DFS Alerts

Strategy: C.J. Anderson has an ideal matchup

There aren’t many times where the thing a player does best is also the thing their opponent does worst. Last week, the Colts allowed the Lions (last season’s second-worst rushing offense) to rush for 4.8 YPC on their way to 116 yards and two TDs. Against Carolina, C.J. Anderson carried 14 times for 48 yards on interior runs (3.4 YPC), while rushing six times for 44 yards (7.3) YPC off either tackle or end. The Colts allowed 5.1 yards per carry off of either tackle or end (28th) last week after ranking 20th in 2015 (4.7 YPC) on those runs. What does all that mean? In short, the Colts struggle to stop runs off the end or tackle and that’s one of the things C.J. Anderson does best.

Sterling Shepard or Victor Cruz?

There hasn’t been a more discussed game this week than the Saints at Giants. DFS players rightfully remember the last time these two teams met in Week 8 of last season. That game saw 101 points scored and over 1,000 total yards. While Odell Beckham is the consensus number one WR, there is also merit to selecting the other Giants’ WRs. Last year, Beckham put up 8/130/3 but there was still room for Dwayne Harris 3/37/2 and Rueben Randle 5/55/0. This year, the WRs behind Beckham are much different. Victor Cruz returned from an injury last week after 23 months off and rookie Sterling Shepard will fill the number three role. The question many are asking is which is the #2 WR? The answer isn’t entirely clear. The Giants used a 3WR set as their base offense last week. That allowed Shepard to play 95% of offensive snaps and Cruz to play 89%. The short answer is that neither is necessarily a better option than the other. Eli Manning will be looking to the open receiver which should be all of them. As long as the Giants continue to run a 3WR base offense, both Cruz and Shepard are in play. In fact, so is the rest of the Giants offense.

Which Chargers WR should I select?

With the loss of Keenan Allen, many are looking to the Chargers’ Wide Receivers for value. In Week 12 last season, Phillip Rivers threw for 300 yards and four touchdowns against this same Jaguars team. That was also without Keenan Allen. One theory is that the Chargers will lean more heavily on Antonio Gates and Danny Woodhead. That’s certainly been true in the past as Gates went for 4/53/2 in last year’s matchup against the Jaguars. Woodhead was largely a disappointment in that game with just four carries for eight yards to go with six catches for 39 yards through the air. The problem is that Woodhead and Gates are priced near similarly-projected options. While both make sense, sharp players are digging through the WR corps for a value play instead.

There are basically three options here. Travis Benjamin, Tyrell Williams, and Dontrelle Inman. While Benjamin is thought of as a deep-threat he’s not been used in San Diego the same way he was last season in Cleveland. Benjamin was targeted seven times last week but his Average Depth of Target (aDOT) was just 2.9 yards. He finished with seven catches but for just 32 yards. If Benjamin is going to be used as a possession receiver, he’s certainly the option you want on a full PPR site like DraftKings. On the other hand, FanDuel awards 0.5 PPR so looking to Tyrell Williams or Dontrelle Inman would seem to make more sense. Of the two, Williams is much safer. Inman wasn’t going to have much of a role in this offense until Keenan Allen went down. Inman saw both of his targets after Allen left the game while Williams saw four of his five after Allen left. The other thing that has me sold on Tyrell Williams over Inman is Williams’ 16.6 aDOT on five targets. He ended up catching two balls for 71 yards. He’s the safer bet for a long touchdown but that also makes him less reliable in cash games.

Zach Ertz ruled out on Monday

Zach Ertz has officially been ruled out for Monday’s game against the Bears. This should open up more snaps for Trey Burton but the biggest bump goes to Jordan Matthews. Carson Wentz targeted Matthews 14 times last weekend. Double digit targets for Matthews is looking like a stong possibility again this week.

Kendall Wright out for Titans this week

This was expected but has now been confirmed by the team. Tajae Sharpe will continue to operate as the Titans top WR with Rishard Matthews, Andre Johnson, and Harry Douglas splitting the rest of the work. Sharpe is in play on PPR sites but might have Darius Slay in coverage on him making it a below average match up.

Jamaal Charles to be listed as doubtful

Nothing unexpected here as it was assumed that Charles would sit out another week. Spencer Ware and Charcandrick West will continue to split the load with Ware being the preferred option after putting up a monster game last week against the Chargers.

Jonathan Stewart listed as questionable but expected to play

Panthers Head Coach Ron Rivera stated he expects RB Jonathan Stewart to play despite being listed as questionable on the injury report. Stewart has some value as a substantial home favorite going against a 49ers defense that struggled against the run last season, especially away from home.

Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu full participants in practice

Falcons Head Coach Dan Quinn said that WRs Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu are good to go for Sunday after being full participants in practice. It’ll be a rare week where you can get Jones at lower ownership due to plus match ups for the other WRs out there so it’s a situation you can potentially use as a leverage play when constructing rosters. Sanu is also in a good spot and makes for an excellent GPP play.

Chris Ivory ruled out for this weekend

Updating our previous report, Chris Ivory has been ruled out for the Jaguars this game with the Chargers. T.J. Yeldon becomes a top pt/$ play across the industry against a Chargers team that struggles against the run.

Five QBs not named Eli or Brees to consider on DraftKings this week

All the hype is on the QBs in the Saints at Giants game but there are plenty of options out there on DraftKings ranging from the high end of the salary scale (Cam Newton) to the low end (Josh McCown). Let’s take a look at those two and three others and why you should consider them this week:

Cam Newton, $7900 – the price tag is hefty but it’s one of the best match ups Newton will get all season. Don’t be fooled by the 49ers shutting out the Rams and Case Keenum. They have to travel across the country on short rest and face a Panthers team coming off a tough loss (that played lights out at home last season). One way to be contrarian in lineups is to pay up at QB or RB so this would do that for you.

Josh McCown, $5000 – at minimum price McCown has to be in consideration if merely for the fact that he’ll allow you to get exposure to players like Antonio Brown and Odell Beckham. He has performed well when given the opportunity as a starter and has more talent at the skill positions then he’s probably ever had. On a projected pt/$ basis he’s one of the top QBs out there. His ownership will probably reflect that too.

Marcus Mariota, $6000 – Detroits defense got lit up last week by Andrew Luck and the Colts and while Mariota struggled last week, expect him to bounce back in this match up. His ownership should be low (RG’s Chris Gimino has it projected at 3.89%) and he has one of the lower price tags out there. Consider him a Cam Newton lite type of play this week.

Dak Prescott, $5800 – last week we cautioned you against using Dak. This week we’re advising the opposite. His ownership will be significantly lower and the Redskins defense looks vulnerable. His price didn’t rise enough to discourage using him as a value option. A better GPP play than cash play though.

Andy Dalton, $6400 – no one ever talks about Andy Dalton but he puts up decent fantasy games more often than you would think (including last week against the Jets). The Steelers are atrocious on pass defense and have no one that will be able to shut down A.J. Green. Stacking those two this week could lead to fantasy goodness.

Chris Ivory misses practice again; highly unlikely to play Sunday

The Jaguars RB missed practice again and seems all but certain to miss this weekends game against the Chargers. T.J. Yeldon is a top play on a pt/$ basis given the match up and expected workload and will likely have moderate to high ownership as a result. If anything changes regarding Ivory’s status, we’ll let you know.

Sammy Watkins, Charles Clay officially active for TNF

Neither Watkins (who isn’t even available on FanDuel) or Clay are recommended DFS options tonight. Thursday players are habitually over-owned and given that this isn’t expected to be a high-scoring game, it’s best to just play the fade here and look to Sunday/Monday players.

Demaryius Thomas sidelined for most of practice today, apparently concerned with cutting and taking contact

Thomas missed about two-thirds of practice today and has concerns about coming out of cuts and taking contact That’s definitely not something you want to hear from a wide receiver, and given the Broncos run-first offense and a new QB under center, Thomas is best left untouched for DFS purposes this weekend. If he’s limited, Emmanuel Sanders should see the bulk of the targets with Jordan Norwood and Bennie Fowler being candidates to see increased run in two-receiver sets. Virgil Green could also see an extra couple of looks.

Chris Ivory not likely to play Sunday, should be T.J. Yeldon's show once again

Ivory was hospitalized over the weekend and still isn’t practicing today, so Gus Bradley reiterated that he’s very unlikely to play Sunday. T.J. Yeldon acted as the workhorse in his absence against Green Bay, totaling 25 touches but racking up just 69 yards. He’ll face an easier test this week against a Chargers defense that was just gashed by Spencer Ware and Charcandrick West, especially considering Yeldon is an oft-used option in the passing game (the Chiefs RBs combined for 14 targets in Week 1). Consider him a high-end dollar per point play across the industry.

Jason Verrett (calf) doesn't practice Thursday, but will play Sunday

Verrett missed Thursday’s practice with a calf injury, but he’s going to suit up on Sunday against the Jaguars. The fact that he may be ailing is good news for Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns, moreso Robinson who would likely see a bit more of his coverage. Robinson finished with a league-high 15 targets last week, although he wasn’t able to turn them into much, something that makes him a strong bounce-back GPP play this week.