DFS Alerts
Marquess Wilson out for Sunday
Wilson has been ruled out for this week. Eddie Royal will step up and take the majority of the WR2 snaps assuming he plays (he is listed as questionable) and Alshon Jeffery should continue to be a target monster. However, the weather looks to be unfavorable for passing as RotoGrinders Meteorologist Kevin Roth is calling for heavy rain and high winds so proceed with caution when rostering any passing game threats from this game.
As reported by: Adam Hoge on Twitter
Karlos Williams out for Sunday
The Bills backup RB is out for this weekend’s game against the Eagles. LeSean McCoy is one of the elite options in the ultimate revenge game against his former team. The Eagles are #19 in terms of RB DvP but have gotten lit up the past three games and with Williams out, McCoy is going to get all the touches he can handle.
As reported by: Vic Carucci on Twitter Kendall Wright out for Sunday's game
The Tennessee Titans have announced that Kendall Wright will miss this weekend’s game against the Jets. This should move Dorial Green-Beckham to the top spot but it’s a tough match up for DGB as he’s expected to be shadowed by Darrelle Revis. Harry Douglas is now the likely #2 but is not a viable DFS option.
As reported by: Jim Wyatt Rishard Matthews misses practice again, DeVante Parker likely to start
Dolphins WR Rishard Matthews has missed practice the last two days and is unlikely to play again this weekend. DeVante Parker will likely get the start in a very favorable match up against the New York Giants who are #28 in WR DvP and dead last in QB DvP. Parker is a secondary option on FanDuel as his price tag is $5,900 but is a great value option on DraftKings for $4,000.
As reported by: James Walker on Twitter Chris Thompson likely out this weekend
Thompson has a torn labrum and appears doubtful to play this weekend as evidenced by the Redskins signing former Saints RB Pierre Thomas. While Thomas might have appeal in a week or two, right now the bulk of the work should go to Matt Jones in their game against the Bears. At $3,600 on DraftKings, Jones makes for an intriguing value/punt option there.
As reported by: Mike Jones on Twitter Jimmy Clausen likely to start for Baltimore this weekend
Reports out of the Ravens camp indicate that it will be Jimmy Clausen who gets the start over the injured Matt Schaub for the injury riddled Baltimore Ravens this weekend against the Seattle Seahawks. Outside of Buck Allen there is little to like on the Ravens offense and even Allen is a risky play against a Seahawks defense that just completely shut down Adrian Peterson. The Seahawks defense is an elite play this weekend in both cash and GPP’s and should be one of, if not the, highest owned defenses across the industry.
As reported by: Brad Biggs on Twitter Darrelle Revis looking as if he will play this weekend
Revis took part in practice and wasn’t wearing the red no contact jersey, a good sign that he will be playing Sunday. With Kendall Wright likely out, Revis will probably shadow Dorial Green-Beckham thus eliminating him from all but the most contrarian of GPP lineups. This is good news for the New York Jets defense and they are in play against a Titans offense that has no weapons outside of the legs of Mariota and his ultra-consistent TE Delanie Walker.
As reported by: Mike Clay on Twitter Shaun Draughn again remains a great value at RB
For the last few weeks there has been great value in cheaper running backs because of injuries, and it continues this week as Shaun Draughn is one of the top plays on the board. Draughn gets almost all of the carries out of the 49ers backfield and was on the field for 79% of the plays last week and 100% of the plays the week before. Draughn’s usage is still very high for this price and gets a great matchup with the Browns this week. The Browns have one of the worst run defenses in the league and allow over 22 points per game to opposing RBs and if Draughn continues this extremely high usage rate he could be in for a big day. He has actually been very consistent since taking over for the injured Carlos Hyde averaging 15.63 points per game and not having a game under 13 points. Draughn makes for one of several great value picks at RB again this week.
Brandin Cooks misses Thursday's practice with a concussion
It’s still unclear when Cooks may have suffered the concussion, but he was kept out of practice today as a result of the ailment. Cooks wasn’t listed on yesterday’s injury report, so it’s possible this occurred in yesterday’s practice. Regardless, Cooks is now looking doubtful to play at Tampa Bay, but his participation (or lack thereof) in tomorrow’s practice will go a long way in determining his status for Sunday. Marques Colston, Brandon Coleman and potentially Willie Snead (if healthy) would all get value bumps if Cooks were to sit, with Snead being the most attractive of the group if he suits up. Ben Watson is also a candidate to see more work.
As reported by: @InsideInjuries
Juwan Thompson could start at RB vs. OAK
The Denver running back situation is officially a mess. Both Ronnie Hillman and C.J. Anderson are expected to be full practice participants tomorrow, but Gary Kubiak has still said that there is a chance Juwan Thompson draws the start. This would make the backfield untargetable outside of deep GPPs, as there really isn’t a way to determine where the majority of the workload will land. Thompson finished last week with 8 carries for 27 yards and added a reception for 14 yards, so it’s hard to say where the confidence from Gary Kubiak is being drawn from. This will be a very messy situation for DFS players to dig through this week.
As reported by: Nicki Jhabvala Other tagged players: Ronnie Hillman, C.J. Anderson Travis Benjamin says he'll play vs. SF
Benjamin got knocked out of last week’s game with a shoulder injury, and it doesn’t appear that it’ll cost him any time. The Browns are really thin at WR right now with Andrew Hawkins and Taylor Gabriel both in the concussion protocol, leaving Benjamin and Brian Hartline (who has been a PPR darling over the last three games) as the lone healthy WRs. Dwayne Bowe is healthy, but the Browns don’t seem interested in giving him any run. Benjamin is a nice GPP target against a San Francisco secondary that has ceded some big numbers to opposing wideouts this season.
As reported by: Nate Ulrich Rob Gronkowski practicing Thursday
Gronk is on the practice field today, albeit with a brace on his right leg. While it’s encouraging to see him getting in some work, it’s not a surefire sign he’s going to play on Sunday. Bill Belichick likes to get injured players practices the week before they return and while the first-round bye is now in flux for the Patriots, they aren’t going to risk the health of Gronkowski if he’s not at 100%. We still expect him to sit out Sunday against Houston, which would open up another opportunity for Scott Chandler to start. While Chandler didn’t see a lot of looks relative to the number of passing attempts for Tom Brady against Philly, he’s still a very solid target in all formats with Gronk out of the lineup. Danny Amendola should continue to see double-digit targets as the top dog in the Patriots passing game.
As reported by: Phil Perry Other tagged players: Scott Chandler Matt Hasselbeck practices again
The Colts QB practiced for the second straight day and appears to be on track to play this weekend against the Jacksonville Jaguars in what should be a relatively high scoring game. This is good news for players like T.Y. Hilton and Donte Moncrief as they get to attack a Jaguars defense vulnerable to the pass (21st in WR DvP and 25th in QB DvP).
As reported by: Kevin Bowen on Twitter David Johnson is a solid play Thursday night
David Johnson and the Arizona Cardinals will host the Minnesota Vikings Thursday and while the Vikings do have a good defense, they will be missing three of their top defenders in tackle Linval Joseph, linebacker Anthony Barr, and safety Harrison Smith. David Johnson rushed 22 times for 99 yards against the Rams last week and also caught a TD pass. With Andre Ellington and Chris Johnson both out again this week, D. Johnson will remain the feature back for the Cardinals ground attack. Kerwynn Williams and Stepfan Taylor syphoned some carries and Williams poached a TD, but D. Johnson should still get the majority of the carries out of the backfield. At only $4,300 on DraftKings and $4,500 on FanDuel, it is rare to find a back that will get this much work for this price. The Cardinals have the third highest implied point total of the week at 27 and the game has one of the higher under/overs of the week. If you are playing the Thursday slate this week, Johnson is again an excellent value at this price and you should continue to plug him into your lineups until his price increases or another back comes into the picture.
Austin Seferian-Jenkins makes for an interesting GPP option
By this point it is pretty safe to say the New Orleans Saints have one of the worst defenses in the league. In fact, if you were to just play the QB and TE vs. the Saints every week, they would have scored more than Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski have over the course of the year. This weekend the Buccaneers get a shot at this defense with an improving Jameis Winston and Austin Seferian-Jenkins back from injury. Seferian-Jenkins only played 30% of the snaps last week vs. Atlanta in his first game back and he should not be trusted in cash games, however it does make for an interesting GPP play. If he does end up playing the majority of the game, and just hits the average for points given up to TEs by the Saints he would be sitting at 16.49 points, over 6x value. He has only played 3 games this year thus a very small sample size, but Week 1 vs. Tennessee he had 5-110-2. Now keep an eye on his status throughout the week because while he will likely be active, you will want to make sure he doesn’t have a snap count and only play 30% of the snaps like last game. A Winston/Seferian-Jenkins stack is a viable GPP strategy given how horrid the Saints defense is, and Mike Evans and Doug Martin are both great plays as well. Seferian-Jenkins is an interesting GPP target that could make or break your lineups this weekend.