The lesson coming out of Week 5 is to expect the unexpected. It sounds generic, but then again, Tuesday Night Football and multiple schedule adjustments for a single week of postponements wasn’t on everyone’s radar at the start of the season. The pandemic has forced us all into considering secondary and tertiary options, but none of us are immune to a promising projection followed by a disappointing result. Week 5 was filled with drama, injuries, and high scores from start to finish but I found some of the worst performances of the week the lessons we can learn going into Week 6.
Quarterback: Matt Ryan, Falcons
Week 5 Results: 21.7 (Projected), 6.9 (Actual)
Matt Ryan’s fantasy outlook appears to be tied to the health of his receivers. Julio Jones was expected out for Week 5, but the offense still had some semblance of functionality. Calvin Ridley was healthy and Atlanta’s ancillary skill players (e.g. Olamide Zaccheaus, Russell Gage) had at least shown flashes of relevance in previous weeks. But Ryan’s output had taken a dramatic hit over the previous two weeks. He had taken 6 sacks in his contests against the Bears and Packers and only thrown a single touchdown. But the fantasy community considered his risk to be minimized as the Falcons were set to host the Panthers. Heading into Week 5, the Panthers were 30th in adjusted sack rate (4.0%) and had generated a single interception prior to facing Atlanta. Carolina’s defensive secondary had surrendered 3 passing touchdowns to Kyler Murray in Week 4 and 330 passing yards to Justin Herbert in Week 3. Ryan’s game environment set up for at least a floor performance, but the results were an anchor to fantasy rosters. He’s averaged 10.2 fantasy points over his last three games so this isn’t a one-game disappointment. The fall from grace from one of the perennial QB1s warranted a deeper dive and if Ryan should be on in our starting lineups moving forward.
Advice Moving Forward:
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