DFS Alerts
Falcons believe Julio Jones will play, to test injury prior to game
Julio Jones named surfaced on the injury report midweek, but the belief in the organization is that the team will have their star player in action today. Like many other players on the injury report, Jones will test his injury pregame but is expected to play.
As reported by: Ian Rapoport Twitter
T.Y. Hilton is hopeful to play in week 16
If the Colts have any chance to claim what is shaping up to be a very competitive race for the final AFC wildcard spot, they will need star wide receiver T.Y. Hilton on the field this week. Hilton is less than full strength, but as we saw last week he can still put up a decent day even with a banged up ankle. Hilton will test his ankle prior to game time and should be ready to go in week 16.
As reported by: Ian Rapoport Twitter DeAndre Hopkins will test his injured ankle in pre-game warmups, but is expected to play
In what appears to be a popular theme for the second to last week of the season, Texans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins will test his ankle in pre-game warms. The team fully expects Hopkins to play and if he can gut it through this injury the matchup vs The Eagles is one that he can definitely exploit. Currently sitting in the second seed if the season ended today a win will both clinch the AFC South as well as keep them ahead of the Patriots heading into a week 17 matchup vs The Jaguars.
As reported by: Adam Schefter Twitter Schefter: Gurley wants to play, Rams "want to be smart about it," will test him pre-game; Julio Jones also a GTD; JuJu Smith-Schuster will play
Gurley apparently wants to play, but the Rams “want to be smart about it” and will test him pre-game. Even if he does go, it seems like there is a good chance he wouldn’t see a full allotment of work. CJ Anderson figures to be next in line for work with John Kelly behind him, but it’s likely we see some sort of committee behind Gurley with Justin Davis (Q) also potentially factoring into the mix. If Gurley and Davis are both out, Anderson would become a far safer target. Julio Jones’ status will apparently come down to a game-time decision; if he can’t go, Calvin Ridley and Mohamed Sanu both become very intriguing mid-range plays given the large percentage of targets that would become available, with Austin Hooper also likely taking on a bigger role. The Steelers will have JuJu Smith-Schuster in a tough road draw with the Saints.
As reported by: Adam Schefter Other tagged players: Julio Jones, JuJu Smith-Schuster
Keenan Allen and RB Melvin Gordon will play, as expected.
The Chargers offense gets a little closer to full strength as key players Melvin Gordan and Keenan Allen are active in a primetime match vs The Ravens. Gordon has missed multiple weeks with a knee injury and Allen is returning after missing most last week’s game with a hip. Even if both players are less than 100 percent they are plug in play options in season-long leagues and excellent options on Saturday’s two-game slate.
As reported by: Jonas Shaffer Twitter Other tagged players: Melvin Gordon Saints add Ted Ginn 53 man roster
The New Orleans Saints offense could have deep threat receiver Ted Ginn back this week as they have officially added him to their 53 man roster. Ginn has not played since the last week of September and his addition the Saints roster has very little impact in terms of DFS. Over the last few weeks, the team has shown the propensity to spread the ball around and the addition of Ginn back to the offense only makes it harder to narrow down second-tier options in the passing game.
As reported by: Field Yates Twitter Josh Doctson and Tajae Sharpe are both active today
Both Tajae Sharpe and Josh Doctson are active for today’s game. While neither receiver would garnish much attention on a full slate a case could be made for playing either player as a dart throw on Saturday’s two-game slate. The Redskins, in particular, are extremely thin in the pass-catching department with both Jordan Reed and Vernon Davis sidelined with injuries.
As reported by: Ian Rapoport Twitter Other tagged players: Tajae Sharpe Keke Coutee, Lamar Miller don't travel with Texans, ruled out for Sunday
Keke Coutee, Lamar Miller don’t travel with Texans, ruled out for Sunday. With Miller out, Alfred Blue figures to step into a featured role. He becomes a viable value play at RB in any format, but doesn’t have the same type of explosiveness as Miller, however, Blue is a heavier back that is better-suited in-close. The targets in the Texans passing game should be funnelled primarily to DeAndre Hopkins and Demaryius Thomas.
Other tagged players: Keke Coutee, Alfred Blue Massive Workload
The Colts impressively held the Cowboys to 0 points last week but Zeke was still able to post 19.8 DK points and 16.3 FD points thanks to his continued heavy involvement as both a rusher and receiver. In fact, even though Zeke hasn’t scored a touchdown in each of the last two weeks he’s still averaging 27 DK points and 20.75 FD points over that span. I would expect Zeke to find pay dirt in a very favorable home matchup against the Bucs this week but he’s still a top RB play on the slate if he doesn’t.
Matt Breida (ankle) will play Sunday
Breida was limited in practice all week, but he will play in Sunday’s matchup against the Chicago Bears despite dealing with an ankle injury. Breida took back control of the Niners backfield in Week 15, as he played 73 percent of snaps and saw 22 touches, essentially forcing Jeff Wilson Jr. into a minor backup role. However, the matchup with Bears is far from ideal since they have surrendered fewer than 84 rushing yards per game on average to opponents, but Brieda is at home in a three-down role, so may be worth a dart throw in tournaments for his inexpensive price tag across the industry.
As reported by: the San Francisco 49ers via Twitter
Spencer Ware (hamstring) doubtful for Sunday; Sammy Watkins (foot) remains out
Ware was limited in practice all week and has officially been listed as doubtful for Sunday night’s matchup against the Seattle Seahawks due to a hamstring injury that’s now forced him to miss two consecutive games, while Watkins will remain sidelined with a foot injury that’s kept him out since Week 11, where he was limited to just five total snaps. With Ware likely inactive, Damien Williams will maintain the lead back role after he saw 16 touches and scored two touchdowns in the Week 15 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers last Thursday night. However, Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce remain the clear focal points of the offense and have combined for 53 percent of the Chiefs target share this season.
As reported by: the Kansas City Chiefs via Twitter Other tagged players: Sammy Watkins Jamaal Williams (toe) will play Sunday; Randall Cobb (concussion) doubtful
Williams popped up on the Packers’ injury report with a toe injury earlier in the week, but he will play in Sunday’s matchup against the New York Jets despite being limited in Wednesday’s practice, Randall Cobb has been listed as doubtful because of a concussion. With Aaron Jones now on injured reserve, Williams will be locked into a feature back role and will be a viable fantasy option for all formats on the main slate in a matchup with Jets defense that ranks 20th in rush DVOA on the season.
As reported by: Tom Silverstein via Twitter Other tagged players: Randall Cobb James Conner (knee) officially out Sunday; Juju Smith-Schuster (groin) questionable
As expected, Conner has officially been ruled out of Sunday’s matchup against the New Orleans Saints due to an ankle injury that’s now forced him to miss three straight games, while Smith-Schuster is questionable with a groin injury Smith-Schuster he sustained during Thursday’s practice. If the injury is significant enough to keep him sidelined for Sunday’s matchup against the New Orleans Saints, it would open up a significant amount of snaps for James Washington and Eli Rogers, who was active for the first time all season and ran 84.2% of his routes from the slot in last Sunday’s win. On top of that, the slot has been one of the most efficient places to attack this Saints defense with P.J. Williams primarily patrolling that area of the field, and he is PFF’s 107th-ranked cornerback in coverage out of 116 qualifiers on the year
As reported by: Ray Fittipaldo via Twitter Other tagged players: JuJu Smith-Schuster Todd Gurley (knee) will be a game-time decision Sunday
Gurley is officially listed as questionable and considered a game-time decision for Sunday’s matchup against the Arizona Cardinals due to a knee injury, despite head coach Sean McVay originally saying he expected him to play in this week’s contest. However, McVay seemed to have backtracked on that stance a bit since and is now saying the team is not going to put Gurley at risk for further injury. Unfortunately, if Gurley is unable to suit up, the situation behind him has gotten a lot murkier with the signing of C.J. Anderson since John Kelly can now no longer be considered the definitive backup running back. To make matters worse, there’s been rumblings from Rams beat reporters that the team has been left unimpressed with Kelly in his limited reps and that it’s realistic Anderson can have a role right away, possibly even as the starting running back if Gurley is sidelined.
As reported by: Rich Hammond via Twitter Bruce Ellington (hamstring) out Sunday; Kenny Golladay (chest) and LeGarrette Blount (calf) questionable
Ellington was limited in practice all week, but he’s officially been ruled out for Sunday’s matchup against the Minnesota Vikings due to a hamstring injury that’s now forced him to miss two consecutive games, while Golladay and Blount are both questionable with their respective ailments. The absence of Ellington will allow T.J. Jones and Andy Jones to continue seeing snaps alongside Golladay in two and three-wide receiver sets.
As reported by: Tim Twentyman via Twitter Other tagged players: Kenny Golladay, LeGarrette Blount