We are now over a month into this NFL season! We must focus on the top takeaways now that we have film and statistics to study. No longer can we rest on our offseason takes of who will succeed and who will fail. We now have a reasonably large sample size of NFL football. The fantasy season will move quickly, and in a dynasty, it is essential to acquire players before they break out or unload players before they falter. We can lead our team to a fantasy football title by focusing on weekly top takeaways!
Gabe Davis Returns
Davis was one of the great hype trains of the 2022 off-season. It started in the AFC Divisional round, where the Buffalo Bills lost to the Kansas City Chiefs 42 to 36 in overtime. He found the endzone four times in this game and accumulated over 200 receiving yards. This performance did not count for fantasy purposes but left dynasty managers salivating for that time of performance during the fantasy season.
This past Sunday was a small repeat of that performance, right from the game’s first drive. To start the scoring, Josh Allen hit Davis for a 98-yard touchdown. Davis would follow this up in the second quarter with another 62-yard touchdown. He finished the day with three receptions for 171 yards and two touchdowns. The volume wasn’t there, but considering the Bills scored at will against the Steelers, that should not be surprising.
Dolphins Quarterback Injuries
One of the great controversies surrounding the league the past week or so has been the Miami Dolphins’ medical staff and their handling of Tua Tagovailoa’s head injuries. In Week Three, Tua was knocked to the ground hard, stumbling and shaking his head. Miami’s medical staff cleared him to return to that game. Four days later, Tua started a Thursday Night Football matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals. He was knocked to the ground, and his body completely seized up. He left on a medical board and was sent to the hospital.
With Tua out for this Week Five matchup against AFC East rival Jets, Teddy Bridgewater got the start. Very early into the game, he was sacked by a corner blitz for a safety. Bridgewater hit his head hard on the ground and was removed for concussion tests. According to the new league protocols, Teddy was not allowed back in the game due to the Tua situation. In steps rookie seventh-rounder Skyler Thompson. Thompson made the best of a tough situation and went 19 for 33 with 166 yards. Pay close attention to how Miami handles the quarterback situation this week.
Michael Carter Vulture
Breece Hall had an extremely impressive performance in Sunday’s win over AFC East rival Miami. He handled 18 carries for 97 yards and a touchdown. On top of that, he hauled in two receptions for 100 yards receiving. It was a monster day for the rookie, but it could have been bigger. Each of those receptions, 79 yards, and 21 yards, ended with a tackle at the one-yard line. However, instead of letting Hall drive in the score, Michael Carter was brought in for the goal line carry both times.
Carter himself had ten carries for 21 yards on Sunday. A less than efficient outing, but his fantasy score looks great, considering he found the endzone twice. Hall is currently RB3 on the week before Monday Night football’s matchup between the Chiefs and Raiders. However, if he were given the goalline work after those receptions, he would easily be the top running back in Week Five. Breece Hall season is upon us, but unfortunately, we will see Carter take away some work for the remainder of the season.
Damien Harris Injury
The Patriots’ backfield has always been a muddy mess of a committee. However, that committee got a little bit lighter in Week Five. Harris left the matchup with the Detroit Lions, which left Rhamodre Stevenson to handle the bulk of the work. He was able to handle 25 carries which he turned into 161 yards. He also added two receptions for 14 yards. The only thing missing was a touchdown. Stevenson displayed his ability to handle a dominant workload, and if Harris missed more time, he could start to enter the RB1 conversation. Keep a close eye on this week’s practice reports from New England. In the meantime, Kevin Harris and JJ Taylor should be priority adds this week.
Information is the most powerful tool any dynasty fantasy football manager possesses. If you can stay on top of the correct information more than your league-mates, you will come out on top. Be sure to check back with us, as we will be breaking down takeaways from every division this week. And be sure to come back next week, as we will be doing the same for all 18 weeks of the 2022 NFL season!
The NFL season is here! Want exclusive access to my rankings and those of over twenty fellow analysts? Subscribe to the #NerdHerd, where you get exclusive content, dynasty/rookie rankings, and DynastyGM! If you want 15% off ANY SUBSCRIPTION, USE PROMO CODE “LUNA” or CLICK HERE.
I hope you enjoyed this piece in our Winning With Vegas series. For more content like this, follow me on Twitter @DanT_NFL. DMs are always open for any questions, comments, or craft beer recommendations!
