Week 7 Deal or No Deal: the zero-touchdown club
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Houston's Lamar Miller scored his first two touchdowns of the season in Week 6 against Indianapolis, snapping a season-opening five-game stretch in which he failed to cross the goal line.
Miller can now be crossed off the list, but there are still several stars out there who have yet to hit paydirt so far in 2016. Do any of them make for enticing daily fantasy plays this week?
RB Le'Veon Bell, Steelers (vs. Patriots)
It's a little unfair to include Bell here, as he's only featured in three games since coming back from a three-game suspension. He's been far from underworked, seeing a combined 68 touches thus far, and given that he's scored 22 times in 38 career games, he's a little unlucky not to have found the end zone.
For at least this week, Bell will have to take handoffs or receive passes from backup QB Landry Jones. He should see a heavier-than-usual workload, but the Steelers offense will be far less dynamic without Ben Roethlisberger at the helm. It's safe to assume New England's defensive gameplan will revolve around stopping Bell.
The Patriots are allowing 3.7 yards per carry and 92 rushing yards per game, so Bell may find the going tough on the ground. In two games with Jones last season, Bell caught just six passes for 29 yards. While his talent is undeniable, a performance that lives up to his position-leaving daily fantasy price looks unlikely without Roethlisberger under center.
Verdict: NO DEAL
WR Julian Edelman, Patriots (at Steelers)
Despite his over-the-top enthusiasm for the return of QB Tom Brady, Edelman has been the odd man out in the two games that the future Hall-of-Famer has been under center. Edelman caught nine passes for 65 yards against the Browns and Bengals, games in which the Patriots scored a combined eight offensive touchdowns. Tight ends and running backs registered all of those scores, with Edelman left out in the cold.
After a career-high seven touchdowns in just nine games last season, Edelman has failed to find the end zone even once though six contests. He's had 17 targets over those two games with Brady, so he's not being ignored completely, but the focus in the passing game appears to be on the tight end duo of Martellus Bennett and the healthy-again Rob Gronkowski.
On theScore's Squad Up fantasy game, Edelman's 58K salary is somehow more than the 52K needed for Gronkowski's services. Given the latter's explosiveness and red-zone prowess, it's hard to justify including Edelman in many daily fantasy lineups this week.
Verdict: NO DEAL
TE Gary Barnidge, Browns (at Bengals)
After a season-opening goose egg with QB Robert Griffin III under center, Barnidge has rebounded to post a solid statistical campaign. He's sixth among tight ends with 295 receiving yards, and eighth in receptions with 24. Still, after scoring nine touchdowns last season, he's failed to find the end zone in 2016, capping his fantasy potential.
Cleveland's revolving door QB situation hasn't likely done Barnidge any favors, and he's somehow received just one red zone target all season after seeing 24 in 2015, per NFLsavant. Should Week 2 starting QB Josh McCown (collarbone) recover and be reinstated in the lineup, Barnidge's prospects should improve. Six of Barnidge's nine TDs last season came from his ex-Carolina teammate.
With at least 57 yards in four straight games, Barnidge represents a relatively safe fantasy option, and his price on some sites is low enough to make him a bargain. The Bengals have allowed four touchdowns to tight ends in six games, so even with rookie Cody Kessler at the helm, this may be the week that Barnidge crosses the goal line.
Verdict: DEAL