Five in Five: Week Five Dynasty Storylines
Over the years, we’ve done several different weekly preview articles and love to give new things a try. This is the time of year when it’s nearly information overload with every nook and cranny of the internet flooded with all kinds of fantasy football opinions and advice. Instead of following the herd and doing the same thing you’re used to, we’re going a little off the wall this year with our “Five in Five.” This is a weekly written preview of the five biggest storylines of the week encompassed in a five-section theme and in the way I love to do it – weird. It will also be a bit of a preview for my weekly Dynasty Aftermath – the longest running dynasty series in the business as we hit year #17 in 2023 as we bring you five possible storylines we could see on Monday Morning.
Houston Rocket
There has simply been no better rookie quarterback than CJ Stroud of the Texans. With 1,212 passing yards, six touchdowns and ZERO interceptions through his first four games, Stroud has proven worthy of consideration in fantasy lineups, regardless of the format. With two young standout receivers in Tank Dell and Nico Collins, this offense is actually looking like one of the better young units in the NFL. Stroud’s ADP and ranking have been stable throughout the off-season and into the year but a couple more big games from him are going to surely vault his status into bona fide dynasty QB1 territory. This week’s game against an Atlanta team that is also a surprising 2-2 is going to tell us a lot about what we can expect from the player who is clearly the frontrunner for Rookie of the Year (at least in terms of quarterbacks).
The Full Monty
For those who drafted Jahmyr Gibbs, David Montgomery has been a serious problem. Just take a look at the numbers:
Detroit Running Back “A”
Three Games Played
262 Rushing Yards
Five Touchdowns
Detroit Running Back “B”
Four Games Played
179 Rushing Yards
70 Receiving Yards
No Touchdowns
If you would have told dynasty managers a month ago these would have been the numbers of Gibbs and Montgomery through the first month, few would have been surprised. However, there’s no question the vast majority of those would have believed Gibbs was “A” and Montgomery was “B.” Instead, the whole thing is flipped on its head as Montgomery has carried the mail for the Lions, despite Gibbs being the #12 pick in the 2023 NFL Draft. It’s a stunning turn of events and one that has many questioning their decision to draft Gibbs as high as #2 in their own rookie drafts this off-season. Will this frightening trend continue?
Kupp of Coffee?
The Puka Nakua emergence has beee THE story in fantasy football this year. Nacua has the most catches and yards for a rookie receiver in their first five games in NFL history. Yes, you read that correctly – the first five games. If Nacua doesn’t catch a ball this week, he STILL has that record – that’s how good he’s been. Now it gets interesting, though. With Cooper Kupp set to likely return this week, what happens to Nacua’s target share? Personally, I think the two both just get peppered with targets moving forward. However, we’ll see just what kind of drop-off we can expect from Nacua if Kupp does indeed return and doesn’t play the game as a decoy. This may be the biggest story of the week in all of fantasy football.
Chasing One’s Tail
The Bengals offense has been terrible and even the great Ja’Marr Chase is starting to suffer. Justin Jefferson has surpassed him as the clear-cut WR1 as Chase has been able to post just 29 catches for 284 yards so far this season and has yet to even catch a single touchdown pass. It’s a crazy turn of events in Cincinnati and one that has everyone who plays fantasy football scratching their heads. With Tee Higgins dealing with a rib injury and Joe Burrow struggling, the 1-3 Bengals have a “get right” game on the road at Arizona this week. If this offense sputters again, it’s DEFCON1.
Breece Lightning
The Jets and Broncos are also both sitting at 1-3 and play this week in the “Sean Payton doesn’t like Nathaniel Hackett Bowl.” New York will reportedly take the pitch count off Breece Hall and turn him loose this week. If he’s healthy, they have no choice. Dalvin Cook has been downright pitiful so far this season with just 74 yards on 30 carries, so the Jets need a shot in the arm. Hall has shown his trademark burst at times this year and hopefully he gets 15-20 touches this week to show he’s fully healthy. If that happens, the shot in the arm will be for dynasty managers everywhere. Stay tuned!
Make sure you get your lineup questions in this week as I’ll answer them through tonight. We’ll see you next week for the Dynasty Aftermath!
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