Oct 8-
5 SuperFlex Options for Your Week 5 Lineup
While it may feel like we are moving quickly through the first quarter of the 2021 season, there are still plenty of situations in which old reputations are driving current-day decisions. This is often the main topic of Week 1 or 2, where we only see changes in perception due to overreaction.
By Week 5, we are also starting to see the influence of this year mixed in with the old. Teams that are having immediate success or players who are off to a slow start are being heavily targeted or faded, respectively.
This is not bad news. It means that we can generally gauge what others will do and either follow — when it is necessary — or avoid accordingly.
QB Patrick Mahomes – KC $8,600 vs. BUF – Patrick Mahomes is the most expensive player on the slate, so it’s unlikely that there will be enough salary left to use on him if you’re building with the idea of filling the SuperFlex position last. If you get to that point, however, Mahomes is the target, and it’s not just because of his talent level.
Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs will take on the Buffalo Bills under a national spotlight in what some would argue could be a preview of the AFC Championship Game — as well as a rematch of last year’s. In addition to Buffalo’s success through the first three weeks of the season, the Bills carry the league’s best defense in both yards and points allowed.
Not so fast.
Statistically, yes, Buffalo ranks first in those categories. But the Bills have played Davis Mills, Taylor Heinicke, Jacoby Brissett, and Ben Roethlisberger. Patrick Mahomes is a slight upgrade.
Mahomes may go overlooked because of the matchup. Don’t make the same mistake.
RB Alvin Kamara – NO $7,800 at WFT – Earlier in the week, I wrote about Alvin Kamara in an article featuring running backs we need to consider for Week 5. Nothing has changed. In fact, Kamara is one of the top plays of the weekend at any position and any price.
Despite his explosiveness, Kamara is not actually known to accumulate large rushing totals in a given game — entering last week, he had only three 100-yard rushing games in his career. His value is in the versatility that he brings to an offense, and that’s exactly what will be on display for the New Orleans Saints on Sunday.
The Saints are coming off a tough loss at home, even with a big day on the ground from Kamara. Now, they will face a defense that has been a massive disappointment compared to its preseason expectations and with no indication that a turnaround is imminent. If anything, the Washington Football Team are trending down.
Expect New Orleans to lean heavily on Kamara. We can do the same in our lineups.
QB Ryan Tannehill – TEN $6,600 at JAX – The Tennessee Titans are traveling to Jacksonville to take on a division rival one week after losing to the Jets, but the focal point of everyone watching will undoubtedly be running back Derrick Henry. He has completely dominated the Jaguars at times, and it’s almost impossible to not consider him.
Looking at Henry will move the attention away from Ryan Tannehill, and that’s exactly why we should consider him for our lineups.
Tannehill has been subpar in 2021 as opposed to the last two seasons, but he is about to face the most forgiving team in the league in terms of net-yards-per-pass-attempt. Normally, this would be an easy add for people to the point that Tannehill — or any quarterback in such a setup — but again, the attention paid to Henry will leave us in position to add Tannehill as a comparatively unpopular play.
QB Mac Jones – NE $5,800 at HOU – Because of how well he played on national television — in a highly emotional game, at that — Mac Jones is probably going to be a heavily targeted player on Sunday. There may be no way around using him, as well.
Jones is still priced like a rookie who is trying to figure out his role in the offense, but the reality is that he isn’t likely to turn the ball over and has an outstanding matchup against the Houston Texans. The biggest risk is that Jones doesn’t need to throw because his team may secure such a large lead that it will start running the ball throughout the second half. But his salary is so low that one of his average performances should make him worth the investment in the end.
QB Trevor Lawrence – JAX $5,700 vs. TEN – If we are being fair to all options in all matchups, then we can look at Trevor Lawrence exactly how we viewed the aforementioned Ryan Tannehill — and, obviously, in the same game. Sure, Lawrence doesn’t have a player like Derrick Henry stealing ownership percentage, but he does have an outstanding matchup in a game that will probably require him throwing the ball.
We saw this same setup last week as rookie quarterback Zach Wilson of the Jets — who had previously been unfathomably bad — started poorly against Tennessee and then simply kept throwing until the numbers followed. Wilson’s final tally was impressive, and there’s no reason why Lawrence can’t replicate that same success on Sunday.
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