Weekly Gold — Champions Round Newsletter
CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK! We’re at the goal line of Round 1. Hopefully you’ve put your squad in a position to bring home a title in our first ever round here at Champions Round.
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Now, let’s take a look at the week that was and the week ahead.
🤩 Studs & Duds 🤡
Most Surprising
Austin Ekeler — Los Angeles Chargers RB
Even with Melvin Gordon back, Austin Ekeler continues to be a force in fantasy. Ekeler is currently RB3 this season and had 15 fantasy points on Sunday, even though he only had 3 rushing attempts. He will continue to have a huge role for the Chargers going forward.
Cooper Kupp — Los Angeles Rams WR
Coming off of ACL surgery, we didn’t really know what to expect from Kupp. Well, he’s WR3 through five weeks, with 41 receptions for 505 yards and 4 TDs. For those that don’t think he’s a top 8 fantasy option at WR, think again.
DJ Chark Jr. — Jacksonville Jaguars WR
While Chark may not be in the top 10 in receptions, he has 27 catches for 485 yards and 5 TDs, making him WR5 through five weeks. Pretty good considering he was available on the waiver wire in some leagues after draft day.
Biggest Disappointments
Stefon Diggs — Minnesota Vikings WR
Diggs was second or third round pick in most leagues this season. Thus far he has one decent game under his belt and has been held under 6 fantasy points three times in five weeks.
The big question: Will the Vikings trade their disgruntled wide receiver? You know the Patriots are just waiting to grab him. NBC Sports’ Peter King suggested a 2nd and 4th round pick may do the trick. Fantasy owners are BEGGING the Vikings do to that deal.
OJ Howard — Tampa Bay Buccaneers TE
Howard was expected to be a top 5 option at Tight End this season. Through five weeks, he is TE 36 and has been outscored by teammate Cameron Brate in fantasy. His biggest game this season? Week 3 where he caught three passes for 66 yards. It has been an UGLY year for Mr. Howard.
Damien Williams — Kansas City Chiefs RB
Another top pick this season, Williams has missed two games with injuries and has been held to under 8 points in two of the three weeks in which he played. Not a good sign for someone we thought could be a fantasy stud this season.
Ten Thoughts From Week 5 🤔
- The Packers are legit. They beat up on the Cowboys in Dallas. Running back Aaron Jones had 107 yards & 4 TDs. Aaron Rodgers looks great. The defense looks solid. Could be a big year for first-year coach Matt LaFleur.
- Any Given Sunday. That’s my explanation for what happened on Sunday Night Football. Kansas City put up just 10 points against the Colts. It happens, it’s the NFL. The Chiefs will be just fine, so long as Patrick Mahomes’ ankle injury isn’t serious.
- Jon Gruden & The Raiders. At 3–2 coming off of road wins versus the Colts and Bears it’s time to give Gruden some credit. He got through the Antonio Brown saga and his young team is beating playoff teams on the road. Will it last? Who knows. But the Raiders have to feel great going into their bye week.
- Chris Godwin, fantasy stud. Is he the #1 in TB? How about the #1 fantasy wide receiver through five weeks. Godwin had 125 yards and 2 TDs in Sunday’s loss to the Saints. Mike Evans: 0 catches, 0 yards.
- Christian McCaffrey is the #1 player in fantasy. Not even close. Can he keep it up all season? His workload is nearly unprecedented. 25 touches, 237 yards, 3 TDs in total in Sunday’s win. He’s played 100% of the Panthers offensive snaps and leads the NFL in rushing yards. He’s also on pace for the second-most touches ever and the most scrimmage yards ever. Pretty good stuff for fantasy owners.
- Don’t hit the panic button on the Rams, but they have real competition in the division. The Seahawks are for real (and the 49ers might be too.) Sean McVay’s squad played well on Thursday night, just not well enough in a tough environment. The Rams are still the favorites in the NFC West, but it’s very close.
- We had our first head coach fired on Monday morning: Redskins HC Jay Gruden. Here’s guessing he’ll end up on the Raiders coaching staff shortly (maybe as an offensive analyst). Next up? Possibly Dan Quinn. The Falcons are 1–4. Another loss and he may be gone.
- Maybe Clemson HC Dabo Swinney was right: DeShaun Watson is MJ. Okay, maybe not, but he’s freaking awesome. Houston put up 52 on Sunday. Watson went 28 of 33 for 426 yards, 5 TDs and a perfect passer rating.
- Despite two losses in a row, I’m not giving up on the Cowboys. Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup are fantasy studs, as are Ezekiel Elliott and Dak Prescott. Their defense will be fine. Two games vs. two good teams. Again, it happens. It’s the NFL. I still think Dallas is a NFC Championship game contender.
- Dalvin Cook is having one heck of a season for the Vikings. It would be nice if Minnesota got Stefon Diggs involved at some point though.
Waiver Wire Targets 🎯
Gerald Everett — Los Angeles Rams TE
Everett was awesome on Thursday night in Seattle. He was targeted 11 times and caught 7 passes for 136 yards. He also had 8 targets against Tampa Bay.
Auden Tate — Cincinnati Bengals WR
With John Ross III out for some time and AJ Green still sidelined, Tate should be a viable option for a couple of weeks. He has 6 or more targets in three straight games.
Chris Herndon — New York Jets TE
The Jets have almost no viable fantasy options outside of RB Le’Veon Bell, but Herndon could be of value going forward. He is coming off of suspension and will play Week 6. He had a very solid rookie campaign and once Sam Darnold is back Herndon could be a TE1.
Final Thoughts 💭
- There’s nothing worse than a bad fantasy week. I had one this week. It happens. Keep Grinding.
- Another London game this week: Panthers vs. Buccaneers. This one is at 6:30 AM local time in Los Angeles. Glorious! I may be the only one, but I LOVE the early morning game. Nothing better than sitting in bed with a cup of coffee watching football.
- Game of the Week: Texans at Chiefs. Expect a ton of points.
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