DFS Alerts
Davante Adams upgraded to probable
Green Bay Packers wide receiver Davante Adams (heel) has been upgraded to probable on the Packers’ injury report, suggesting he will play against the Raiders at 4:05 EST. With McCarthy taking over the offensive play calling, he has been getting his best players more involved – Eddie Lacy & Randall Cobb – those rostering Adams will have to hope he is included on McCarthy’s list as well. Adams’ targets have been inconsistent, as has his ability to turn those targets into receptions. The stats from his last 6 games starting with Week 9 (tar-rec) read: 11-7, 21-10, 4-3, 11-2, 7-4, 3-2. The Oakland Raiders come into the game ranked #14 in DvP against WR’s. In 3 of the last 4 weeks they have given up big games to WR’s (rec-yds-td) – Demaryius Thomas: 10-95-0, Jeremy Maclin: 9-95-2 and Calvin Johnson: 5-88-0 / Golden Tate: 8-73-0.
As reported by: Weston Hodkiewicz
A.J. Green probable for Week 15
A.J. Green is probable for Sunday’s match up in San Francisco. Green (back) was a late addition to the injury report, but his injury should not be an issue in a plus match up against the 49ers. With Tyler Eifert (concussion) ruled out for Week 15, A.J. Green will face less competition in the Red Zone and could see a few more targets come his way. The 49ers come in ranked #20 against WR’s in DvP. Green is coming off of a 6-132-1 game, posting 125+ yards in each of his last 2 games and scoring a touchdown in each of his last 3 games.
As reported by: Geoff Hobson Tom Brady is expected to play Sunday
Despite missing some practice time with an illness and being listed as questionable, the Patriots are reportedly not concerned about being without Tom Brady’s services at home against the Tennessee Titans. Brady will be a solid fantasy option this week against a Titans defense that is susceptible through the air, while being tougher against the run. The Titans come in ranked #25 against QB’s and #5 against RB’s in DvP rankings. Last week Rob Gronkowski returned from injury, giving Brady back one of his weapons – a position the Titans are often beaten by, coming in ranked #28 against TE’s in DvP rankings.
As reported by: Jason La Canfora Calvin Johnson misses practice Saturday - still likely to play
Calvin Johnson (ankle) missed another practice, missing Saturday’s session and is listed as questionable. He is still expected to play against the Saints on Monday Night Football in a fantastic match up – Dave Birkett from the Detroit Free Press was quoted saying, “He’ll play.” New Orleans comes into Week 15 ranked #23 in our DvP rankings (Schedule-Adjusted Defense vs. Position). Calvin Johnson is in play as both a Cash Game and GPP option with his great match up against a Saints D who has been torched all season and his normally consistently high target volume. Megatron has only had one game with less than 8 targets in his last 6 games – aside from Week 1 (4 targets, 2-39-0) and last week (5 targets, 1-16-0) Johnson has had 7 or more targets in all of his other games. The biggest question with this match up remains whether the Saints will use Breaux to shadow Calvin or if Breaux will play sides. If Breaux plays sides, we have to hope that the Lions coaching staff (looking at you Jim Bob Cooter) is smart enough to keep Calvin Johnson against Brandon Browner most of the game. Browner is Pro Football Focus’ worst-rated CB this season, while Breaux is up near the top of the list. Also missing practice today was Eric Ebron (illness). He is also expected to be available to play Monday night. The Saints are ranked even worse against the TE, coming in at #32 in our DvP rankings. Ebron makes a GPP target with his big games and target volume being so volatile.
As reported by: Michael Rothstein - ESPN Other tagged players: Eric Ebron Julio Jones is a top option at WR on Sunday
Julio Jones has been quiet over the last few weeks and we have seen his price drop to only $8,500 on DraftKings because of that, by far the lowest it has been all season. While Matt Ryan and the Falcons have been struggling lately, Jones is really one of the only weapons on this offense other than Devonta Freeman. Leonard Hankerson is out for the year, and this week Jones won’t be covered by Josh Norman so he should have plenty of opportunities against an average Jaguars defense. Jones is still an elite talent and given his discount, he has high upside this week as well as a fairly high floor. There is quite a bit of value this week and if you have room to plug Jones into your lineups go ahead and plug him in.
Sam Shields ruled out for Sunday vs. Oakland
Green Bay’s top cover corner Sam Shields will not play on Sunday against the Raiders. This is very good news for the value of Amari Cooper and Michael Crabtree, both of whom are coming off of a handful of down performances against the Broncos and Chiefs. With Shields out, Casey Hayward, Damarious Randall and Quinten Rollins will act as the Packers trio of CBs on Sunday. It’s very tough to peg what the individual match-ups will be since Crabtree, Cooper and Seth Roberts all move around in formations, but they should be bumped up slightly with Shields out. Cooper is coming off of a zero-catch, eight-target game against the Broncos, and is in a nice spot to bounce back here. He is a really nice contrarian upside target, while Crabtree is also very much in play for tournaments.
As reported by: @Packers
Julian Edelman doubtful vs. Tennessee
Julian Edelman has been listed as doubtful for Sunday’s game with the Titans, and judging based on how the Patriots typically report injuries, this all but assures us that he’ll sit out. This opens up the door once again for Danny Amendola to act as the #1 WR out of the slot, and he shouldn’t be downgraded much (if at all) with a healthy Rob Gronkowski back in the fold. Expect somewhere around 8-11 targets for Amendola on Sunday, making him a viable target in any format. He’s a stronger target on DraftKings (full point PPR) where he sits at just $5,700.
As reported by: Michael Fabiano on Twitter Other tagged players: Danny Amendola Stevie Johnson listed as doubtful vs. MIA
It’s looking very much like Johnson will miss his second straight game with a groin injury. The Chargers have been decimated by injuries on offense this season and will likely be forced to turn to Malcom Floyd and Dontrelle Inman as the starting WRs against a beatable Dolphins secondary. Javontee Herndon will also play a role, but Floyd is the top target here if you’re looking for a cheap WR in a GPP. Miami’s secondary (most notably Brent Grimes) has been burned repeatedly in recent weeks, and with the Chargers having very little success on the ground this year, it’s very possible Floyd ends up with 8-10 targets on Sunday.
As reported by: Eric Williams Kendall Wright ruled out for Sunday
Kendall Wright will not take the field on Sunday against the Patriots. That leaves the Titans with Dorial Green-Beckham, Harry Douglas and Andrew Turzilli at WR – Green-Beckham has the highest ceiling of the group, but all three draw tough match-ups in the secondary and none of them are recommended DFS targets. Tennessee’s passing game should benefit from volume given that they’re expected to be trailing as this game moves along, but it’s tough to know where the passes will be headed when they aren’t thrown to Delanie Walker. Walker is the only strong option on the Tennessee side.
As reported by: Paul Kuharsky Andre Ellington limited on Friday, game-time decision for Sunday
Andre Ellington was able to get in a limited practice today and he’s going to be a game-time decision on Sunday night against the Eagles. It’s still possible that we have confirmation on his status before early games lock, but it’s appearing more likely that we’ll have to wait until late Sunday afternoon for official word. David Johnson would still figure to head up the backfield even if Ellington is active, but it would bring down Johnson’s floor and ceiling and makes him tougher to target on non late-swap sites. It still seems more likely that Ellington sits out, which would put Johnson in line to see 20+ touches again this week. He’s touched the ball 24 times in both of his starts this season.
As reported by: Mike Jurecki on Twitter Other tagged players: David Johnson Spencer Ware returns to practice on Friday
Those hoping to roll out a heavy dose of Charcandrick West on Sunday may be forced to pump the brakes. Ware’s participation in today’s practice and the fact that he’s only dealing with bruised ribs makes it more likely that he’ll suit up against the Ravens. Neither back would be all that intriguing if they both play, but West does have the higher ceiling of the two given Ware’s ailments. Kansas City should be able to control this game given the unbelievable amount of injuries that have been dealt to the Ravens offense, so we’d expect a ground heavy approach from the Chiefs despite the Ravens being more beatable through the air. If it turns out Ware can’t play, West is a elite value target across the industry. He’s priced at under $6K on FanDuel.
As reported by: Terez Paylor Other tagged players: Charcandrick West Tyrod Taylor is a great value target on Sunday
In the last three weeks we are finally seeing the Tyrod Taylor that we saw at the beginning of the year. Taylor went through a bit of a slump after coming back from injury off of the bye week, but over the last three games he has eight total touchdowns and gets a good matchup vs. the Redskins this week. In DFS we always like to look for price inefficiencies and Taylor still sits at only $5,600 on DraftKings which is likely too low for his production. With the emergence of Sammy Watkins over the last three games as well, Taylor looks like he is finally developing the chemistry with Watkins that Bills fans had hoped for. Look for a solid performance from Taylor and he is a great value option at QB on Sunday.
Tyler Eifert (concussion) out for Week 15
Eifert will join Andy Dalton on the inactives list Sunday against the 49ers. The Bengals passing game isn’t nearly as appealing with A.J. McCarron under center despite the plus match-up, but A.J. Green does still possess a nice ceiling given Eifert’s absence. Green’s usage in the red-zone should rise as a result and if the Bengals aren’t able to control this game on the ground, Green should finish with upwards of 10 targets. Tyler Kroft should draw the start for Eifert, but he’s not a DFS option this week.
As reported by: Coley Harvey Other tagged players: Tyler Kroft Lance Moore likely to play Monday night
Head Coach Jim Caldwell stated that WR Lance Moore is likely to play on Monday against the New Orleans Saints. With Delvin Breaux on Calvin Johnson, Moore could be a sneaky GPP play, especially on PPR sites like DraftKings (where he is the minimum $3,000) against a terrible Saints pass defense (#31 in QB DvP and #23 in WR DvP). Moore had four games earlier this season where he topped 11 DraftKings fantasy points including two where he hit 17.5 and 24.6. The potential is there in a game that could be a shoot out.
As reported by: Dave Birkett on Twitter
Alshon Jeffery questionable for Sunday
The Bears star WR practiced Friday and while listed as questionable by the team appears to be on track to play this weekend against the Minnesota Vikings who are #14 overall in WR DvP. It’s not the best spot but it’s a game where the Bears are expected to be trailing and have to throw the ball which puts Jeffery in play for GPP’s. He’ll run the majority of his routes against Xavier Rhodes and Trae Waynes, neither of whom have graded out well in coverage (per PFF).
As reported by: Jeff Dickerson on Twitter