Last Thursday Night’s Football game was far from the snoozer I expected.
I know it was the 0-2 Bengals, the team coming off of the first overall pick a year ago, but Baker Mayfield played with some swagger last week.
The running backs for Cleveland looked like they are going to be a problem for defenses across the NFL. Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt looked to have everything they wanted.
And Joe Burrow, he looked like a certified dude. Now to get that offensive line fixed.
This week, we have “The Mustache vs. The Beard”. “MinshewMania vs. Fitzmagic”.
If it wasn’t for the way Minshew has been playing, I don’t know how much attention there would be on this Thursday Night Football game.
Let’s take a look at what we might see tonight.
The passers
MinshewMania has certainly been running wild so far this season. The second year passer has thrown for three touchdowns in each of the first two games. After throwing for just 173 yards against Indianapolis Week 1, Minshew lit up divison rival Tennessee for 339 yards in Week 2.
Minshew is QB10 for the season and the Dolphins are the 31st-ranked pass defense.
I have Minshew ranked as my QB14 this week. Personally, I am starting him over DeShaun Watson in the league where I own them both.
Don’t be afraid to fire up Minshew this week, even over a quarterback you may have ranked higher.
Fitzmagic hasn’t quite had a Fitzmagic game quite yet. He threw for 191 yards and three picks against the Patriots before going for 328 and two scores against the Bills.
Thanks to that second game, Fitzpatrick is in the low end QB2 conversation. He’s worth a look in 2QB leagues.
Given the way the two rookies — Burrow and Justin Herbert have looked, it may be Tua Time sooner than later.
I do not have Fitzmagic ranked this week.
The runners
Illinois State alumni James Robinson has been solid for two straight weeks for the Jaguars.
He lit up the Titans defense last week, rushing for 102 yards and a touchdown. Catching three passes for 18 yards.
I think a lot of people trusted him as a flex option last week and were rewarded with 21 points. The Dolphins are middle of the pack against running backs, and I have Robinson as RB19.
Myles Gaskin was a waiver wire darling this week after posting back-to-back double figure weeks, with 14.2 points on Sunday.
The concern for me with Gaskin is the fact that the Dolphins aren’t going to score a ton of touchdowns, so you want as many touches inside the 20 as you can.
The Dolphins have nine rushing attempts and seven pass attempts in the red area this season and Gaskin has seen just two of those, both rushes, neither of them for touchdowns. The same amount as Fitzpatrick.
Jordan Howard is the running back in the red area. Gaskin is my RB39.
The pass catchers
Coming into the season, I think we all expected that if the Jaguars were going to be a good passing team, DJ Chark would be in order for a big season.
Through two games, that hasn”t been the case, Chark is WR34, Keelan Cole, healthy, is sneaking into the high-end WR2 conversation and is WR17 thus far, catching a touchdown in each of the first two games.
Like I touched on with the Dolphins running backs, redzone targets and touches matter and there have only been 13 of them. Minshew has done a good job spreading them around with Chris Conley the only wideout seeing more than 1.
I have Chark as a matchup based WR13, but if Cole sees a high-volume of targets this week, he may be a top 2 waiver grab next week.
Tyler Eifert has seen three redzone targets and cashed in with a touchdown last week. He is a volume based tight end and I don’t have him in my Top 20 this week.
If Fitzmagic can’t get Devante Parker more involved this week, the ‘Phins might switch to a quarterback that can. Parker has caught nine passes for 100 yards and a score in two games, his saving grace being that touchdown last week.
The Jaguars are the middle of the pack against the pass and may look to take Parker out of the mix for Fitzpatrick. Fitzpatrick may look to get Preston Williams more involved this week.
Parker is my WR36 this week.
Mike Gesicki was as quiet as a church mouse in Week 1, catching just three passes for 30 yards but came on big last week when Fitzpatrick needed him. Gesicki torched the Bills for a 8-130-1 line and rewarded fantasy owners with 27 points. He is TE6 through two weeks and will be a volume based TE1 at TE12 tonight.
