Cam Newton $7700 price is attractive compared to top quarterbacks like Aaron Rodgers ($8900), Andrew Luck ($8400) and Andy Dalton ($8300) but he’s thrown five picks in two games. Have you seen anything in his game to turn you off or did he just see two very good defenses?
Alex Miglio: Nah. He has some turnovers, but they aren't all his fault. More importantly, he makes up for them with his rushing yardage. That's the beauty of starting Cam Newton -- his floor is raised a bit because he'll rush for at least 20 yards, and his ceiling is sky high because he is liable to get goal line carries. The biggest concern is that he won't likely be throwing for 300 yards most games.
Maurile Tremblay: Cam Newton has thrown an interception on 3.9% of this throws this season, while the average quarterback throws interceptions on about 3.2% of his throws. On roughly 30 projected attempts, it doesn't make a big enough difference in FantasyScore's scoring system (-1 pt for interceptions) to worry about directly. With some quarterbacks, you might worry about benching, but not with Newton. I'd say the main drawback to interceptions by Newton is that they take the Panthers offense off the field and deprive the Panthers of opportunities to score points. But no, I don't really see anything specifically worrisome in Newton's reads or mechanics or anything. All quarterbacks end up throwing interceptions in bunches from time to time, but I don't see it as a major issue going forward for Newton. He and Philip Rivers are the two quarterbacks I like from the price range just under $8,000 this week.
Andrew Garda: Cam's no sham and as Alex said, his rushing yards make up for any mistakes. He lacks great receivers which in turn will cause some turnovers beyond what a quarterback might normally expect. That said, 13 touchdowns combined versus 7 INTs is a decent tradeoff. I do think he saw some opportunistic defenses which hurt him the last few weeks but I don't expect it to be a trend.
Mark Wimer: I lived in Charlotte when the Panthers were awarded to the city in the expansion, and I have been to the stadium a good bit so I still follow their games with interest each week (Thanks NFL GamePass). The interceptions he threw were on Cam (rather than tipped balls or bobbled passes which get recorded as interceptions) for the most part - he simply isn't as accurate as the other three guys listed in the question, and sometimes his balls float above the receiver setting up relatively easy picks. At this point that issue is just part of the package price with Newton - you get great rushing ability and a good shot at rushing TDs, but you have to plan on at least one interception per game if you start him, in my opinion. It's why Kelvin Benjamin and Devin Funchess were selected by the team to pair with Newton, by the way - they can both "go up the ladder" to handle high jump balls (it would be a great help to Newton if Benjamin were playing this year!), but of course Funchess is going through rookie growing pains right now and hasn't showcased his abilities just yet.
Doug Martin ($7300) finally had back to back good games, but can we trust him? Is it a better option to go with Chris Ivory ($7400) or Justin Forsett ($7000) or do we feel he can give us a third big game?
AM: Martin is getting a big workload, and he looks great. I was skeptical heading into the season, but I think he's proven his worth. Ivory, meanwhile, has dealt with injury issues and Forsett plays on a bad team.
MT: I like Justin Forsett better going against the soft San Diego run defense this week. But Martin looks good this season. That offense is going to be inconsistent from week to week, but Martin himself is running well and I wouldn't hesitate to play him in his better matchups. I don't think this week qualifies, though, as the Falcons run defense is solid, and the game script may not be favorable for Martin.
AG: I think Martin is trustworthy but you have to watch the matchups a bit. He'll get carries to help protect Jameis Winston, but if the Bucs are getting blown out, how many carries will the running back get? The last two games were a win against Jacksonville and a game they arguably should have won—but were in regardless—up until the end. Those are much better situations for a running back to get carries and points. The game I really liked was Week 4 against Carolina when he carried the ball 20 times for 106 yards and a touchdown (and added five catches for 37 yards. That was a tougher defense than Washington/Jacksonville and a better indicator that you can trust him.
I still like Ivory up until he misses time as he runs well even banged up and Forsett seems to have his groove back. Martin has the most upside though.
MW: Personally I am rolling with Forsett a lot this week - with TD vulture Lorenzo Taliaferro on IR and Javorius Allen a complimentary change-of-pace rather than a threat to Forsett's role, I really like Forsett's situation in the second half of this season vs. the first half. Also San Diego is fielding one of the weakest rush defenses in the NFL averaging 132.1 rushing yards allowed per game (31st in the NFL) with seven rushing scores given out over seven games played. And of course Forsett is a dual-threat back who'll get called on in the passing game, too.
Before getting hurt, Austin Seferian-Jenkins and Jameis Winston seemed pretty simpatico. Seferian-Jenkins might be back this week and reports have Vincent Jackson as likely out this weekend. Is it worth the $4500 on the Buccaneer tight end or does the minimal history and recent injury give you too much pause?
AM: Absolutely. Winston loved throwing to his tight ends in college, and it looked like he and ASJ had a nice rapport earlier this season. Mike Evans has started to produce, but that only serves to draw attention from opposing defenses. I like Seferian-Jenkins as a GPP play if he is all the way back from injury.
MT: Sefarian-Jenkins is strictly a GPP play this week (and you'll have to have a back-up plan in case he's inactive). His ceiling is high because Vincent Jackson and Louis Murphy are out, but his floor is low because his shoulder could significantly limit him if he plays.
AG: I'll be floating our Seferian-Jenkins the moment I know he's clear, especially with Jackson out. Evans needs someone to pull coverage off him and you can only do that by catching passes. So I expect really good numbers for Seferian-Jenkins this week. And come to think of it, the lack of Jackson can bring us back to Doug Martin, reinforcing playing him as well.
MW: I think Tampa gets blown out by Atlanta in this game - I'm not confident that there will be any TD scoring opportunities for the Buccaneers' players, perhaps one trip to the red zone. The slim odds of a TD for Seferian-Jenkins has me off him for this week.
If I'm going cheap at tight end this week I'm plugging in Clive Walford ($1,700) - Oakland head coach Jack Del Rio has been open that he and his staff want to get Walford more involved in passing attack: Walford caught his first TD of the season after that commendation from coach Del Rio in the first game after the Raiders' bye (two targets for 2/42/1). This week he does face the Jets' formidable D so I'm not plugging Walford in universally, but he is in the mix for me at tight end on certain rosters where I am going contrarian and at the very minimal price he helps me plug in other high-priced options across the roster.
Amari Cooper is still relatively reasonably priced for his production at $7100, but he faces a stout Jets secondary, including Darrelle Revis. Do we fade Cooper this week or is he truly a ‘must play’ every week regardless of matchup?
AM: Well, I faded Cooper last week against Jason Verrett and that San Diego secondary. That didn't work out too well. New York has a better defense overall, though, and Revis is a better cornerback than Verrett. I'm not sure Cooper is a "must-start" every week, but he's close to it. I'm on the fence on this one, but I will probably play it safe and fade him again.
MT: Amari Cooper is really good, but he's not in 'must play' territory yet. Facing Revis makes things tough on anyone, especially a rookie. Eric Decker, Martavis Bryant, and Mike Evans are all cheaper than Cooper this week, and I think they are more attractive plays this week.
AG: I don't know if Cooper is matchup proof but we're about to find out. He's Derek Carr's main target so Darelle Revis or no, he's getting targeted. What I am most interested to see is how OC Bill Musgrave uses Cooper and what he does to get him open. Will he run slants to put Cooper up against linebackers who can't really cover? Will they just try throwing to Michael Crabtree until coverage on Cooper loosens up? Does he go all Tonya Harding on Revis in the tunnel pregame?
Like Alex I think I will probably fade Cooper this week but I am tempted by rolling the dice a little as I think a lot of folks will fade him. It's the safe play against this secondary.
MW: I'm not plugging in Cooper this week. If I am taking a flyer on someone getting 2X or 3X value on their price vs. the Jets' secondary I prefer the low bar that Walford has to clear.
