Stuck deciding between two players? Here's a look at who we're buying and who we're selling entering Week 6 of the Fantasy Football season.
RB: Charcandrick West vs Knile Davis
When Jamaal Charles went down with a season-ending ACL injury, fantasy players everywhere scrambled to the waiver wire to pick up his backup. What some might not have realized, though, was that West had all but taken over the handcuff spot to Charles a few weeks ago.
In the two weeks leading up to Charles's injury, Knile Davis didn't play a single offensive snap. It was West who functioned as the change-of-pace guy, despite the fact that his style is much more similar to Charles. When Charles went down last week, West ended up out-touching Davis 8-to-2. From everything we have to work with this season, West is going to get a crack at something close to a full-time gig in Kansas City.
That doesn't mean Davis won't be involved, particularly around the goalline. Those opportunities may be far and few between, though, as Kansas City should be playing from behind more often than not. West should be the clear-cut passing down back, which should set him up for plenty of garbage time receptions from captain checkdown, Alex Smith.
Through four weeks, Charles was averaging five receptions a game. It's not crazy to think that West could replicate that portion of Charles's production, even if he'll put up worse stats on the ground.
For that reason, we're buying West as an RB2/Flex option the rest of the way. Hold Davis for now, as he has filled in fairly well for Charles in the past, but don't be afraid to sell in a few weeks if he isn't getting enough snaps.
WR: Julian Edelman vs Calvin Johnson
This wouldn't have been much of a debate at the beginning of the season, right? Johnson was a late first-round pick in most leagues, sometimes falling into the second, and was widely considered a top-5 fantasy receiver. Edelman, meanwhile, would often last until the fourth round, with part of that being attributed to Tom Brady's expected suspension.
Even when Brady's suspension was dropped, though, Edelman didn't see a substantial hike in draft value. Which was odd. Despite being Brady's favorite short-yardage target and an incredibly reliable source of produciton in PPR leagues, his lack of touchdown upside kept him overlooked.
While one would hope Detroit won't be as bad in the second-half of the season as they have been to start, it's hard to trust anyone for consistent production there. Dan Orlovsky is not the answer, and a horrible offensive line is making it nearly impossible for Johnson to receive looks on deep balls. With his recent injury history, the Lions won't take any chances if Johnson so much as gets nicked up in a lost season.
Some might be hesitant to say it, but Edelman is by far the superior fantasy option right now. I'm buying Edelman as a true WR1 the rest of the way, and selling Johnson as a WR1 from here on out.
QB: Philip Rivers vs Peyton Manning
Here's another one we've had to readjust after seeing the early results from this season. Manning has put up some decent performances, but more often than not, Denver's offense is sputtering due to a completely inept running game. That's put Manning in tough 3rd and Long situations far too often, where he's struggled more than usual to keep drives humming along.
Manning is missing throws, too, so it's not the offense that's entirely to blame. Philip Rivers is an even worse situation with a crumbling offensive line, an almost equally ineffective running game, and less talent on the outside than Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders. Even with that being the case, Rivers has put up much better games this season, as he's actually been aided by a defense that forces the Chargers to air it out, while the Broncos D has been so stout that it's forced Denver to play more conservatively.
Especially with Antonio Gates back in the lineup and able to soak up so many of those catches over the middle, I'm buying Rivers as a top-6 QB option the rest of the way, and selling Manning as a lock for QB1 stauts from here on out. Given how he fell apart late last year and his slow start this season, it's very difficult to trust Manning the rest of the way.
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