The fantasy football landscape shifts each week, bringing fresh opportunities and unexpected challenges that separate the prepared from the pretenders. Savvy managers know that last week’s performance tells only part of the story, and diving deeper into the underlying metrics reveals the accurate picture.
This week presents some intriguing decisions. Here’s insight about key Tennessee Titans players heading into their matchup with the Houston Texans to help you craft a winning lineup.
Cam Ward, QB
Cam Ward’s next multi-TD game will be the first of his professional career, and I don’t love the odds of it coming this week against a Texans team that held him to 4.2 yards per pass back in Week 4.
Is he a future fantasy starter?
I’m not sure. The 46 rushing yards this season are a red flag, as you’d expect a rookie to default to rushing when the game is going too fast, but that hasn’t been the case. This roster needs a talent infusion, and that could unlock a new level of upside, but as we stand right now, I’m having a hard time seeing Ward (zero finishes better than QB17 this season) ranking as a top-half-of-the-league option next year.
Tony Pollard, RB
Tony Pollard is threading a thin needle: used enough to eliminate any hope of a Tyjae Spears breakout, but not enough to matter in standard formats on any consistent basis.
Not fun.
He’s failed to clear 12 touches in four straight games and is pacing for a third consecutive season, with his production coming in at least 10% under expectations.
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The Titans are averaging 0.78 red zone trips per game, a rate that, if sustained, would be the second-worst of the decade (worst: 2023 Jets, 0.71). I’m not sure if the situation or the player is more to blame, but it doesn’t matter: Pollard isn’t a top 25 RB in any matchup with Spears active and isn’t a top 30 option for me in this tough spot.
Chimere Dike, WR
Sometimes you see these rookie-rookie connections, and we might have one quietly brewing in Tennessee.
Chimere Dike was a fantasy asset for three straight games before the bye, and with the Titans simply playing out the string, there’s no reason to think that the fourth-round pick will see his role reduced moving forward.
- Week 7 vs. NE: Caught all four targets, 70 yards, TD
- Week 8 at IND: Caught seven of eight targets, 93 yards
- Week 9 vs. LAC: 67-yard punt return TD
OK, so the punt return last week pulled a three-target, five-yard performance out of the fire, but the general idea remains: this team is motivated to see what they have in the sparkplug out of Florida.
I don’t have him ranked as a starter this week, and I have a hard time thinking that’ll change anytime soon, but if you’re going to bet on a below-average offense like this, you want it to be on youth.
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Dike should, at the very least, be rostered.
Chig Okonkwo, TE
Chig Okonkwo turned 19 targets into four yards when he faced the Texans back in Week 4, and while I’m projecting growth from there, there’s no reason to be digging this deep at the position.
We’ve seen some flashes of efficiency from Okonkwo and Ward, but it’s sporadic and rarely at a high volume. With a 4.6-yard aDOT as a part of an offense that rarely visits scoring position, there isn’t a realistic path to quality or quantity.
It’s hard to be completely off the streaming radar at the tight end position, but I’d really have to be backed into a corner to plug-and-play a tight end playing for a team that I’m not sure flirts with 20 points.