DFS Alerts

Sammy Watkins expected to play tonight

While Watkins is expected to play, it’s probably best to leave him out of your DFS lineups. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that Watkins will be more of a decoy, but even when healthy he’d carry plenty of risk in this match-up. Even with the injury issues, he’s likely to be more heavily owned than he deserves in Thursday contests. Alshon Jeffery and Amari Cooper are strong pivots in a similar price range. Watkins is somehow not even available on FanDuel, so players over there don’t need to concern themselves with this situation. If Watkins is limited, Robert Woods would hold some GPP value, but it would make Tyrod Taylor a weaker play.

Zach Ertz misses another practice, almost certainly out Monday night

Ertz is very likely to miss the Week 2 tilt with the Bears, opening the door for Brent Celek and Trey Burton to see added work. Burton was inactive last week but will finally have a chance to showcase his ability on a national stage, and it’s very possible the Birds continue to roll with multiple TEs sets regularly. Without a dearth of talent at the receiver spots, it’s been something Doug Pederson has been talking up since the start of training camp. Celek has the higher floor, but both are intriguing GPP punt plays, especially in prime-time formats.

T.Y. Hilton added to Colts injury report Thursday

Hilton missed Thursday’s practice and wasn’t on the injury report at all yesterday, so this is definitely a situation worth tracking. It’s possible that it’s just a maintenance day, but we should know more when we receive Friday’s injury report. Assuming Hilton returns to practice even in a limited fashion, he should suit up against Denver. The Broncos boast one of the league’s best secondaries, so the Colts passing attack isn’t nearly as appealing of a target as it was last week. Donte Moncrief, Phillip Dorsett and Dwayne Allen would stand to benefit from a target perspective if Hilto does indeed sit.

J.J. Watt limited on Thursday

There haven’t been any real indications that Watt’s back will hold him out of action this week, so this appears to be nothing more than the Texans taking it easy on their star defender. Houston’s defense isn’t a terribly strong play against a Chiefs offense that doesn’t turn the ball over much, but they are an option in GPPs as a home favorite in a game with a low total.

Kendall Wright to miss Sunday's game vs. Detroit

Wright will miss another game Sunday and the coaching staff is looking for him to get in a handful of practices before returning, so it’s possible he ends up missing a third straight game. He’s going to need to compete with Tajae Sharpe, Rishard Matthews and Delanie Walker for looks when he returns, and given Sharpe’s production in his limited time with the team, Wright may be third or fourth in the pecking order. Sharpe should see somewhere in the neighborhood of ten targets against this week with Delanie Walker also likely to be more involved against a Detroit defense that surrendered three TDs to the TE spot last week. Detroit also struggled in that area last year, allowing a league-high 12 TDs to the position.

Jeremy Maclin misses Thursday's practice, still appears likely to play Sunday

It’s likely nothing more than a maintenance day for the veteran, but his status for tomorrow’s practice will go further in determining his status for Sunday. We’re still expecting him to suit up against the Texans. We’ll follow up on his status again as the weekend approaches. On a different note, Spencer Ware did return to practice, and he’s fully expected to suit up and receive the lion’s share of the work in the backfield.

Russell Wilson good to go for Sunday's match-up with LA

There was a brief period earlier in the week where it looked like his status may be in question, but that hasn’t been the case over the past 24 hours. He has an enormous ceiling against a Rams defense that made Blaine Gabbert look competent this past week, but does also carry some risk given that he didn’t look totally healthy in the season-opener and he’s not going to throw the ball nearly as often as he did in that contest.

Odell who? A.J. Green could outshine Beckham as top WR this week

While all eyes will be on Odell Beckham against the pathetic Saints defense and then on the always consistent and great Antonio Brown, it could be A.J. Green who outdoes them all in his match up with the Pittsburgh Steelers this week. If last week was a sign of how this season is going to be for the Bengals offense then it’s clear that it’s the A.J. Green show as he saw 43% of his teams targets, the most of any player in the league. He did something with those targets as well putting up one of the top fantasy performances of the week (in what was a supposedly tough match up against Revis and the Jets). This week he faces a Steelers defense that he has routinely torched (over his last five games against them he’s averaged 9 receptions for nearly 130 yards per game). The Steelers were vulnerable to DeSean Jackson last week so Green should have no problem having success against them. And one last point in his favor – he’s actually performed better on the road over the course of his career than at home.

Sammy Watkins status for tonight's game in doubt

While the Bills #1 WR wants to play tonight, sources have told the media that the team doctors might not let him play. It’s a situation we’ll be monitoring closely leading up to kick off and will update as soon as anything definitive comes in. For now, it’s probably best to err on the side of caution and not have him in your lineups. Robert Woods would move to the #1 WR slot but isn’t a viable DFS option in a tough match up against the Jets.

DeVante Parker practices again; appears likely to play this week

The Dolphins WR is practicing for the second straight day and according to sources is likely to play this week against the Patriots. It’s probably best to take a wait and see approach with Parker as he is not practicing at full speed and has a tough match up against the Patriots.

Arian Foster practices today

After missing practice yesterday, the Dolphins starting RB took part in practice today. He should be in line for the bulk of the work this weekend when the Dolphins take on the Patriots and has some value on PPR sites like DraftKings due to his involvement in the pass game.

Rob Gronkowski practices again

Gronk took part in practice for the second straight day (although it appears it was limited), a positive sign that he’ll more than likely play this week. His price is always up there but so is his ceiling, which on most weeks will keep him in play in cash and GPPs if you’re willing to play the price tag. He has a favorable match up this week against the Dolphins, and he’ll go very under-owned due to the injury concerns if he’s able to suit up. We’ll keep an eye on the Gronk news throughout the week and update you if anything changes.

Five RB's priced under $6500 to target on FanDuel

Finding value at RB is often the key to producing a winning lineup as it allows you to roster higher priced, more reliable, stud WRs. Here are five RB’s on FanDuel priced at or under $6500 that you can target this week.

LeGarrette Blount $6000 – it’s a favorable game script for Blount against a Dolphins defense that is average or worse against the run. Blount had over 70% of the Pats rushing attempts last weekend and there’s no reason to think there won’t be more of the same here.

Rashad Jennings $6300 – a RB who will likely get goal line carries in the game with the highest total of the week at this price. Yes please.

Duke Johnson $5400 – probably a better play on DraftKings but even at just half-point per reception, Johnson has some value on FanDuel at this price, especially with McCown back at QB (performed much better with him at QB last season). A tournament option with some upside.

Jeremy Langford $6500 – it’s not a great match up but given the volume Langford receives and the fact that he is a three down back, he’s viable at this price.

Danny Woodhead $6400 – the little guy that just won’t go away from our DFS lineups. He continues to out-touch/out-perform Melvin Gordon and with Keenan Allen out will likely see an even bigger role in the offense (if that were possible).

Chris Ivory still not practicing

Jaguars RB Chris Ivory has yet to return to practice after being released from the hospital earlier this week. It appears unlikely that he will play this week leaving the bulk of the RB work to T.J. Yeldon who was pedestrian against the Packers last weekend despite scoring a TD. He does have a juicy match up this week against a Chargers team that was one of the worst in the league against the run last season and that alone makes him a viable option. We’ll update you throughout the week on the Jaguars RB situation as more news comes in.

Breshad Perriman returns to practice

After sitting out practice thus far this week, the young Ravens WR took part in practice today – an encouraging sign that he will be able to play in the teams Sunday afternoon battle against the Browns. It’s a plus match up for the Ravens passing game and Perriman has as much upside as any receiving threat on that team but he’s a very high-risk option given his injury and Joe Flacco’s tendency to favor players like Steve Smith and Dennis Pitta. We’ll keep you updated on Perriman’s injury status throughout the remainder of the week as news comes in.