Every week in fantasy football there are those players who come through for your team. There are also those who fall short of their expected contributions. Finally, there are those who absolutely fail to show up. In this column, we’ll highlight those who helped you win your matchup or tournament, those that did not help you at all, and lastly, the ones who possibly cost you a win.
Studs
Cam Phillips, WR, HOU
There is no better cure for a bad day at the office than to come in and crush the next presentation, or land that next big account on your next opportunity. For Phillips he cashed in on his chance to right the wrongs of last week by turning in another spectacular performance making those who suffered through his dismal week four showing very happy.
Phillip Walker targeted his favorite wideout 13 times in the Roughnecks win against the Dragons. Phillips grabbed ten of them for a tasty 122 yards and two more touchdowns to add to his league-leading season total. We said that last week was probably going to be the only time you would see Cam Phillips on the “Thuds,” list. We just didn’t think it would take him less than a week to pull a complete 180. Regardless, it’s safe to say he his back in the MVP conversation and a no-brainer in fantasy for the rest of the season.
James Butler, RB, HOU
We realize of course, that there were three other games this weekend, but as far as fantasy performances out of the running back position went, Butler’s day deserved some recognition. Much like Phillips, Butler suffered a slump in performance that we has looking to shake off against Seattle. His cure was finding the endzone twice on the ground. All told, the wrecking ball pounded his way for 52 yards on 12 carries and caught all three of his targets for an additional 17 yards.
Butler’s ability to keep the ball moving in clutch situations was a huge reason Houston was able to hold off a surging Dragons team. He set a bar for the weekend that no other running back could match earning him a spot on many a cashing lineup in DFS and the difference maker on many season long rosters.
Duds
Cameron Artis-Payne
So far, Dallas has had a well balanced running back approach featuring both Artis-Payne and Lance Dunbar. This week, Dallas had a balanced running back approach against the New York Guardians, the only problem was, it wasn’t effective. Both turned in similar fantasy totals, but got there in different ways, and neither worth a start.
Thuds
De’Mornay Pierson-El, WR, ST
Widely considered as the number one target in St. Louis, Pierson-El entered this week’s contest against the D.C. Defenders in a favorable fantasy position. That position only lasted until the opening kickoff. Maybe it was the home crowd, or maybe it was the excitement over the possibility of the beer snake reaching the top of the stadium, but something lit the fuse of the Defenders defense. They stifled one of the best quarterbacks in the league in Jordan Ta’amu, holding him to a mere 174 yards passing.
While reading that total, one could assume that Pierson-El saw a least a moderate amount of success and some of those yards. Those assumptions are wrong as in fact, Ta’amu would have had 175 yards were in not for the two catches for -1 yards his favorite target accounted for. In FanDuel scoring, Pierson-El cashed out at 0.9 total fantasy points, while in DraftKings, he managed 1.9.
