DFS Alerts
Alshon Jeffery expected to miss Week 16
Alshon Jeffery (hamstring) will miss his 6th game of the year today when the Bears travel to Tampa Bay to face the Buccaneers. With Jeffery out, the Bears will be forced to lean more on their running game as well as Eddie Royal (knee) and Zach Miller. Royal has mostly been a disappointment this year while Zach Miller has been one of Cutler’s favorite targets without Martellus Bennett around. Miller has received 6 or more targets in 4 of his last 5 games and could be in line for some more looks with Jeffery out. Royal could also see some extra work and he also had 6 targets last week. The Buccaneers are #22 vs. WR’s and #17 vs. TE’s in DvP rankings.
As reported by: Ian Rapoport Other tagged players: Eddie Royal, Zach Miller
Drew Brees expected to start vs. Jags
Despite battling a torn plantar fascia, Drew Brees will still play and start this week with the Saints hosting the Jacksonville Jaguars. In a game that is expected to be a shootout, Brees being active will be a boost to the Saints offensive players. The Jaguars come into Week 16 with DvP rankings of #24 vs. QB’s, #19 vs. WR’s, #23 vs. TE’s and after starting off the season strong against the run, the Jaguars have faltered lately, ranked #26 vs. RB’s. With Marques Colston (chest) out, Brandin Cooks, Willie Snead and Benjamin Watson (questionable – knee) will be Brees’ top three receiving options. Cooks should spend most of his time running routes against Jacksonville corners Davon House and Aaron Colvin who both come in as PFF’s T-45th in coverage while Willie Snead will run the majority of his routes against Davon House and Nick Marshall – PFF’s T-73rd in coverage.
As reported by: Adam Schefter Other tagged players: Brandin Cooks, Willie Snead, Benjamin Watson James White, Keshawn Martin, Brandon LaFell good, cheap exposure to Patriots offense
At this point in the season there are so many injuries that hurt teams, but DFS players can find value in their backups. The Patriots are a great example of how a team can be depleted by injuries, but still maintain a very high-powered offense even with some of their main weapons missing. James White is taking over for Dion Lewis and LeGarrette Blount who are both out with injuries and is fairly cheap across the board at RB. Brandon Bolden will likely handle most of the rushes, but White comes out of the backfield as a receiver and is a huge weapon for the Patriots with limited options. The Jets have a great run defense, and it may be deceiving if you are looking ad DvP and consider taking White, but he rarely runs the ball and mainly gets all his touches on pass plays. The Patriots will likely go with a pass-heavy game plan this week leading to plenty of opportunities for White along with Keshawn Martin and Brandon LaFell who are both cheap as well. In Week 7 vs. the Jets, Brady dropped back 60 times, passed 54 times and the Patriots totaled six total rushes with their RBs. SIX TOTAL RUSHES! With Danny Amendola and Julian Edelman both ruled out, LaFell and Martin will probably be on the field for the majority of the game and will likely get a lot of targets to go along with it. As always, Gronk is an elite option at TE, but White, Martin, and LaFell are great ways to get cheap exposure to the extremely pass-heavy Patriots this week.
Other tagged players: Brandon LaFell, Keshawn Martin
Eric Decker a contrarian option at WR
The Jets take on the Patriots Sunday in MetLife Stadium, and Eric Decker has quietly had a very consistent season as the Jets’ number two WR. In the shadow of Brandon Marshall, Decker has performed well, averaging 72 yards and 0.8 TDs per game along with 17.5 fantasy points per game. Take out Week 11 vs. the Texans when Decker was dealing with a knee injury, he has not had a game under 17 fantasy points since Week 8 and really has not had a “dud” game all season. Now while the matchup vs. the Patriots may be a little intimidating on paper, they love to take away the top option on a team’s offense, in this case Brandon Marshall. We like to target capable secondary options in an offense vs. the Patriots and Decker definitely fits the mold here. While Marshall has been hot over the last month, he is not necessarily recommended this week because of the matchup and the the fact that there are some better options at WR right around that price point. Look for Decker to likely take advantage of the attempted neutralization of Marshall and to continue his consistent season on Sunday.
Danny Amendola ruled out for Week 16
Updating a previous report, Danny Amendola has been officially ruled out for Week 16. Analysis to follow.
As reported by: Mike Reiss Matt Jones not expected to play Week 16
Matt Jones (hip) was able to get in limited practices all week, so this report comes as a bit of a surprise. Jones’ absence brings a boost to Alfred Morris’ fantasy outlook tonight against the Philadelphia Eagles who are ranked #23 vs. RB’s in DvP. It is unlikely that Morris receives more targets out of the backfield with Jones out as the Redskins have shown no desire to throw the ball to Morris, who has 3 or more targets twice all season. Chris Thompson could see more run tonight for the Redskins and they could also look for more short passes to WR’s without Jones’ pass-catching ability out of the backfield.
As reported by: Tarik El-Bashir Other tagged players: Alfred Morris, Chris Thompson Brandon Weeden to start for Texans
As reported by Adam Schefter, Brandon Weeden will get the start when the Texans play the Titans tomorrow with Brian Hoyer not cleared from his concussion. Last week Weeden played in relief of T.J. Yates, completing 11 of 18 passes for 105 yards, 1 TD and 0 INT. Tennessee comes into Week 16 ranked #27 vs. QB’s and #18 vs. WR’s while the Texans like to run the ball (37 rushes / 28 passes Week 15), the Titans are better against the run, ranked #9 vs. RB’s. In their Week 8 meeting, DeAndre Hopkins had a stat line of 8-94-1 and he gets another positive match up this week against Parrish Cox (PFF’s T-59th ranked in coverage). When Hopkins moves around the formation, he will also see Coty Sensabaugh and B.W. Webb (PFF ranked T-73rd & T-85th in coverage, respectively). Brandon Weeden completed 5 of his 11 passes (on 7 targets) and 60 of his 105 yards to Hopkins last week in a 16-10 win over the Colts.
As reported by: Adam Schefter Other tagged players: Brian Hoyer, DeAndre Hopkins Andre Ellington expected to play Week 16
Bruce Arians has said that Andre Ellington has a “very good” chance to return to action against the Packers this week. Ellington has been practicing in full after his turf toe injury and will likely resume change-of-pace duties behind David Johnson to take on the Packers with their run defense that ranks 10th in DvP vs. RB’s. The Cardinals offense has been viable for DFS contests all season long, but Ellington is not a recommended cash game play this week due to his limited touches, though his speed does give him big play ability.
As reported by: Mike Jurecki Other tagged players: David Johnson Marques Colston expected to miss Week 16
Marques Colston (chest) was listed as questionable all week and is not expected to be available when the Saints host the Jaguars. Colston has only had more than 5 targets once in his last 6 games, those extra targets may be distributed to Brandin Cooks and Willie Snead with Ben Watson (knee) also questionable. In a game that could become a shootout, the biggest question for the Saints is who their starting QB will be with Drew Brees battling a torn plantar fascia. Jacksonville comes in with DvP rankings of – 24th vs. QB’s, 26th vs. RB’s, 19th vs. WR’s and 23rd vs. TE’s. Meanwhile, the Saints posses possibly the worst defense in the entire NFL.
As reported by: Rand Getlin Other tagged players: Drew Brees, Brandin Cooks, Willie Snead, Benjamin Watson Danny Amendola not expected to play Week 16
After injuring his knee last week and missing much of the game, Danny Amendola is not expected to play this week against the New York Jets. The Jets come in ranked 20th in DvP vs. WR’s, but Darrelle Revis coming back should help them out in that area. Tom Brady will be forced to rely more on Keshawn Martin and Brandon LaFell, though if LaFell is matched up with Revis this week, that is not ideal for LaFell’s fantasy outlook. Even though the Jets are #5 in DvP vs. TE’s, Brady could still rely heavily on Rob Gronkowski. In their Week 7 match up, Gronk had 11 receptions for 108 yards and 1 TD.
As reported by: Ben Volin Other tagged players: Rob Gronkowski Dez Bryant officially out this week
Dez Bryant has officially been ruled out for Week 16 at Buffalo. The Cowboys have disputed reports that Dez Bryant will be shut down for the remainder of the season, but he will at least be out for this week as he did not make the trip to Buffalo. With a WR grouping of Terrance Williams, Cole Beasley, Devin Street, Lucky Whitehead and Brice Butler, this is a situation to avoid as Kellen Moore will make the start over Matt Cassel – despite the Bills coming in ranked #17 vs. QB’s and #24 vs. WR’s in DvP. One situation to look at in the Cowboys offense is Darren McFadden as they will look to run ball-control offense against the Bills who are #21 vs. RB’s.
As reported by: Todd Archer Other tagged players: Darren McFadden Brian Hoyer traveling to Tennessee
Brian Hoyer is making the trip to Tennessee with the Texans and has yet to be ruled out. He has not been expected to play and has not been cleared from his concussion yet. The Titans are stronger against the run than they are against the pass – #9 DvP vs. RB’s, #27 vs. QB’s, #18 vs. WR’s & #26 vs. TE’s. Hoyer being active would be a positive for DeAndre Hopkins and the Texans passing offense with their other option at QB being Brandon Weeden, though Hopkins was targeted 11 times last week, catching 8 passes for 94 yards and 0 TD’s.
As reported by: Ian Rapoport Other tagged players: DeAndre Hopkins Tyler Eifert not expected to play Week 16
As expected, Tyler Eifert (concussion) will not play this week against the Broncos after he remained rehabbing on the side at practice once again on Saturday. Tyler Kroft will get the start this week at tight end for the Bengals. Kroft has had 3 targets each of the past 2 weeks, securing one for a TD last week. The Denver Broncos come in ranked #19 in DvP against TE’s. With some reports earlier in the week suggesting that Eifert could be held out for the rest of the regular season, Kroft will get a chance to see some run with AJ McCarron.
As reported by: Geoff Hobson Other tagged players: Tyler Kroft Doug Baldwin practices in full Friday
Baldwin (hamstring) had been a limited participant in practice all week and coach Pete Carroll had gone so far as to say Baldwin would be a game-time decision. Getting in a full practice on Friday is a good indication that Doug Baldwin will play Sunday at 4:25 pm against the St. Louis Rams. The Rams come in ranked #5 in DvP against WR’s, though they have given up big fantasy games to WR’s the past two weeks – Mike Evans: 9-157-0 & Golden Tate: 9-60-2. Baldwin’s targets dropped last weekend with the Seahawks dominating the Browns – Baldwin’s targets last 6 games (starting with Week 10): 10, 6, 8, 7, 9 & 6 with 4 of those targets last week being in the Red Zone and 2 for TD’s. Baldwin is set to square off in a positive match up against Lamarcus Joyner, who comes in ranked as PFF’s 57th-ranked corner.
As reported by: Adam Caplan Drew Brees officially questionable for Sunday
It sounds like he’s going to play based on his own comments, so we’ll assume he’s a go at home against Jacksonville on Sunday. While he does carry some risk as it’s obvious he’s banged up, Brees is still a nice upside tournament play on Sunday against a Jacksonville defense that has allowed the 6th most FPPG to QBs this season. If you’re looking for someone to stack up with him in a tournament lineup, Brandin Cooks is the obvious selection but Willie Snead has a similar ceiling and is available at a lower price and ownership percentage. Ben Watson is also a viable tournament play against the Jags.
As reported by: Larry Holder