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Johnny Football? Remember that guy? Of course you do! Well, you do if you watched the NFL Draft… or if you’ve watched that 4-lettered sports television network during the NFL preseason… or if you’ve been within earshot of one of Jerry Jones’ interviews over the last six months. Johnny Football had it all: a Heisman Trophy, a slew of Texas A&M records, fame, girls, you name it. Then it all sort of came unraveled… There was dropping to the late 1st round of the NFL Draft, that pool party, that picture of him tightly rolling some money, the preseason middle finger, and finally, Brian Hoyer getting the Cleveland Browns starting quarterback spot over him. This wasn’t a surprise, though. It would only take a few weeks for Hoyer to play himself out of the starting job… Wait, Johnny who? I don’t remember that guy…

 

Quarterbacks

Brian Hoyer (12%) @ JAX: Obviously, the intro is a vast over exaggeration of what’s really going on at QB for the Browns, but Brian Hoyer is playing some solid football. He’s led Cleveland to a 3-2 record thus far, and he’s not making mistakes. On the season, he has 7 touchdowns to a meager 1 interception. Many QB’s have thrown more than 1 interception in a game. Now, while that’s great in theory, the 7 TD’s over 5 games doesn’t make fantasy owners warm and fuzzy. The saving grace here is the matchup. Jacksonville’s defense is poop. That’s French for terrible. They have some of the worst cover corners in the league, and surprisingly, Hoyer has been a great deep ball passer. He’s 15-for-24 with 531 yards and 2 touchdowns on passes over 20 yards downfield. His accuracy percentage and total yards on deep passes are tops in the league, well above the numbers attained by Rivers, Luck and Manning. The consistency and deep ball of Hoyer should prove effective against a very weak Jaguars defense.

Carson Palmer (34%) @ OAK: It seems Palmer’s pinched nerve is behind him. He threw for 250 yards and 2 touchdowns last week against Washington. You could clearly see how much more involved Fitz and Floyd were, and how much better the offense was moving. At this point, I’d see how Palmer fares physically during this game, and if he comes out healthy, he’ll probably be a guy you can use for weeks to come.

 

Tight End

Jared Cook (30%) @ SEA: I never enjoy endorsing an offensive player against the Seattle defense, but it’s too hard to ignore Cook’s targets. He’s averaging 8.4 targets per game, and over the last 3 games, he’s seen an increase in looks from 9 to 10 to 11 this week against the Niners. I also like seeing him in the slot over 60% of the time. He’s gotten a little over half of his receiving yards from the slot position. If I’m going to gamble on a man who’s due for a TD, I’m going to say it’s this guy. Stream proudly, loyal followers!

 

Defense

Baltimore (44%) v ATL: The Baltimore defense is one of the most underrated units this season. They’ve lost a lot of players over the last few years, and a lot of people don’t quite believe in them anymore, but they’re averaging 16.2 points per game allowed this season, which is impossible to ignore. Atlanta is an offensive threat, but it seems more at home than away. All three of their losses have been away games, and they’re averaging less than 20 points per game in those contests. Baltimore also has a phenomenal home-field advantage, so expect them to put on a good show this Sunday.

 

Kicker

Billy Cundiff (2%) @ JAX: Like I said above, Cleveland’s offense is working right now, and Jacksonville is giving up the second most points per game. Cundiff will have plenty of chances to kick the ball this week. He’s a must stream.

Randy Bullock (3%) v PIT: Sandra’s bro? Nah, bro… Houston’s offense has a tendency to stall, and it gives Randy Bullock a lot of opportunities. Even with two missed field goals, he’s 15th overall in fantasy points this season. I expect him to have a number of opportunities against a Pittsburgh defense ready to bounce back at home.

 

Week 6 Recap:

RCL/Yahoo Standard 0.5 PPR Scoring

Kirk Cousins: 354 yds, 2 TD, 3 INT = 19.16 pts (15th QB)

Jake Locker: Did not play

Niles Paul: 2 tgt, 1 rec, 7 yds = 1.20 pts (47th TE) – Consider Paul unstreamable

Tim Wright: 1 tgt, 1 rec, 1 yds = 6.60 pts (23rd TE)

MIN: 17 PA, 4 sack = 5.00 pts (T-15th DST)

Shawn Suisham: 1 20-29, 1 PAT = 4.00 pts (T-24th K)

Matt Bryant: 2 50+, 1 PAT = 11.00 pts (T-8th K)

 

Catch me in the streets, or follow me on Twitter @Nicolas_Kern