Daily Dr. Roto — October 15, 2018
Week 6 Prescription Notes
— I can’t believe that I am saying the following words, but—Dolphins QB Brock Osweiler looked good! A lot of his success was partly due to some horrific tackling by the Bears defense (a running theme for them this season), but Brock made the right reads and connected with his targets. I doubt that there will be a QB controversy in Miami, but if Brock can continue to play this way, Fantasy owners can continue to start their Dolphins if Ryan Tannehill remains sidelined with a shoulder injury.
— The Houston Texans were lucky to win at home against the Bills. Had the Bills had Tyrod Taylor (or any decent NFL QB) they would have won the game handily. The Texans OL gave up a whopping seven sacks which are going to get QB Deshaun Watson injured again if they are not careful. Texans HC Bill O’Brien needs to call more short passing plays because Watson is taking his life in his hands by waiting on his receivers to get open deep.
— Falcons TE Austin Hooper often gets overlooked because of the other dynamic players the Falcons have on offense, but he is turning into one of the top tight ends in the NFL. While it’s true that the Falcons have played Pittsburgh and Tampa Bay (the two worst teams in the NFL vs. opposing TE), Hooper has been spectacular with 18 receptions for 148 yards and a TD.
— I was debating whether I would have played Vikings RB Dalvin Cook had he been active this week, but I think I would have kept him on reserve. Cook did not look right in warm-ups, and the coaches wisely decided to inactivate him. Cook owners are going to have to be patient with him as hamstring injuries linger, and this could last another two or three weeks—or longer.
— Sometimes it’s easy to forget when rookies play so well that they are still rookies. Browns QB Baker Mayfield looked awful against the Chargers aggressive defense and disappointed his Fantasy owners. If there is any good news that came out of this game for the Browns is that TE David Njoku looked terrific and I think Mayfield is the type of player who is going to get better after a bad loss as opposed to sulk. Don’t hesitate to use him in DFS in Week 7, especially since his ownership will plummet after this performance.
— Going into the Colts-Jets game I was worried that Colts RB Nyheim Hines was going to lose touches once RB Marlon Mack was active. I was right. Hines barely touched the ball (he dropped a wide-open TD). If you were counting on Hines, you might need to rethink this since it appears evident that the team wants to put the ball in Mack’s hands as much as possible.
— If you are a Panthers RB Christian McCaffrey owner, don’t panic just yet. The Panthers are a different team when they play from behind (Cam forces the ball), and CMC’s numbers have suffered because of it. With the right game flow, CMC is still a PPR beast.
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— At this point, if the Raiders end up trading WR Amari Cooper (which might be difficult considering he left Sunday’s game with a concussion), I might argue that their best two Fantasy players are TE Jared Cook and RB Jalen Richard. RB Marshawn Lynch is not getting enough blocking in front of him to make much impact, and WR Jordy Nelson struggles with faster CBs.
— I think Bengals HC Marvin Lewis has to shoulder the blame for the Bengals horrible loss to the Steelers. Antonio Brown MUST be double covered at the end of the game.
— Yes, Rams RB Todd Gurley looked terrific this week, but I think the Denver Broncos lousy run defense also aided his success. This is the second week in a row in which the Broncos have let up 200+ yards rushing to an opposing RB, and they face Cardinals RB David Johnson in Week 7.
— I say it every week—you cannot bench your studs! So many people asked me this entire week whether they should bench Ezekiel Elliott against the Jaguars. Zeke went for 106 yards rushing and a TD—and looked good doing it. I would rather lose with my studs than overthink things and be too cutesy with my lineup.
— The Ravens used Alex Collins at the goal line, and he scored two TDs. Sadly, I benched him in three different leagues, but I am more apt to use him once again now that he regained the trust of HC John Harbaugh.
— Patrick Mahomes to Tyreek Hill might be the most exciting QB/WR duo in the NFL. The Patriots did the right thing in trying to neutralize Travis Kelce, but they had no answer for Tyreek’s speed. If these two teams play again in the playoffs, there might be a different outcome if the Chiefs can avoid getting off to a slow start in the first half.
