Andy Dalton No More Than a Fantasy Bench Option with A.J. Green Sidelined

The Cincinnati Bengals are a well-rounded, defensive-minded team set to make a run at one of the top playoff seeds in the AFC. They certainly have the talent to overcome the loss of wide receiver A.J. Green, who will miss Sunday's game against the Carolina Panthers with a right big toe injury, according to sources for ESPN's Bob Holtzman (via ESPN.com's Coley Harvey).

However, Green's absence forces quarterback Andy Dalton to play a game manager role, which tarnishes his already limited fantasy value and turns him into a mere bench option for the foreseeable future.

After five weeks of play, Dalton is 20th among quarterbacks in standard-scoring leagues, per ESPN.com. Granted, the Bengals had a bye in Week 4, but it's clear from his game-by-game stats that he's been a limited-upside fantasy quarterback at best in 2014.

Week, Opponent	CMP/ATT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT
1, Ravens	25/38	301	7.92	1	0
2, Falcons	15/23	252	10.96	1	0
3, Titans	15/23	169	7.35	0	1
5, Patriots	15/24	204	8.50	2	0

It doesn't help that Green is just one of two receiving options that Dalton will be missing in Week 6. Wide receiver Marvin Jones has yet to suit up this season—and won't feature against the Panthers—as he recovers from foot and ankle injuries, per NFL.com's Kevin Patra. Jones racked up 712 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns in 2013, one of the finer second-fiddle efforts in the league.

Green, when healthy, has been his usual dynamic self, racking up 17 catches on 25 targets for 314 yards and two touchdowns in three-plus games, per ESPN.com. Dalton's best game came in Week 1 against the Baltimore Ravens, a contest in which Green racked up 131 yards on six catches.

He alone doesn't make Dalton a viable fantasy quarterback, but his ability to stretch the defense and demand double coverage is sorely missed in an offense that lacks a consistent threat outside beyond Mohamed Sanu, who has stepped up and performed admirably in 2014. The same can't be said for the rest of the Bengals wideouts.

Player	REC	TGTS	YDS	TD
Mohamed Sanu	17	26	234	2
Brandon Tate	6	10	74	0
Dane Sanzenbacher	3	5	47	0

As one can see, the Bengals are extremely thin at wideout.

The tight end position hasn't been an reliable source of production for Dalton this season. Tyler Eifert has hardly played this season—just a three-catch cameo in Week 1—due to injury, and Jermaine Gresham has struggled with drops, leaving Dalton with little in the way of a safety valve down the middle.

"It's early in the season. Keep playing. He'll get to where he needs to be," said offensive coordinator Hue Jackson, per Harvey. "I have a lot of confidence in him, I haven't lost any confidence in him at all. He just has to make those plays when they present themselves."

Dalton's fantasy value is also hurt by the fact that the Bengals don't have to rely on a rag-tag corps of receiving options. Running backs Giovani Bernard and Jeremy Hill will likely pick up the slack and do much of the dirty work on offense. They've combined for 380 rushing yards this season.

Stephan Savoia/Associated Press

In fact, Dalton may not even be looking downfield much on passing downs with those two coming out of the backfield—Bernard is third on the team with 14 receptions this season, while Hill has five to his name.

Dalton has thrown just 12 passes beyond 21 yards this season, while he's thrown 29 behind the line of scrimmage, per ESPN.com. Fox Sports Radio's Ben Maller noted that, as of September 28, most of Dalton's passing yardage came after the catch:

Dinking and dunking down the field can score plenty of points when combined with a solid ground game, but it will severely limit Dalton's chances to rack up long touchdown passes, valuable plays to fantasy football managers. 

Dalton isn't worth starting this week, but he is definitely still worth a spot on the bench. Should Green and Jones return and play effectively, Dalton has some favorable matchups in the coming weeks, including the Baltimore Ravens in Week 8 and the Jacksonville Jaguars in Week 9. NFL Network's Albert Breer noted that Green won't need surgery on his foot, which should allow him to return to full strength this season:

In dual quarterback leagues, Dalton is definitely still worth a starting look, but for the majority of fantasy owners, he is a player to be avoided. Monitoring the health of the Bengals offense will be key to deciding whether or not Dalton is worth a start in most leagues.