Dave Richard: Kirk Cousins Is For Real, Be Patient With Bishop Sankey
BOSTON (CBS) - CBS Sports fantasy football expert Dave Richard came on 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher & Rich Thursday morning, as he does every Thursday for the entirety of the NFL season, to provide his Week 4 advice.
It's the beginning of the bye weeks, so wide receivers like Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Floyd, A.J. Green, DeMaryius Thomas and others all have the week off.
Who should you add to start in their place?
"Jordan Matthews might be the top guy [to grab off waivers]. Actually there's two rookie receivers I really like. Matthews is one, and Allen Robinson of the Jaguars. I think they're both going to end up being starters in short order. Robinson already is. We know about the quarterback change in Jacksonville moving to Blake Bortles. I think that will help that offense out, and I think Robinson will be a big part of that," explained Richard. "And then in Philadelphia it's the scheme that really works, although I'm worried about the offensive line for Philadelphia this week against San Francisco. I think Matthews will get enough passes and get enough work to be valuable to fantasy owners."
The running back position has been devastated with injuries (as well as suspensions and exempt/commissioner permission list designations) to start the fantasy season.
Other ball carriers, like Tennessee rookie Bishop Sankey, are getting dropped for their early lack of production. Richard thinks to drop Sankey would be a mistake.
"There's a couple owners who have dropped Bishop Sankey of the Titans. I'm hearing his time is coming soon in Tennessee. If you can't get him on waivers you could probably get him cheap on a trade because people that spent fifth round picks on him are ticked off with what he's produced."
Rich Keefe's Fantasy Brief: Thursday Night Football New York Giants vs. Washington Redskins
Richard also suggests seeing if Lorenzo Taliaferro is still available in your league, because the Ravens runner is a good pickup as well. He also considers C.J. Anderson of the Broncos a great sleeper option.
Otherwise, there's not a whole lot out there for the running back position.
Back to wide receiver and sticking with the Titans, Justin Hunter has simply not delivered, and his value drops even more if Jake Locker can't play.
Locker did not practice on Wednesday and is dealing with an injured wrist. His status for Week 4 at Indianapolis is uncertain. If he can't go, that means backup Charlie Whitehurst will get the snaps, which is bad news for Titans receivers including Hunter.
"Justin Hunter has not delivered. He's gotten a lot of deep balls and a lot of targets but nothing to show for it. He's getting dropped in a lot of leagues."
Cecil Shorts saw 10 targets last week for the Jaguars, and he's a receiver that will certainly benefit from the promotion of Blake Bortles to the starting job.
Richard thinks the the fantasy value of DeSean Jackson has gone up significantly with Kirk Cousins now the starter in place of the injured Robert Griffin III, even though he remains a "boom or bust" type of playmaker.
As for the quarterback, Richard believes Cousins' 30-for-48, 427 yard, 3 touchdown day against the Eagles was no joke.
"I really like Kirk Cousins against the Giants tonight. I think he is for real. I like his accuracy and ball placement. A lot of his incompletions were either drops or the wrong route by his receivers. He's got two really good receivers in Pierre Garcon and Jackson. I think Washington will end up throwing a decent amount against New York, and I actually have Cousins as a top 12 quarterback this week. He'll have better numbers than Tom Brady will," Richard said in closing.
Listen below for the full discussion!
Dave Richard Interview
MORE FANTASY FOOTBALL COVERAGE ON CBS BOSTON
