.6%)
Gabriel isn’t someone you need to rush for, since he does have a bye this upcoming week. However, he is averaging 8 targets the past three games. While yes, this past week was probably the ceiling for this offense, it still has the potential to be very good from week to week. If you play in a deep league and are looking for WR depth, check to see if Gabriel is there.
WR Geronimo Allison, GB (43.1%)
Geronimo was a hot pickup last week, but he’s still out there in more than half of leagues. If Randall Cobb misses this week again, you can have confidence in starting Allison. Otherwise, it’ll be tough to predict when he goes off.
WRs from Indianapolis
Ryan Grant (10.9%)
Chester Rodgers (0.3%)
Like I said previously with Nyheim Hines, T.Y. Hilton will likely miss this week against the Patriots. Last week, Rogers caught 8-of-11 targets for 85 yards, and Grant caught 5-of-7 targets for 64 yards. I’m sure the Patriots will come out to put up big numbers, especially with Edelman back, so Andrew Luck will need to pass often. Both of these guys have value this week.
TE Tyler Kroft, CIN (0.4%)
Tyler Eifert is likely out for the season (again) and in comes Tyler Kroft (again). Kroft finished as TE11 in standard scoring leagues last year, so expect him to come in and instantly have value again.
TE Cameron Brate, TB (10.6%)
O.J. Howard is reportedly out 2-4 weeks with a MCL sprain. Obviously, this means there’s more opportunity for Brate after their bye. The Bucs have also named Winston as their starter, and Winston likes to target Brate more than Fitzpatrick does, so go ahead and pick up Brate if you’re a tight end-needy team, like many of us are.
Drops
QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, TB
The Bucs have confirmed that Jameis Winston will be the starter after the bye.
RB Derrick Henry, TEN
I think Henry will benefit from an effective Mariota at quarterback, but you don’t need to sit through this and suffer if there’s a player out there you can use.
RB Peyton Barber, TB
Koetter said he wanted to fire everybody, so could that include the ineffective starting running back? I hope so. Everything seems set up to use the rookie Jones more going forward.
RB Rex Burkhead, NE
Patriots put Burkhead on IR with a neck injury.
TE Tyler Eifert, CIN
Eifert is likely out for the season with an ankle injury.
TE Will Dissly, SEA
Dissly is out for the season with a torn patellar tendon.
Are you looking for another way to play NFL DFS every week? Join the highest-rated fantasy football app, DRAFT! Drafts start every couple minutes, so you can enter one right now for week 5!
If you click the picture or this link to sign up and use the promo code “FlurrySports,” you get a free entry into a $3 game! There’s not much better than free money, so sign up today!
Related Articles
Follow What Kenny Rogers Taught Us About Fantasy Football
College Football Power Rankings: Week 6
Hot-Hand Fallacy and Recency Bias Trends the Past 3 Years: WRs, TEs and D/STs
