Fantasy beat: Gilmore's presence not enough to bench Adams

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Fantasy football owners seem to get smarter every year. The leagues seem to get deeper. The competition seems to get better. That's partially because of the sheer amount of information available to fantasy geeks willing to put the time in. But it's not always easy to find sound fantasy advice on players filling out the back ends of fantasy depth charts. 

That's where we'll try to help fill in the gaps. Every week, we'll look at the Patriots matchup and try to help you decide which players to start and which to sit -- or which to invest in if you're playing in a daily format. You know you're playing Tom Brady every week. You know you're playing Rob Gronkowski, when healthy. You're playing James White and Julian Edelman every week until further notice. But this is where we'll delve a little deeper with the information we've gleaned by being on the beat. Hopefully someone somewhere finds it helpful.

START

DAVANTE ADAMS, WR, PACKERS

JIMMY GRAHAM, TE, PACKERS
Stop me if you've heard this before: Don't overthink this one. He only had four targets last week, but the Patriots have allowed chunks of yardage to opposing tight ends on an almost weekly basis (63.1 yards per game). Plus he's an option in the red zone where the Patriots like to double an opposing team's top option, who in this case will be Adams. That should free-up Graham to single single-coverage and potentially see a fade to the back corner for a score. 

JOSH GORDON, WR, PATRIOTS
This one's a little tougher. I think you should play Gordon, but don't expect this to be one of his better nights.. He ran into one of the best young corners in football last season in Tre'Davious White. This week he could see a great deal of Jaire Alexander, who looks like he could do this year what White did last year as a first-year player. Still, as long as Gordon's on the field, and as long as the Patriots will be dropping back to pass again and again and again, he's a threat for a big play at any moment. I'd be OK with him as a WR3 this week. Startable despite how highly I think of Alexander.

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AARON JONES, RB, PACKERS
Jones has been sharing carries with Jamaal Williams and Ty Montgomery for most of the season . . . until recently. He had 14 touches last week, and now Montgomery is in Baltimore. Pass-protection issues may have kept him off the field earlier in the year, and if he has a slip-up against a Patriots defense that has blitzed 46 times the last three weeks, he could find himself on the bench. But the Patriots are still just the 25th-best team in the league at slowing down opposing pass-catching backs (64.2 yards on 9.3 targets). 

SIT
RANDALL COBB, WR, PACKERS
Cobb came back from a hamstring issue last week when he caught four of five targets for 40 yards. Maybe he's progressing, but in his last three games he's had 40, 22 and 30 yards on five, 11 and six targets. There are younger receivers who are starting to contribute more -- like Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Geronimo Allison, though I wouldn't start them either -- and Cobb is running into a relatively tough matchup. The Patriots, according to Football Outsiders, are fourth-best in the league at defending third and fourth receivers, and they're the No. 11 team in football at checking No. 2 wideouts. Outside of Adams, it's hard to trust anyone in this receiver group. 

SONY MICHEL, RB, PATRIOTS

KENJON BARNER, RB, PATRIOTS
What a flop last week. Apologies. All carries that I thought might go Barner's way actually went to Cordarrelle Patterson. Barner's relative lack of work -- two carries for four yards -- suggested to me he might be dealing with something physically, but he remains off the injury report. He can't be trusted against the Packers, even if Michel is ruled out early.  

CORDARRELLE PATTERSON, WR, PATRIOTS
Using Patterson as a running back is not sustainable. He had 10 carries for 38 yards on Monday night, and he picked up 22 yards on one of those. That means on his other nine attempts, he had 16 total yards. Not what you're looking for. The coaching staff has praised Patterson for his ability to take on a new role and his impressive open-field running, but he's not a long-term option at the position for the Patriots for a reason. And he shouldn't be a short-term fantasy option for you. 

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