In today's Fantasy Life Newsletter, presented by Paramount+:
Remember when Davante Adams randomly popped up with a late-week “hamstring” injury last week?
I flagged it as suspicious on Sunday morning and it does appear like something fishy is going on in Las Vegas right now as more smoke has emerged around the potential for an Adams trade.
Here’s everything we know right now …
- Raiders beat writer Vincent Bonsignore reported that the team is “growing open to the idea” of trading Adams.
- Antonio Pierce was caught liking an IG post indicating that Adams could have played his last snap with Las Vegas.
- Adams appeared on the UP and Adams Show with Kay Adams for his weekly appearance and shared some ominous quotes, including: “All I can control is the next thing I’m on to.”
- Adams informs the team that he would like to be traded.
- The Raiders confirm they are open to trading Adams and would need at least a second-round pick to get it done.
At this point, it seems more likely than not that the 32-year-old wideout gets shipped off to a contending team. The Raiders are not in the mix this year and each loss will get them closer to a franchise QB in the draft, so this should be a win/win for both parties.
As for ideal destinations, Ian has us covered with a comprehensive list. We also looked at 5 Ideal Landing Spots. There are currently 15 teams in the NFL with enough cap space needed to take on Adams’ 2024 salary ($17.5 million).
Please just don’t send him to the Patriots …
What else is in today’s newsletter?
- Freedman’s Favorite Plays for Week 5 of Fantasy Football
- Watercooler: Week 5 Rankings are live
Freedman’s Favorites for Week 5
Here are a couple of Matthew Freedman's favorite fantasy plays for Week 5. Check out his full articles and rankings for more.
Jordan Love (Packers) at Rams
- Packers: -3.5
- O/U: 47.5
- TT: 25.5
Love (knee) returned to action last week and looked rusty as he tossed three INTs and had just one carry for six yards in his second loss of the season in as many starts.
But it's not all terrible: Love at least has a league-high 324.5 yards passing per game and a league-low 2.2% sack rate.
He's yet to look like the guy who dominated in the second half of last season, but he has still looked like an above-average QB this year, and this week he could look even better thanks to his matchup against the Rams, who are No. 2 in largest fantasy boost allowed to QBs (+4.3).
Without former DT Aaron Donald (retired) and former DC Raheem Morris (Falcons HC), the Rams defense has struggled mightily to stop opposing QBs, allowing an NFL-worst 10.3 AY/A.
This is the bounceback spot for Love.
Against Rams HC Sean McVay—his former coworker and then boss—Packers HC Matt LaFleur is 4-0 ATS (92.3% ROI) and 4-0 ML (53.5% ROI, per Action Network).
Najee Harris (Steelers) vs. Cowboys
- Steelers: -2.5
- O/U: 43
- TT: 22.75
If you could see my face right now, you'd see the look of a man unexcited. There's nothing fun about the act of writing this blurb. I'm currently located nowhere near the neighborhood of sexiness.
Harris fails to inspire a goosebumped frenzy. For his career, he has averaged just 3.9 yards per carry and 4.8 yards per target. Mediocrity would be a modest improvement.
And he's yet to score a TD this year.
But he also has a relatively high floor with at least 1,200 yards and eight TDs from scrimmage in each of the past three seasons, and this year he has at least 70 yards on 19 opportunities in every game.
With RBs Jaylen Warren (knee) and Cordarrelle Patterson (ankle) dealing with injuries, Harris has a good chance to enjoy comparable production and usage this week as a home favorite against the Cowboys, who are No. 32 in defensive rush DVOA (13.0%) and likely to be without starting EDGEs Micah Parsons (ankle) and DeMarcus Lawrence (foot).
More of Freedman’s Favorite RBs for Week 5
MORE OF FREEDMAN’S FAVORITE:
- QBs for Week 5: Jordan Love is all you need.
- WRs for Week 5: Jayden Reed is the Packers' top option.
- TEs for Week 5: Travis Kelce is back on top.
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1:00 p.m. Kickoff
- Buffalo at Houston
- Baltimore at Cincinnati
- Indianapolis at Jacksonville
4:25 p.m. Kickoff
- NY Giants at Seattle
- Green Bay at LA Rams
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The latest analysis and insights from our merry band of football nerds:
📈 The first bye week is upon us, so who’s rising and falling? Fantasy Football rankings for Week 5.
📊 Four weeks of data are in the books … upgrades and downgrades based on usage.
💀 Don’t click this if you drafted Kyle Pitts. I told you not to …
🍋 Three players who almost had huge days in Week 4. Sheesh!
😭 A fun fact? Or a demoralizing fact?!
⭐️ Dynasty fantasy football outlook on three star rookies … Up, up, and away.
