Fantasy Preview: Week 5 Early Slate 1

  • Steelers (+14) @ Bills (-850): O/U 45.5

    Chargers (-130) @ Browns (+2): O/U 47.5

    Texans (+7) @ Jaguars (-325): O/U 43.5

    Bears (+7.5) @ Vikings (-345): O/U 44

    Lions (+3.5) @ Patriots (-165): O/U 45.5

    Steelers @ Bills

    Key storylines/What to Watch

    The main storyline to follow along with in this game is how the Steelers offense will be able to keep up with the Bills offense or how the Steelers banged-up defense can slow down the aerial assault of the Bills. The point spread in this game is massive, bigger than any game during the entire 2021 season. Rookie QB Kenny Pickett will get his first career-start after taking over during the second half of Week 4. He hyper-targeted fellow rookie George Pickens and left Diontae Johnson out there running routes for fun.  There are a number of great fantasy options for the Bills in this game, but how will things shake down on the other side of the ball for the inexperienced Steelers offense?

     

    Top Starts

    Josh Allen: Allen is an absolute beast and in this juicy matchup he should be able to get whatever he wants against the Steelers defense. Through four weeks, Allen is the QB2 and is averaging 28.6 fantasy points per game.  He has week-winning upside for fantasy GMs and the connection with Stefon Diggs is a thing of beauty. 

     

    Stefon Diggs: In the first four games, Diggs ranks as the WR1 in standard leagues, while being the WR2 in PPR formats.  He has produced some insane numbers so far this season and that should be no different against the Steelers this weekend.  The stat lines that the Steelers defense have allowed to the team’s top WRs are incredible. Ja’Marr Chase in Week 1 dropped 10-129-1. Nelson Agholor in Week 2 tallied 6-110-1. While in Week 3 Amari Cooper had 7-101-1 and in Week 4 Corey Davis hauled in 5-74-1. Fantasy GMs would be foolish to not start Diggs in all formats, while he’s a great high-end option in DFS too. 

     

    Devin Singletary: Singletary’s usage and production through four weeks has been a bit of a rollercoaster.  In Week 3, he averaged 1.4 yards per carry, while in Week 1 he scampered for 6.0 yards per rush.  His work in the passing game has also been sporadic, receiving 11 targets in Week 3 and only five targets combined through the Bills’ first two games.  He is ranking inside the top-24 on the season and will likely finish somewhere around that mark, unless the Bills start using him like they did near the end of last season.  He is a solid option on a great team and should be started with confidence in all formats, even though he may have some boom or bust weeks.

     

    Boom/Bust Dart-Throw

    Gabe Davis & Isaiah McKenzie: After a disappointing Week 3, Davis is looking to rebound, while McKenzie is in concussion protocol and his status for this soft matchup is still up in the air.  Both players have great upside in a powerful offense and McKenzie gets an added boost in the slot with Jamison Crowder out for the season with a broken ankle. Dawson Knox is also already declared out for this contest, giving both players a bump in expected production. Both players have taken their turn being the top secondary option this season and should be in store for solid games against the Steelers.  Davis produced 4-88-1 against the Rams, while McKenzie notched 7-76-1 against the Dolphins.  

     

    Najee Harris: Harris has been one of the most frustrating and underperforming players to start this fantasy season.  He has only seen 11 targets through four weeks, including zero in Week 4.  His rushing usage has also been hindered by a struggling offense. His best week rushing was in a loss to the Jets last week, where he ran for 74 yards on 18 attempts. He has salvaged two bad weeks with a score in each of those games, but unless he finds the end zone, fantasy GMs may have better options to turn to in a very tough matchup against the Bills. 

     

    Diontae Johnson & George Pickens: The receiving duo for the Steelers could have been in the top-starts for this matchup, but it’s tough to have confidence in a unwelcomed matchup.  The point spread suggests that the Steelers will be passing the ball a ton, but with the Steelers officially making the change to Kenny Pickett at QB, both options are going to be very hard to trust for the time being. After Pickett took over last week, Johnson became invisible and Pickens was the clear favorite target in the passing game, but Johnson is the more talented of the pair and should be able to continue getting the job done.  Fantasy GMs may want to look elsewhere, with the only silver lining being that the Bills secondary is fairly banged up at the moment. 

     

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    Chargers @ Browns

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