Week #5 is over, and it’s time for another edition of Busts and Diamonds. For those that don’t know, a bust is a player that everyone had high expectations of, but seriously underperformed. A diamond is a player that far exceeded expectations. We hope that we are able to give you some background information on why that player did so poorly (or so spectacular) so that if they are in a similar situation in the future that you can take advantage of it.
Let’s start with the busts.
Busts
Matt Ryan, QB, Atlanta Falcons
Ryan has had a great season so far, but definitely underperformed this weekend. He threw 254 yards, which is decent, but had 0 touchdowns passes and 2 interceptions. The Falcons pulled out the win over the Washington Redskins and are undefeated, which speaks much for the rest of his team. However, his QB Rating of 55.1 was his first of the season under 90. This was thanks to no TDs and a completion rate of just 57.1 percent. He’s been throwing 65 percent or higher all season up until this game, so there’s a good chance that this was just a fluke.
A.J. Green, WR, Cincinnati Bengals
Green has been a top wide receiver in the NFL so far this season, but didn’t crack the top 10 this weekend. He was targeted 8 times and had 6 receptions, which he stretched out for 78 yards. He had no touchdowns, though, and this seriously hurt his fantasy impact. Plus, much of his 78 yards came from a single 22 yard gain. Green is capable of better as we’ve seen, but against the Seattle Seahawks’ defense was not the place for a young WR to make a big splash. He’s still a top talent, he’s just going to be better against teams with weaker defenses.
Bishop Sankey, RB, Tennessee Titans
Sankey came into this game with a few huge games under his belt, but the Buffalo Bills’ defense held him to only 20 yards on 7 carries. He had zero touchdowns, as well. Sankey is not yet a proven talent, but the promising start to his season got him a lot of attention. Buffalo did finally play like the defensive focused team that they were last year, but this isn’t quite enough evidence to prove that Sankey was just held back by a better team. For all the evidence we have, they wouldn’t necessarily have to be a good team to reach this status. For now, Sankey’s someone you should watch warily and only pick up if you can get him for a very cheap price.
Diamonds
Blake Bortles, QB, Jacksonville Jaguars
The biggest diamond of the week was quarterback Blake Bortles. Bortles threw for 303 yards and had 4 touchdowns. He also had 21 yards of rushing. Yes, he did throw 1 interception, but this was more than made up for by his fantastic surprise performance. It earned him a QB Rating of 125.4 for the day, third behind only Tom Brady and Carson Palmer. The downside was that the Jags still ended up losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They have only 1 win on the year right now, but that doesn’t affect Bortles’ personal fantasy performance.
Julian Edelman, WR, New England Patriots
Edelman has been a solid second tier wide receiver all year, but he busted into the top tier this weekend as the Patriots rolled over the Dallas Cowboys. Edelman had just 4 receptions over 5 targets, but stretched those out for 120 yards and 1 touchdown. He turned in a lot of fantasy points regardless of where you play, and has shown that he is capable of being a top performer when Patriots’ QB Tom Brady is facing a second rate defense. This is good knowledge for the future.
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