Ivory, Martin should pile up yards
Six teams on bye leave few options for fantasy owners
Fantasy owners will be without a number of their usual starters this week with a season-high six teams on bye. Choose wisely from among those remaining.
STUDS
RB Chris Ivory, New York Jets: After a 15-carry, 17-yard disaster, Ivory will rebound. The Jacksonville Jaguars have been hurt by bruising interior backs such as LeGarrette Blount and Doug Martin, who scored a total of six touchdowns against them.
RB Doug Martin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers: Like Ivory, he’ll show up for his owners after averaging 3.1 yards per carry in Week 8. With all the injuries to the Bucs receivers, Martin will see no shortage of touches.
QB Matt Ryan, Atlanta Falcons: Stick with him in your lineup, even though he’s on the road. The San Francisco 49ers have blown up their offense (Blaine Gabbert at quarterback?), which will keep a middling defense on the field for way too long.
TE Charles Clay, Buffalo Bills: A few elite efforts are sprinkled throughout Clay’s upand-down game log. One of those came in Week 3, when he caught five passes for 82 yards and a score against these same Miami Dolphins.
DUDS
WR T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis Colts: Hilton mustered a single 15-yard catch last weekend and should again stay silent. The Denver Broncos rank as the secondtoughest statistical matchup for wideouts, thanks to an elite pass rush and arguably the best group of cornerbacks in the NFL.
RB Darren McFadden, Dallas Cowboys: Given bye-week carnage and recent rash of running back injuries, playing McFadden would make sense for the volume of rushing and receiving touches. But what will he do with them? Only one running back has totaled 100-plus offensive yards against the Philadelphia Eagles.
QB Sam Bradford, Eagles: Bradford wilted in Week 2 against a Dallas pass rush that was much weaker than it is now. Expect a healthy dose of former Cowboys star DeMarco Murray and Ryan Mathews so Bradford does not have to shoulder so much responsibility.
SLEEPERS
QB Ryan Tannehill, Dolphins: Though he’s tossed six interceptions in his last four contests, Tannehill has accumulated fewer than 260 passing yards just twice this year. In Week 3, Tannehill threw for 297 yards and a pair of scores vs. Buffalo.
RB Jeremy Langford, Chicago Bears: With Matt Forte out, Langford stands to assume at least the majority of the workload. The San Diego Chargers are one of the biggest statistical doormats for running backs.
WR Malcom Floyd, Chargers: Floyd snared four passes for 92 yards and two TDs last weekend, and now Keenan Allen is out for the year. The Bears have improved their defense vs. wideouts as the season has progressed, but their 12 touchdowns yielded to this position stands as the fourth-highest total.