For the first time this season, in one of my Discord AMA sessions, an exact start-or-sit question was asked so frequently that I’ve included it here. Two running backs and a wideout were also the subjects of many questions. Thus, they’re included in this week’s AMA recap.
Friday’s Fantasy Football Discord AMA Recap
Should Gamers Start Kyler Murray or Drake Maye This Week?
Should I start Kyler Murray or Drake Maye? That was a direct question I was asked at least three times, possibly more. Sadly, Murray hasn’t been a model of consistency this year. Nevertheless, he’s tied for the QB12 in points per game (17.6) this season.
Maye had an encouraging debut at home last week. However, he’s playing in London against the Jaguars this week, and Jacksonville will have the advantage of spending the entire week adjusting their body clocks after playing there last week. Jacksonville’s defense might also get back their top cornerback, Tyson Campbell. Finally, the Patriots have an implied total of only 18.0 points, and Arizona’s is 21.0. So, Murray is the better pick this week.
How Should Gamers Handle De’Von Achane This Week?
Unfortunately, Miami’s offense has cratered without Tua Tagovailoa. Although, frankly, it wasn’t lighting the world on fire in Tagovailoa’s two starts, either. Achane was concussed early in Week 5 but was dreadful in two prior games. Since Week 3, Achane was RB63 in standard points per game (3.5), tied for RB59 in half-point per reception (half PPR) points per game (4.6) and RB59 in PPR points per game (5.8).
Mike McDaniel might get more out of the offense after they had a week to self-scout during their bye in Week 6. Furthermore, Achane’s elite speed and big-play ability give him the possibility to score a long touchdown in an above-average fantasy matchup against the Colts. Still, Achane’s merely a middle-tier to low-end RB2, especially since Raheem Mostert and possibly Jaylen Wright will also absorb opportunities in the backfield, and Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle are ahead of Achane in the passing-game pecking order. I was directly asked if I’d prefer Achane or Chase Brown this week, and I gave the nod to Brown, who I boldly predicted would finish as a top-10 running back this week.
Can Gamers Trust JuJu Smith-Schuster?
JuJu Smith-Schuster was a popular waiver wire suggestion after erupting in his first game back on the Chiefs in Week 5. However, the fantasy gods can’t allow us to have nice things without throwing us a wrinkle, and Smith-Schuster popped up on the injury report late in the week with a hamstring issue. Thankfully, even though Smith-Schuster is listed as questionable, Andy Reid said he thinks Smith-Schuster “will be fine.”
Ideally, Adam Schefter will drop one of his midnight updates indicating Smith-Schuster is expected to play on Sunday. If a report about Smith-Schuster’s availability isn’t available before the London game and the 1:00 p.m. ET contests, gamers will have to weigh the risk of Smith-Schuster being inactive. It will be easier to stomach rolling the dice on Smith-Schuster’s availability for those with a replacement available in the 4:00 p.m. ET window, the Sunday Night Football game or the Monday Night Football doubleheader. Assuming Smith-Schuster is playing this week, gamers should treat him as a high-end WR3.
Is Tank Bigsby a Viable RB2 or Flex?
Tank Bigsby was a massive disappointment last week. He had only seven rush attempts for 24 scoreless yards, and his 27% snap share was less than half D’Ernest Johnson‘s 56% snap share.
A negative game script killed Bigsby’s fantasy value. The second-year running back is behind Johnson and Travis Etienne in the passing-game hierarchy. According to Pro Football Focus (PFF), Bigsby played eight passing snaps and ran five routes in Week 6 versus eight and seven for Etienne and 28 and 24 for Johnson.
Bigsby’s value is game-script dependent. This week, he should have a favorable game script since the Jaguars are 6.0-point favorites in London against the traveling Patriots. New England has also coughed up the sixth-most half PPR points per game (24.9) to running backs this year, enhancing the appeal of Bigsby this week. Still, he’s merely a low-end RB2 because he lacks involvement in the passing game.
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Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.
