The Judge's Verdict:
football 2019 Week 9
November 4, 2019
CASE SUMMARY:
Give me a quarterback for an undefeated team, against the worst pass defense in the league, on Thursday night, where the winning team has scored 30+ in 4 of the last 5 weeks. Will Jimmy Garoppolo see a better matchup all season than this game against the Cardinals? And yet, as the Judge will point out, none of the experts had any faith in him, missing out on his 4 touchdown, 317 yard day (136.8 QB rating), tallying more fantasy points than any QB besides Russell Wilson (who many experts accurately ranked at #1).
Speaking of Wilson, his arm helped elevate his teammates Tyler Lockett and DK Metcalf to the #1 and #3 scoring WRs of the week. Lockett has been solid all year, but hadn't reached 15 points (1/2 PPR) since Week 3, until Sunday's 13-152 + 2tds for 33 points, easily his best of the season. Metcalf has looked great for a rookie all season, seemingly on edge to break out any moment. Sunday was his first 100-yard game (123) plus his most catches (6) and a 53-yard TD (his longest), totalling 24 points.
Rounding out receivers, Mike Evans had a big day, 12-180 + a TD (surprising nobody), as did Tyreek Hill, 6-for-140 + 1 TD, even without Mahomes. Hill had 3 catches of 30 yards or longer, helping him to finish 4th among WRs. It was Hill's best fantasy performance of the year, after missing 5 games to injury, although since returning, coming into this game he was averaging 16 PPG (again, 1/2 PPR).
DEFENDANT TESTIMONY:
4for4
Ranked Garoppolo 16th. Loved Lockett, ranking him 3rd, not so confident about Metcalf (21st). Ranked Hill 9th.
Huddle
TheHuddle was all over Seattle's receivers this week, ranking Lockett 1st, and raising Metcalf all the way up to 12th. The Judge is impressed! TheHuddle had no love for Garoppolo however, ranking him 24th. Even more puzzling is the hate for Hill, ranked all the way down at 31. Great job with Lockett & Metcalf but Hill is a major miss, as about half of the experts correctly placed him in their Top 10.
Advice
Garoppolo was ranked 20th, and they had Lockett 4th and Metcalf 21st. Hill was up at 8th.
Sharks
Garoppolo: 15th. Lockett was up at 4th, while Metcalf was placed around the average of experts, at 23rd. Hill was right on the edge of a top-10 ranking at exactly 10th.
CBS
The CBS experts mostly ignored Garoppolo's matchup, ranking him 16, 18 and 20. Ranked Lockett 12th, 9th and 11th, close but not a Top 10 placement. Metcalf was down at 22, 29 and 29. None of the CBS experts ranked Hill in their Top 10, maxing out at 11th.
ESPN
ESPN's ranking page only lists their top 20 fantasy QBs. Jimmy G was last on the list at #20. Tyler Lockett was 6th by their experts, while Metcalf was 26th. Tyreek Hill was a consensus 9th.
Footballers
Ranked Garoppolo 14th among QBs, creeping up into "possible-start" territory. The Footers were also enthusiatic about the Seattle tandem, ranking Lockett 4th and Metcalf 20th. Finally, they liked Hill as well, upgrading him to a solid 7th.
Sharks
Regular readers know the Sharks's rankings often mystify the Judge, finding reasons to demote specific players well below the consensus. This week, they deserve kudos, as they placed Jimmy Garoppolo 11th, higher than anyone else, and possibly into a starting role for fantasy owners. Even better, Tyreek Hill was their #1 wide receiver this week, noting he is "too fast and too explosive to defend." They ranked Lockett 6th, and before we get too excited, the Judge also notes that they ranked Metcalf 35th, far below the typical placement.
Sixpack
Ranked Jimmy G 17th, Lockett 4th, and Metcalf 21st. Hill was ranked 7th.
FFToday
Garoppolo was ranked 18th. They were a below consensus on the receivers, ranking Lockett 10th and Metcalf 29th. Hill was mostly off their radar, ranking him 18th.
Diehards
Ranked Garoppolo 17th. Lockett 4th and Metcalf 22nd. Hill 7th.
Fantasy
Had Garopollo 19th. Lockett was ranked 4th, but Metcalf was placed a little lower than at other sites, at 26th. And Hill was far from "must-start" status at 14th. Side note: Lamar Jackson's electric performance against the Patriots was worth 28 points, 3rd place this week at just a quarter-point behind Garoppolo. All the analysts ranked him in the Top 10, all but 2 8th or higher. The only expert placing Jackson outside the Top 10 was Fulltime, at 13th.
SleeperU
Jimmy G - 19th. Lockett - 6th. Metcalf - 23rd. Hill - 9th.
(read more about the fantasy football experts here)
VERDICT ANALYSIS:
The Judge is a bit frustrated that not a single analyst felt Garoppolo was worthy of a Top 10 spot this week, playing in a terrific matchup. Even when their advisor ranks him reasonably high, like 14th, it's difficult to imagine many owners choosing to start him, as those owners probably have a higher-ranked QB. There also was not a lot of variation among expert opinions on the Seattle receivers, as Lockett was a slam-dunk must-starter for most and Metcalf was generally on the border of WR2 or perhaps Flex. The most impactful difference in opinion revolved around Tyreek Hill, where he was a definite WR1 among some experts and much lower at others.