Fantasy Football: Play Bench

Each week in this space, I will review players who are ranked outside the top 150 for QB’s and TE’s and top 20 for WR’s in the weekly ESPN rankings.  This will be who I think will flourish and who will disappoint in the upcoming week.  I do not review those ranked higher since they are probably highly drafted and unable to be benched.

Play Them:

Russell Wilson (11)- He in my mind is a top 8 QB and gets a shaky Carolina defense.

Michael Vick (13)-I think he is going to go crazy in the Chip Kelly offense and ride him while healthy.

Joe Flacco (17)- The last time he saw Denver they had a ton of success, with no Von Miller, he should have a great day.

Darren McFadden (23)- Another guy to play while he is healthy plus he gets the Colts who have major issues stopping the run.

Ahmad Bradshaw (25)-He is practicing fully and will show the Colts what he gave the Giants and take this job and run.

Ryan Mathews (30)- We have all been burned by him in the past but I am all in this week against an overrated Texans defense.

Hakeem Nicks (22)- He did not look great bit gets an awful Cowboys secondary and he will not be any healthier than he is this week.

DeSean Jackson (27)-This matches up with my pick of Vick but as long as he is healthy I see a huge performance against a bad Redskin pass defense.

T.Y. Hilton (31)-I like the matchup versus the Raiders plus this year he explodes into a weekly WR2.

Fred Davis (15)-The Eagles showed a ton of holes on the defensive side of the ball which will be exploited by the Redskins with short safe throws.

Bench Them

Robert Griffin (11)-I think the Redskins play it very safe with him and he has a pedestrian game.

Lamar Miller (20)-There has been so much talk about a job share plus he is playing an underrated Browns defense.

Daryl Richardson (23)-The Cards defense is solid and Richardson has never carried the load, I do not see enough production to warrant a starting position in the fantasy world this week.

Eddie Lacy (24)-There is just no way I would start a rookie against the 49ers run defense, only way to get point is a lucky red zone carry or 2.

Mike Wallace (24)-Joe Haden will shutdown this one trick pony in a low scoring game.

Eric Decker (26)-This is where we see him losing targets plus playing the Super Bowl champ as a big underdog with a chip on their shoulder.

Steve Johnson (30)-The Patriots will double team and shut down the only real experienced receiving option for the rookie QB.

Martellus Bennent (14)-He will have issues getting free against a tough Bengals defense.

Thanks for reading and please free free to ask any questions on Twitter.

Mike Dietrich

Mike Dietrich is the fantasy football columnist for JetNation.

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