With all of the ESPN hype surrounding Derek Jeter’s final farewell and the end of the baseball season, it might have been easy to forget that there was a full slate of NFL football this weekend. In my case, I’m trying very hard to forget all about it, especially the part where my Bears’ defense looked more like a sieve than an NFL pass defense.
But of course, football continues on, and I am here to bring you the truth about which players’ stocks are rising and which are falling as the season enters its second quarter. We’re just trying to fix the Goodell-bot in this week’s trends.
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Fantasy Week 5 Up-Down
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Isaiah Crowell RB – Cleveland Browns
Crowell, a rookie undrafted running back who was once a five-star recruit at Georgia, has seemingly passed Terrance West on the Browns’ depth chart after badly outplaying him two weeks in a row. The 21-year old Crowell has averaged 5.2 yards per carry on 27 chances this season and has already found the end zone three times, a mark that is tied for the NFL lead.
The Browns were off in Week 4 and it’s still unclear whether injured starter Ben Tate will be ready to go when Cleveland faces Tennessee next week. If Tate can’t play, Crowell will be an attractive option as he’ll likely be the focal point of the Cleveland rushing attack. Either way, he seems to be a player with immense talent who is finally cashing in on it. He’s still only owned in 5.5 percent of ESPN leagues, so put a waiver claim on soon.
Arrow Pointing: UP
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LeSean McCoy RB – Philadelphia Eagles
McCoy hasn’t shown anywhere near the burst that he displayed last season when he led the NFL in rushing. It’s unclear whether that’s due to overuse (he carried the ball 41 more times than his previous career high a season ago), problems on the offensive line or some mystery injury, but the fact is Shady hasn’t had a 100-yard game yet this season and he’s only found paydirt twice.
The Eagles have noticed the trend as well, seemingly. McCoy hasn’t had a catch in two weeks and he only carried the ball 10 times against the 49ers in Week 4. Part of that can be explained away by the fact that the Eagles only had the ball for 18 minutes of game time, but it can’t explain how the former Pitt standout gained a paltry 17 yards on those carries or why Chip Kelly didn’t call his number on fourth and goal with the game on the line. McCoy was one of the top players in all of fantasy last year, but last year’s performance doesn’t win this year’s championship. I would bench McCoy against the Rams.
Arrow Pointing: DOWN
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Marques Colston WR – New Orleans Saints
As someone who drafted Colston highly this year, hoping he would bounce back from a subpar season by his standards in 2013, it pains to me say that probably isn’t going to happen. After six 1,000-yard seasons in seven years, Colston has seen a noticeable drop off in production the last two years and he looks out of sync with quarterback Drew Brees.
Once a WR1 on many fantasy teams, Colston is now the third pass-catcher on his own team, trailing both Jimmy Graham and Brandin Cooks in targets. Since a 110-yard effort in Week 1, the nine-year veteran has caught just seven passes in three weeks, despite 15 targets and many of those came in Week 4 as the Saints fell far behind against the Cowboys and were forced to throw repeatedly. Colston is still owned in 100 percent of ESPN leagues, but he hasn’t produced like a fantasy starter this season.
Arrow Pointing: DOWN
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Stevie Johnson WR – San Francisco 49ers
Johnson only had one catch on Sunday against the Eagles, so this classification may seem somewhat out of place. Looking at the big picture, however, Johnson has become vitally important to the Niners’ offense. Vernon Davis left the game against Philly with an injured back and had to be helped off the field, leaving Johnson and Michael Crabtree as the only truly dangerous vertical threats at Colin Kaepernick’s disposal.
The former Bills star has already shown some chemistry with Kaepernick, as he caught all nine passes thrown his way in Week 3 for a total of 103 yards. While he was only targeted twice on Sunday, the one catch he did make was a beautiful TD catch near the sideline that showcased both his tremendous hands and his field awareness as he stayed in bounds. With Davis out for an indeterminate amount of time, Johnson could quickly become a solid WR2 or flex option.
Arrow Pointing: UP
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Teddy Bridgewater QB – Minnesota Vikings
Bridgewater will undoubtedly be one of the top pickups off the waiver wire this week and for good reason. The rookie signal caller lit up a Falcons defense that had previously given up the eight-fewest fantasy points to QBs this season. Chants of “TED-DY, TED-DY” rang out all afternoon in TCF Bank Stadium as the former Louisville star threw for 317 yards and ran for a touchdown in the Vikes 41-28 win.
One game does not make a fantasy star, of course, but Bridgewater looked sound a week ago in relief of Matt Cassel after the incumbent starter got hurt against New Orleans. He seems to have arm strength to make all the necessary throws, as evidenced by his 10.6 ypa average on Sunday. Even better, Minnesota offensive coordinator Norv Turner compared the young quarterback’s decision-making to another of his former pupils, Drew Brees. He’ll surely have some growing pains but Bridgewater seems to be a solid play going forward, especially against weaker teams.
Arrow Pointing: UP
