Week 5 is a rather bittersweet part of the NFL season. The strong and weak teams are starting to split apart. For some, the realization of a lost season is already taking shape. For others, playoff hopes are running strong. This is true in both real life and fantasy football.
One team whose fate was probably sealed this week was the Cincinnati Bengals, who fall to 0-4 after they were demolished by the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday Night Football. The game featured two of this week’s watch list candidates, Mason Rudolph and Diontae Johnson. The list stays in the AFC North this week, with Browns tight end Ricky Seals-Jones also making an appearance.
Week 5 Fantasy Football Watch List Featuring Diontae Johnson, Mason Rudolph
Diontae Johnson
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Diontae Johnson did not have a great start to his night. He caught his first catch of the night on the Steeler’s first drive – but immediately fumbled it. Luckily, Mike Tomlin gave him a chance to redeem himself, and he did.
Johnson finished the game with 77 yards and a touchdown on six catches. Running backs ruled this game, with James Conner and Jaylen Samuels both getting eight targets. But Johnson was third on the team with six. Juju Smith-Schuster is still the team’s undisputed number one receiver, despite him having only three catches for 15 yards last week. However, the team has been looking for their number two guy all season.
Donte Moncrief got his shot to start the season. He proceeded to literally drop the ball, managing just three catches on 11 targets the first two weeks. He hasn’t seen the field since. Many thought that the younger James Washington would come up to bat, especially after Mason Rudolph took over the job. The two played together at Oklahoma State in college. That didn’t work out either.
Now, Johnson is the player to watch and has shown a lot more upside despite limited action. If Johnson goes unclaimed on waivers this week, consider grabbing him as a free agent, or give him one more week of game action to see if he is for real.
Mason Rudolph
Sticking with the Steelers, Johnson’s quarterback, Mason Rudolph is someone to keep an eye on moving forward. Rudolph didn’t have to do much to get the W on Monday night, but he played efficient, mistake-free football. Through two starts, Rudolph has over 400 yards, four touchdowns, and just one interception.
What makes him the most intriguing are his upcoming matchups. Next week, he takes on the Baltimore Ravens, who suddenly have a very questionable defense. Then, before the team’s bye week, Rudolph travels to Stub Hub against the Los Angeles Chargers and their banged-up defense. The icing on the cake is week eight against the dumpster fire masquerading as a team that is the Miami Dolphins.
A good play with Rudolph would be to observe his play the next few weeks. If he continues to improve on his play, try to swoop him up after the waiver period. The ideal situation is to wait until his bye week, and plug him in against the Dolphins.
Ricky Seals-Jones
New Cleveland Browns tight end Ricky Seals-Jones has made appearances on the watch list in years past. Seal-Jones played his first two years with the Arizona Cardinals. He made his debut as a rookie at the end of the 2017 season. It was a lost year for the Cardinals, with their veteran quarterback Carson Palmer going down with an injury. He remained with the team in 2018 but was part of one of a terrible offense in another doomed season.
Seals-Jones was cut by Arizona and claimed off waivers by the Browns right before the start of the regular season. He was expected to back up David Njoku, but now has a shot to make an impact with Njoku on injured reserve. He put in a great stake for his case to be the guy moving forward. Seals-Jones caught three passes for 82 yards and a touchdown.
Obviously, it is way too soon to claim Seals-Jones on waivers just yet. His performance could be a fluke. As of now, Seals-Jones is at best the fourth option on the team behind Odell Beckham, Jarvis Landry, and Nick Chubb. Still, with bye weeks coming up, Seals-Jones at least offers some streaming appeal if he puts up a few more decent games.
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