As an Eagles fan, it’s been a rough week for me. The silver lining, however, is that the rest of the NFC East is also struggling.
Speaking of struggling, Chris Johnson hasn’t exactly been a lock in the RB position so far this year and it isn’t going to get any easier this week when the Chiefs come to town. The artist formerly known as CJ2K has had a lot of negative things to say about fantasy football recently and since he is no longer receiving the goal-line carries, his ceiling has lowered substantially. The Chiefs are one of the best teams against the run this year so if you have other options this week, use them. Johnson’s schedule gets much easier after the Titans’ week 8 bye so don’t sell him for nothing, but if you can get decent value from someone willing to take a gamble, now might be the time to ship him off.
A.J. Green has also been struggling a bit so far this season. After an incredible week 1, Green has been averaging less than 7 fantasy points per week in standard scoring leagues. Although New England does not have Joe Haden caliber corners, he’ll still see double-coverage quite a bit which limits his upside this week. Players like DeSean Jackson against the Giants and Josh Gordon against Buffalo could prove to be safer plays this week, but in most leagues, Green is still too talented to bench.
While we’re on the Cincinnati/New England game, Giovani Bernard is in an equally challenging matchup. With BenJarvus Green-Ellis still a factor and the Patriots potentially getting two of their biggest offensive weapons back this week, Bernard will likely see similar numbers to last week. He’s a much better start in PPR leagues this week, but in standard scoring leagues, there are stronger plays for sure.
One of those stronger plays is Eddie Lacy, who is back from a concussion and was a full participant in practice so far this week. Against the Lions, Lacy should see plenty of action and makes a nice RB2 play this week.
Another decent RB2 play this week, at least based on the matchup, is Maurice Jones-Drew. MJD hasn’t exactly been a reliable fantasy starter this week, but he’s going up against the Swiss cheese run defense in St. Louis this week. Play him this week and then trade him away if you can.
At the QB position, both Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson, who will be playing against each other this week, will be in tough matchups for reliable fantasy starts this week. If you’re into sports betting, that’s a game to take the under on. If you’re looking for a plug-in option, both Philip Rivers and Terrelle Pryor, who are also playing against each other this week, should make for decent fantasy plays. Keep an eye on Pryor’s status, but it looks like he should play.
Need a sleeper? With Santonio Holmes and Stephen Hill both likely to miss this Monday’s game, Jeremy Kerley could have a huge day in a relatively easy matchup against Atlanta. I’ve been wrong before (looking at you Ryan Broyles), but Kerley’s a nice flex option if you’re in a jam.
Finally, since fantasy owners may need to wait one more week for Rob Gronkowski’s return, Greg Olsen and Charles Clay are both in great matchups this week. Olsen’s bye week was last week so he’s available in more leagues than you’d expect too.
