We made it through Week 5 of the 2020 fantasy football season — most of it, anyway. The New England Patriots-Denver Broncos game was pushed to later in the season and the NFL bumped Buffalo-Tennessee to Tuesday night, so we’ll want to monitor these situations along with multiple bye week and scheduling adjustments on the horizon.
For now, let’s see what we can do with our FAAB budgets ahead of Week 6, when the Las Vegas Raiders, New Orleans Saints, Seattle Seahawks and Los Angeles Chargers will all be taking a break from helping our fake teams win games.
The first player at each position will be a more widely available player to consider in standard 12-team leagues, with deep-league targets to follow. FAAB ranges will cover the following general guidelines:
- 0-1% FAAB: Can't hurt to roster if you have an open bench spot
- 2-10% FAAB: Immediate standalone value unlikely, but upside underrated
- 11-20% FAAB: Situation is great, and the player is trending up
- 21-35% FAAB: Player will be started in majority of leagues
- 36-50%+ FAAB: Serious change in workload that could lead to immediate high-end fantasy value
Roster rates are from Yahoo public leagues.
Quarterbacks
Miami Dolphins QB Ryan Fitzpatrick (21%)
The clock might be ticking on Fitzmagic’s starting gig and awesome career with Tua Tagovailoa waiting in the wings, but the grizzled veteran continues to put up fantasy points. Fitzpatrick checked in as QB2 in Week 5, throwing three TDs in a thorough 43-17 dismantling of the reigning NFC champs.
Outside of his Week 1 clunker, Fitzpatrick has been highly usable for fantasy purposes, with finishes of QB14, QB8 and QB13 from Weeks 2-4. Recall that he was QB2 from Week 7 on in 2019, and little has changed in Miami. Fitzpatrick’s efficiency was hardly impressive during last year’s hot stretch (0.46 fantasy points per dropback), but that doesn’t matter when you’re putting up league-leading 432 passing attempts and chipping in four rushing TDs.
The 2020 Dolphins have an underappreciated collection of skill players opposite a defense that ranks 26th in PFF grade. Fitzpatrick has already rushed for two touchdowns. Those looking to replace the likes of Russell Wilson and Drew Brees this week could do worse than dialing up Fitzmagic for one final ride.
Miami has the pleasure of a home date with the New York Jets this week, a matchup PFF’s strength of schedule tool ranks as the fourth-best of Week 6 for quarterbacks.
FAAB Recommendation: 5-8%
Dallas Cowboys QB Andy Dalton (3%)
Dak Prescott’s gruesome ankle injury was such tough luck for one of the game’s coolest young players. The Dallas QB left the field in tears on a stretcher and headed straight to a nearby hospital for surgery. He’ll be out for nine to 12 months, per reports.
Luckily for Dallas, the team invested in veteran backup Andy Dalton this offseason, and the 32-year-old handled business in relief. Dalton was an efficient 9-of-11 for 111 passing yards and led a 72-yard game-winning drive with under a minute to go.
Dalton appears to be perfectly capable of commanding Dallas’ high-powered offense, though we'll certainly have to dial back the expectations without Dak. In less than a half of work on Sunday, Dalton managed 10.1 yards per attempt with an 8.2 average depth of target. He wrapped up his day — and the win — with a big-time throw down the sideline to Michael Gallup that set up the game-winning field goal.
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