Happy Thursday my peeps! For those of you in the daily rat race you’ve got one more day to go, so push on through!
The NFL has already released their schedule for the 2019 season. Bye weeks begin in Week 4 and last until Week 12. Some weeks there are just two teams on bye and those weeks are far easier to navigate through. Other weeks, you have four teams on bye, then there is Week 10, which is the toughest week for byes because it is the only week this season with six teams not playing.
With that in mind, I will be breaking down all the teams that are on bye each week and provide you with some potential bye week fill-ins for that particular week. Keep in mind, we are still far out from the start of the season and things can change between now and then, so this is just to give you an idea of how to manage your bye weeks. That being said, let’s take a look at the bye week schedule below.
| Week | Teams |
| Week 4 | New York Jets, San Francsico 49ers |
| Week 5 | Miami Dolphins, Detroit Lions |
| Week 6 | Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears, Indianapolis Colts, Oakland Raiders |
| Week 7 | Carolina Panthers, Cleveland Browns, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Pittsburgh Steelers |
| Week 8 | Dallas Cowboys, Baltimore Ravens |
| Week 9 | Cincinnati Bengals, Atlanta Falcons, Los Angeles Rams, New Orleans Saints |
| Week 10 | Denver Broncos, Jacksonville Jaguars, Houston Texans, New England Patriots, Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins |
| Week 11 | New York Giants, Green Bay Packers, Seattle Seahawks, Tennessee Titans |
| Week 12 | Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Chargers, Arizona Cardinals, Minnesota Vikings |
WEEK 4
The Jets and 49ers are both on bye this week. Notable players that are off this week are Jimmy Garoppolo, George Kittle, Tevin Coleman, Sam Darnold, Le’Veon Bell, and Robby Anderson.
If you have read any of my draft strategy articles and take the same approach I do, then you are likely not going to need help at the running back or receiver position this week. If you own both Bell and Coleman, you should have about another three to five running backs on your roster to choose from and plug in this week. Anderson might be a WR3 for some owners and once again if you are drafting enough depth at this position you should be fine with swapping someone in for him. With Kittle out this week, fantasy owners are more than likely going to have to grab a tight end off of the waivers in order to fill in the void of his absence. That is of course if you did not draft a second tight end, which most fantasy owners, including myself, don’t. As far as the quarterbacks are concerned, I am not expecting for any fantasy owner to be relying on Darnold or Garoppolo as their starters unless you are in a two-QB or super flex format.
Potential bye week fill-ins for this week: QB Josh Allen vs. NE, QB Derek Carr @ IND, RB Austin Ekeler @ MIA, RB Nyheim Hines vs. OAK, RB Peyton Barber @ LAR, WR Geronimo Allison/Marquez Valdes-Scantling vs. PHI, TE Jordan Reed vs. NYG, TE Vance McDonald vs. CIN
WEEK 5
Once again we have just two teams on bye this week, Dolphins and Lions. Here are some notable players that are off this week: Matthew Stafford, Kerryon Johnson, Kenny Golladay, and Kenyan Drake.
The players that you are likely going to need to find replacements for in this group are Johnson, Drake, and Golladay. Stafford is unlikely to be a starter on most fantasy rosters, unless it is a super flex or two-QB league. If you have plenty of depth at the running back and receiver positions, you should be able to get by just fine during this week. If not, I will provide you with some options to fill in the void.
Potential bye week fill-ins for this week: QB Andy Dalton vs. ARI, QB Sam Darnold @ PHI, RB Peyton Barber @ NO, RB Nyheim Hines @ KC, RB Jordan Howard vs. NYJ, WR Devin Funchess @ KC
WEEK 6
This week we have four teams on bye, Bills, Bears, Colts, and Raiders. Notable players that are off this week are Andrew Luck, Marlon Mack, T.Y. Hilton, Eric Ebron, Jack Doyle, Derek Carr, Antonio Brown, Josh Jacobs, Mitchell Trubisky, Allen Robinson, David Montgomery, Tarik Cohen, Trey Burton, Josh Allen, LeSean McCoy.
With four teams off this week, there are many more voids to fill. We have at least a couple of quarterbacks who are likely serving as weekly starters for fantasy owners. In addition, two top end receivers heading into the season will not play this week, as well as four starting running backs, and lastly at least one tight end. If you don’t have enough depth on your bench, this could be a week you dig into the waiver wire for some help.
Potential bye week fill-ins for this week: QB Nick Foles vs. NO, QB Jimmy Garoppolo @ LAR, RB Adrian Peterson/Derrius Guice @ MIA, RB Austin Ekeler vs. PIT, RB Latavius Murray vs. JAX, WR Will Fuller @ KC, WR Geronimo Allison/Marquez Valdes-Scantling vs. DET, TE Chris Herndon vs. DAL
WEEK 7
This week we have four teams on bye, Panthers, Browns, Buccaneers, and Steelers. Notable players that are off this week are Cam Newton, Christian McCaffrey, Baker Mayfield, Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry, Nick Chubb, Jameis Winston, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, O.J. Howard, Ben Roethlisberger, JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Conner, and Vance McDonald.
This is a very tough bye week because there are a lot of quality players off this week. All quarterbacks on bye could arguably be starters for fantasy owners. Three potential elite backs are out this week, as well as three top-end receivers. Not to mention two tight ends that will possibly be starters on a lot of rosters.
Potential bye week fill-ins for this week: QB Josh Allen vs. MIA, QB Joe Flacco vs. KC, QB Sam Darnold vs. NE, RB LeSean McCoy vs. MIA, RB Lamar Miller @ IND, RB Nyheim Hines vs. HOU, WR Josh Doctson vs. SF, WR Emmanuel Sanders/Courtland Sutton vs. KC, TE Kyle Rudolph @DET
WEEK 8
This week we have just two teams on bye, Cowboys and Ravens. Notable players that are off this week are Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, Amari Cooper, Lamar Jackson, and Mark Ingram.
With only two teams off in Week 8, it should be pretty simple to get through this week. Fantasy owners will have one starting receiver to worry about and two starting running backs. Both of these quarterbacks could be starters for some fantasy owners by this point in the season, Prescott is the one I feel better about.
Potential bye week fill-ins for this week: QB Joe Flacco @ IND, QB Josh Allen vs. PHI, RB Jordan Howard @ BUF, RB Lamar Miller vs. OAK, RB Latavius Murray vs. ARI, WR Donte Moncrief vs. MIA, WR Geronimo Allison/Marquez Valdes-Scantling @ KC, WR John Brown vs. PHI
WEEK 9
This week we have four teams on bye, Bengals, Falcons, Rams, and Saints. Notable players that are off this week are Andy Dalton, Joe Mixon, Tyler Boyd, A.J. Green, Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley, Devonta Freeman, Austin Hooper, Jared Godd, Todd Gurley, Cooper Kupp, Robert Woods, Brandin Cooks, Drew Brees, Alvin Kamara, Michael Thomas, Jared Cook.
With four teams off this week, there are a lot of players that fantasy owners will be without. Brees, Ryan, and Goff are all likely starters in most fantasy leagues. In addition, each of these teams have a strong running back that is likely relied on every week by fantasy owners, as well as all of the Rams wide outs, Michael Thomas, A.J. Green, Calvin Ridley, and Julio Jones. Boyd might also be in this topic of discussion at this point in the season. Hooper and Cook are the tight ends that teams are possibly going to need to fill in the void for in Week 9.
Potential bye week fill-ins for this week: QB Josh Allen vs. WAS, QB Sam Darnold @ MIA, QB Derek Carr vs. DET, QB Matthew Stafford @ OAK, RB Nyheim Hines @ PIT, RB Peyton Barber @ SEA, RB Jalen Richard vs. DET, RB Austin Ekeler vs. GB, WR Jamison Crowder at MIA, WR John Brown vs. WAS, WR Marvin Jones @ OAK, WR Donte Moncrief vs. IND, WR Devin Funchess @ PIT, WR Christian Kirk vs. SF, TE Chris Herndon @ MIA, TE Jason Witten @ NYG
WEEK 10
Week 10 has the most teams on bye with six, Broncos, Jaguars, Texans, Patriots, Eagles, and Redskins. Notable players that are off this week are Philip Lindsay, Leonard Fournette, Deshaun Watson, DeAndre Hopkins, Lamar Miller, Tom Brady, Sony Michel, James White, Julian Edelman, Carson Wentz, Alshon Jeffery, Zach Ertz, Jordan Howard, Miles Turner, and Darrius Guice (possibly).
Despite having the most teams on bye this week, there are other weeks with far more star power out than there is this week. That said, there are still some quarterbacks, running backs, receivers, and even a tight end that fantasy owners will need a replacement for this week.
Potential bye week fill-ins for this week: QB Marcus Mariota vs. KC, QB Sam Darnold vs. NYG, RB Austin Ekeler @ OAK, RB Nyheim Hines vs. MIA, WR Christian Kirk @ TB, WR Kenny Stills @ IND, TE Chris Herndon vs. NYG, TE Ricky Seals-Jones @ TB
WEEK 11
The Giants, Packers, Seahawks, and Titans are on bye this week. Here are some notable players that will be off in Week 11: Saquon Barkley, Evan Engram, Sterling Shepard, Aaron Rodgers, Davante Adams, Aaron Jones, Russell Wilson, Chris Carson, Rashaad Penny, Tyler Lockett, Corey Davis, and Derrick Henry.
With four teams not playing this week, there are some key players that fantasy owners will need to replace in their starting lineups. At quarterback, both Rodgers and Wilson will be starting in most leagues. At running back, Saquon Barkley, Aaron Jones, Chris Carson, and Derrick Henry should all be weekly starters, Barkley being the superstar in this league. Not to mention several receivers such as Davante Adams and Tyler Lockett who should be every week starters, and Sterling Shepard and Corey Davis, both of which I expect will be starters for fantasy teams each week. Lastly, Evan Engram who I expect to be one of the top tight ends this season, will be off.
Potential bye week fill-ins for this week: QB Josh Rosen vs. BUF, QB Andy Dalton @ OAK, RB LeSean McCoy @ MIA, RB Peyton Barber vs. NO, RB Austin Ekeler vs. KC, WR Ted Ginn Jr./Tre’Quan Smith @ TB, WR DeSean Jackson vs. NE, WR Anthony Miller @ LAR, TE Kyle Rudolph vs. DEN
WEEK 12
The final week of byes includes the Vikings, Chargers, Chiefs, and Cardinals. Notable players off this week are Kirk Cousins, Adam Thielen, Stefon Diggs, Dalvin Cook, Philip Rivers, Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Hunter Henry, Melvin Gordon, Patrick Mahomes, Damien Williams, Sammy Watkins, Tyreek Hill, Travis Kelce, Kyler Murray, David Johnson, and Larry Fitzgerald.
At last the final week of byes is here and we will not have to worry about another bye week for the rest of the year. Even though there are only four teams off this week, there are plenty of really good players and fantasy starters that owners will have to replace in their starting lineups. In fact, there are players at every position this week that are more than likely going to be weekly starters for fantasy owners.
Potential bye week fill-ins for this week: QB Sam Darnold vs. OAK, QB Jimmy Garoppolo vs. GB, RB Lamar Miller vs. IND, RB Ito Smith vs. TB, RB Adrian Peterson/Derrius Guice vs. DET, WR Mohamed Sanu vs. TB , WR Geronimo Allison/Marquez Valdes-Scantling @ SF, WR Randall Cobb @ NE, TE Chris Herndon vs. OAK
During fantasy football drafts at times I have heard other owners say, “I can’t draft that player because he has the same bye week as the two other players on my roster.” Please don’t do this. If that is the player you want, and the best player on the board, draft him and figure out the bye week situation later. Stock piling players with the same bye week is fine, after all it is ok to lose one week in fantasy, so never let bye weeks be the determining factor for your decision on a player during your draft. When I first started playing fantasy football, I focused way too much on this the first couple of years and I realized I was missing out on good picks because of it. Therefore, I stopped placing so much emphasis on it and just drafted my guys.
Even though bye weeks are annoying for fantasy owners, they are necessary considering how tough the game of football can be to these players. Don’t focus too much on the bye weeks during your draft and just get your guys. As you can see, it is not difficult to navigate through the bye weeks and plug in players. There are going to be weeks that are more difficult than others based on what teams are off, which is why I place so much emphasis on drafting depth at the running back and wide receiver positions in all my draft strategy articles. Quarterbacks, tight ends, kickers, and defenses are all positions that can be streamed, so there is not an urgent need to add backups for these positions on draft day.
As I mentioned at the beginning of the article. It is still early and things are likely going to change between now and the start of the season, and even by the time we reach some of these bye weeks. Consider this a guide for you on draft day to give you some perspective as to what players are off and who are some of the possible plug-in plays on that given week. Don’t worry, I’ll have you covered on streaming options all season long.
As always, feel free to reach out on the Twitter machine @Armando_Marsal and/or in our chat room with any questions.
