Who Should I Start? Cooper Kupp or Mark Andrews

Friday, October 3, 7:56 PM

Seattle Seahawks wide receiver Cooper Kupp has entered the bench stash phase of his career. He is not a viable option in Week 5 when the Seahawks host the Buccaneers. The Buccaneers have an untested passing defense, but Kupp has been too inconsistent to this point in the season. Kupp has only surpassed 6.6 fantasy points one time this season. Additionally, the Seahawks' passing volume is low. Quarterback Sam Darnold is averaging 25 passing attempts per game, and 8.5 of those passes are going to wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba. Some of that has been due to game script. The offense has been relatively efficient, and the defense has been elite, resulting in a lower passing volume. If the Buccaneers' offense challenges Seattle in Week 5, the passing volume could increase. However, Kupp is too risky a player to deploy right now. He still has talent, but as of now, he is a better wide receiver for the Seahawks than he is for fantasy.

Saturday, October 4, 2:44 PM

After recording just two catches over the first two weeks of the season, Baltimore Ravens tight end Mark Andrews has 13 receptions for 121 yards and two touchdowns across his last two games. Unfortunately for Andrews, he'll be catching passes from backup quarterback Cooper Rush instead of Lamar Jackson (hamstring), who will miss Week 5 with a hamstring injury. The Ravens also have a tough matchup against the Houston Texans, whose defense has allowed the seventh-fewest passing yards (790) and second-fewest number of passing touchdowns (three) in the NFL. Finally, there's the possibility that Andrews will lose playing time with Ravens tight end Isaiah Likely getting closer to full strength after missing the first three weeks of the season. In Likely's first game in the lineup in Week 4, Andrews played 56% of Baltimore's offensive snaps after playing at least 75% of the snaps in each of the first three weeks. Andrews should be avoided by fantasy managers in Week 5.