November 3, 2016

RotoBaller's Frankie Soler takes a look at five players sending out warning signals that you should be concerned about heading into week 9 of the fantasy football season.

Believe it or not, we're essentially halfway through the 2016 NFL season already. Life moves pretty fast, and fantasy football is no different. Heading into Week 9, most players have already settled into their season long outlooks. Sure there are some outliers, but for better or for worse, players are what they are by now. That in and of itself nets us an interesting Warning Signals list this week.

Almost none of the guys mentioned last week did anything to change my opinion on their fantasy status for the remainder of the year. That's certainly better news for some of them more than others, as you'll see shortly. Unfortunately, there isn't enough time to be lollygagging around while fantasy owners scramble to make the playoffs. As always, this is your usual reminder that players typically don't appear on Warning Signals without unexpected circumstances so now is about the time to start looking at some new suspects.

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Heed the Warning Signs

Russell Wilson - (QB, SEA)

This right here is our only repeat offender of the week. Russell Wilson was temporarily exempt back when he first incurred his injuries earlier in the season but still hasn't come around to being the fantasy star we've grown accustomed to. In last week's piece I mentioned that his season-long expectations should be lowered, but I was still anticipating high-end QB1 numbers against New Orleans in Week 8. Fast-forward to today and we're left with a version of Russell Wilson that is easily the most disappointing fantasy quarterback of the season.

As I mentioned last week, Wilson's struggles aren't entirely his fault. Between his various lower body injuries and an underachieving offensive line, the Seattle offense isn't what it used to be. That being said, there comes a point where it doesn't really matter who's to blame; fantasy disappointment doesn't really sting any less. Wilson finished with just nine fantasy points against the Saints and it was his third straight game without a touchdown. Halloween might have just passed but I'm going to scare you with what I'm about to say: Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks is droppable. He's the 24th fantasy QB on the year, he's clearly still injured, the offensive line is a mess, his rushing totals have plummeted, and a multitude of other quarterbacks have leapfrogged him. What more negative evidence do you need to bail on him? Give me Marcus Mariota, Dak Preskott, or Andy Dalton at this point. It obviously depends who's available to you in your league, but I can name at least 15 quarterbacks I'd rather have than Russell Wilson for the remainder of 2016.

Mark Ingram - (RB, NO)

Mark Ingram has got to be the best example of addressing the "giant purple elephant in the room" I have ever come across in Warning Signals. Sean Payton can spew off all the rhetoric he wants about how Tim Hightower earned more work and all that garbage but anyone with two eyeballs and a television can tell you that Mark Ingram was benched against Seattle. After an early fumble that was returned for a touchdown, Ingram rode the pine for the remainder of the game, crushing his fantasy day. For most folks, that meant negative points on the week. Besides, it wasn't even like he was setting the world on fire prior to that debacle anyway. He's had himself a disappointing season and is now barely holding on as an RB2.

I get it, there's plenty of reason to panic about Mark Ingram. There's multiple reports out there about how the Saints plan to use a committee going forward between Ingram, Hightower, and Travaris Cadet. The dreaded running back by committee is typically the kiss of death for fantasy purposes but I'm not sold on this being the end of the line for Ingram just yet. In fact, I think this could be the easiest bait and switch scenario to spot all year. The Saints are about to play a porous San Francisco rushing defense that is dead last in fantasy points against. Even if New Orleans decides to divvy up the workload more than usual, Ingram can still have himself a solid fantasy outing akin to that of Latavius Murray. Murray is having an RB2-quality year even though he's stuck in a three-headed timeshare. I'm not saying the Saints are going to keep three backs heavily involved the rest of the year but what I am saying is that Ingram has a golden opportunity to regain a stronghold on the backfield as soon as this week.

I can't imagine the leash is now so short on Ingram that Payton would ignore a 100 yard performance out of him. I'm starting him wherever I own him this week and hoping he gets his act together. Of course, this all becomes moot the second he fumbles away his fantasy relevance but let's try to remain positive for one more week.

Ryan Mathews - (RB, PHI)

If you've made it this far using Ryan Mathews as a fantasy running back I'd guess that the rest of your team is fairly strong. This isn't really a case of a player suddenly disappointing us after we've grown to rely on him so much as it is a heads up that you can't depend on Ryan Mathews for the playoff push. Similar to Sean Payton, Eagles head coach Doug Pederson is lying through his teeth when he talks about the team's backfield. Sure, whatever, Ryan Mathews is "the guy" as far as who the listed "starter" is, but Darren Sproles has clearly become more heavily involved in the offense.

Typically, teams that use a pure pass-catching back like Sproles still manage to feed a traditional runner with enough carries to remain on the fantasy radar. The Cincinnati Bengals are the most productive example of this with Giovani Bernard handling pass-catching duties while Jeremy Hill tends to be the bruiser up the middle. Sadly, the Eagles aren't anywhere close to being that potent out of the backfield. Sproles has earned himself a flex spot in fantasy lineups, particularly in PPR formats. I know this is a lot of Sproles talk but that's really what's hindering Mathews right now. Mathews is not an RB2 and can't be trusted for the home stretch of the fantasy season. No playoff contender should rely on him unless you are in a much deeper league.

Martellus Bennett - (TE, NE)

Given how inconsistent the tight end position is, it's somewhat rare for us to see this many TEs end up on Warning Signals throughout the year. Yet here we are stuck talking about another player who's fantasy outlook at the position has been called into question. Martellus Bennett was looking like a TE1 the second Tom Brady came back from his suspension. He immediately exploded for three touchdowns against Cleveland but has since evaporated. Part of this is injury related as Bennett has been dealing with an ankle issue, but usage concerns still remain.

Over the last three games, Bennett has a combined 10 receptions for 88 yards and zero touchdowns. That shakes out to a whopping seven fantasy points in standard scoring. He shouldn't be viewed as a locked in TE1 right now. He's fallen back down to the group of players from TE8-15 that need a touchdown to justify starting. Bennett is firmly entrenched in the Julius Thomas/Gary Barnidge batch of tight ends. Even with all that in mind, however, it'll be hard to outright bench a guy who has Tom Brady throwing him the ball. Just keep in mind that you're not getting volume with him, you're simply hoping he finds the endzone.

Updates From Last Week

DeAndre Hopkins - (WR, HOU)

It hasn't been pretty but I'm staying strong on DeAndre Hopkins. I know he disappointed against an atrocious Detroit secondary but I'm still confident he can turn it around with Houston's upcoming schedule. It's about as soft as a stretch as there is in the NFL so we'll revisit Hopkins in a few weeks after the team's bye week.

Alshon Jeffery - (WR, CHI)

The injury to Brian Hoyer meant Jay Cutler was back in the lineup for Chicago against the Vikings in Week 8. That meant good news for Alshon Jeffery as Cutler is more prone to force the ball to his team's best pass catcher. Alshon had a solid day against a strong defense, hauling in his first TD of the season. Look for Cutler to keep Jeffery heavily involved in the offense going forward as it looks like a strong second half is in order.

Julian Edelman - (WR, NE)

Despite the fact that Julian Edelman managed to reel in his first touchdown of 2016, I maintain that he's not the locked-in WR2 we've seen in the past. Of course, it will certainly depend on who else you have on your team before you can realistically bench him but I'm still nervous as a Julian Edelman owner. With the Patriots on a bye in Week 9 and facing Seattle in Week 10, it's going to be a while before you can use him anyway.

Allen Robinson - (WR, JAX)

Not to be overly blunt here, but it's over for Allen Robinson. He's not going to regain his WR1 status and it's safe to say he's a bust for 2016. He'll be a WR2 at best for a Jacksonville team that has taken a massive step backwards offensively. Blake Bortles is nowhere near as good as his individual fantasy production implies and the Jaguars simply aren't taking that "next step" so many anticipated from them anytime soon.

Jordy Nelson - (WR, GB)

Our fifth wide receiver worth revisiting is Jordy Nelson in Green Bay. With both Randall Cobb and Ty Montgomery out, Nelson was able to rack up 94 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's shootout with the Atlanta Falcons. I'm not quite ready to say the ship is righted when it comes to Nelson as we'll have to see what this offense looks like when more of their weapons are able to take the field. The Packers offense as a whole is in somewhat of a holding pattern right now.

Travis Kelce - (TE, KC)

I said I wasn't concerned about Travis Kelce and he backed up my claims with a dominant 101-yard performance and a touchdown to boot. Like I said last week, there are too few tight ends worth owning over Kelce, so it's far too difficult to stay worried about him for long. He's at worst the sixth best fantasy TE in fantasy.