DFS Alerts

Jonathan Stewart may be sidelined four more weeks

Carolina’s running back is confirmed out for Week 4 and it looks like he may miss more time than originally expected. The Panthers backfield is one to avoid this weekend as Cameron Artis-Payne and Fozzy Whittaker will continue to split time. Neither back eclipsed 15 touches or 60 yards last week, plus, Cam Newton had the sole rushing touchdown — he even had more rushing attempts than Whittaker. Carolina has a nice matchup with the Falcons; Newton, Greg Olsen, and Kelvin Benjamin are better options to capitalize.

Antonio Gates continues to miss practice

The Chargers starting TE continues to miss practice and seems unlikely to play this weekend in a great match up against the Saints. Instead it’ll likely be Hunter Henry who looked good last week and will be a highly owned value option if Gates can not play. We’ll keep you updated on the Chargers TE situation heading into Sunday but for now assume it’ll be Henry who is the TE to target.

Delanie Walker returns to practice

It’s a positive sign for the Titans star TE to return to game action this weekend as he took part in practice today. It’s a very tough match up, however, as their opponent the Texans are ranked 2nd in TE DVOA thus far this season. We’ll keep you updated on Walker’s status heading into Sunday’s game.

Braxton Miller will not play this week

Houston Head Coach Bill O’Brien stated Braxton Miller would not play this week. This doesn’t come as a big surprise. Jaelen Strong will continue to operate as the Texans #3 WR.

Virgil Green misses practice; no guarantee he will play this week

Broncos TE Virgil Green is not practicing today due to a calf injury. Head Coach Gary Kubiak stated Green was making progress but that there was no guarantee he would play this week. If he is unable to go, John Phillips would again be the likely starter with Jeff Heuerman also being thrown into the mix. Neither are viable options going against a Tampa Bay defense that is 5th in TE DVOA.

Rashad Jennings remains limited in practice

The Giants RB is still eyeing a return to action after missing last weeks game and with Shane Vereen done for the season the team could certainly use him. If he can’t go the RB work would likely go to Orleans Darkwa on running downs and Bobby Rainey on passing downs but both are iffy DFS targets given their match up against the Vikings, who have been an elite defense thus far this season. We’ll update the Giants RB situation throughout the week as more details come out.

WRs with plus matchups this week

One way we can get an edge against others is looking for WRs that are in good match ups that might go largely ignored either due to a low Vegas total or low target volume in previous weeks. By looking at the ProFootballFocus (“PFF”) WR/CB Matchup charts we can see who lines up where, how often they run routes from that position, and who they will be running most of those routes against. This helps us identify match ups that have a positive expectation. Here are a few to look at this week:

Will Fuller and DeAndre Hopkins vs Perrish Cox, TEN – both of Houston’s top WR’s will benefit in a match up against the worst graded CB in the NFL according to PFF. Cox plays at the LCB position on 93% of the snaps. Fuller and Hopkins for the most part split all the snaps at the WR position that Cox will be facing.

Andrew Hawkins vs Dashaun Phillips, WAS – this one is a little under-the-radar but there’s some merit to targeting Hawkins in GPP’s, especially if Josh Norman will be shadowing Terrelle Pryor at all. Hawkins plays from the slot and will be covered by Phillips who grades as PFF’s second worst CB thus far this season.

Mike Evans vs Bradley Roby, DEN – most people will be avoiding Evans (and with good reason) this weekend as Tampa Bay takes on the vaunted Broncos defense. However, Evans will have more than his fair share of match ups against Roby who grades as the 6th worst CB in PFF’s rankings. A negative game script should have the Bucs throwing often which can mean a plethora of targets for Evans.

Jamison Crowder vs Tramon Williams, CLE – Crowder gets to square off against the 10th worst CB in PFF’s rankings, Williams, running out of the slot (where Williams lines up 92% of the time). Crowder’s clearly shown he is one of Kirk Cousins favorite targets, especially in the red zone.

Julius Thomas will be a game-time decision Sunday

The Jaguars starting TE has been dealing with an ankle injury and will be a game-time decision for their game against the Colts on Sunday. Marcedes Lewis would likely get the start if Thomas can’t go and would be an interesting GPP option going against the team ranked worst in the league in TE DVOA. Look for Thomas’s status Sunday morning before putting him in a lineup and be wary of using him in Thursday lock slates.

Sammy Watkins misses practice again

It’s looking very likely that Watkins will not play again this week after missing another practice today. The Bills travel to New England and none of their other receiving options (Robert Woods and Marquise Goodwin) are particularly viable DFS options. If anything changes regarding Watkins we’ll let you know.

Eric Decker misses practice again

Decker continues to not practice with an injured shoulder and his status for the Jets game against Seattle is certainly in question. Brandon Marshall and Quincy Enunwa would receive a bump in usage but it’s a tough match up that is probably best avoided. We’ll update you on Decker’s status as more news becomes available.

Brice Butler could get the start this weekend for Cowboys against 49ers

With Dez Bryant likely sidelined this week, it appears the Cowboys will turn to talented WR Brice Butler to fill his shoes. Butler makes for an interesting, high-risk/high-reward, GPP target at minimum price going against a solid 49ers defense that ranks 9th in pass DVOA. They are, however, dead last in DVOA against the WR1 position, which is where Butler would be playing.

Seahawks sign C.J. Spiller to provide backfield depth

The Seahawks have signed C.J. Spiller in the wake of Thomas Rawls’ injury (C.J. Prosise also sat last week, but returned to practice today). Christine Michael is still going to head the backfield, but Spiller will have a chance to compete for passing down/complementary work with Prosise and Alex Collins. It’s been awhile since Spiller has been a strong DFS play, and those days aren’t likely to come to an end in the near future.

Michael Floyd out of concussion protocol

Fortunately, he practiced today without any setbacks, meaning he should be cleared for full contact tomorrow and all set to play on Sunday against the Rams. Palmer hasn’t had much success connecting with Floyd yet, but the targets are there, eight per game so far. Floyd is a very capable receiver in a dynamic offense with a solid floor. His cheap price tag and big play ability makes him a really intriguing GPP play this week. Especially considering people will be off him due to the concussion and his lackluster performances so far. Keep in mind Palmer was trying to get Floyd the ball deep downfield in the early goings of the Buffalo game, they just couldn’t make it happen. His big plays are coming, his current catch rate of 37.5% will regress back towards his career mean of 52%. He was 4th last season in yards per catch among receivers with at least 50 receptions at 16.3 ypc. With an implied team total of 25.25 at home against a mediocre Rams pass defense, it might be a good time to get a little exposure on Floyd. Be sure to stay tuned with his progress though, any unforeseen complications would obviously diminish his potential. If you’re playing Thursday slates on FanDuel, you’ll probably want to avoid Floyd as lineups will lock before we’re certain of his health.

T.Y. Hilton did not practice Wednesday

Coming off a monster game with eight receptions for 174 yards and a touchdown, T.Y. Hilton took a day to rest his knee. There doesn’t appear to be any cause for concern at this point, as it doesn’t seem like it will limit him in any way come Sunday, when the Colts take on the Jaguars in London. Hilton is poised to be a top fantasy producer in the game. Donte Moncrief is out, Phillip Dorsett has yet to prove himself reliable, Dwayne Allen and Jack Doyle have split targets, and the Colts have owned Jacksonville since Luck’s arrival in 2012 with a 5-1 record. In the last meeting between the two teams, the Colts set a franchise record with 51 points. London games tend to be blowouts; the team up at halftime leads by an average of 14.7 points. Based on some crazy line movement earlier in the week — Vegas shifted five points, from offering Jacksonville as 2.5-point favorites to the exact opposite — it seems like the sharp money is on the Colts to come out hot. T.Y Hilton should be a big beneficiary if that holds true.

Jamaal Charles has limited practice Wednesday

Andy Reid continues to be vague when he speaks of Charles’ status for this week’s game. The fact is Jamaal Charles has seen limited practices for a while now and has yet to play a snap. It seems doubtful that he’ll play against the Steelers this weekend. As we mentioned yesterday, this is a great PPR matchup for Spencer Ware, who has become the clear lead back ahead of Charcandrick West in Charles’ absence. Pittsburgh ranks 30th against receiving running backs, allowing 9 receptions to the position per game. They rank worse than the Chargers in the same stat, a team that Ware posted a 7/129 line against in Week 1. Darren Sproles put up 6/128/1 against the Steelers in Week 3. Kansas City will be underdogs this weekend and will try to put the ball in Spencer Ware’s hands on the ground and in the air, assuming Charles remains sidelined.