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          Fantasy mailbag: Rueben Randle still hard to trust despite Victor Cruz injury

          Thanks for submitting your questions for this week's NFL Nation fantasy mailbag. Send them anytime @MikeTriplett and I'll share insight every week from our 32 team reporters around the league.

          @MikeTriplett: You've got to feel for New York Giants receiver Victor Cruz, who suffered another setback with a calf injury this week while hoping to play for the first time in nearly a year. But if you don't let sentimentality dictate your fantasy moves, then Giants reporter Dan Graziano says Cruz probably shouldn't be taking up a roster spot.

          "How long has it been since he was a real fantasy asset anyway? He didn't catch a touchdown pass after Week 4 in 2013 and wasn't exactly lighting it up before his injury last year," Graziano said. "Add in the fact that you can't possibly know how his right knee will recover from the torn patellar tendon and the possibility that the calf injury lingers, I don't see what you lose by dropping him."

          As for fourth-year receiver Rueben Randle, Graziano said Cruz's absence doesn't solve his biggest problem, which has been inconsistency. Randle is coming off of a huge game (seven catches for 116 yards and a touchdown). He finished last season equally strong, and Graziano said he has the "talent to produce." But Graziano said Randle has frustrated coaches for a couple years with his inconsistency to get open and run the right routes, etc.

          "The thing to understand about the roles of the Giants' WRs is that Randle's doesn't change with Cruz out. Randle plays on the outside, Cruz in the slot," stressed Graziano, who said Randle, Odell Beckham Jr. and Dwayne Harris might all spend a little more time in the slot now since Cruz is hurt and Preston Parker has been cut. "But Cruz's situation doesn't impact the key question about Randle, which is, 'Can you trust him?'

          "Until you see him do it for an extended period, he's hard to trust as anything more than a bye-week flier."

          @MikeTriplett: I had several T.J. Yeldon questions this week. So I reached out to Jacksonville Jaguars reporter Mike DiRocco, who expressed cautious optimism toward the rookie running back.

          Yeldon leads all rookies in touches with 56, DiRocco pointed out. And he is definitely the man in Jacksonville, where Yeldon has 48 rushes and quarterback Blake Bortles ranks second with nine. DiRocco said it's possible Toby Gerhart could vulture some short-yardage and third-down snaps now that Gerhart is returning from injury -- but not many. He said the coaches trust Yeldon to do everything and they were pleasantly surprised at how solid he is in pass protection.

          "That's keeping him on the field more," DiRocco said. "So he's gonna get a lot of work."

          The problems, however, are that Jacksonville's offense line has struggled and the Jaguars have had to abandon the run when they're trailing big like they did last week against the New England Patriots.

          "He's getting hit behind the line of scrimmage a lot," DiRocco said. "His strength is getting in the hole and making a guy miss. But he hasn't had many holes to get into."

          This week, the matchup against the Indianapolis Colts is a decent one for Yeldon. So I would start him ahead of someone like Matt Jones, who has a less-defined role.

          As for the Dez Bryant trade, it depends on the depth of your league. If Yeldon and Mike Wallace are on your bench for most weeks, then Bryant might be worth the gamble.

          @MikeTriplett: Speaking of Bryant, his replacement Terrance Williams didn't do so hot last week with zero catches. But Dallas Cowboys reporter Todd Archer said he thinks there could be an "over-correction" this week and that Williams will get his chances against a struggling New Orleans Saints defense. Williams has three touchdown catches against the Saints in just two career meetings, including six catches for 77 yards and two scores last year.

          The Saints' pass defense should get a boost from the healthy returns of cornerback Keenan Lewis and safety Jairus Byrd (both may be limited). But so far this year, the Saints have allowed six touchdown passes with no interceptions. And they rank among the NFL's bottom four defenses in several categories, including yards per attempt and yards after the catch, according to ESPN's Stats & Information.

          Archer said the matchup might even be better for Cowboys tight end Jason Witten -- especially after what the Carolina Panthers' Greg Olsen just did to the Saints last week.