Fantasy Football Week 5: Biggest Takeaways from Sunday
The New England Patriots are back! We're not here to talk about that, though—only fantasy football 'round these parts.
Week 5 was another injury-marred affair, though not nearly the carnage we saw during the Week 2 Injurypocalypse. Guys like New York's Rashad Jennings, Denver's Montee Ball and San Diego's Donald Brown left their games with injury, opening doors for others to perform.
Aside from the injury woes, there were some eye-opening performances to go along with some bitter disappointments. Click through for the biggest fantasy football takeaways from Sunday's action in Week 5.
Big Play Antone Smith Should Be a Bigger Part of the Offense
1 of 10
Big Play Antone Smith struck again on Sunday. It seems like this is a weekly occurrence in 2014.
The Atlanta Falcons running back has scored on a long touchdown in three straight games, this time a 74-yard touchdown reception against the New York Giants. He is a lightning bolt ready to strike at any given moment.
So why don't the Falcons get him the ball more?
That is the question of the day. Smith may not be able to sustain his career average of 15.5 yards per carry, but he has certainly seemed like the best running back the Falcons have. It's easy to say that when all he does is score, though.
The Falcons do have Steven Jackson, Devonta Freeman and Jacquizz Rodgers in that backfield too. Until Smith starts getting more than four touches per game, though, starting him would be playing with fire.
If you don't get that long touchdown, you could be left holding on to a doughnut.
Austin Davis, Bye Week Hero
2 of 10
The St. Louis Rams had a tough matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles this week.
It seems the Rams have found their quarterback of the present in Austin Davis. The former undrafted rookie out of Southern Miss has been able to hang on to the starting job in St. Louis despite heading into the 2014 season as the third-string quarterback.
On Sunday, he nearly pulled off an improbable comeback against the Eagles. After getting beat up early and helping stake the Eagles to a 34-7 lead with a pair of fumbles, Davis roared back to the tune of 375 passing yards and three touchdowns.
He got the Rams to within six points late in the game before the comeback attempt fizzled. He also made his teammates fantasy-relevant in the process.
Of course, the Eagles defense could make Tim Tebow look great. Davis' performance must be taken with a grain of salt.
He does have a nice group of pass-catchers, though, led by nascent receiver Brian Quick and athletic tight end Jared Cook. If the matchup is right, Davis could be providing fantasy owners with nice numbers during their quarterbacks' bye weeks.
Drew Brees Is Just Fine
3 of 10
Reports of Tom Brady's football death have been greatly exaggerated in New England. The same could be said about Drew Brees, though those reports were far quieter.
Brees was coming off a poor showing in Dallas that was salvaged in the fantasy realm by some garbage-time statistics. The man who has routinely been at or near the top of fantasy leaderboards at quarterback sat ranked eighth heading into Week 5, and that's with six quarterbacks having played one fewer game to date.
It turns out a little home cooking was all he needed to straighten out.
Granted, it wasn't as big of a performance as it could have been for Brees. He threw three interceptions against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, including a pick-six that nearly sank the Saints. He also tossed two touchdowns when there could have been more—his running backs were heavily involved in the scoring, after all.
Brees still got to 371 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns, and he did much of that without tight end Jimmy Graham, who was knocked out with a shoulder injury early on in the game.
The Saints Backfield Is a Fantasy Dream...or Nightmare
4 of 10
It was a fantasy football treat for anyone who may have started running backs Pierre Thomas, Khiry Robinson or Travaris Cadet.
It was just a short week ago that the Saints laid an egg on the road, after all, a particularly bitter pill for anyone who may have been counting on Thomas. Naturally, he had the biggest day, scoring twice while totaling 112 yards on 12 touches.
Cadet and Robinson each scored too, with the latter getting into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown in overtime. All in all, the Saints backfield combined for 245 total yards and four touchdowns, a magnificent performance in a come-from-behind victory.
How much of that performance can be trusted, however, and who will be the biggest beneficiary going forward? Thomas did much of his damage on his two long touchdowns—eight touches usually means minimal fantasy scoring. Cadet had three whole receptions, one of which was luckily in the end zone.
Robinson looked like the best of the bunch; hence, he got the heaviest workload with 21 carries for 89 yards. But Mark Ingram is set to return from his broken hand, which will further muddy the swamp that is the New Orleans backfield.
Ingram, you may recall, looked like he had finally figured things out earlier this season, running with intensity of purpose and resolve.
Travis Kelce Is a Must-Start from Here on out
5 of 10
Travis Kelce had a monster Monday night output against the New England Patriots in Week 4, but his Week 5 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers gave pause to fantasy prognosticators.
The Kansas City tight end was going up against one of the stingiest defenses in the league, after all—at least when it came to giving up fantasy points to the position—and Kelce is hardly proven as a consistent performer.
A touchdown in his third consecutive game should allay any fears that he might be a flash in the pan, however.
Granted, he didn't do much overall—just a pair of receptions for 15 yards and that touchdown—but he has entered "must-start" territory in the same vein as Rob Gronkowski, Kelce's numbered doppelganger in New England.
Branden Oliver, Darren Sproles 2.0?
6 of 10
Once upon a time, the San Diego Chargers drafted a diminutive running back wearing the No. 43. His name was Darren Sproles, and he has made a career out of killing opposing defenses unexpectedly.
A decade later, another small back has donned the same number, and he gave Chargers fans flashbacks against the stout New York Jets run defense.
Oliver annihilated the Jets in Sproles-like fashion, nabbing four receptions for 68 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 114 more yards and another score. He did it after de facto starter Donald Brown exited the game with a concussion despite the fact he was facing one of the league's top run defenses at the time.
“We came in with the mentality to run the ball, even though they had the No. 1 defense,” Oliver told ESPN.com's Eric D. Williams. “So whenever you get the opportunity to run the ball, the offensive line was hungry, and we just had to do what we had to do.”
The problem for Oliver going forward is that Ryan Mathews and Brown should be back soon. Mathews will be the starter when he's back, and Brown is still a trusted running back who will command at least a few touches.
Oliver has a serious shot to reprise injured Danny Woodhead's role, though, which would make him serviceable in points-per-reception (PPR) leagues.
The Hottest Waiver-Wire Pickup of the Week Will Be...
7 of 10
Branden Oliver will be a hot pickup regardless of the impending return of Ryan Mathews or Donald Brown, but there may be a better running back to grab this week.
That would be Andre Williams, and the reason is because he might have a much clearer path to playing time for the foreseeable future.
Starter Rashad Jennings was knocked out of Sunday's game with a knee sprain, leaving Williams as the de facto lead back for the New York Giants. He stepped up in a big way, totaling 83 yards and scoring a touchdown, generally looking like a capable starter.
Jennings may not be out long, but it's feasible he will miss at least two weeks given the Giants have a Week 8 bye. We will know more later this week, but if he is out for any amount of time, run to pick up Williams.
OK, Now Is the Time to Panic
8 of 10
Alarm bells were ringing for fantasy owners of LeSean McCoy and Montee Ball after four weeks.
Neither was living up to their lofty fantasy draft status, and both have been abject disappointments thus far this season. There was reason for optimism heading into Week 5, though—McCoy has been there before, and Ball seemed to be the victim of poor matchups in recent games.
After Sunday's action, though, it's officially time to panic.
McCoy had decent output but was largely ineffective at home against the St. Louis Rams, averaging just 3.4 yards per carry and gaining five yards on his four receptions. He also had a bad fumble after running backwards for 10 yards.
At first it seemed like McCoy may have been dealing with the effects of a concussion after he took a nasty hit in Week 3. That may still be the case, but we will likely never know for sure. We do know that he seems out of sorts right now.
Ball has fared worse, unable to get anything going over his past two games before going down with injury on Sunday. His groin issue may keep him out a while, per Mike Klis of The Denver Post, which adds injury to insult for fantasy owners who may have drafted him in the first round.
Keep an eye on Ball's injury status this week.
It will be difficult to find good value for either of these guys in a trade, but it's possible their names have cache among your leaguemates. Selling low can be cause for remorse in hindsight, but these two may be an albatross in your starting lineups this season.
Not All Matchups Are Equal
9 of 10
The Dallas defense was a generous lot when it came to opposing tight ends through the first four weeks of the season.
Heading into Sunday's tilt the Dallas Cowboys were giving up 18.9 standard points per game to opposing tight ends, by far the most in the league. Naturally, Garrett Graham seemed like a nice option for Houston.
The Texans tight end did not cash in on the tasty matchup, however, catching just one pass for three yards on the day. Houston's offense stalled for much of the day, ultimately costing the Texans the game when it could only muster 17 points.
This shouldn't dissuade you from playing tight ends against the Cowboys altogether, but it should give you pause if the tight end in question isn't good at his job.
Justin Hunter Finally Paying Off?
10 of 10
It took five games, but Justin Hunter finally popped for the Tennessee Titans. Too bad he was probably out of most fantasy owners' lineups.
The big receiver had been touted as a sleeper—an oxymoron, yes—before the season began, but he was unable to get rolling through the first four weeks of the season. It wasn't that he was left out of the game plan, merely a combination of abhorrent quarterback play and stone hands.
Despite his propensity to drop passes, however, Hunter's team gave him a vote of confidence—ESPN.com's Adam Caplan tweeted Hunter might ascend to the starting lineup over Nate Washington before his Week 5 breakout.
He was the beneficiary of a 75-yard touchdown reception; otherwise, it would have been another disappointing day—he caught just three passes for 99 yards otherwise. He oozes talent, but Hunter may be one of those frustrating players that performs when out of your lineup and busts when you start him.
All fantasy statistics and rankings courtesy of FFToday.com.
.jpg?w=480 "NFL Combine Football")
.jpg?w=600 "Fans React to Simpson Pick")
.jpg?w=600 "Brady Reacts to Mendoza Pick")
