RADIO
Nicklaus Gaut looks at the most added and dropped players of the week on Fleaflicker's waiver wire transactions list to help fantasy football owners evaluate player values and who to stream in Week 6.
This is Christian McCaffrey's fantasy world and we're all just living in it. At this point, it's just that simple, as it doesn't seem to matter who he's playing with or against. Run CMC is running and catching whatever and whenever he wants. If you played against him in Week 5 (*cough-cough*), you probably got smoked, as McCaffrey totaled 237 yards, with six receptions and three touchdowns in a 34-27 win over Jacksonville.
Besides a Week 2 stinker against Tampa Bay's top-rated run defense, McCaffrey is dominating every week and is showing no signs of slowing down, as it is quickly becoming apparent that many of his owners will ride him to fantasy championships in 2019. Love him if you have him, fear him if it's your turn to face him, as McCaffrey is one of the few elite players who can singlehandedly win any given week. To repeat, his world. We just live here.
Moving on to mortal football players, let's look back at last week's action and then take a look at some of the biggest risers and fallers that might be available in Fleaflicker leagues entering Week 6.
Editor's Note: The FFPC Playoff Challenge #2 is back with a massive $100,000 grand prize and $203,250 total prize pool, paying down to 100th place. Here's the deal: no salary cap, no draft, no pickups, no subs. Choose 8 players, and as NFL teams get knocked out so will your players, so choose your team wisely. The entries will sell out quickly, and registrations will close on Saturday January 17th at 4:30 pm ET . Don't wait - get your team now and end your fantasy football season with a shot at $100,000! Sign Up Now!
Week 5 Recap
While McCaffrey was a Mortal Kombat finishing move in Week 5, he wasn't the only one as Houston wide receiver Will Fuller and Green Bay running back Aaron Jones both put up point totals just shades under the 45 points that McCaffrey scored in standard leagues. Fuller finally broke out, catching 14-of-16 targets for 217 yards and three touchdowns, while Jones totaled 182 yards with four rushing touchdowns, continuing a mostly steady season.
Tevin Coleman returned to action in a 31-3 blowout win for the 49ers over the Cleveland Browns, rushing for a touchdown and 97 yards on 15 carries. Teammate Matt Breida stole the show, though, with an 83-yard touchdown run on San Francisco's first drive of the game, reviving the faith of his owners that were worried that Coleman's return would hinder Breida's value. Breida would finish with 125 total yards on 14 touches, while teammate - and former waiver-wire darling - Raheem Mostert finished with just 34 yards, cementing his transmutation back to simple waiver-wire fodder.
Checking in with Tank-Watch 2019, the Miami Dolphins had their best week of the season, failing to lose for the first time all year. They were on a bye, so it likely won't move them up the power-rankings any, but a non-loss is still a non-loss and sometimes you just have to find the positives where you can. Though for the first time in 2019, the Dolphins may actually have a chance to win in Week 6 with the 0-5 Washington Redskins coming to town, and their Gruden-level having been recently reduced to zero. We'll all really get to see just how committed Miami is to tank for Tua, as Washington's combination of low levels of talent, high levels of Daniel Snyder, and overall general incompetence could really interfere with the Dolphins' desire to lose.
Could this be the week that Kenyan Drake does something useful for your team, facing a shaky Redskins run defense but running behind a patchwork offensive line that appears to have the sum talent of those guys from "The Replacements"? Not the characters in the movie, mind you, but the actors who played them. (Obviously, if Miami was trotting out a line that included the three-headed monster of Ace Yonamine and the Jackson brothers, Drake would probably run for 400 yards. I mean, did you even see how many hard-boiled eggs that guy could eat?) Along with their two games against the Jets, this will easily be one of the biggest tests of Miami's season.
Since it looks like we've reached our limit for gratuitous Dolphin insults, let's see take a look at three of this week's biggest risers and fallers on Fleaflicker.com. A full list of the most added and dropped players on Fleaflicker can be found here.
Most Added in Fleaflicker - Week 6
Gerald Everett (TE, LAR vs. SF), 5515 Adds – 47% Owned
Being kind, fantasy production from the tight end position in 2019 has been...how do you say? Utter and complete garbage? Particularly in standard leagues, where Will Dissly and Austin Hooper pace the field with just 50 points each on the year. Things are even more dire as we head into Week 6 with Evan Engram out and Darren Waller, Eric Ebron, and Jack Doyle in their bye weeks. Then a man strode into town last Thursday, with the Rams Gerald Everett going off in a 30-29 loss to the Seahawks by catching 7-of-11 targets for 136 yards. Those yards came in big chunks, with Everett recording catches of 20, 30, and 33 yards - with the 33-yard reception narrowly missing being a touchdown, as Everett was ruled down inside the one-yard line.
The third-year tight end has now been targeted 19 times in his last two games, totaling 180 yards and one touchdown, far outpacing fellow tight end Tyler Higbee. While his Week 6 opponent isn't ideal, as the 49ers have been one of the NFL's stingiest defenses against tight ends in 2019, beggars can't be choosers, so it's little surprise to see Everett the most-added player in Week 6 by more than double of the next man down.
Chase Edmonds (RB, ARI vs. ATL), 2726 Adds – 35% Owned
As in, this man. Edmonds set career-highs last week in rushes, rushing yards, receptions, and receiving yards, totaling 86 yards on 11 touches, as well as a touchdown. Though all of that still wouldn't matter if starter David Johnson wasn't currently dealing with a back injury that may keep him out of Arizona's Week 6 matchup with the Atlanta Falcons. Even though Johnson totaled a season-high 156 yards in Week 5, he apparently gained most of it after feeling his back lock up on him in the first half and the news hasn't gotten any better as the week has gone on.
Johnson failed to practice on Wednesday and head coach Kliff Kingsbury recently said that they would be cautious with Johnson and only play him if he is able to go at "full speed." This looks like a game-time decision, which means Chase Edmonds could jump onto the flex radar if Johnson ends up a no-go.
Gardner Minshew (QB, JAX vs. NO), 2398 Adds – 50% Owned
Do we have a modern version of Rodney Dangerfield to use whenever we want to discuss someone getting no respect? Do people under 30 know who Dangerfield is? Did writing those two sentences give me a sudden urge to go yell at things to get out of my yard, whether they be kids, dogs, weeds, or otherwise? Never you mind all that because what we really need to talk about is what Jaguars quarterback Gardner Mishnew will have to do before he earns your fantasy respect.
Not only does Mishnew dress like an extra from a Brock Landers movie and has a father who looks like he's at least a 4x amateur arm-wrestling champion, but Mishnew has now thrown for 1279 yards, nine touchdowns, and only one interception in 2019 while adding 124 yards on the ground. He also has the NFL's highest red zone passer rating, at 127.8 and is currently the 11th-highest scoring quarterback in fantasy through five weeks. In Week 6 Mishnew and the Jaguars face a New Orleans Saints Defense that has allowed the second-most fantasy points to quarterbacks in 2019. Someone call Chest Rockwell because Minshew is needed on set.
Most Dropped in Fleaflicker - Week 5
Wayne Gallman (RB, NYG vs. NE), 3273 Drops – 49% Owned
Hear ye, hear ye. Barring Saquon Barkley suffering a setback in his recovery from an ankle sprain, it is no longer necessary to roster Wayne Gallman outside of traditional handcuffing purposes. Gallman was ruled out with a concussion for Week 6 - not that his availability would've mattered much with the Giants going up against a New England defense that has yet to allow a rushing touchdown. With Barkley expected to be back in time for a Week 7 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals, it appears that all of the juice has been squeezed from this stone and it's now time to let Gallman pass through your system.
Daniel Jones (QB, NYG vs. NE), 1160 Drops – 51% Owned
Oh, how quickly the worm turns. Daniel Jones was the toast of the town, after throwing for 334 yards and two touchdowns in his Week 3 debut in a victory over Tampa Bay, with Giants general manager Dave Gettleman likely spending his week sending approximately 84 "I told you so" texts to everyone in the media who laughed at him for taking Jones number six overall in this year's draft. Jones then won in Week 4 against a Redskins team that we now all realize may be completely awful, but still put up a pedestrian line of just 225 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions.
The numbers continued to drop in Week 5, with Jones throwing for 182 yards in a loss to the Vikings and in Week 6 he had little to no chance in Thursday night tilt with the Patriots. He wound up getting picked off three times with just one long touchdown to Golden Tate salvaging any semblance of fantasy value. To be fair, he was without Saquon Barkley, Wayne Gallman, Sterling Shepard, and Evan Engram. Still, this is a sinking ship to jump off of.
Phillip Dorsett (WR, NE vs. NYG), 1170 Drops – 48% Owned
If you're going to be on the field a lot for the New England Patriots, then you're fantasy-relevant and that's just how it is these days. Unfortunately for Philip Dorsett owners, he was ruled out with a hamstring injury for the Patriots Week 6 matchup against the New York Giants, which explains the precipitous drop in his ownership. Don't forget about Dorsett though, as he isn't expected to miss more time past this week and could be a worthy flex target when the Patriots play against the New York Jets in Week 7.
