As a matter of full disclosure, these Heroes and Villains lists are a very fickle thing, as some may have already deduced, there are guys that have been heroes one week and villains the next week (DeShaun Watson, I am looking at you). Getting on this list means that you have done something of note one way or the other and that performance was worthy of being mentioned. So, if you are a Hero, good for you keep up the great work and if you are a Villain, its time you step up your game. Going into Week Seven, we are getting ever so close to your fantasy football trade deadline, it is getting to that point where your bad start might become too much to overcome or you need to fortify your position among the fantasy elites. Either way knowing who has been a consistent fantasy hero, knowing who a villain is and knowing who has been treading back and forth will be very informative for you as you make those critical trade decisions.
(As always, all scores discussed in this article use a ½ PPR scoring structure)
Heroes:
Can You Diggs It?!?!…Zack Brown!!
You almost get the feeling that it may have taken something as simple as being called out on a podcast to get Kirk Cousins to realize that he has two of the most talented wide receivers in the NFL. Last week, when Adam Theilen called out Cousins, he responded by getting the ball to Theilen seven times for 130 yards and two touchdowns. This week was Stefon Diggs turn to garner Cousins attention, as he was targeted 11 times, catching seven of those targets for 167 yards and three touchdowns. This makes two of three games that Diggs has gone over the 100-yard barrier. The difference between his game two weeks ago and now is obviously the three touchdown catches. Prior to week six, Diggs only had one TD reception in his prior five games, making his fantasy output up until this week virtually meaningless. So, going into their week seven matchup against the Detroit Lions, who will be Cousins chosen one? Since the Lions currently rank 28th in the NFL against the pass, there is a potential for big time performances from everyone.
Kyler puts in an A’s Plus Effort this Week
In perhaps the best game of his young career, Kyler Murray lit up the Atlanta Falcons for 340 yards and three touchdowns. This is the third time this season that Murray has topped the 300-yard passing mark with multiple touchdown passes in two of those three games. This week, Murry faces the New York Giants, who is ranked 31st in the NFL in total pass defense, allowing an average of 285 yards a game and has given up 12 receiving TDs in 2019. An interesting thing to note is that in his three games over 300 yards, Murray has produced three of his four worst running performances. For a dual threat QB, this is a telling stat, in that the more he throws, the less he runs. A factor to take into consideration going into his and the Cardinals week seven matchup.
Ice Ice Matty…Do..Do..Do.Do..Do..Do..Do
It’s amazing that Matt Ryan does not garner the acclaim that some of his contemporaries get. Is it that much of a controversial statement to say that he is one of the five best QBs of his era? While no active QB can compare to what Tom Brady has done during this time and Aaron Rodgers has put up slightly better stats, Ryan has put together a career that is on its way to being Hall of Fame worthy. So far in 2019 despite his teams struggles, Ryan is putting up some very impressive Fantasy Football stats. Last week in the Falcons loss to the Cardinals, Ryan went 30/36 for 356 yards and four touchdown passes and 31 fantasy points. This is his second straight game where he put up at least 30 fantasy points and he is now 6 for 6 in 2019 in games where he has thrown for over 300 yards and currently leads the NFL in touchdown passes with 15, and he is fifth among quarterbacks in total fantasy points this season. He has thrown seven interceptions this season, which is a bit of a red flag, but with his running back corps underperforming, look for Matty Ice to continue to put up some big fantasy football stats.
All Tackles Lead to Devin
The Pittsburgh Steelers defense has been mediocre at best this season, but one bright spot has emerged from the mediocrity, and that is linebacker Devin Bush. In the Steelers Week Six win over the Los Angeles Chargers, Bush was all over the place registering seven total tackles, one interception and a fumble recovery that he returned for a touchdown. On the season, Bush is currently 10th in the NFL in total tackles, has recovered four fumbles and has an interception in each of the last two games. He is on a bye this week, but his output each week has made many fantasy IDP owners very happy and he is definitely a hero that should be picked up in your league if he is still on the market.
Honorable Heroes:
James Conner (RB) – Pittsburgh Steelers – 16 carries 47 yards, 1 TD, 7 receptions 78 yards, 1 TD, 27.4 Fantasy Points
Nick Chubb (RB) – Cleveland Browns – 20 carries 122 yards, 2 TD, 26.4 Fantasy Points
Chris Carson (RB) – Seattle Seahawks – 24 carries 124 yards, 1 TD, 4 receptions 35 yards, 23.9 Fantasy Points
Terry McLaurin (WR) – Washington Redskins – 7 targets, 4 receptions 100 yards. 2 TDs, 24 Fantasy Points
Hunter Henry (TE) – Los Angeles Chargers – 9 targets, 8 receptions 100 yards, 2 TDs, 26 Fantasy Points
James Bradberry (CB) – Carolina Panthers – 11 total tackles, 2 interceptions, 32 Fantasy Points
Villains:
Something is a Little Goff in Los Angeles
When you sign an extension where you are given the largest guaranteed contract in the history of the NFL, you better produce on a weekly basis. Like every quarterback, you are going to have tougher games, particularly against teams with good defenses, but by and large, you need to produce quality numbers every week. Jared Goff had one of those tougher games in Week 6 against a San Francisco 49’ers defense that is ranked second in the NFL in total yards allowed. However, the performance that Goff put on could make someone question his fitness to be an NFL QB. Now that is a little bit hyperbolic to say that but when you go 13 for 24 and only 78 yards passing, that is not the performance you ever want to see from a guy that you guaranteed $110 million to before the season. This season Goff’s fantasy football performances have gone from bad to downright puzzling. The prime example is his game in week four where he threw for 517 yards and two touchdowns, but his three interceptions and one fumble made his fantasy output look very mediocre. He has a chance to redeem himself this week against a bad Falcons defense, if he is not able to right the ship this week, he will be on the villain track for a long time to come.
There’s Something Wrong About Henry
The Denver Broncos overall defense is good; however, their rushing defense has been a big anchor pulling them down from being a great defense, with all that in mind, Derrick Henry should have been giddy with anticipation when he saw the Broncos coming up on the schedule. Unfortunately, the numbers on paper, did not translate into the expected performance on the field. For the first time this season, Henry did not score double digits in fantasy points, as he would only rush for 28 yards on 15 carries all season lows. Henry has rushed for four TDs in his six games this season, so this game may have been a blip on the schedule for him, so a stay on the villain’s list may not be long, but there are potentially dark clouds on the horizon as the rest of the Tennessee Titans offense is really struggling. With Ryan Tannehill stepping in as QB over Marcus Mariota, there might be a chance for Henry to benefit, but with an offensive line that is ranked among the worst in the NFL, it’s going to take all of Derrick Henry’s skills to get the train back on the tracks.
JuJu’s Been No No Good Good
Imagine being on a team where your top two receivers combine for 215 receptions 2723 yards and 22 touchdowns, now imagine what your stats are going to look when one of those receivers is traded in the offseason and you are the primary receiver. For JuJu Smith-Schuster, the ultimate outcome could go one of two ways, either you become an NFL and Fantasy Football legend by accumulating stats the likes of which we have never seen, or teams key on you as the only receiver and you get shut down. Unfortunately for Smith-Schuster, the latter scenario is currently what is happening in 2019. Through six games, Smith-Schuster only has been targeted 38 times and has only 25 receptions for 340 yards and to touchdowns. Currently on a pace to catch 67 passes for 900 yards is WAY below the 111 reception 1426 yard standard that he set last season. His week six performance against the Los Angeles Chargers was especially troublesome in that it was his worst performance of the season as he only caught one pass for 7 yards on only seven targets and 1.2 fantasy points. Now he might get a bit of a pass because Delvin Hodges (yeah I had no idea who he is either) started last week in place of injured backup Mason Rudolph, but that can not necessarily be seen as an anomaly, because Smith-Schuster has not been able to find the endzone or enough volume in the passing game to make him anymore than a possible WR2 option in any week going forward. He has shown that he has the talent to avoid the villain title, but so far this year he has not shown that flash yet.
Austin 3:16 Says I Just Benched Your A**
It all started out so promising for L.A. Chargers running Back Austin Eckeler; he was not the classic dual threat running back that is so valued on most fantasy football rosters. His running statistics were about average, but as a pass catcher coming out of the backfield, he was more than making up for the lack of a prolific running game. While he has scored three rushing touchdowns so far this year, it is not enough for the potential of him losing his starting spot with the return of All-Pro Running Back Melvin Gordon. While Gordon has also been a big villain in the Chargers running game, it is clearly evident that the Chargers have begun the process of reinstalling him in the starting spot, while leaving Eckeler as the clear backup. This was on full display this past Sunday, in that Eckelar only had five carries for 14 yards and only three receptions for 14 yards for an abysmal 4 points. As of right now its starting to look like this will be Eckeler’s last appearance on the Heroes and Villains list as the reintegration of Gordon into the starting spot will make Eckeler’s status almost non-existent from a fantasy football perspective.
Dishonorable Villains:
Gardner Minshew II (QB) – Jacksonville Jaguars – 14/29 163 yards, 1 Interception, 4.6 Fantasy Points
Melvin Gordon (RB) – Los Angeles Chargers – 8 carries 18 yards, 3 receptions 30 yards, 7.8 Fantasy Points
Tyler Boyd (WR) – Cincinnati Bengals – 7 targets, 3 receptions 10 yards, 2.5 Fantasy Points
Cooper Kupp (WR) – Los Angeles Rams – 6 targets, 4 receptions 17 yards, 3.74
Travis Kelce (TE) – Kansas City Chiefs – 6 targets, 4 receptions 58 yards, 7.8 Fantasy Points