RADIO
With Week 10 on deck, we're pretty much heading into the playoff stretch for most fantasy football owners. Now is not the time to lollygag when making lineup decisions. You're continuing to start your studs and weeding out underperforming playmakers. That, of course, leads us to this week's Warning Signals.
Purely by coincidence, this is an all wide receiver edition of the Warning Signals list. That wasn't always the plan, but the more I looked at which players have been underperforming, the more I realized the other positions have settled down considerably. There are obviously some outliers, some of which we'll touch on in the "Updates From Last Week" section, but overall it's the wide receivers that deserve the most attention right now. Hopefully you're strong enough at that position where you won't need to worry about these guys too much.
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Heed the Warning Signs
Brandon Marshall - (WR, NYJ)
The analysis on Brandon Marshall breaks down into two categories. The first is rather simple in that Marshall is racking up a boat load of targets, particularly in the red zone. That alone should lend itself to fantasy prowess. The second, less enthusiastic school of thought is that he simply isn't doing enough with those targets. Marshall has just two touchdowns on the year and hasn't found the end zone in his last four games. He hasn't exactly set the world on fire even with the Jets force feeding him the ball.
Even with his lack of scoring, it's hard not to remain optimistic about Brandon Marshall's rest-of-season outlook. The Jets still have games against the Colts, 49ers, and Dolphins in their remaining schedule - all prime matchups where Marshall can shine. In fact, New York's tougher games against Los Angeles and New England aren't even all that intimidating. The problem with that optimism and schedule talk is the quarterback play. Ryan Fitzpatrick has been absolutely dreadful all year and it's not like the Jets have anyone else who can play QB. Their offense just isn't as good as it was in 2015 and Marshall's performance is clearly suffering with Fitzpatrick under center.
The conclusion on Marshall is this: he's clearly not playing up to his WR1 status this year and has looked more like a mid-level WR2. Luckily for his fantasy owners, Marshall has enough upside and a decent enough schedule to put up WR1 numbers any given week. Your best bet is to hang tough with him in your lineup and hope for the best.
Marvin Jones - (WR, DET)
I have to be honest here, not throwing Marvin Jones onto Warning Signals sooner was a glaring oversight by me. I had been operating under the assumption that him and Golden Tate would both be productive but it's become clear that Tate is the preferred option in Detroit. Ever since his 205 yard, two touchdown explosion against the Packers in week three, Jones has been fairly lackluster. He hasn't topped 100 yards in any game since and has just one score over that span.
Tate, on the other hand, has seen an uptick in production over the last four games. In short, the top-end fantasy stardom has shifted considerably in Tate's favor. I still think both of the Lions receivers can be usable in a given week but it's clear that Tate is number one wideout on the team. Detroit has a bye in week 10 so there's always a chance offensive coordinator Jim Bob Cooter spends the week off trying to get Jones more involved. The more likely scenario, however, is that these two receivers should be much closer in their week-to-week ranking than they were earlier in the season.
Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders - (WR, DEN)
It's not often we lump two wide receivers on the same team together but in the case of Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders it is most certainly warranted. A big reason this pair of Denver wideouts are struggling is related to the play of quarterback Trevor Siemian. Siemian has been Ryan Fitzpatrick-level bad and there really isn't any reason to believe that's going to change anytime soon. Ok so maybe I'm exaggerating just a tad in comparing him to Fitzpatrick but judging by the eye test it's hard not to draw the comparison. Either way, Siemian is hurting both of these receivers considerably.
Neither Broncos receiver has topped 100 yards since they both did it together in week three against Cincinnati. Since then, Thomas has the edge in touchdowns with two total while Sanders has just one. Expand that analysis to their yardage and reception totals and their numbers are even more identical. The point here is that neither guy is excelling over the other. They're both looking like low-end WR2s at best, maybe even WR3s depending on who else is on your roster. If I've acquired enough depth from adding guys like Terrelle Pryor or Mike Wallace, I'm probably not bothering with the headache in Denver. That being said, the Broncos do have a tasty matchup waiting for them with the Saints on Sunday so perhaps now wouldn't be the best time to pull the plug on either guy.
Updates From Last Week
Russell Wilson - (QB, SEA)
Even after a nice outing in a Monday night thriller against Buffalo, I'm still not convinced that Russell Wilson has catapulted back into fantasy stardom. It's going to take more than one game for me to buy into a strong second half. The rushing yards still aren't there and the offensive line isn't getting any better. Throw in the continued emergence of Marcus Mariota and the fantasy production of Kirk Cousins, and Russell Wilson just isn't a locked-in top 10 fantasy quarterback this year.
Ryan Mathews - (RB, PHI)
The party is over for Ryan Mathews. This is Darren Sproles' backfield now. Mathews might have scored a touchdown last week but he isn't getting anywhere close to enough volume to rely on starting him. Sproles is the running back to own and use in Philadelphia.
Mark Ingram - (RB, NO)
Last week I had mentioned that I was holding out hope for Mark Ingram going forward and he bailed me out with a strong outing against the 49ers on Sunday. The downside of that performance was the fact that Tim Hightower was still heavily involved and isn't going to just disappear. Like it or not, this has developed into a timeshare where both running backs are going to split the workload. Fortunately, I actually think both backs can be productive any given week. We've seen plenty of teams in the past feature two usable fantasy running backs and I think the Saints are a talented enough offense to follow suit. Whether it's the combination of Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard or Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman, certain offenses can manage to sustain two strong fantasy assets out of the backfield. I think New Orleans can and will be one of those teams going forward. The Denver Broncos are nowhere near as good against the run as they are against the pass so expect another nice game out of Mark Ingram in Week 10.
