DFS Alerts
Devonta Freeman ruled out for Monday night
Devonta Freeman has been ruled out for Monday night, setting Wayne Gallman up to be the lead back for the Giants this week. The Giants are significant underdogs, which typically creates a bad game script for a RB, although Gallman is helped by being fairly active in the passing game. He caught all 5 of his targets last week, although they totaled just 20 yards. Dion Lewis should work as the second RB, with Elijhaa Penny and Alfred Morris also options to get snaps.
As reported by: Dan Salomone Other tagged players: Wayne Gallman, Alfred Morris, Dion Lewis, Elijhaa Penny
Allen Robinson clears concussion protocol, expected to play Sunday
Allen Robinson cleared the concussion protocol on Saturday, meaning he is expected to play on Sunday. This is a bit of a surprise, as Robinson did not even log a limited practice this week. Barring a return of any symptoms between now and kickoff, Robinson should be expected to handle his usual team-leading target share.
As reported by: Chicago Bears PR Colts activate Michael Pittman from IR
Michael Pittman has been activated from IR by the Colts, clearing him to play Sunday. The rookie WR has been out since Week 3, and he should step in as the 4th WR option for this offense, at least initially.
As reported by: George Bremer Eagles activating Dallas Goedert and Jalen Reagor, both available for Sunday
The Eagles are starting to get healthier, good news for QB Carson Wentz. The return of Dallas Goedert gives Wentz a weapon he targeted heavily Weeks 1 and 2, totaling 17 targets in just those two games. Richard Rodgers should still see targets, but is also squarely behind a healthy Goedert. Jalen Reagor is returning for the first time since Week 2, and should see a heavier workload than he did during the first two games of the season, with both Zach Ertz and DeSean Jackson now out.
As reported by: Mike Garafolo Other tagged players: Jalen Reagor, Richard Rodgers, Carson Wentz Chris Carson (foot) and Travis Homer (knee) listed as questionable for Sunday; Carlos Hyde (hamstring) doubtful
Carson and Homer did not participate in practice the entire week, but they’ve still been listed as questionable on the Seahawks’ injury report for Sunday’s Week 8 matchup against the San Francisco 49ers, and according to head coach Pete Carroll, are considered true game-time decisions. Meanwhile, Hyde is the only member of the group that is listed as doubtful, meaning that the best-case scenario for Seattle is a 1-2 punch of Carson and Homer with DeeJay Dallas providing depth at the running back position. However, ccording to multiple Seahawks beat writers, Homer is expected to be ready to go by Sunday, and if both Carson and Hyde are inactive, he would suddenly be the de facto lead back for a high-powered offense, making him a tremendous option in daily fantasy formats across the industry this weekend.
As reported by: Curtis Crabtree via Twitter Other tagged players: Travis Homer, Carlos Hyde
Tim Patrick (hamstring) and Phillip Lindsay (concussion) listed as questionable for Sunday
Patrick was unable to practice the entire week, and he’s officially been listed as questionable on the Bills’ injury report for Sunday’s Week 8 matchup against the Los Angeles Chargers due to a hamstring injury, while Lindsay remains in the NFL’s concussion protocol but has a chance to play if he’s cleared over the weekend. With Patrick likely on the wrong side of questionable, Jerry Jeudy, K.J. Hamler, and DaeSean Hamilton should be the top three wide receivers for quarterback Drew Lock, and even though the Broncos have led the NFL in 1-2 personnel sets over the last two weeks, they appeared to just be easing Hamler, who saw just 28.8% of snaps, back into action following his second injury absence of the season. On top of that, Noah Fant has been dealing with his own ailments in recent weeks but avoided an injury designation entirely leading up to game-time, signaling he should be back to full strength.
As reported by: Zac Stevens via Twitter Other tagged players: Phillip Lindsay Miles Sanders (knee) officially ruled out for Sunday night
Sanders never took the practice field this week, and he’s officially been ruled out for Sunday night’s Week 8 matchup against the Dallas Cowboys due to a knee injury that’s now forced him to miss two games. The Eagles have a bye week coming up in Week 9, so it always seemed likely they’d hold Sanders out more week, and his continued absence will enable Boston Scott to continue serving as the lead back in this offense. The Eagles were in a largely pass-heavy game script in last Thursday’s win over the New York Giants, but it’s certainly a positive sign for his floor that Scott still received 12 of the available 16 running back carries to go along with a respectable 12.2% target share in the passing game, making him a stellar option on the single-game and primetime slates across the daily fantasy industry on Sunday evening.
As reported by: Dave Zangaro via Twitter Michael Thomas (hamstring) and Marquez Callaway (ankle) officially ruled out for Sunday
Thomas returned to practice on Wednesday for the first time since straining his hamstring last week, but even though he’s been at least a limited participant every day since, the Saints have officially ruled him out of Sunday’s Week 8 matchup against the Chicago Bears, marking the sixth game he’ll miss for injury and disciplinary reasons. In addition to Callaway, the Saints will still be without Emmanuel Sanders, who remains on the reserve/COVID-19 list, so they are positioned to be extremely barren in the wide receiving corps for their Week 8 contests, and Tre’Quan Smith and Deonte Harris are poised to lead the way at the receiver positions. Smith was expected to be the top target for quarterback Drew Brees, other than Alvin Kamara, last week, but he was only able to amass an 11.1% target share as Callaway shouldered most of the load and Brees spread the ball around relatively evenly to the remaining members of the offensive unit.
As reported by: Jeff Duncan via Twitter Other tagged players: Marquez Callaway N'Keal Harry (concussion) officially ruled out for Sunday
Harry remains in the NFL’s concussion protocol and has officially been ruled out of Sunday’s Week 8 matchup against the Buffalo Bills after not practicing the entire week. Meanwhile, Julian Edelman underwent a procedure on his ailing knee on Thursday morning, and according to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, will miss “some period of time”, making him a candidate for short-term injured reserve. This also means that the Patriots will be forced to trot out Damiere Byrd, Jakobi Meyers, and Gunner Olszewski as their top three wide receivers on Sunday afternoon. Following Harry’s exit from last week’s loss, Meyers ended up logging an 80.9% snap rate and running 25 routes on passing downs, so he may be the preferred punt option in tournament formats of three considering he also accumulated six targets and a 68.0% market share of the team’s air yards.
As reported by: Zack Cox via Twitter Mark Ingram (ankle) officially listed as doubtful for Sunday
Ingram did not participate in practice the entire week due to a high-ankle sprain, and he has officially been listed as doubtful for Sunday’s Week 8 matchup against the Pittsburgh Steelers despite having the entire bye week to rest and heal up the aforementioned injury. If Ingram isn’t ready to go by the weekend, rookie J.K. Dobbins and Gus Edwards would likely form a two-running back committee and would be quite the improvement over the Ravens’ current three-way backfield timeshare. Assuming Justice Hill remains an afterthought, Dobbins should profile as the better option in daily fantasy formats over Edwards, but following Ingram’s early exit in Week 6, the two backs essentially split snaps down the middle with Dobbins running six more routes on passing downs than his backfield counterpart.
As reported by: Bob Labriola via Twitter Aaron Jones (calf) officially ruled out for Sunday
Jones was absent from practice the entire week, and he’s officially been ruled out of Sunday’s Week 8 matchup against the Minnesota Vikings due to a calf injury that’s now kept him sidelined for two games. This means that Jamaal Williams is in line to be the Packers’ workhorse running back for a second straight week after logging a whopping 88.5% snap rate, 19 carries, and five targets in last Sunday’s loss to Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which is an overwhelmingly positive sign for his floor and ceiling moving forward as A.J. Dillon only saw the field for only 14 plays and accumulated just five carries, even with third-string running back Tyler Ervin inactive. Ervin is listed as questionable on the Packers’ injury report but is on track to return in Week 8, so it’s certainly plausible that he could cut into Williams’ passing down workload to a minimal extent.
As reported by: Tom Silverstein via Twitter Allen Robinson (concussion) officially listed as questionable for Sunday
Robinson was forced to leave the game late in the fourth quarter of Monday night’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams due to a blow to the head, and head coach Matt Nagy confirmed with reporters on Zoom that Robinson is still in the NFL’s concussion protocol and won’t participate in practice on Friday afternoon. However, Nagy did clarify that if Robinson clears the protocol in time, he will play in Sunday’s Week 8 matchup against the New Orleans Saints despite not practicing. If that’s the case, Darnell Mooney would become the de facto number one receiver for quarterback Nick Foles, and he’s coming off of a game where he had a 91.2% snap rate, ran 42 routes on passing downs, and led the Bears pass-catchers with seven total targets.
As reported by: Jeff Dickerson via Twitter Dalvin Cook (groin) "should be ready to go" for Sunday
Cook was a limited participant in practice all week and despite head coach Mike Zimmer claiming Cook “should be ready to go”, Cook has still been listed as questionable on the Vikings’ injury report for Sunday’s Week 8 matchup against the Green Bay Packers after missing one game due to a groin injury. Zimmer also disclosed during that Zoom conference call that Cook won’t be subject to any restrictions such as a snap count in his return, so he should be set to resume his typical lead running back role despite Alexander Mattison seeing in the ballpark of a 30% snap rate on a week-to-week basis. As was seen back in Week 6, if the Vikings fall victim to an unfavorable game script, their running backs’ floors could severely suffer since their offense is predicated on such a run-heavy approach and that position has commanded fewer than a 20% market share of the targets on the season thus far.
As reported by: Courtney Cronin via Twitter Mo Alie-Cox (knee) officially listed as questionable for Sunday
Alie-Cox returned to practice on Thursday and was able to put in at least a limited session for two straight days, but he’s still been listed as questionable on the Colts’ injury report for Sunday’s Week 8 matchup against the Detroit Lions due to a knee injury that already forced him to miss one game. In his absence, Trey Burton saw a season-high 57.6% of snaps and ran 23 routes on passing downs, so if Alie-Cox is cleared to return, it certainly does lower his floor for daily fantasy formats across the industry. However, there is still hope that Burton’s performances over the previous few weeks lend him a larger portion of the tight end opportunities moving forward and keep Alie-Cox as a distant third-stringer behind Jack Doyle, even with the Colts’ propensity for utilizing 1-2 personnel on a consistent basis.
As reported by: Joel A. Erickson via Twitter Joe Mixon (foot) officially ruled out for Sunday
Mixon still hasn’t practiced since sustaining a foot injury back in Week 6, and he’s already officially been ruled out of Sunday’s Week 8 matchup against the Tennessee Titan marking the second straight game he’s been sidelined. Now that Mixon is set to be inactive once again, Gio Bernard should undoubtedly remain in a similar workhorse role for a second straight week given his prowess in the passing game out of the backfield. In the previous contest, Bernard easily out-snapped backup running back Semaje Perine with a 76.8% snap rate, but his domination of the backfield touches was the most positive sign for his visibility in daily fantasy formats moving forward, as he accumulated 13 carries to Perine’s one and ran 22 routes on passing downs despite just a 10.6% target share.
As reported by: Ben Raby via Twitter