When two good teams with lots of fantasy starters are facing off on Thursday Night Football, it's a fantasy owner's nightmare. Between navigating injury designations, and deciding whether to bench a star or start a sleeper, everything becomes magnified when making decisions that will impact how your weekend goes.
TNF: LA Rams @ Seattle
Must Starts
WR Cooper Kupp
QB Russell Wilson
WR DK Metcalf
WR Tyler Lockett
These guys are "must starts" mainly because you probably don't have the luxury of sitting them. They all have the ability to explode, even against tough defenses, but on paper I have Seattle focusing on shutting down Cooper Kupp, while historically DK Metcalf has not had good games against Jalen Ramsey and the Rams D.
I expect the Rams to establish a lead early and this could be good news for Russell Wilson owners, as he puts up some of his best fantasy numbers when leading fourth-quarter comebacks. Someone has to catch the balls he is throwing, and if it's not Metcalf, Lockett profiles to be the main beneficiary of the situation.
TNF Ball 'Em
QB Matthew Stafford
RB Darrell Henderson Jr
WR Robert Woods
TE Tyler Higbee
The Seahawks' defense is not the Legion of Boom it once was, and they have had a tough time containing teams down the stretch of games. This is great news for the Rams offense, and you can confidently roll out Matthew Stafford in this matchup if you are someone who waited on QBs in your fantasy draft.
Darrell Henderson Jr is 100% healthy finally, although he still produced last week carrying a questionable designation into the matchup. He is the workhorse in LA and will see a healthy load against Seattle tonight.
Robert Woods has been better off on benches so far this year, but with the Seattle defense focused on limiting Cooper Kupp it should open up Woods to see more targets, especially in the red zone.
Tyler Higbee has been a solid late-round tight end, still available on waivers in many leagues. He doesn't really have 10-catch upside, but should see the red zone targets required to be a top-12 tight end in week 5. If you are looking at starting a New England tight end, Robert Tonyan, or Cameron Brate, Higbee is someone you can plug and play with a more reliable floor than those guys.
TNF Bench 'Em
RB Chris Carson
RB Sony Michel
LA Rams D/ST
This a tough one, and many teams will not have the option to bench Carson based on injuries to the RB group at this point. He does have a neck injury, and is a game-time decision on whether he will suit up or not.
Alex Collins took on a healthy share of the snaps last week and looked decent doing it, so while we expect Carson to play in some capacity tonight we do not know the type of workload he will see.
The Rams have an excellent rush defense, and we also expect the Seahawks to be playing from behind a bit, which generally limits rushing attempts.
Carson has not been involved in the passing game and that contributes to further decreasing his value in this matchup. If you have a decent flex-level RB on your bench like Jamaal Williams, he may have more value than Carson in PPR formats this week unless the Seattle veteran benefits from multiple goal line scores.
Sony Michel is a solid bench play here, as his value seems to be fairly dependent on Henderson's availability. Like Carson, Michel only has value if he scores.
The Rams defense is really really good, but they will have a hard time stopping Seattle from moving the ball in the second half. I fully expect the Rams to win this one, but it won't translate to fantasy dominance from the D/ST spot.
TNF Deep Flexes
RB Alex Collins
WR Van Jefferson
WR Fred Swain
TE Gerald Everett
By week 5, some of us are grasping at straws after the waves upon waves of injuries, CoVid protocols, and just plain missing on draft picks. If you find yourself struggling at the flex spots, here are a few guys that profile to have increased work loads that could translate into fantasy relevancy. Again, this is risky business so only use these guys if you are super weak on the bench and need a miracle.
Alex Collins will see an increased work load with Carson appearing to be limited with the neck injury. He has also been employed in the passing game, and could easily see double digit numbers in this matchup.
If Carson is deemed unable to play 30 minutes before kickoff tonight, Collins suddenly has extremely solid flex value. Don’t expect him to go nuclear against the Rams defense, but the touches alone gives him solid fantasy value at a position thinned by injury.
Van Jefferson has absolutely killed it as the third receiver in LA, and if my predictions are right it will be Jefferson and Woods vying for the volume in this matchup. In PPR formats Jefferson could have flex value based on volume alone, as I expect 7-10 targets and 5-7 catches for the young man.
Fred Swain could see the benefits of being forgotten while the Rams D scrambles after the elite Lockett/Metcalf duo. He still would be pretty TD-dependant to have value, but don't be surprised if he snags one in the end zone this week.
Gerald Everett hasn't been a disappointment his year to me, because I never thought he was going to have a good year. Tight ends in Seattle never have good years. That being said, Everett is playing his old team that chose Tyler Higbee over him, and revenge games generally mean a few extra targets for the new teammate. Would I start Everett? No. But in deeper leagues, DFS, or if you just really like Gerald Everett, this could be the week to shove him in your lineup over tight ends like Cameron Brate and Robert Tonyan.
Good Luck with your rosters tonight!
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