The sixth week of the season was not the strongest for former Alabama players in the NFL. To be fair, one of them had a bye week while another sat out with an injury. Most of the points came on Thursday night when Mark Ingram’s Saints hosted Julio Jones’ Falcons. The two combined for 26 fantasy points while the rest of the players earned just one point. (Demeco Ryans had an interception that gave the Eagle defense two fantasy points but we aren’t counting that)
Let’s jump right into things as we take a look at what you should expect from these former Crimson Tide players that are on your fantasy team.
Mark Ingram was the key to the Saints’ big Thursday night win against their division rivals. He finished with just 56 yards of total offense but had two big touchdowns to give him 17 fantasy point on 23 total touches. It was his fifth game in double digits this season and he is the fifth highest scoring running back in standard ESPN leagues. This week, New Orleans travels to Indianapolis to face a Colts’ defense that has allowed the 12th most fantasy points to running backs this season. Last week, Lagarette Blount led the Patriots rushing attack to 114 yards and a touchdown. Ingram will be expected to have the same success as the power back in a pass heavy offense. I think Ingram sees another workload of 20-25 touches in week seven, finishing with another double digit performance. He’s a must start in any fantasy league.
Julio Jones may be the number two redzone option for the Falcons as Devonta Freeman has put together five of the best weeks any fantasy owner can hope for. My prediction was right on for Jones in week six, finishing with nine fantasy points on 10 targets. He did not get in the endzone during Atlanta’s loss, his third straight game without a receiving touchdown. The Falcons will travel to Nashville this Sunday against a very inconsistent Titan secondary. Atlanta’s passing game is most similar to the Colts, who threw for 169 yards and two touchdowns. And not to take anything away from the veteran Matt Hasselbeck but Matt Ryan is a little better. Jones should be close to 100 percent health and could get back on the scoreboard this week. I have the former Tide star finishing with 13 fantasy points in week seven.
I projected a big week six for Eddie Lacy because of the favorable matchup against San Diego. Unfortunately for many fantasy owners, it was the other Green Bay running back with the big point production. James Starks saw more carries than Lacy and scored two touchdowns in the Packers’ win. Lacy had just six touches in the entire game, leading to his fifth straight single digit performance. Many fantasy owners are disappointed, as they should be, but he is still a top 10 back. If you don’t own Lacy right now, buying low might not be a bad idea during Green Bay’s bye week.
T.J. Yeldon sat out with a groin injury after back to back double digit performances. This week, Yeldon is questionable and goes up against a strong Buffalo defense that has allowed the seventh fewest yards to running backs this season. The Bills did show a weakness last week, giving up a combined 25 fantasy points to Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard. However, even if Yeldon plays, he likely will not be at 100 percent and probably won’t have enough production to be a running back option in some leagues. If he does start though, it’ll be hard to keep him out of any lineup, at least in the FLEX spot.
Amari Cooper and the Oakland Raiders are coming off a bye week and head into a less than favorable matchup in San Diego. The Chargers are the third best defense against the pass and have given up a total of 39 fantasy points to receivers in their three home games, 13 of them coming on one Markus Wheaton touchdown. Cooper is still the go-to receiver in the very pass-heavy offense and is an easy start in all fantasy leagues. Expect him to get 12 to 14 targets on Sunday and I project him at 11 fantasy points for week seven.
Caleb Turrentine is a contributor at Touchdown Alabama Magazine. Follow him on Twitter, @CalebTurrentine.
