Week 7: Player Downgrades
QB Eli Manning, ---
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After four consecutive games with two or more touchdowns, a lot of people were starting to believe in Eli Manning again. He was heading straight into a savory Week 6 matchup against an Eagles team that had been making charitable contributions to quarterbacks' stat lines all season. A high-stakes friend of mine said, "I'm using him everywhere in daily leagues this week. His price is too good." That person didn't heed my warnings against such a move. One of the reasons why we're downgrading Manning this week is the same as why we advised against using him in Week 6, regardless of the matchup: He's just too inconsistent. He'll go out and throw for 300 yards and four touchdowns one week, then do what he did in Week 6 against the Eagles and get you less than 10 fantasy points. That's unacceptable from your starting fantasy QB. There are two more reasons we're downgrading Manning this week. One, he just lost his best receiver, Victor Cruz, for the season to a knee injury. And two, tough matchups are around the corner. The Giants will play at the red-hot Dallas Cowboys in Week 7. Then, after their Week 8 bye, they'll welcome the Indianapolis Colts. Both teams are allowing fewer than 16 fantasy points per game to QBs.
QB Matt Ryan, ---
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The Falcons simply aren't very good. At least their offense has been worth noting in fantasyland as Ryan is a top-10 fantasy quarterback. However, their next two matchups – at Baltimore and hosting Detroit – pose the two biggest hurdles Ryan will face for the remainder of the season. Both teams are holding opposing QBs to no more than 15 fantasy points per game. The Lions actually have the most ungenerous defense to quarterbacks in fantasy. We still like Ryan for the rest of the season as his schedule after Atlanta's Week 9 bye is extremely favorable. Yet for the next two weeks, he's a quarterback you might want to replace if you can get a better option.
RB C.J. Spiller, ---
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For whatever reason, Spiller isn't getting the opportunities his fantasy owners had hoped for. We've all seen how explosive Spiller can be; we just haven't seen it nearly enough. Spiller got just six carries Sunday. By comparison, third-stringer Anthony Dixon got seven. Spiller managed only 19 yards and lost a fumble, which probably left most of his owners with negative points. However, the most concerning aspect of Spiller's Week 6 disaster was his snap count. Being on the field for only 12 of 69 offensive plays is worrisome with any player. The bottom line is this: The Bills obviously trust Fred Jackson more right now. Spiller still leads the team in rushing yards, but he's losing playing time rapidly and not doing much with the chances he does get, averaging only 3.4 yards per carry. If the distribution of snaps and carries remains the same in Week 7 versus Minnesota, it may be time to simply stash Spiller at the end of your bench and hope he gets a bigger opportunity at some point down the road. Right now, he's not someone you should trust at all.
WR Julio Jones, ---
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Jones has been one of the most productive fantasy wide receivers so far this season. And thanks to the Falcons' terrible defense, the offense is left playing from behind a lot. That's a great recipe for top-notch fantasy production from an elite receiver. However, in Week 7, Jones will be going up against a Baltimore Ravens defense that has been stingy to wide receivers. The Ravens have allowed only seven touchdowns to wideouts through six weeks. Two of those scores came in the second half of Sunday's game with Tampa Bay, which Baltimore was dominating by a score of 38-0 at the half. Led by cornerback Jimmy Smith, whom Jones is sure to see a lot of, the Ravens have allowed only one receiver to surpass the 100-yard mark on the year. If not for a crazy 77-yard touchdown to the Bengals' A.J. Green in Week 1, he would have had five catches for 54 yards, and that list would be empty. The list of receivers they've held under the century mark isn't short on talent either. Vincent Jackson (66 yards), T.Y. Hilton (90), Reggie Wayne (77), Kelvin Benjamin (76) and Antonio Brown (90) have all been kept from monster games. Jones is capable of breaking that trend, but the Ravens are playing extremely well right now.
TE Larry Donnell, ---
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The secret is out: Donnell can do more than block. After making a splash at the start of the year with multiple impressive outings highlighted by a three-touchdown performance in Week 4 when Donnell didn't even start himself on his own fantasy team, the Giants' tight end has been all but silenced. He caught 25 passes for 236 yards and four touchdowns through the first four weeks. His one catch for 6 yards on three targets since is a Copperfield-esque act. Part of it is due to the inconsistency of his quarterback. Part of it is due to the fact that defenses know who he is and understand that they can't leave him alone. While we don't think the shutouts will continue, we also don't think he's a top-five tight end, which is where the hype train was taking him after those first four weeks. Couple all that with the fact that the Giants just lost Cruz, and it's likely that Donnell will continue to see plenty of attention from opposing defenses.
Remember to read all our columns for this week and use our Who To Start Rankings
