Keon Coleman
23.6 pts in Week 4
Six catches, 116 yards, a touchdown - from the bench. The most-added receiver in fantasy football this week, and Marco already owns him.
No football was played yesterday, so this one looks forward: Marco is 1-3 and drawing the best team in the league, and the lineup he has saved for Week 5 is still the same lineup that left 57.7 points on his bench in Week 4. Three changes are sitting there waiting to be made, and the first deadline is Thursday night.
LordHaveMRSA (1-3)
0.00
UndisputedGiant (4-0)
0.00
Week 5 has not started. Next kickoff Thursday, October 8 at 8:15 PM ET.
Drake Maye
27.2 pts in Week 4
Outscored the starting quarterback by 18.4 points while sitting. Projects 19.3 this week against Las Vegas; Geno Smith projects 13.8.
DJ Moore
Doubtful - shoulder
Aggravated an AC joint sprain in his left shoulder against New England on October 4. Still sitting in the starting lineup.
Where the matchup stands
LordHaveMRSA 0.00 - UndisputedGiant 0.00 - nothing decided yet
Week 5 has not kicked off. The first game that matters to anyone in this matchup is Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Dallas Cowboys on Thursday, October 8 at 8:15 PM ET, and the only player involved on either roster is Chris Godwin (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), who is on Marco's bench. Everything else waits for Sunday, October 11 at 1:00 PM ET.
This is the worst draw on the board
UndisputedGiant is 4-0 and has scored 548.36 points - 84 more than the second-highest team in the league and 181 more than LordHaveMRSA's 366.86. The roster is Josh Allen (Buffalo Bills) at 28.9 points a game, CeeDee Lamb (Dallas Cowboys) at 28.0, Christian McCaffrey (San Francisco 49ers) at 18.5 and Davante Adams (Los Angeles Rams) at 18.2. Marco is 11th of 12 at 1-3. Playing the current lineup as saved projects about 97 points. Making the three changes below projects about 108. Neither number is comfortable, but one of them is at least in the conversation.
Monday night decides this
Buffalo Bills at Los Angeles Rams on Monday, October 12 at 8:15 PM ET carries a 54.5-point over/under - the highest total of the week, tied with Detroit at Arizona - and it holds Kyren Williams, Puka Nacua, DJ Moore and Keon Coleman for Marco, plus Josh Allen and Davante Adams for the opponent. Marco will likely go into Monday night either close or buried, with four of his own players still to play.
The lineup, and the three changes to make
| Slot | Player as saved | Call |
|---|---|---|
| QB | Geno Smith (New York Jets) | CHANGE - start Drake Maye (New England Patriots). Maye projects 19.3 to Smith's 13.8. New England is favored by 3.5 at home over Las Vegas with a 45.5-point over/under; the Jets game against Cleveland has a 39.5 over/under, the second-lowest on the slate. |
| RB | Kyren Williams (Los Angeles Rams) | KEEP. 36.7 points in Week 4 on 16 carries and 10 catches from 13 targets. His snap share - the share of his team's offensive plays he was on the field for - has climbed every week: 64, 55, 71, 83 percent. Best player on the roster. |
| RB | Cam Skattebo (New York Giants) | KEEP, without enthusiasm. 18 carries for 58 yards in Week 4 is 3.2 yards a carry and 7.6 points. The volume is real, the efficiency is not. There is no better option on the bench. |
| WR | Puka Nacua (Los Angeles Rams) | KEEP. Back to a 90 percent snap share in Week 4 after missing Weeks 2 and 3, and he put up 27.7 points on 12 targets. Projects 20.6, the highest figure on the roster. |
| WR | DJ Moore (Buffalo Bills) | CHANGE - start Keon Coleman (Buffalo Bills). Moore is doubtful with a shoulder injury and played only 39 percent of Buffalo's snaps in Week 4 before it flared up. Coleman played 78 percent in the same game and scored 23.6. |
| TE | Trey McBride (Arizona Cardinals) | KEEP. 13, 10, 11 and 12 targets in four games and a 97 percent snap share in Week 4. Detroit at Arizona has a 54.5-point over/under and Arizona is a 5.5-point underdog, which means throwing. Projects 18.0. |
| FLEX | Jauan Jennings (Minnesota Vikings) | CHANGE - start Chris Godwin (Tampa Bay Buccaneers). Jennings has 2.9 points in four games. Two point nine. See below. |
This is the lineup currently saved in Sleeper, with the recommendation beside each slot. Three of the seven slots should change before Sunday at 1:00 PM ET.
What the bench did to the starters
Week 4: 57.7 points watched the game from Marco's bench
He won 95.36 to 79.50, which has buried the problem rather than fixing it. Drake Maye (New England Patriots) scored 27.16 while Geno Smith (New York Jets) started and scored 8.76 - an 18.4-point gap at quarterback. Brian Robinson (Atlanta Falcons) scored 25.70 on three touchdowns while Cam Skattebo (New York Giants) started and scored 7.6 - 18.1 points. Keon Coleman (Buffalo Bills) scored 23.60 while Jauan Jennings (Minnesota Vikings) started and scored 1.8 - 21.8 points. Three positions, three wrong calls, and the same lineup is still saved for Week 5.
Jauan Jennings (Minnesota Vikings) has to go
Four games, 2.9 total points: 0, 0, 1.1, 1.8. In Week 4 he was on the field for 95 percent of Minnesota's offensive plays and was thrown at once. Once. And that was with Justin Jefferson (Minnesota Vikings) out of the lineup - the single best circumstance Jennings is going to get all season - and he caught one pass for eight yards. He is one of the most-dropped players in fantasy football over the last 48 hours for exactly this reason. He is the roster spot to clear for a waiver claim.
Brian Robinson (Atlanta Falcons) is not the answer either
The 25.70 was three touchdowns on 14 carries for 62 yards, on a 42 percent snap share. Projections have him at 5.3 this week because that is what a 42-percent-snap back scores when he does not reach the end zone three times. Do not chase last week's box score into this week's lineup.
Injuries and byes on the roster
DJ Moore (Buffalo Bills) - doubtful, shoulder
AC joint sprain in the left shoulder, originally hurt in Week 2 and aggravated on October 4 against New England. Adam Schefter has reported it is not considered a long-term issue, but he could miss time. His snap share has been erratic all year - 76, 31, 64, 39 percent - and that was before this. Do not start a doubtful receiver whose teammate on the same roster is healthy, taking more snaps and scoring more points.
Xavier Worthy (Kansas City Chiefs) - bye week
Kansas City and Carolina are the two teams on bye in Week 5. Worthy is on the bench anyway, so there is no lineup consequence, but he is dead weight this week if a roster spot is needed for a claim.
Nobody else is flagged
Kyren Williams, Puka Nacua, Cam Skattebo, Trey McBride, Drake Maye, Keon Coleman, Chris Godwin, Cooper Kupp, Brian Robinson and Xavier Hutchinson all carry no injury designation as of Wednesday morning. Practice reports land Wednesday and Thursday afternoon; DJ Moore's Wednesday session is the one that matters.
Waiver claims - players he does not own
| Player | Why | Bid |
|---|---|---|
| Tre Tucker (Las Vegas Raiders), Wide Receiver | The best genuinely available receiver: 11.1 points a game, eight targets in Week 4, and a steady 57-71 percent snap share all season. Las Vegas plays at New England on Sunday at 1:00 PM ET. He is a clear upgrade on Jauan Jennings, Cooper Kupp (Seattle Seahawks) and Xavier Hutchinson (Houston Texans) as the fourth receiver. | $6 |
| Isaac TeSlaa (Detroit Lions), Wide Receiver | The upside play. His production has gone up every week - 0, 4.6, 9.6, 13.5 - and he drew eight targets on an 82 percent snap share in Week 4. Detroit at Arizona has the week's joint-highest over/under at 54.5, the same game Trey McBride plays in. Take him instead of Tucker if the preference is ceiling over floor. | $5 |
| Michael Mayer (Las Vegas Raiders), Tight End | Listed for completeness, not recommended. Ten targets, eight catches, 82 yards and an 88 percent snap share in Week 4 make him a real tight end, but Trey McBride is a top-three player at the position. Only relevant as insurance if McBride gets hurt. | $0 - skip |
The useful news first: the best waiver receiver in fantasy football this week is Keon Coleman (Buffalo Bills), and Marco already has him. No bid required - just move him into the lineup. The bad news is that this league's free-agent pool is picked clean. Zach Charbonnet (Seattle Seahawks), Romeo Doubs (New England Patriots), KC Concepcion (Cleveland Browns), Tyler Allgeier (Arizona Cardinals) and Emanuel Wilson (Seattle Seahawks) - the names on every national waiver list this morning - are all already rostered here. FAAB below means the $100 season-long budget used to bid on waiver pickups; Marco has spent $41 and has $59 left, which is roughly mid-pack.
His roster is full at 14, so any claim needs a drop. Jauan Jennings (Minnesota Vikings) is that drop.
What to actually do today
One: open Sleeper and make the three swaps - Drake Maye in for Geno Smith at quarterback, Keon Coleman in for DJ Moore at receiver, Chris Godwin in for Jauan Jennings at flex. That is worth about 11 projected points as things stand, and closer to 21 if DJ Moore does not play.
Two: put in a $6 claim on Tre Tucker (Las Vegas Raiders) and drop Jauan Jennings (Minnesota Vikings).
Three: check DJ Moore's Wednesday and Thursday practice reports. If he is upgraded to questionable and practices fully, he is still behind Keon Coleman this week - the snap trend was going the wrong way before the shoulder flared up.
One caution on Chris Godwin: Tampa Bay plays Thursday night, so starting him locks that slot in before the rest of the slate. If the preference is to keep flexibility through Sunday and Monday, Cooper Kupp (Seattle Seahawks) at a 6.4 projection is the alternative at flex - about 3.5 projected points worse, but changeable. Godwin is the better play; this is a note, not a recommendation to switch.