Thursday Night Thought Bubble

Colts @ Patriots
This week the Thursday night game features two teams with elite QBs and a depleted WR corps. The Patriots do get Julian Edelman back from a PED suspension to partner Chris Hogan, Josh Gordon and their remaining supporting cast. Gordon has been nursing an injury and Hogan has been disappointing so Edelman will be a welcome returnee although he may only serve to crowd that receiving corps further.

Obviously, when you have Rob Gronkowski you can cope with losing a receiver or two. Brady will be as serviceable as ever and the Colts defence will be sweating on a few injury calls, predominantly their exceptional rookie Darius Leonard who has 4 sacks, 38 solo tackles and a forced fumble this season through 5 games.

With Rex Burkhead on IR, it’s down to Sony Michel and James White which is a much smaller RBBC than New England are used to under Belichick. This means both have the ability to be fantasy relevant and in my eyes, James White is going to be a great value guy for the remainder of the season.

Defensively the Patriots have had their struggles and it seems to have been a regular thing in recent seasons that they get off to a slow start and then get it right. If this isn’t the turning point game then Andrew Luck should have a good day even if his favourite target in TY Hilton is missing with a hamstring injury. The load now goes onto Ryan Grant, Chester Rodgers, Zach Pascal and probably most importantly, Eric Ebron. Ebron already has 17 receptions for 150 yards and 3 touchdowns (TE4) and along with Grant, the pair will look to share the Hilton load.

At running back it remains a bit of a mess when it comes to rushing with Hines, Wilkins, Mack and Turbin all in the mix but if you want a safe play then go for the pass catcher and that is Nyhiem Hines. With Hilton missing this could be a big week for the rookie who struggled in preseason but has been impressive in recent weeks. Marlon Mack has been ruled out so Wilkins will get an uptick in carries but I struggle to see the run game making a big impact against the Patriots.

Play:
Brady, White, Gronkowski
Luck, Hines, Grant, Ebron

Pass:
Hogan, Patriots DST
Wilkins, Colts DST


Ruled Out:
Burkhead
Mack, Doyle, Hilton