Silvia’s Week 5 Fantasy Frenzy

Silvias+Week+5+Fantasy+Frenzy

By Jeffrey Beall [CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0)], from Wikimedia Commons

Alexander W. Silvia, News Editor

This season is off to a record-breaking start.

There’s been an offensive explosion in the NFL, so scoring has been particularly high so far this year. At this point last year there were a total of 186 touchdowns scored – this year 226. In fact, this is the highest number of touchdowns scored through four weeks since 2007.

So far there have been 12 different quarterbacks to throw for over 400 yards through four weeks, which is an NFL record. Last week alone there were five individual quarterbacks to throw for over 400 yards, another NFL record. Rookie quarterback sensation Patrick Mahomes of the Kansas City Chiefs set yet another league record Monday night throwing for 192 yards outside of the pocket, the most in NFL history.

It’s been a hot start of unprecedented offensive statistics.

We might be seeing a change in the league, and with that, we as fantasy players must adjust. With all this production from quarterbacks, the position is beginning to look more and more expendable for fantasy purposes. There are very few every week starts at the quarterback position, leaving a lot of talent week in and week out on the waiver wire.

Holdout fantasy superstar Le’Veon Bell is now expected to report to the Pittsburgh Steelers during their Week 7 bye. The Steelers still continue to field trade offers but luckily for the NFL and football fans, it looks like Bell will play football this year, for what team, however, is still unclear.

There have been several injuries across the board thus far and the waiver wire continues to be an integral part of season-long fantasy success.

Now for this week’s top adds.

Workhorse running back Leonard Fournette of the Jacksonville Jaguars attempted to return from his Week 1 hamstring injury this past week but suffered a major setback. In his absence, former Alabama Crimson Tide running back T.J. Yeldon has performed quite well. With Fournette shut down for the foreseeable future, Yeldon’s value skyrockets as he becomes this week’s top add. After taking over last week, Yeldon rushed the ball 18 times for 52 yards and a touchdown while adding three receptions for 48 yards and a score through the air. This week facing one of the league’s worst defenses in the Kansas City Chiefs, Yeldon looks to be a solid running back option and is owned in only 52 percent of leagues.

Believe it or not there might actually be some fantasy value in the Indianapolis Colts backfield. Nyheim Hines rushed the ball four times for 10 yards and caught nine balls for 63 yards and two touchdowns in the Colts’ Week 4 overtime loss to the Houston Texans. With injuries to tight end Jack Doyle and wide receiver T.Y. Hilton, Hines became a favorite target for Luck, receiving a team-high 11 targets. The Colts have a nonexistent run game, Hines is merely another pass-catcher in the running back position but that can hold a lot of value in PPR formats. Owned in only 17 percent of leagues, he needs to be picked up immediately.

Keke Coutee took the league by storm in his NFL debut last week. The Houston Texans wide receiver set an NFL record for a player making his debut, catching 11-of-15 targets for 109 yards. The fourth-round pick quickly took over as the Texans’ number two receiver when fellow pass-catcher Will Fuller left the game with a hamstring injury. He appeared to work as quarterback Deshaun Watson’s safety blanket and short passing game option and could see similar usage while Fuller is sidelined. Owned in only three percent of leagues, Coutee is an interesting add in this fast-paced offense.

Until next week.