Thursday Night Start ‘Em or Sit ‘Em: Is Sammy Watkins Worth The Risk & More

by Eric Stashin (aka The Rotoprofessor)

Thursday games are often tricky, because there isn’t necessarily a reason to take any undue risks with questionable options (which could set you back and spoil your week).  Who are the borderline players that should be in lineups?  Who should be sat down?  Let’s take a look at the skill players taking the field tonight and try to answer those questions:

New York Jets

Ryan Fitzpatrick – Quarterback
You would think that he’d have potential, given the weapons he has around him, but that’s hardly the case.  He’s coming off a rather poor performance (54.3% completion rate, 189 passing yards) and didn’t do much in either of his matchups with the Bills in ’15:

• November 12 – 15-34 (44.1%), 193 yards, 2 TD, 2 INT
• January 3 – 16-37 (43.2%), 181 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT

Given those numbers, it’s hard to consider him a good play, even in two-quarterback formats.  Look elsewhere.

Bilal Powell – Running Back
Powell was expected to play a big role in the offense, but it certainly didn’t happen in Week 1 as he was given just 4 carries and was targeted 4 times in the passing game (2 receptions for 7 yards).  You would think his role will increase as the season moves on, especially as the team looks to preserve Matt Forte, and on a short week he could get a significant bump in touches.  That said, against a tough Buffalo defense that got off to a good start (117 total yards allowed to opposing RB in Week 1), he’s nothing more than a desperation FLEX play in PPR formats.

Quincy Enunwa – Wide Receiver
He had a big Week 1, but is anyone willing to bank on him getting the same number of targets as Brandon Marshall (8) and more than Eric Decker (7) once again?  Throw in the potential struggles of Fitzpatrick, which we already discussed, and we all need to press the brakes a bit on the Enunwa hype.  There’s a good chance he falls completely flat.

Must Start Options:

• Matt Forte – Running Back
• Brandon Marshall – Wide Receiver
• Eric Decker – Wide Receiver (in three-receiver formats)

Buffalo Bills

Tyrod Taylor – Quarterback
His potential is tied to availability of Sammy Watkins, so that’s going to make him an extremely risky play.  Granted Darelle Revis is a shadow of his former self, but the Jets’ front seven can get to the quarterback and should have Taylor under pressure all night long.  Even if Watkins plays who is to say that he isn’t anything more than a decoy, which would leave Taylor’s “weapons” to be headlined by Robert Woods and Charles Clay.  That’s not an inspiring group, and that means he’s a certain sit outside of deeper two-quarterback formats.

Sammy Watkins – Wide Receiver
Even if he plays, who is to say that he is going to be anything close to full strength and used as more than a decoy?  We’ll have to monitor the news, but outside of deeper formats it’s going to be tough to trust him given the risk and swirling rumors.

Robert Woods – Wide Receiver
He turned 5 targets into 4 receptions and 20 yards against the Ravens…  Anyone running out to add him?  Even if he was the “top” receiver, there isn’t nearly enough upside to consider him.

Charles Clay – Tight End
The question is going to be if Clay is going to get enough opportunities, coming off a 3 target day in Week 1.  It’s possible that he’s utilized as a safety valve, thanks to the pass rush of New York, and he certainly has more potential than what the Bengals threw at the Jets (C.J. Uzomah had 2 receptions for 59 yards).  He’s an intriguing TE2 option, but it’s impossible to trust him as a TE1 unless you are lacking alternatives.

Must Start Options:

• LeSean McCoy – Running Back

Sources – ESPN, NFL.com