Buy Into the Michael Pittman Jr. Hype

Week 5 of the NFL season gave us many great games, and many great individual performances. In general, a lot of players found statistical success this week. Well, except for kickers who collectively had the most missed extra points in NFL history. For everyone else, though, there were many players who outperformed their expectations and fantasy owners are wondering whether or not they are legit.

Last Week Recap:

As we transition away from trades since deadlines are approaching in a few weeks, let’s do one last recap of players I recommended trading for. Last week, I advised buying low on Trey Lance, who turned around and had a really disappointing passing performance. Even without George Kittle, I expected more than 192 yards from Lance in what I thought was going to be a really fast-paced game. Luckily, Lance was able to make up for his lack of passing yards and touchdowns with 89 rushing yards. These extra 9 fantasy points pulled Lance out of a horrendous performance and allowed him to finish the week as an average fantasy QB. The other player I recommended buying low was Marquise Brown. Halfway through the third quarter of the Monday Night Football game, I was certain I was going to have to write about how I had sub-par week of recommendations. However, Brown decided to save the day, finishing with 9 receptions for 125 yards and 2 touchdowns. (Clearly, I’m a genius.) I believe this is just the start of a breakout season for Brown and he is going to be a top receiver going forward.

The player I recommended to sell high was Cordarrelle Patterson. Patterson finished with 14 carries for 54 yards and 7 receptions for 60 yards. This is enough for me to take back what I said earlier. I thought he was going to see much less volume going forward, but it’s clear that the Falcons are committed to him. He should be a viable RB2 going forward.

Buy Into The Hype: Michael Pittman Jr.

Pittman was a player who flew under the radar in most fantasy drafts. He wasn’t viewed as the top receiver on his team and there were many questions as to whether or not the Colts would have a fantasy-friendly offense. As it turns out, not only is Michael Pittman Jr. the WR1 on the Colts, he is the 12th most targeted player in the NFL. Last night Pittman had his first touchdown of the season on an impressive 42 yard catch and run. Wentz is starting to recognize Pittman as the best receiver on the team and giving him more opportunities to score. Even though the Colts haven’t been winning games, their offense has exceeded expectations and they have one of the best young receivers in the league in Pittman.

Don’t Buy Into The Hype: Myles Gaskin

Last week, Gaskin had 5 rushes for 25 yards and 10 receptions for 74 yards and 2 touchdowns. While this was a great performance, some fantasy owners need to be reminded that the Dolphins offense isn’t good enough for Myles Gaskin to even come close to sustaining these numbers. The Dolphins game plan seemed to be to throw a lot of check downs. This was very good for Gaskin, as he was able to double his previous season high in receptions which was 5. However, this did not work for the Dolphins, as they lost by 28. Miami will look for other options on offense and Gaskin's stats will go back down to the RB3 numbers he was putting up earlier.

Buy Into The Hype: James Robinson

If you have been a long-time reader of mine, you would know that I called James Robinson the steal of the draft following Travis Etienne’s season-ending injury. After the first two weeks, it looked like Robinson was the biggest bust of the draft. However, in his past three games, Robinson has notched a total of 51 carries for 315 yards and 4 touchdowns. This is nothing new, since Robinson finished as the seventh best running back in fantasy last year. People seemed to have forgotten how good he was. Robinson is not over-performing now. It’s just that his expectations were way too low. Following DJ Chark’s season ending injury, the Jags will be even more reliant on Robinson to move the ball down the field. Robinson will continue to put up RB1 numbers throughout the coming weeks and it would be silly not to believe in him.

After five weeks of football, there has been a ton of action and many great fantasy performances. As a fantasy owner, it is essential to recognize which players are one-week wonders and which players will continue to thrive. If you want to win your fantasy league, you need to know when to buy into the hype and when to ignore it.