Fantasy Football 2019 Week 5: Miles Sanders needs to go, and Will Fuller’s big day

What can we take away as we prepare for week 6 of the fantasy football season with the early games of week 5 in the books?

Week 5 saw 10 games in the early slate. There were a couple of competitive games but the majority were one-sided. Those one-sided games usually don’t lead to a lot of scoring for fantasy football, especially for the losing team. Even some players on the winning team didn’t put up good numbers.

Whether it was the defense or game flow, the offense had their own game plan and that often leads to some disappointing fantasy outputs. Just look at Mike Evans and Greg Olsen, who had a combined zero catches and zero yards on five targets.

Looking at the fantasy scoring in some of these games, those two weren’t the only players to disappoint. However, there were a couple of big games that could be the beginning of a nice stretch.

Cut Miles Sanders

Even after the Eagles acquired Jordan Howard, they still drafted Sanders. Many thought he would be the breakout player in the Eagles backfield, but after five weeks that doesn’t look to be happening.

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While they are close in yards, Howard has 186 and Sanders has 178, Howard has scored three times to Sanders’ zero before this game.

In their game against the Jets saw Howard carry the ball 13 times for 62 yards and another score. Sanders had nine for 15. He did catch four passes for another 49 yards.

The Eagles are using Sanders as a change-of-pace back. He isn’t getting consistent work and isn’t making good use of the carries he is getting. He may be worth holding onto in PPR leagues while the eagles deal with injuries but he doesn’t need to be owned in standard leagues.

Stay away from Jets

Whether it’s Sam Darnold or Luke Falk under center, this Jets offense stinks. Entering this game, the Jets quarterbacks combined for 474 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Le’Veon Bell is trying but with a bad offensive line, he can’t get anything going, 163 yards on 56 attempts, 2.9 YPA.

Falk completed 15 of 26 passes for 120 yards and two touchdowns. Bell rushed for 43 yards on 15 carries. He caught seven passes for 45 yards. Demaryius Thomas caught four passes for 47 yards.

The Jets face the Cowboys in week 6. Dallas held the Saints to 12 points in week 4 but have allowed an early score to Aaron Rodgers and the Packers in week 5. I wouldn’t want to rely on any Jets player for my fantasy team.

Will Fuller is very hit-or-miss

Fuller finally showed up. Entering the week 5 game against the Falcons, Fuller had 14 receptions for 183 yards and zero scores. In this game alone, he had 14 catches for 217 yards and three touchdowns.

While the Falcons focused on DeAndre Hopkins (somewhat), seven catches for 88 yards, Deshaun Watson was able to target Fuller again and again. Many owners gave up on Fuller, his ESPN ownership percentage was down to 65.1 percent.

If you own Fuller, he could have another big game in week 6 against the Chiefs. However, it’s not something I would bank on. What’s more likely to happen, another big game or Fuller regressing back to the mean?

Kickers stink

I’m in a league that doesn’t use kickers and it’s great. While they have their place in really football, it doesn’t work for fantasy football. I’d rather use that roster spot on an extra skill player. Looking at the numbers so far this season, I think I made the right choice.

Greg Zuerlein has missed three field goals, all between 40 and 49 yards. Stephen Gostkowski has one missed field goal and four missed extra points before landing on the IL. His replacement, Mike Nugent, missed a 40-yard field goal.

Veteran Adam Vinatieri has three missed extra points and three missed field goals. Cairo Santos missed four field goals this week, two within 40 and two from at least 50 yards.

The point is, kickers are prone to making mistakes just like the skill players. I wouldn’t want my matchup to hang in the balance in a kicker. If you can, change your league’s rules to eliminate the kicker. They just aren’t worth the aggravation.

With only two games in the late slate, the majority of action is over. Just about one-third of the fantasy football season is over, so now is the time to look at game trends and see which players are getting targets and carries and which ones are sitting on the bench.