Every week, I will pick some players who I think will overachieve and underachieve based on ESPN’s weekly rankings. Please feel free to ask any lineup questions here or on Twitter.
Last week, I went 10-2 with my Overachievers and 7-5 with the Underachievers. We are on a pretty good roll!
Overachievers
QBs
Kansas City Chiefs QB Alex Smith- QB 14: The Raiders are heaven for all quarterbacks. They are 2nd to last in points against QB’s.
Buffalo Bills QB Tyrod Taylor- QB 17: Even though he does not throw for a ton of yards, he is a solid QB week in and week out.
Tennessee Titans QB Marcus Mariota- QB 20: The Browns are at the bottom of defenses and Mariota might be finally figuring it out.
RBs
Cincinnati Bengals RB Giovanni Bernard- RB 27: Jeremy Hill is banged up and this looks like a pass heavy game.
Kansas City Chiefs RB Spencer Ware- RB 32: I am not convinced Charles i 100% healthy.
New York Jets RB Bilal Powell- RB 38: Have to wonder why he is ranked so low when in the last couple of weeks the snaps between him and Forte are almost even.
WRs
Kansas City Chiefs WR Jeremy Maclin- WR 15: I love going against the Raiders pass defense, this is the week he breaks out.
Oakland Raiders WR Michael Crabtree- WR 20: All he does is score touchdowns.
Arizona Cardinals WR John Brown- WR 29: The snap counts are very high and the Jets pass defense is among the worst.
TEs
Pittsburgh Steelers TE Jesse James- TE 17: In a high flying offense why not play against the Dolphins.
K
Denver Broncos K Brandon McManus- K 14: Thursday night should be high scoring.
D/ST
Detroit Lions D- D 15: It is the play against the Rams offense which usually works well.
Underachievers
QBs
Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton- QB 2: The running has stopped and I can see a very conservative game off the injury.
Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers- QB 5: The offense is not running right and this ranking is more off his reputation than 2016 production.
Indianapolis Colts QB Andrew Luck- QB 8: They go on the road to Houston where the Texans always play well.
RBs
Denver Broncos RB CJ Anderson- RB 9: This could be moving into a job share based on his less than four yards per carry.
San Diego Chargers RB Melvin Gordon- RB 13: His touchdown rate is unsustainable and I expect Denver to step up.
New Engalnd Patriots RB LeGarrette Blount- RB 16: This is now a throwing team with Brady back.
WRs
Atlanta Falcons WR Julio Jones- WR 7: The big day two weeks ago was the season aberration with every other week at less than 10 targets plus he is banged up.
Chicago Bears WR Alshon Jeffrey- WR 19: He continues to get less than eight targets a game and until I see different , I would wait to start him.
New England Patriots WR Julian Edelman- WR 19: He is injured and Brady seemed to look in other places last week.
TE
Philadelphia Eagles TE Zach Ertz- TE 9: Carson Wentz did not seem to look his way much, I would wait until we see a connection.
K
Dallas Cowboys K Dan Bailey- K 5: The Packers should be playing a low scoring game, I do not see many attempts for him this week.
D/ST
Kansas City Chiefs D- D 11: The Raiders offense is not a team I would start a defense against right now