Fantasy Football Forum Week 5: The Return of Melvin Gordon

Austin Ekeler has filled in admirably for Melvin Gordon, posting enough value to be ranked 11th overall in the WCG Champions League. I should know, as I’ve been riding his hot start to a 3-1 record to take an early lead in that league (yeah, it’s a 5-way tie for first, but I have the most points!). Ekeler was the backup plan for the Chargers and the Peanut Punchers alike as Melvin Gordon was certainly going to end his holdout sooner rather than later and start earning game checks. Gordon’s holdout never had the threat of Le’Veon Bell’s and luckily for us fake team owners who held on, he’s back. Hopefully, you were able to roster both and can make the transition seamlessly. Hold onto Ekeler - he’s shown you just how valuable he can be in Gordon’s absence.

As far as this weekend, I think you can play either or both if you’re desperate for RBs. I have no inside information, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the reps were split pretty evenly as Gordon gets back into game shape. Plus, Ekeler has been truly effective that it doesn’t make much sense to take him completely out of the offense.

Another returning player that I’m way more interested in now than I was a month ago is Golden Tate for the Giants. When Eli Manning was at the helm, I couldn’t possibly care less about this franchise. With Daniel Jones taking over two weeks ago and showing at least a little life, I’m now officially interested. Tate is a sure-handed receiver that has WR2 upside. It may take him a couple weeks to get himself into game shape and earn a target share, but he has solid potential moving forward. If he’s for some reason available in your leagues, grab him.

Daily Fantasy League

My “creative” plays last week did not result in a lot of points. I thought I was so smart trying to sneak the Panthers backup QB into my lineup to get into a shootout with the Texans. Oops. My folly drops me back to 4th in the overall standings as my fellow contributor Whiskey Ranger leap frogs me into 3rd. However, we’re all just living in Sam’s world as he continues his stranglehold on 1st place.

This week I’m shelling out big bucks for Dalvin Cook against the Giants. Cook was bottled up big time against the Bears, yes, but I expect Cook to get back to his dominating ways against a team that’s closer to league average.

What’s on your mind this week? Hit up the comments below with your start/sit questions, trade talk, or your bad beat stories. Take it to the Twitter machine and find us @gridironborn and @WhiskeyRanger29.