Matchups To Look At In Week 5
Welcome, #4EYEDfans!
You want the edge in your fantasy football matchups each week? Then you’ve come to the right place!
In these articles, we’ll highlight the players that may or may not have the best matchups to exploit this week in order to help you know how to set your lineups with confidence!
Quarterbacks
Tom Brady vs. Chicago
Brady may be thinking revenge after Nick Foles took down the GOAT in Super Bowl LII, but do not let Brady’s five-touchdown performance against the Chargers tempt you into inserting him into the lineup this week. Tom takes on a Chicago defense that has yet to allow a quarterback to throw for over 250 yards since Stafford did it Week 1. Over the last three games, Chicago has only allowed two passing touchdowns while intercepting two balls. Week 4 was the first time this season Brady has seen over 40 pass attempts. The one-yard touchdown passes keep coming for Brady, but be wary of those opportunities showing up on a regular basis.
Teddy Bridgewater vs. Atlanta
At this point, it just feels as if I’m picking on Atlanta in these articles. Atlanta is allowing a league-high 32.48 FPPG to quarterbacks on the season and will continue to be a staple matchup to exploit. Teddy is coming off a solid win in which he threw for 276 yards and his first multi-touchdown game of the season. Teddy B tossed two touchdowns and threw his third interception of the young year. He also found the endzone with his legs against the Cardinals last Sunday. Atlanta has now given up 30 or more points in each game and allowed Trubisky and Foles to throw for 307 yards and four touchdowns just a few weeks ago. With questions around several games being played this weekend, Teddy B is a great fill-in option.
Running Backs
Jonathon Taylor vs. Cleveland
The Browns have yet to allow a running back to rush for over 55 yards in a game this year. The Browns have only allowed 257 rushing yards to running backs. Unless Taylor is involved in the passing game, he will have a tough time putting up points in fantasy lineups. Unfortunately, Taylor has just seen four targets over the last three weeks. JT has at least 75 scrimmage yards and 15 touches in three of four games this year. Other than his explosion after the Mack injury Week 2, Taylor has yet to see greater than 50% of the snaps.
Todd Gurley vs. Carolina
Gurley is coming off a two-touchdown week in which he tallied up 63 yards on 17 touches. Gurley could not ask for a better matchup than the one he faces this week. Carolina has allowed 396 rushing yards and a total of eight touchdowns to running backs this season. The Panthers have also given up a league-high 37 receptions to running backs on the season. Gurley has at least 15 touches in each game this year and over 20 touches in two of those games. He has yet to go over 85 scrimmage yards but has rushed for over 55 yards in each game. TGII has scored in all but one game and gets a Carolina defense that has allowed seven rushing touchdowns this season. Gurley is second in the league with 19 red zone rush attempts, trailing only King Henry.
Patriots RB’s vs. Denver
This is one of the more frustrating backfields in the league. It is a complete guessing game in who will be toting the rock each week with all the backs healthy. To make matters worse, Denver is allowing just 16.33 FPPG to running backs this season. Denver ceded just one touchdown to running backs through the first four weeks. Every other team has allowed two-plus touchdowns to the position. Unless you have access to a crystal ball, its hard to start any of these backs with confidence.
Wide Receivers
Justin Jefferson vs. Seattle
The Seahawks will make this piece week in and week out. Seattle has allowed a whopping 500 more yards to opposing wide receivers than any other team in the league. The Seahawks have allowed nearly 30 more receptions to wide receivers than the next closest team. The rookie now has back to back games with 100 or more yards and has amassed 14 targets over the last two weeks. He has 11 catches for 278 yards and a touchdown in that span. Jefferson is currently eighth among wide receivers with 348 yards. Russ should be cooking again this week so Cousins will have to sling the pigskin around the field to keep up.
Darius Slayton vs. Dallas
Slayton made the article last week for his tough matchup against Jalen Ramsey, but this week he has a juicy matchup against Dallas. Slayton has six or more targets in every game this season and has racked up 29 on the year. Dallas is allowing 36.4 FPPG and a league-high 9 touchdowns to opposing wide receivers. The Cowboys have also scored 38 or more points in each of the last three weeks. Expect Daniel Jones to air it out trying to keep up with Dak and the boys.
Jerry Jeudy vs. New England
With Fant banged up, Jeudy could be the top option for Denver in Week 5. Jeudy should draw coverage from Jonathon Jones in a tough matchup against the Patriots. The rookie has yet to play more than 75% of the snaps or top 62 receiving yards. On the other hand, he has caught 15 of 28 targets and has a floor of 55 receiving yards. Against a horrendous Jets team last week, he caught just two passes. One of which was his first NFL touchdown. New England is not giving up an easy touchdown like that this week! Keep Jeudy on the bench this week.
Tight Ends
Jonnu Smith vs. Buffalo
Jonnu is set for a fantastic matchup in Week 5. He faces off against a Bills defense that has allowed the most receiving yards (359) and third-most receptions (31) to tight ends through four weeks. In three games this season, Jonnu’s caught 13 of 20 targets for 181 yards and three touchdowns. Adam Humphries and Corey Davis will miss this week due to COVID and AJ Brown has his hands full with a Tre’Davious White shadow.
Hunter Henry vs. New Orleans
The Saints have now allowed 32 receptions, 330 yards, and five touchdowns to tight ends on the season. Only the Falcons have given up more fantasy points to the position. The Saints have allowed a tight end to sniff out the end zone in every game this season. Before last weeks disappointment, Henry failed to record under 5 catches or under 50 receiving yards through the first three weeks of the season. Henry averaged 7.67 targets per game during that span. In Week 4, Henry caught just two of four targets for 39 yards.
Ian Thomas vs. Atlanta
Ian Thomas can not be inserted into lineups with confidence, but he did catch a touchdown pass last week. He now faces the Falcons who have given up the most touchdowns (7) to tight ends this season. Atlanta has allowed 33 receptions and 336 yards to the position. Thomas has just five catches on the season but saw a season-high five targets last week. In deeper leagues, Thomas is an option against Atlanta to find the endzone. Insert into lineups cautiously as he has just two red-zone targets this season.
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