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Craig Rondinone looks at some fantasy football lineup sleepers and busts for Week 5 of the NFL season. Under-the-radar booms and busts for fantasy football.
Let the booming and busting begin!
Thursday night’s New England-Tampa Bay contest already had a couple under-the-radar booms (Doug Martin, Cameron Brate) and an under-the-radar bust (Dwayne Allen couldn’t catch a pass with Rob Gronkowski sidelined?). This trend will continue into Sunday, guaranteed.
Here are some under-the-radar booms and busts for the fifth week of NFL action to help you set a winning lineup!
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Week 5 Under-the-Radar Booms
LeGarrette Blount (RB, PHI) vs. ARI
Blount is running with more conviction and purpose in recent weeks than he did at the start of the season. Now that Philly’s backfield is thinning out with the season-ending injury to Darren Sproles and scatback Wendell Smallwood suffering from his own knee problem, Blount should see 15-20 carries this weekend. Arizona has a top-10 run defense, but the Eagles should be able to move the ball downfield via Carson Wentz passes, and when they get inside the five-yard-line Blount will be the one finishing off the scoring drives. Start with confidence in standard leagues.
Jarvis Landry (WR, MIA) vs. TEN
The Tennessee Titans secondary has shown it can make any receiver look like Jerry Rice this season. They could not cover either DeAndre Hopkins (10 receptions, 107 yards, one TD) or Will Fuller (two TD) when division rival Houston pummeled them last weekend. Even though DeVante Parker has arguably become a better fantasy option, Landry leads the Dolphins in catches and targets and could rack up plenty of points in PPR leagues because of the shoddy secondary he is running slants and crosses against.
Duke Johnson (RB, CLE) vs. NYJ
Johnson has been the lone bright spot in Cleveland’s dismal offense. He leads the team with 20 receptions and 207 yards and is averaging twice the yards per carry when he is handed the ball than regular runner Isaiah Crowell is. While he is still has not been much of a help to fantasy owners, it will change this week as he faces a Jets defense that has allowed 66 points in two road games. Look for Johnson to be featured more often than the slumping Crowell and have seven receptions for 70 yards, add 40 yards on the ground and find the end zone for the first time this season.
Week 5 Under-the-Radar Busts
Latavius Murray (RB, MIN) at CHI
Murray may have rushed for a dozen touchdowns last year and over 1,000 yards the year before, but he is far from an impressive running back. The man is averaging 2.7 yards per carry this season behind the same line that rookie Dalvin Cook was sprinting for 4.8 yards per pop before he tore his ACL. Chicago’s underrated run defense is sixth in the NFL and should be jacked up at home on a Monday night and with No. 1 overall pick Mitchell Trubisky juicing up things on the other side of the ball. I can see a scenario where Murray is stuffed for 25 yards on nine early carries and gives way to Jerick McKinnon later in the contest.
Eddie Lacy (RB, SEA) vs. LAR
Just when you thought rookie Chris Carson was going to sprint away as Seattle’s starting tailback and become a fantasy force, the speedster fractured his leg and essentially through the Seahawks backfield into a frenzy. Lacy was the one who carried the ball the most last week once Carson went down, so fantasy owners will install him as the favorite to be the top tailback this week against the L.A. Rams’ 30th-ranked run defense, but former starter Thomas Rawls and emerging threat J.D. McKissic will likely not allow Lacy the opportunity to touch the ball more than 12-15 times, especially if one of them becomes the “hot hand” early in the game before Lacy does.
Charles Clay (TE, BUF) at CIN
Clay has been Tyrod Taylor’s most effective pass catcher during the first month of the season, catching 18 passes for 227 yards and two touchdowns. While Clay is no Kellen Winslow in his prime or a healthy Rob Gronkowski, he has always been serviceable as a fantasy tight end. This is the week to bench him, though, since he will be covered by a Cincinnati defense that is ranked third against the pass and is probably brimming with confidence after shutting down and shellacking the Cleveland Browns offense this past weekend.
