Fantasy Football 2018: Start or sit for Week 5

Start

Calvin Ridley at Pittsburgh– The reigning Offensive Rookie of the Month finds himself in what feels like another high-scoring potential shootout as the Falcons meet the Steelers in the first slate of games. Ridley, Atlanta’s first-round pick in this year’s NFL Draft, has been nothing short of phenomenal in his rookie campaign thus far.

RIdley is by no means a PPR machine, averaging just 3.75 catches per game this season. Yet Ridley is slowly becoming Matt Ryan’s go-to guy when needing a score, catching six touchdowns to Julio Jones’ zero this season. Jones will always be the No. 1 guy regardless of how great Ridley is, and will also put up great numbers in Pittsburgh.

However, Ridley has been the most productive receiver in Atlanta in terms of scoring, and Sunday’s matchup with a shaky Steelers secondary will provide another opportunity to add to his phenomenal rookie résumé.

John Brown at Cleveland – John Brown appears to have returned to his 2015 Arizona Cardinal form, torching defenses for big plays down the field. It’s been impressive to watch Brown lead the Ravens in receiving yards and touchdowns thus far, despite having Michael Crabtree on the opposite side of him.

Brown, much like Ridley, is by no means a reception monster. Seeing no more than five catches in a game this year, Brown has done his damages in big chunks through the air. We all know Joe Flacco loves to push the ball down the field, and with a Cleveland secondary that finds themselves in the bottom half of the league in terms of yards allowed per game, Brown has the ingredients to again strike big-time plays in Cleveland. Brown’s production is extremely DeSean Jackson-like, with a big play just a throw away.

Sit

Sterling Shepard at Carolina – In last week’s start/sit, I was extremely high on Sterling Shepard, and he pulled through with 10 receptions, 77 yards and one touchdown. The New York Giants travel to Carolina to take on the Panthers, a matchup I’m not terribly fond of despite the potential volume Shepard will receive with tight end Evan Engram sitting out another week.

Quarterback Eli Manning will go from a pass-friendly Saints defense to a tougher Panthers secondary, although the Panthers are an average defense in terms of pass defense. Odell Beckham Jr. is due for his breakout game of 2018, and running back Saquon Barkley has more receptions than Shepard to this point. In a mixture of Manning’s lack of abilities against a tougher defense on the road and law of probabilities, Shepard isn’t likely to replicate his performance a week ago.

Jarvis Landry vs. Baltimore – I’ve spent this entire slide talking about guys who aren’t “PPR machines”, when Jarvis Landry is the prototype target machine we all want our receivers to be. Paired with Baker Mayfield, Landry’s value was thought to be through the roof with a young quarterback searching for his go-to guy. Yet in Baker’s first start, Landry saw a 13-point outing despite the game’s high-scoring nature. What are we to expect when the Ravens stroll into town touting one of the best secondaries in all of football?

Starting cornerback Jimmy Smith makes his return after serving a four-game suspension, only to be paired with Marlon Humphrey. This will be Mayfield’s first big test of the season, will he look to Landry in times of need? I’ll roll with a stingy Ravens defense against a receiver with a rookie quarterback who’s shown he can turn the ball over.