“My kingdom for a running back” is the cry. It was amazing to see how many good wide receivers were available on the waiver wire this week and how few running decent running backs are left. There were plenty of people lining up to claim Chase Claypool, available in more than 90 percent of leagues, and Travis Fulgham, available in more than 99 percent of leagues.
If you still need a wide receiver, missing out on the Claypool and Fulgham feeding frenzy, perhaps you can still snag Brandin Cooks, who was available in more than half of the leagues last time I checked. But if you’re like me, you’re set at wide receiver and desperately seeking to add running back depth. Things got even worse with Le’Veon Bell being cut and Melvin Gordon getting a DUI.
The demand for running backs started high and got even higher when injuries started taking a toll in Week 2. Injuries are always a part of football, but 2020 has taken that to whole new levels. Every week seems to have some new significant injury to deal with — Nick Chubb and Austin Ekeler were Week 4 victims — and Week 5 saw Dalvin Cook leave with a groin injury.
I wasn’t watching Sunday night’s game, but my son texted me when Cook left the game with this message: “And that’s why I have Mattison.” Of course, he was referring to Alexander Mattison, who stepped in for Cook and rushed for 112 yards on 20 carries. With Mattison as the super sub, the Vikings are in no rush to bring Cook back. Count on him to be out this week.
If Cook is on you roster and you didn’t back him up with Mattison, you’re a fool. I’m not going to sugarcoat this message for you because your blood is on your own hands. You’ve been warned in this column to own the backups for your RB1. Look at what Mike Davis has done since Christian McCaffrey went down in Week 2. He’s had three straight games with more than 20 fantasy points.
With that said, Mattison was still available in more than half of the Yahoo and ESPN leagues heading into Week 6. That changed quickly when the feeding frenzy began on Tuesday. Mattison, like Davis, will see his stock value plummet when the guy above him on the depth chart returns to action. But if he’s out there and can be plugged into your starting lineup this week, grab him.
If you’re one of the few fortunate fantasy players that is deep in running backs, you might want to consider trading one of them now to fix anything that’s broken on your team. For instance, my home league team needs a tight end upgrade. If I hadn’t lost Chubb, I would be offering him up in a trade to get Travis Kelce. The team with Kelce lost Saquon Barley and might have bit.
On a personal note, Dak Prescott’s season-ending injury reminded me that football is more than just a game to entertain us. He was off to a historic start in 2020, coming off an offseason where he reportedly turned down a 5-year, $175 million contract offer. He’s playing this season on the franchise tag, which pays him a salary of $31.4 million. His future is now uncertain.
Of course, there are fantasy ramifications to the Prescott injury, but your chances of replacing him on the waiver wire are better than replacing an elite running back. I’m repeating myself, but I have told you in this column that quarterback is a deep position. If you lost Prescott, you can stream the quarterback position for the rest of the season and still put up numbers.
If you need a replacement for Prescott, you might still get Ryan Fitzpatrick or Kirk Cousins. Fitzpatrick has a better matchup in Week 6 against the Jets, but Cousins looks good against the Falcons, too. Another sleeper is Andy Dalton. In his 10th season, Dalton has passed for more than 30,000 yards, and he has the best trio of receivers in the NFL – Amari Cooper, CeeDee Lamb and Michael Gallup.
Here are some other things you might have missed from Week 5:
KENYAN DRAKE, RB, ARIZONA
Drake played 49 snaps, while Chase Edmonds played 33, which is puzzling because Edmonds was more effective yet again. He had the first two carries on the opening drive but only mustered three yards up the middle. Enter Edmonds, who took the next carrying up the middle for a 29-yard touchdown. Kliff Kingsbury’s mother didn’t raise a fool. Edmonds is in line for a promotion.
LAMAR JACKSON, QB, BALTIMORE
Baltimore is doing just fine with a 4-1 record, but those counting on Jackson to anchor their lineup have to be gripping at this point after probably spending a second-round pick to acquire the 2019 fantasy sensation. Jackson has had only two 20-point games this season. He put up only 13.5 points on Sunday. The Ravens won handily, but he was a non-factor on the ground, rushing for just 3 yards.
ZACH ERTZ, TE, PHILADELPHIA
What in the world is wrong with Ertz? That’s a question many are asking after he caught just one of six targets for six yards on Sunday. When Dallas Goedert was injured three weeks ago, I thought Ertz would start putting up big numbers. After all, who was Carson Wentz going to throw to with DeSean Jackson and Alshon Jeffery sidelined? Not Ertz. Go figure.
D.J. MOORE, WR CAROLINA
Moore got into the end zone for the first time all season and had 19.3 fantasy points on Sunday. The problem is, he had just one target before that, and ended up with just five. Robby Anderson has clearly usurped him as the No. 1 target on this offense. Anderson, by the way, caught eight of 13 targets for 112 yards – his third 100-yard game in five tries. He had 99 in another.
MICHAEL GALLUP, WR, DALLAS
Gallup had only his second double-digit points game on Sunday and has been far from a fantasy asset so far in 2020. But that might be about to change with Andy Dalton taking over as the signal-caller in Dallas. The Cowboys still have a lot of mouths to feed, but Gallup got all four of his targets after Dalton replaced Prescott. Gallup, not CeeDee Lamb, was the go-to guy in clutch time.
Thomas L. Seltzer, AKA Doubting Thomas, runs his own blog at www.doubtingthomassports.com. Follow Thomas on Twitter.
