Stud or Dud? That is the question. Here are some big name players keeping your blood pressure high and your likelihood of winning a championship low through week 8.
The guys that show up on my list are players you need to start thinking about trading or flat out dropping from your fantasy team.
“The Ciara Effect”
Russell Wilson, QB – Seattle Seahawks (ADP 4th QB)
Wilson came into this year as a highly touted QB fantasy option. As a matter of fact, he was the 4th quarterback off the board in most drafts behind only Rodgers, Newton and Brees. Wilson threw for over 4000 yards and ran for another 500+ yards last season. Combine that with 35 total TDs and only 11 turnovers and you can see why he was ranked so high. Well, the past is the past. Wilson got married, knocked up his new wife with only one shot on goal, and apparently has pulled every muscle in his body in the process. Wilson is currently on pace for 3600 passing yards, 10 total TDs and 6 turnovers this season. Not exactly QB1 material, let alone 4th best. Let the panic commence!!
“Who Dat Benched?”
Mark Ingram, RB – New Orleans Saints (ADP 10th RB)
It is tough for me to call Ingram a bust, because what really made him a fantasy stud to begin with? The reality is that the only thing that made him fantasy relevant in the first place was that he was one of the few lone backs left in the NFL. The days of workhorse backs have become so scarce we all assumed that Ingram was going to be a good play. This is why we drafted him within the first three rounds as the 10th RB off the board. I get it. He plays in an offensive-minded team, but look at the facts. Last year he had only 1174 all-purpose yards for the Saints and 6 TDs. The problem this year is trust. It appears Sean Payton has trust issues with Ingram and it was evident by his week 8 benching due to his second fumble of the year. To make matters worse, he was replaced by Tim Hightower who has historically been a fumble machine. Hightower carried the ball 26 times in that game which is more than Ingram has carried it in any game all year. Panic!!
“Megatron to MegaCon”
Marvin Jones Jr, WR – Detroit Lions (ADP 5th Rd)
If you drafted Marvin Jones this year, by week 3, you must have felt like you pulled off the greatest steal in the history of fantasy football. Through the first three weeks of the season Jones was averaging 10 targets, 6 catches and 136 yards per game. Detroit was asking, Calvin Johnson who?
Cue reality! “Hello control, we have started our decent back down to Earth and the impact is not going to be pretty!” Over the last five games Jones has averaged 6 targets, 3 catches and 49 yards per game. This is a team that’s RBs are bigger shit shows than Lawrence Taylor after an 11 hour bender at a Florida nightclub. So throwing the ball is not the problem with the Lions’ offense. I am super panicked on Marvin Jones right now.
“The Boston D Party: Guest of Honor”
Julian Edelman, WR – New England Patriots (ADP 4th Rd)
“It’s going to be fine.” “Brady will be back in Week 4.” “Brady is just getting back in sync with him.” “Shit, this isn’t looking good.” These are probably the thoughts and words used by every owner of Julian Edelman this year. Edelman was drafted in most leagues ahead of guys like Jordan Reed, Larry Fitzgerald and Melvin Gordon assuming he would be an every week starter. Through the first half of the season it hasn’t looked that way. As a matter of fact two of his biggest games, which really weren’t that big, came in weeks 1 and 2 without his heterosexual life partner Tom Brady. After New England’s week 9 bye, his matchups don’t get any better. The Patriots play Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Baltimore and Denver in 5 of their last 7 games of the season. It appears Gronk is once again the mayor of TD city, so I think you need to get rid of Edelman sooner rather than later.
Other honorable worries: Martellus Bennett, Doug Martin and Jamaal Charles
If you have any other players that you would like to know about please leave your questions in the comments section below. And as always…..
You’re Welcome!
The photo used above is © Jeffrey Beall.