RealGM Analysis
Stars of Week 10
QB: Ben Roethlisberger, PIT: 22-25, 328 yards, 5 TDs, 0 INTs
RB: Nick Chubb, CLE: 20 carries, 176 yards, 2 TDs (3 carries, 33 yards, 1 TD)
WR: Allen Robinson, CHI: 6 catches, 133 yards, 2 TDs
TE: Eric Ebron, IND: 3 catches, 69 yards, 2 TDs (1 carry, 2 yards, 1 TD)
So what do we have here? No Rams, no Chiefs, no Saints and no Patriots in this week’s honor roll – in a week with each of those teams being active.
Let’s start at QB, with Ben Roethlisberger picking apart the Panthers’ defense last Thursday night. Roethlisberger has been maddeningly inconsistent for fantasy purposes over the last few seasons, but he remains a low end QB1 who plays decidedly better at home.
Nick Chubb has benefited greatly from the Browns post-Hue Jackson youth movement, and he gashed the Falcons for more than 200 combined yards and 3 TDs. He’s a mid to high end RB2 going forward.
Bears wide receiver Allen Robinson has been a disappointment this year, with not very many yards and just a few TDs. Well, Robinson had his best game as a Bear, surpassing the century mark in yards and finding the end zone twice. He’s been a WR3/flex level player up until week 10, so keep him there unless we see additional progress in the coming weeks.
Eric Ebron has been a TD machine this year, with three more TDs this past weekend against the toothless Jaguars. That puts Ebron at 10 TDs through nine games. He’s a legit TE1, albeit one that’s very TD dependent.
Week 10 Takeaways – A Closer Look
Each week we take a closer look at a handful of performances and sort out what such performances mean going forward.
Mitch Trubisky, QB – CHI: 23-30, 355 yards, 3 TDs (3 carries, 18 yards, 1 TD)
Analysis: The optimistic hope going into the 2018 season was that Trubisky would have a Jared Goff like ascent, now that he has his own QB whisperer in Coach Nagy. The 2018 season has brought us a division leading Bears squad, an ascending offense and a much improved Trubisky. How much has Trubisky improved? Well, his statistics show a vastly improved QB, with a passer rating of 101.6 and a QBR of 73.7, compared to rookie season numbers of 77.5 and 33.6, respectively. The eye test has also shown Trubisky having taken big steps, but not to the same level as the stats indicate. Trubisky has roasted weakling defensive squads such as the Lions, Bucs and Jets, while struggling against the Bills, Seahawks and Cardinals. Viewing this from a fantasy prism, Trubisky vacillates between a QB1 and QB2 dependent upon matchup. Start him with confidence against weaker defensive foes, but exercise caution when he faces the tougher defenses.
Aaron Jones, RB – GB: 15 carries, 145 yards, 2 TDs
Analysis: We’ve looked at Jones and the Packers RB situation previously, but the earth has moved a bit – in the right direction – and it’s time for us to revisit. I’ve mentioned since the preseason that Jones is the best RB from the Packers group, but it took Coach Mike McCarthy a long time to figure this out on his own. Well, we finally had a breakthrough this past Sunday. Jones dominated the backfield touches and snaps, out-carrying Jamaal Williams 15 to 3, outrushing him 145 yards to 3 and out-snapping him 42 to 14 (per Pro Football Focus). And guess what? Jones averaged just under 10 yards a carry, scored two TDs and played an instrumental role in helping the Cheeseheads beat the Dolphins. Now that the light bulb has gone on in McCarthy’s head, Jones moves into solid RB2 territory, with upside to boot. On the flip side, Jamaal Williams should be stashed on a bench, only used if Jones gets injured. Start Jones with confidence the rest of the way.
Rashaad Penny, RB – SEA: 12 carries, 108 yards, 1 TD
Analysis: The Seahawks were widely mocked for taking Rashaad Penny in the first round of the 2018. Based on Penny’s performance thus far, the criticism has been deserved. Penny has fallen to third on the Seahawks’ RB depth chart, and up until this past Sunday, has looked slow with no wiggle. With Chris Carson out against the Rams, Penny got his name called early in the first quarter, and he showed signs of being an NFL caliber running back. Penny found the end zone on an 18 yard run, and also showed great burst on a 38 yard scamper. Coming into the game, Penny had 146 yards rushing on 42 carries – which amounts to a 3.48 YPC. Penny averaged 9 YPC against the Rams, and looked like a completely different player. So how does this impact his fantasy value? Well, Penny goes from having no value to some value, but unless Carson misses additional games, Penny will not be usable except for the deepest of leagues (think 16 plus teams). Penny will likely cut into Mike Davis’ carries, so Davis should also be tethered to your bench if rostered unless Carson is out. Penny’s performance does give hope for those in dynasty leagues, however. If you’ve got an open spot in your dynasty league, not a bad idea to take a flyer on Penny to see if his role increases in the next year or two. Otherwise, this is still Carson’s job when healthy.
Corey Davis, WR – TEN: 7 catches, 125 yards, 1 TD
Analysis: Corey Davis was highly sought after on draft day as a second year sleeper, but he has largely disappointed owners through the first half of the year. Through his first eight games, Davis scored only 1 TD and only had one game surpassing 100 yards, and his game log included performances with 10, 24 and 34 yards. Well, against the Patriots this past Sunday, Davis put together his second best game of the season, finding the end zone and comfortably eclipsing the 100 yard mark. So has Davis finally broken through? Count me as a cautious ‘yes’ vote here. Davis has always had tantalizing tools, but he has been limited in large part by the performance of his quarterback, Marcus Mariota. The Titans have shown signs of life the last two weeks, and Mariota has had more time to adjust to the Titans’ new offensive scheme. The Titans are now rolling, and Davis is the undisputed alpha receiver in their passing game. You should comfortably move Davis back into your starting lineups, and look for WR2 value down the home stretch.
Rapid Fire Pickups
Each week we throw out potential free agent pickups from each position for deeper leagues, in each case 1) someone who has NOT been featured above, and 2) a player available in most leagues.
QB: Dak Prescott, DAL
RB: Josh Adams, PHI
RB: Giovani Bernard, CIN
WR: Maurice Harris, WAS
WR: Josh Reynolds, LAR (next man up with Cooper Kupp out for the year)
TE: CJ Uzomah, CIN
Week 11 Rankings
Quarterbacks:
- Patrick Mahomes, KC @LAR
- Jared Goff, LAR KC
- Drew Brees, NO Phi
- Cam Newton, Car @Det
- Matt Ryan, Atl Dal
- Aaron Rodgers, GB @Sea
- Carson Wentz, Phi @NO
- Russell Wilson, Sea GB
- Deshaun Watson, Hou @Wsh
- Ryan Fitzpatrick, TB @NYG
- Andrew Luck, Ind Ten
- Dak Prescott, Dal @Atl
- Ben Roethlisberger, Pit @Jax
- Philip Rivers, LAC Den
- Mitchell Trubisky, Chi Min
- Kirk Cousins, Min @Chi
- Marcus Mariota, Ten @Ind
- Lamar Jackson, Bal Cin
- Eli Manning, NYG TB
- Matthew Stafford, Det Car
Running Backs:
- Todd Gurley II, LAR KC
- Alvin Kamara, NO Phi
- Saquon Barkley, NYG TB
- Melvin Gordon, LAC Den
- Ezekiel Elliott, Dal @Atl
- Christian McCaffrey, Car @Det
- Kareem Hunt, KC @LAR
- David Johnson, Ari Oak
- James Conner, Pit @Jax
- Leonard Fournette, Jax Pit
- Joe Mixon, Cin @Bal
- Aaron Jones, GB @Sea
- Tevin Coleman, Atl Dal
- Kerryon Johnson, Det Car
- Mark Ingram II, NO Phi
- Dalvin Cook, Min @Chi
- Tarik Cohen, Chi Min
- Marlon Mack, Ind Ten
- Phillip Lindsay, Den @LAC
- Dion Lewis, Ten @Ind
- Adrian Peterson, Wsh Hou
- Lamar Miller, Hou @Wsh
- Chris Carson, Sea GB
- Alex Collins, Bal Cin
- Jordan Howard, Chi Min
- Doug Martin, Oak @Ari
- Jalen Richard, Oak @Ari
- Peyton Barber, TB @NYG
- Chris Thompson, Wsh Hou
- Austin Ekeler, LAC Den
- Derrick Henry, Ten @Ind
- Mike Davis, Sea GB
- Royce Freeman, Den @LAC
- Josh Adams, Phi @NO
- Ito Smith, Atl Dal
- T.J. Yeldon, Jax Pit
- Nyheim Hines, Ind Ten
- Theo Riddick, Det Car
- Jacquizz Rodgers, TB @NYG
- Rashaad Penny, Sea GB
Wide Receivers:
- Michael Thomas, NO Phi
- Adam Thielen, Min @Chi
- Julio Jones, Atl Dal
- Odell Beckham Jr., NYG TB
- DeAndre Hopkins, Hou @Wsh
- Antonio Brown, Pit @Jax
- Tyreek Hill, KC @LAR
- Davante Adams, GB @Sea
- Keenan Allen, LAC Den
- Brandin Cooks, LAR KC
- Mike Evans, TB @NYG
- Robert Woods, LAR KC
- Stefon Diggs, Min @Chi
- Emmanuel Sanders, Den @LAC
- JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pit @Jax
- T.Y. Hilton, Ind Ten
- Alshon Jeffery, Phi @NO
- Amari Cooper, Dal @Atl
- Tyler Boyd, Cin @Bal
- Corey Davis, Ten @Ind
- Sammy Watkins, KC @LAR
- Marvin Jones Jr., Det Car
- Larry Fitzgerald, Ari Oak
- Allen Robinson, Chi Min
- M. Valdes-Scantling, GB @Sea
- Kenny Golladay, Det Car
- Devin Funchess, Car @Det
- Golden Tate, Phi @NO
- Demaryius Thomas, Hou @Wsh
- Sterling Shepard, NYG TB
- Doug Baldwin, Sea GB
- Tyler Lockett, Sea GB
- Courtland Sutton, Den @LAC
- John Brown, Bal Cin
- Michael Crabtree, Bal Cin
- Calvin Ridley, Atl Dal
- Anthony Miller, Chi Min
- DeSean Jackson, TB @NYG
- Christian Kirk, Ari Oak
- Josh Reynolds, LAR KC
Tight End:
- Travis Kelce, KC @LAR
- Zach Ertz, Phi @NO
- O.J. Howard, TB @NYG
- Greg Olsen, Car @Det
- Austin Hooper, Atl Dal
- Jimmy Graham, GB @Sea
- Jack Doyle, Ind Ten
- Trey Burton, Chi Min
- Eric Ebron, Ind Ten
- Jared Cook, Oak @Ari
- Evan Engram, NYG TB
- Jordan Reed, Wsh Hou
- Kyle Rudolph, Min @Chi
- C.J. Uzomah, Cin @Bal
- Vance McDonald, Pit @Jax
- Ricky Seals-Jones, Ari Oak
- Jeff Heuerman, Den @LAC
- Benjamin Watson, NO Phi
- Gerald Everett, LAR KC
- Nick Vannett, Sea GB
Defense/Special Teams:
- Chicago Bears Min
- Arizona Cardinals Oak
- Baltimore Ravens Cin
- Houston Texans @Wsh
- Pittsburgh Steelers @Jax
- Carolina Panthers @Det
- Los Angeles Chargers Den
- Indianapolis Colts Ten
- Minnesota Vikings @Chi
- Washington Redskins Hou
- Tennessee Titans @Ind
- Jacksonville Jaguars Pit
- Cincinnati Bengals @Bal
- New Orleans Saints Phi
- Dallas Cowboys @Atl
