DFS Alerts
Blair Walsh released by Vikings
He’s struggled all year kicking for Minnesota and the team has decided to part ways with him. No word yet on who will replace him.
As reported by: Minnesota Vikings official Twitter account
Rob Gronkowski expected to miss Week 11
Ian Rapoport reported that Gronk suffered a punctured lung against the Seahawks on Sunday night. He’s expected to miss at least one game, but it’s possible he misses more time. Martellus Bennett becomes a great value at tight end with Gronk out. The Patriots play the 49ers in Week 11. They’re favored by 13.5 points, so game flow may hurt Bennett. Still, the Patriots have an implied total of 32.5 points, and they love playing aggressively; he could still do plenty of damage.
As reported by: Ian Rapoport Other tagged players: Martellus Bennett
Tyler Eifert in great spot tonight against Giants
The biggest piece of news on the Bengals’ side is that Tyler Eifert is no longer listed on the injury report. He’ll be a full-go tonight, coming off a huge 9/102/1 game against the Redskins. Currently, the Giants rank 19th in pass DVOA against tight ends, and they’re allowing the second-most passes per game to the position, according to Football Outsiders. He’ll compete with A.J. Green for targets, but Green will have a tougher matchup. The Giants rank 3rd in WR1 pass DVOA, primarily due to the success of cornerback Janoris Jenkins, who has an 84.9 PFF grade, which is the fifth best among qualifying corners. It isn’t clear at this point if Jenkins will shadow Green, the Giants are refusing to indicate what their plans are, but even if he doesn’t, they’ll line up across from each other at least one third of the time. If Jenkins doesn’t follow Green, Eli Apple will guard him the most, which is a good thing; the rookie corner has a poor 49.2 grade on the season. Either way, in the two-game slate, Green will be one of the most reliable receivers in terms of volume, and is viable in all formats. Fortunately for Eifert, Green’s situation should help him pick up more opportunities. Teams love attacking New York with their tight ends; over their first eight games, opponents have targeted their primary tight ends 8.5 times per game on average. Greg Olsen is the only other elite tight end available on the Monday-Thursday slate, but Eifert can be rostered for quite a bit less across the industry, and he’s got a great matchup.
Other tagged players: A.J. Green Weird line movement in Giants-Bengals game
According to Vegas Insider, New York opened as high as 3-point favorites, but there was some reverse line movement over the course of the week. Despite 67% of wagers being placed on the Giants, the Bengals became 1-point favorites. It’s always significant when an away team switches from dog to favorite, especially with that type of movement. However, starting around 8pm eastern last night, money started coming in on New York, and some casinos even had them as the favorites again today (by 1 point). Also, the over/under has now trended up to 49.0 at some casinos (it had opened at 46 last week). Currently, casinos have the game as a pick’em or place the Giants as 1-point dogs again. While it isn’t a great sign for the Giants that the Bengals are leaning towards being the favorite, it’s good for fantasy that this game is projected to be high-scoring and competitive. We’ve already given a big-game alert on Odell Beckham, but are there other options to target on the Giants? Rookie Sterling Shepard will surely pick up some extra targets out of the slot with Cruz out. He has a tougher matchup than Beckham though, slot corner Joshua Shaw has a 72.9 PFF grade. He’s also had just one game with more than five receptions. Fortunately, these things will drive his ownership down, and in this situation, on a short slate, he’s a very interesting tournament option. Roger Lewis will be their third receiver tonight. Surprisingly, Lewis has actually scored more touchdowns than Cruz this season, he has two to Cruz’s one. He could be a dart-throw tournament flier as he’ll face lackluster corners on the outside, but he isn’t more than that. In terms of the Giants’ backfield, Paul Perkins and Rashad Jennings each had 14 touches last week, but Perkins did slightly more with his opportunities, totaling 47 yards to Jennings’ 39. New York seems to really like him; they’re making a conscious effort to get him the ball, and Jennings has just been really ineffective, averaging 2.6 yards per carry. On a two-game slate with three time-share backfields, Perkins is a possible tournament option that will have low ownership. Just keep in mind it’s a high risk situation as his floor is low. Cincinatti ranks 22nd in rush DVOA and they’re allowing 116.1 yards per games, the ninth-most in the league.
As reported by: Vegas Insider Other tagged players: Paul Perkins, Roger Lewis, Rashad Jennings Odell Beckham ready to shine under Monday night lights
After Odell Beckham’s poor showing in London in Week 7 (5/49/0), he promised to play better because, as he put it, he always plays better around his birthday, which falls on November 5th. Last year, this proved true. From November 1st through December 14th he averaged 132.7 yards and 1.3 touchdowns per game, exceeding 100 yards in all six games during that stretch. Tonight he’ll face a Bengals defense that’s allowed two passing touchdowns per game. He should see a bump in targets with Victor Cruz inactive, and he’ll line up across from Adam Jones on about half of his routes. Jones has a poor 48.6 PFF grade this season. He’ll face Dre Kirkpatrick on roughly one third of his routes, which is just as good; Kirkpatrick has a 48.1 PFF grade this season. With a backfield in shambles — New York averages 68.3 rushing yards per game, the fewest in the league — the Giants will rely heavily on Odell Beckham to move the football tonight. He’s one of the best options on the Thursday-Monday slate, although he’ll come with high ownership.
Will Fuller believes he can play in Week 11
Fuller (leg) has been hobbled up for the past several weeks. He’s been active every game up until this past weekend, although he didn’t touch the field when the Texans played the Colts in Week 6. After an exciting start to his rookie campaign featuring back-to-back 100-yard games to open his career, his production has really dipped. Over the past three games he’s actually gotten on the field, he’s failed to top 23 yards receiving. It doesn’t help that his quarterback, Brock Osweiler, really struggled during that stretch. Osweiler didn’t exceed 186 yards passing in any of those games. Fuller’s injuries haven’t helped either. If he’s nearing full health, he could be back in play for tournaments this weekend. The Texans host the Radiers, who have allowed the seventh-most passing touchdowns in the NFL and rank 25th in pass DVOA. Plus, Osweiler plays much better at home, his passer rating increases from 63.6 to 83.2 when he plays in Houston.
As reported by: Houston Chronicle Larry Fitzgerald (knee) expected to play Sunday
Fitzgerald was injured in the second quarter of the Cardinals’ Week 10 game with the 49ers. He was able to return to action and finished with 12 receptions and 133 yards on 18 targets. Fitzgerald leads the team in targets (99) by a wide margin (David Johnson is second with 52), and is firmly established as the number one receiver. He may be less than 100% when they play the Vikings in Week 11, but he should still be the leading receiver; Carson Palmer will have to rely on him against a tough pass defense. Fitzgerald will likely be limited this week in practice, but barring a setback he’ll be good to go Sunday.
As reported by: Darren Urban Alshon Jeffery suspended four games
Jeffery has been suspended for violating the NFL’s policy on performance enhancing substances. He can return in Week 15, when the Bears take on the Packers. Outside of Jeffery, Cutler’s favorite target seems to be Zach Miller. The tight end has averaged 8.5 targets per game since Cutler returned, while Cameron Meredith has received exactly two targets in each game. Miller should continue to see plenty of looks, and now that Jeffery is out, expect Meredith to pick up more opportunities and become the leading wide receiver. This week, they play the Giants, who rank 10th in pass DVOA and 3rd against WR1s in particular. Miller has the better matchup as New York ranks 19th against tight ends and have allowed the second most passes to the position (9.0), according to Football Outsiders.
As reported by: Kevin Fishbain Other tagged players: Zach Miller, Cameron Meredith Thomas Rawls expected to return this week
Rawls (fibula) is “practicing to play” this week. Barring a setback, he’ll suit up against the Eagles this weekend. Seattle may opt to go with a three-man committee, or it could potentially be Rawls and Prosise who get the bulk of the work. Prosise out-touched Michael 24 to 6 on Sunday night, piling up 153 yards in the process. It’s unclear how the Seahawks plan to distribute touches exactly, but we’ll gather more insight over the course of the week.
As reported by: Liz Mathews Other tagged players: C.J. Prosise, Christine Michael Victor Cruz will be inactive tonight for Giants
Cruz will miss the Monday Night Football game against the Bengals due to an ankle injury. Roger Lewis will step into the #3 WR role and will be in play as a value option, especially in the small two game slates. Dwayne Harris will also likely see the field a bit more but Lewis is the better option.
As reported by: Kim Jones on Twitter Other tagged players: Roger Lewis, Dwayne Harris Christine Michael officially active for Seahawks
Michael (hamstring) was questionable heading into Sunday. He’ll be fine to play the Patriots tonight though. There has been talk all week about C.J. Prosise getting more work against New England. It would make sense; he’s their passing down back and the Seahawks are 7.5-point underdogs. He’s definitely in play for tournaments on full PPR sites, but it’s a risky bet as we’re trusting what a coach told the media. As we saw earlier, they can be hard to trust. Philadelphia coach Doug Pederson stated that Darren Sproles was their number one running back, but he was out-touched by Ryan Mathews 21 to 10 today.
As reported by: Ben Volin Other tagged players: C.J. Prosise Dion Lewis INACTIVE, Chris Hogan will play Sunday night
Lewis isn’t quite ready to get back to the game field. James White will remain the lead passing down back without Lewis in the lineup. White has averaged 3.6 receptions and 32.25 receiving yards per game this season. The game has a total of 49.5 points, so there is the potential for a lot of scoring and passing in this one, which plays to his favor. Chris Hogan was questionable, but he’ll be able to play. He’s averaged 3.7 receptions per game since Brady returned. It’s a tough matchup tonight, but he’s an interesting tournament flier as he’s averaging 20.6 yards per catch, the third best in the NFL.
As reported by: Ben Volin Other tagged players: Chris Hogan Carlos Hyde officially active
As expected, Carlos Hyde is officially active for the 49ers. The 49ers still expect DuJuan Harris to have a role though as they feel he’s earned it.
As reported by: Cam Inman Other tagged players: DuJuan Harris
Hunter Henry and Tyrell Williams both active for Chargers, Travis Benjamin officially inactive
No surprises here. Williams will take over as the number one receiver for San Diego today. Miami ranks 26th in WR1 DVOA, which sets up a nice matchup for him. Dontrelle Inman will also pick up targets, he had nine last week, and is a sneaky tournament option. Antonio Gates will be the leading tight end, but will lose some targets to Henry. He should still be Philip Rivers’ primary red zone receiver. Henry is a high risk/high reward tournament option, as he’s banged up and settled in as the number two tight end.
As reported by: Michael Gehlken Other tagged players: Tyrell Williams, Travis Benjamin, Dontrelle Inman, Antonio Gates Jarvis Landry, Kenny Stills, and Dion Sims all active for Dolphins
They were all listed as questionable heading into their game with the Chargers. San Diego ranks 5th in pass DVOA, so it will be difficult for Miami to get their passing game going. They may not have to with the way Jay Ajayi is running the ball. Stills’ tendency to make big plays makes him worthy of tournament consideration, but is extreme inconsistency makes him a big risk. Landry will matchup with Brandon Flowers in the slot most of the day. He should pick up a good number of targets, especially if they get behind early. Flowers has a 78.5 PFF grade this season, so Landry will have his work cut out for him.
As reported by: Armando Salguero Other tagged players: Kenny Stills, Dion Sims