Week 5: Fantasy Football Pickups
Did you survive the first week of NFL byes? Did your players perform or underperform? What about injuries? Is your team healthy? We say it constantly here, the key to Fantasy success is having depth and being aggressive on the waiver wire. Here are some pickups for this week.
QB Nick Foles, ---
MyFantasyLeague availability: 100%Foles likely won't put up the numbers he did while playing for Philadelphia, where in 2013 he recorded two 400-yard passing games, as well as a seven-TD game. Don't expect that kind of gaudy production from the Rams' QB, but St. Louis is a team on the move. After handing Arizona their first loss of the season, where Foles threw three TDs, it looks like the Rams offense is starting to click. Foles is connecting to WR Tavon Austin well. Brian Quick is returning to action, meaning Foles will have more weapons. It's likely he's on your waiver wire, and if so, I'd snag him as an occasional matchup play and a bye week replacement.
Submit your $20 lineup for a chance to win a share of the $7.2M prize pool and the $1.2M grand prize!
RB Ronnie Hillman, ---
MyFantasyLeague availability: 100%C.J. Anderson owners should be worried. Hillman keeps eating into his production, and in Week 4, Hillman put up huge numbers may turn the tables toward Hillman being the starting RB in the Broncos backfield. He had 11 rushes for 103 yards. However, 73 of those yards came from one long TD run. When you take that out of the mix, his numbers were only 10 for 30. But, Hillman had the exact same number of snaps as Anderson, so it's a true running back by committee. Proceed to grab Hillman who could see increased touches and improved numbers over the next couple of weeks.
RB Charles Sims, ---
MyFantasyLeague availability: 100%Perhaps Doug Martin owners took Sims as a handcuff, but if not it's likely Sims is on the waiver wire. He deserves to be picked up. He presents a curious case for owners. His future is bright and he could really contribute down the stretch. The Bucs seem to have settled into roles for their running backs. Martin gets most of the carries, but Sims is the third down back and pass-catching RB. He's coming off back-to-back weeks of double-digit scoring in PPR formats. That is where Sims' value is. In standard scoring leagues, I'd keep an eye on him, but not take him yet. He's not had more than eight rushing attempts and hasn't found the end zone rushing. In fact, Sims isn't getting a lot of passes thrown his way, but is making the most of them. He's caught TDs in two straight weeks, with only two and three passes, respectively, the last two weeks. I value Sims as someone who could get a lot more action in the future.
RB Chris Thompson, ---
MyFantasyLeague availability: 100%Unpredictability and inconsistency is bad for Fantasy Football. This is why the Redskins' backfield is troublesome. Between Alfred Morris, Matt Jones and now Chris Thompson, trying to figure out who's going to be the main performer each week is difficult. But if you look deeper at the stats you can maybe get some clarity. In Week 4, in a tight game, Thompson was on the field for 39 snaps, to 26 for Jones and only 12 for Morris. So, clearly, the coaches believe Thompson is versatile. He's considered a good blocker, something Jones has been criticized for. Plus Thompson is not just a pass catcher, he rushed for 53 yards in Week 4. In Week 3, he had eight catches, 57 yards and a TD. Thompson is an intriguing grab this week. I would not trust him to start or perform consistently yet, but on the chance that he, and not Jones, becomes the main back for the Redskins, I would get in on that action now.
Easy to use lineup builder - Enter your lineup in seconds!
WR Kamar Aiken, ---
MyFantasyLeague availability: 100%Coming into the season Breshad Perriman was the hot WR commodity to own for the Ravens. But the rookie has not been able to get healthy and is far, far behind the rest of the Ravens' receivers, including Kamar Aiken. With the news that Steve Smith has broken bones in his back, Aiken could be in line for a major increase in action. He has already had two weeks with double-digit Fantasy points, including his first TD in Week 4. Aiken is a red zone threat, as our own Mark Morales-Smith noted in his analysis: 'He could emerge as the team's top red zone target. Aiken also has the potential to be a top target between the 20s.'