Week 5 Start/Sit: Sammie, Quincy and the Duke

As we head into Week 5 of the 2016 NFL season, here are 12 players to give extra consideration to when filling out your lineups – six that are looking better than usual, and a half dozen that are looking worse:

(Note: Kansas City, Jacksonville, Seattle and New Orleans are on bye in Week 5)

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STARTS

QB – Kirk Cousins, Was ($29) – Cousins is only the 16th-most expensive starting QB in Yahoo DFS this week, and currently ranks 12th at the position in percent started in Yahoo leagues heading into the weekend. He’s shaping up as a nice value considering he’s delivered a solid 5:1 TD-to-INT the past two games and faces a Baltimore secondary that has allowed 8 TD passes in the past three weeks, second-most in the NFL in that span. And as far as road games are concerned, this is about as accommodating as it gets as Washington will be playing a little more than 30 miles from its home stadium.

RB – Duke Johnson Jr., Cle ($18) – Johnson has averaged a respectable 14.5 touches and 78.5 yards from scrimmage the past two weeks with third-string QB Cody Kessler behind center. Kessler will start again this week against a Patriots team favored by 10.5 points. In Tom Brady’s return, it’s not hard to imagine the Browns facing garbage time fairly early in this contest, and that should thrust Johnson, who had 61 catches as a rookie in ’15, into a spotlight role for the Browns in the passing game. A 100-total yard effort from Johnson on Sunday is fathomable, and perhaps a garbage time score, too.

RB – DeAndre Washington, Oak ($10) – Latavius Murray’s toe injury is likely to open up a starting opportunity for the rookie Washington this week, and at an opportune time — Oakland hosts a San Diego defense allowing the third-most FAN PPG to the RB position. Washington will be sharing the load with fellow UDFA rookie Jalen Richard, but the odds favor Washington leading the platoon. With the Raiders averaging a healthy 27.5 RB touches per game, it’s fair to assume that Washington, averaging a robust 6.4 YPC, will see at least 15 touches, and has a good shot at seeing upwards of that. Against the Chargers, that should return a tidy profit at his bargain-basement price tag. And in full-season leagues, if you missed out on Washington (still 56% available), Richard (87% available), with expectations for something close to a dozen touches, is not a bad consolation.

WR – Quincy Enunwa, NYJ ($18) – Eric Decker (shoulder) was a no-go for the Jets at Friday’s practice, which all but assures that Enunwa will be starting at WR this Sunday at Pittsburgh opposite Brandon Marshall. And, considering that Pittsburgh has averaged 35.7 points in Ben Roethlisberger’s past six regular-season games at home, you’d have to believe there’s a good chance the Jets will be forced to the air often in this contest. Enunwa, currently the No. 37 WR in FAN PTS, has seen a healthy target load (32, tied for 24th among WRs), even before Decker’s shoulder injury. With the likelihood for 10-plus targets this weekend, Enunwa could push the century mark in yardage against a Steelers defense that has allowed the 11th-most receiving yards to the WR position.

WR – Sammie Coates, Pit ($13) – Coates has been averaging a solid 70.5 yards per game, but he has yet to find the end zone. I like his odds of ending his scoreless draught this weekend against a Jets secondary that has been torched repeatedly this season, allowing a league-high seven pass plays of 40-plus yards in the process. That fits well to Coates’ downfield talents as he’s averaging a whopping 21.7 yards per catch and also has produced a league-high five catches of 40-plus yards (at least one in each game).

TE – Cameron Brate, TB ($14) – Brate has been a top 5 fantasy TE (10 catches, 113 yards, 2 TDs) in the two weeks since TE Austin Sefarian-Jenkins was let go by the Bucs. Currently just the 15th-most started TE heading into Week 5, Brate has TE1 upside against a Carolina defense that has struggled mightily to defend the TE position, allowing a top 8 fantasy tight end in each of the past three weeks.

[Week 5 rankings: Overall | FLEX | QB | RB | WR | TE | DEF | K]

SITS

QB – Matt Ryan, Atl ($28) – Considering he’s the top fantasy QB through the first month of the season, the DFS price for Ryan might look tempting this week. But don’t succumb to that temptation, as a date in Denver with the Broncos’ No-Fly Zone secondary is nothing to be messing with. Tom Brady is the only QB since the beginning of the ’15 season to emerge from a date at Mile High Stadium with something to write home about. This season, Denver is allowing a mere 169.5 passing yards and 61.3 QB Rating, lowest in the league. Ryan will be lucky to break into the top 15 among fantasy QBs this week.

RB – Tevin Coleman, Atl ($23) – Sticking with the sit-Atlanta theme, Coleman deserves the same pine-time treatment as Ryan. The Broncos haven’t been quite the same shutdown unit against the run that they have been against the pass, but they are only giving up 3.7 YPC to the RB position. And Coleman, who has seen eight fewer touches than Devonta Freeman over the past two weeks, is likely to see that divide in workload widen even more this week as the Denver’s high altitude presents a risk for those with a sickle cell trait like Coleman.

RB – Ryan Mathews, Phi ($25) – Boy, it sure seems like Eagles head coach Doug Pederson loves rookie RB Wendell Smallwood, who stepped up with Mathews nursing an ankle injury with 17 carries, 79 yards and a TD in a Week 3 shellacking of the Pittsburgh Steelers. Mathews is, apparently, past his ankle injury, but we should know by now that the injury imp is always lurking in Mathews’ rear-view mirror. And even if he’s healthy, you have to expect that Smallwood is going to continue to play a prominent role in this offense – Pederson’s enthusiasm for the rookie leads one to believe that Smallwood is being groomed to ultimately take the lead in this backfield. I expect that changing of the guard to move at a gradual pace, but if Mathews fumbles on Sunday, or suffers a setback with his ankle, expect Smallwood to be turned loose once again. As it stands, I don’t know if Mathews can be counted on for much more than 10-12 touches, making him a long shot to produce a positive ROI this week.

WR – Randall Cobb, GB ($20) – Some people are holding on to the idea that Cobb is still a must-start option – he’s currently the 23rd-most started wideout in Yahoo leagues heading into the weekend. Time for the Cobb loyalists to wake up and smell the lack of production. In his past 16 regular-season games, Cobb has compiled 71 catches, 716 receiving yards and two touchdowns. To put that in context, those numbers were almost equal, in terms of fantasy production, to Kenny Britt’s ’15 fantasy campaign (681 yards, 3 TDs), though he put up his numbers on roughly half the number of catches (36). The point is that Cobb has been sub-mediocre for a long time, and I’m not counting on a matchup with a middle of the road Giants pass defense this week being a slump-busting event for Cobb.

WR – Stefon Diggs, Min ($24) – Don’t hold your breath this week on the game-time decision that is Diggs. Even if he wasn’t dealing with a groin injury this week that threatens his availability for Sunday, you’d still be better off avoiding the Vikings’ go-to wideout, or anyone connected with the Vikings passing game. The Vikings will host a Houston defense that has been lights out in pass defense, allowing a league-low 162.5 passing yards per game and just 1 TD pass. The Vikings have also been incredibly stingy in pass defense, so temper expectations for all aerial options in this game, including Houston’s DeAndre Hopkins and Will Fuller

TE – Dennis Pitta, Bal ($17) – With Steve Smith Sr. looking like his old self, QB Joe Flacco’s love affair with Pitta seems to be waning. With Smith stepping up in the passing game the past couple weeks, Pitta has tallied just 59 yards combined and no touchdowns. TD expectations should be low for Pitta to begin with as he has just one touchdown in his past 11 regular-season games. Facing a Washington defense that has not allowed a tight end TD this season (and just 4 TDs allowed in its past 23 regular-season games), the upside for Pitta this week doesn’t come close to TE1 territory.