Lockhart's Week 10 Fantasy Football Outlook: Romo A No-Go?
BOSTON (CBS) - 98.5 The Sports Hub's Mike Lockhart sits down with CBSBostonSports.com's Andrew Celani for a comprehensive fantasy football chat heading into Week 10 of the season.
Week 10 gets underway Thursday Night when the Browns travel south to Cincinnati to take on the Bengals for the Battle of Ohio.
Bengals running back Giovani Bernard was doubtful to play with a hip injury, but he's recently been downgraded to out -- Bernard will not suit up against Cleveland.
Jeremy Hill was more than impressive last week against Jacksonville, putting up 154 yards on 24 carries, including 2 touchdowns.
Lockhart likes Hill again Thursday night, as well as a handful of his Bengals teammates.
"I like all the Bengals. I feel like it's going to go back to one of those early-in-the-season terrible Thursday night games and I expect a complete blowout by Cincinnati tonight. Cleveland has a pretty good record, but they didn't show up against Jacksonville in a 24-6 loss and I don't expect them to be good tonight," said Lockhart. "I like Jeremy Hill, I love Mohamed Sanu and it's hard to sit A.J. Green. I think you're gonna see [Browns cornerback] Joe Haden locked up against Green, so that should free up Sanu. Andy Dalton is a decent spot start if you've got players on the bye."
Sticking with the Browns, wide receiver Josh Gordon is set to return next week after he finishes serving his 10-game suspension. Will Gordon have an immediate impact and reward all the fantasy owners who've stashed him on their bench this season?
"We don't really know what he's been doing but I don't see why he wouldn't have an immediate impact. His quarterback situation with Brian Hoyer has been much more stable this year than last, when he was catching passes from everybody -- Hoyer, Jason Campbell and Brandon Weeden," said Lockhart. "I feel like when he comes back he's gonna be a no. 1 wide receiver right off the bat."
From one player out of trouble to another, Vikings running back Adrian Peterson plead no contest to a child abuse charge and will be slapped with a misdemeanor. The only thing that's stopping him from seeing the field is reinstatement by the league, and of course the bye week that Minnesota is currently on.
"I don't know what else the NFL can do. They've held him out all this time. It sounds like he's gonna play to me. I know the team wants him on the field, despite what they've said. I'm sure there's leagues out there where he's available. You got to get him in your lineup. He's still one of the top five running backs in the league," said Lockhart.
Jets wide receiver Percy Harvin made an impact for New York last week with 11 catches and 129 yards against the Chiefs, but still couldn't prevent New York from their eighth straight loss.
The Jets offense is what it is, but seems to be faring much better under Michael Vick than it did under Geno Smith. Harvin will be a beneficiary of that, and Lockhart believes Florham Park is a much better fit for Harvin than Seattle.
"The Jets were lining him up in the slot, outside and throwing screen passes just to get the ball in his hands. I always felt like it was forced in Seattle. It wasn't their identity, and they were kind of forcing the ball to Percy. In New York, the Jets run a lot of gadget plays and they like to use stuff like that. His style fits the Jets more. I think the Jets are going to keep trying to give him the ball and he'll do much better in that offense," Lockhart explained.
Unlike the Jets, the Lions offense doesn't require a lot of gadget plays -- not when you have a player like Calvin Johnson.
Megatron has played in just five games this season and has been hampered by an ankle injury. He should be all-systems-go against the Dolphins.
"I think Matthew Stafford has been forcing Calvin the ball and hopefully he stops doing that and spreads it around to Golden Tate -- I think that'll open things up more for the two of them. Golden Tate's success will only help Calvin Johnson and the offense. Time without Calvin Johnson I feel like helped Matt Stafford, and with him coming back that's great. You gotta get him in your lineup. He's one of the best players in the game. Miami played great last week, but going on the road is a different story."
"The sky is the limit for Odell Beckham. He had some injury concerns with the hamstring so hopefully that doesn't come up again, but he's the go-to guy for the Giants. It looks like he's going to be their main target. I like what I see from him. He's got a tough matchup this week, but wide receivers have been okay against Seattle this year. They've put up some points against them," said Lockhart. "If you have to play Odell Beckham it's not the worst thing in the world. He can definitely come up with some big plays. Richard Sherman only plays one side of the field, so maybe they put him on the other side and get him loose a couple of times. For the rest of the season you gotta get this guy in your lineup. If Beckham is your no. 3 receiver then things are looking pretty good for you."
Eagles quarterback Nick Foles is out for the foreseeable future with a broken clavicle, so in comes former Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez.
Lockhart believes this is not the same Mark Sanchez that committed the Butt Fumble, and that the former USC signal caller has the chance to turn his career around in Philadelphia.
"I really like Sanchez. He looked good in the preseason and he looked good last week at times. It's a fast paced offense. They spread the ball out. I think he's going to be successful. They've got great weapons around him. LeSean McCoy can catch the ball, Darren Sproles can catch the ball and obviously Jeremy Maclin can too. Hopefully he can get Zach Ertz going again -- we saw Sanchez hit Jordan Matthews for a touchdown last week. So I've liked what I've seen. I think Sanchez is going to be very successful this season and he's definitely somebody to own, plus I like his matchup this week at home against Carolina. I would definitely think about starting him a lot the rest of the season."
Lockhart and Celani also weighed in on Dallas-Jacksonville this week in London.
For Lockhart's full breakdown and positional rankings, visit fantasybuzz.net and listen below for the full discussion!
Tune in every Sunday for the Sports Hub Fantasy Football Show from 8am - 10am with Mike Lockhart and Rich Keefe, and don't forget to tweet all your questions to @LockhartFFB and @Keefe21!
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