Week 5 fantasy booms, busts and breakouts

Each week our gaggle of Yahoo fanalysts show their hands and reveal their top booms, busts and breakouts. Gaze into the crystal ball and list your picks, using the strict rules set, in the comment section below.

Among players under 50 percent started in Yahoo leagues, the loudest BOOM from Week 5 comes from ________.

Liz – JOHN BROWN. After missing two games with a quad injury, John Brown got the start in Week 4. While he only played 68 percent of the team’s offensive snaps, he looked healthy… which should, in theory, earn him a larger role in Week 5. Luckily, he’ll tee off against an Eagles secondary that gave up nearly 350 receiving yards to the Chargers last Sunday. As long as he can stay healthy, he should feast this weekend (and if he doesn’t… slide in Jaron Brown, whose earned double-digit targets in two of his last three games).

Brad – C.J. PROSISE. If you’re willing to place a wager on a lucky lottery number in Seattle, be sure to slap your $100 bills down on No. 22. Speaking as a gambling man, I’m willing to roll the dice on Prosise over wading hippo Eddie Lacy and Thomas Rawls. Though he’s seen only limited action due to injury, he ranks No. 2 in juke rate and No. 15 in yards created per touch. Bottom line, he’s the most explosive back the ‘Hawks have. Against a Rams front giving up a healthy 5.6 yards per touch and the most fantasy points to RBs he could top 70 combined yards with a score in a breakthrough performance, assuming his ankle doesn’t keep him sidelined.

Dalton — BILAL POWELL. Last week’s 75-yard TD run was a bit of a fluke since defenders gave up after thinking he was down, but Powell saw 25 touches and has scored in back-to-back weeks. The Browns have defended the run well this season, but Matt Forte is likely to be sidelined again this week, and Powell ranks No. 2 in the NFL in yards created.

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Conversely, among players started in over 50 percent of Yahoo leagues, the biggest Week 5 BUST will be ______.

Brad – MICHAEL CRABTREE. Trading in Derek Carr for E.J. Manuel is akin to swapping a 1969 Shelby GT 500 convertible for a Ford Fiesta with noticeable dents. You could say the downgrade is rather significant. In 29 appearances (17 starts), Manuel averaged 6.4 yards per attempt and completed a pedestrian 58.5 percent of his attempts. Against a Ravens defense featuring three DBs – Brandon Carr, Jimmy Smith and LaDarius Webb – ranked inside the top-13 in passer rating allowed, Crabs will be fortunate to cross the 60-yard mark.

Dalton — JOE MIXON. The rookie continues to see increased looks and is the clear Bengals running back to own, but Mixon sports an ugly 2.6 YPC without a TD on the season. The Bengals are facing a Bills defense that’s allowed an NFL-low 13.5 ppg, Cincy is one of the league’s worst run-blocking units, and Mixon has gotten 0.51 fantasy points per opportunity, which ranks No. 81 in the NFL.

Liz – LESEAN MCCOY. Touching the ball over 22 times per game, the volume has been there for McCoy. The points, however, have not. Facing a base front 72 percent of the time, Shady has averaged just 2.2 YPC. Through the air it’s a similar story. He’s catching a solid number of balls, but has yet to draw a single red zone target. Facing a Bengals defense that’s allowing the third fewest points per game and the sixth fewest fantasy points to opposing RBs, McCoy’s unlikely to turn things around in Week 5.

Chuck a Hail Mary, the one deep player (under 15% started) you believe BREAKS OUT in Week 5 is ______.

Dalton – ANDRE ELLINGTON. He faces an Eagles defense that’s been stout against running backs, but Ellington’s role is more of a receiver anyway, as the Cardinals have been forced to concentrate on the pass since David Johnson went down (and should continue to do so as near touchdown underdogs this week). Ellington has yet to score this season, but he’s seen a whopping 22 targets over the last two games and has recorded a catch for at least 20 yards in all four contests this year. He’s quickly becoming a big part of Arizona’s offense.

Liz – ANTONIO GATES. Hunter Henry might be the rising star with a Week 4 spike, but Gates continues to exist as Philip Rivers’ preferred target. The veteran TE logged five looks (one in the red area of the field) to Henry’s two last Sunday. He also has seven more targets on the season than the second-year tight end. Facing a Giants defense that’s giving up the most fantasy points to opposing tight ends – and allowed both O.J. Howard and Cameron Brate to find the end zone last week – Gates is a solid bet for six in Week 5.

Brad — ADAM HUMPHRIES. The Buccaneers could dust off Keyshawn Johnson and Joey Galloway, toss a uniform on them and both would probably crack the WR top-36 this week against New England’s permeable defense. No team has surrendered more yards per play than the Patsies. Humphries, who unnoticed to most has attracted 18.3 percent of the targets share working primarily out of the slot, is sure to take advantage of the turnstile opponent. Roughly 4-6 receptions with 50-plus yards and a score are in my fearless forecast.

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