DFS Alerts
Charles Clay (hip, shoulder) questionable for Sunday
Charles Clay (hip, shoulder) is questionable for Sunday, and his outlook has actually slightly improved over the course of the last 24 hours, so he has a legit shot to play. If he can’t go, Jason Croom and Logan Thomas are likely to help fill in, but we do not need to be targeting Josh Allen’s weapons this weekend. Steer clear.
Dalvin Cook (hamstring) questionable for Sunday
Dalvin Cook (hamstring) not practicing Friday, but he did get some work in on the side and is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Eagles. It’s going to be tough to invest much in the Minnesota backfield with them kicking off at 4:25 in Philly, but that may not be the worst thing in the world against a stout Eagles defense that doesn’t figure to spring many holes against an underwhelming Vikings offensive line. If Cook can’t go, Latavius Murray would lead the backfield and step squarely onto the DFS radar. Things couldn’t possibly go as bad as they did against Buffalo.
Other tagged players: Latavius Murray This Disappointing RB Could Break Out This Week
Derrick Henry has had a disappointing season so far, with only 163 rushing yards on 54 attempts (3.0 Y/A) and 3 receptions for 12 yards on the season, but this could be a prime buy-low situation on the Titans RB. The team is facing a Bills rushing defense that ranks 26th in the league in rushing touchdowns allowed, and the Titans are five-point favorites on the road in what could be a grind-it-out low-scoring game. Henry is down to only $4,400 on DraftKings, $5,800 on FanDuel, and $9,000 on FantasyDraft, so he won’t cost much, but he could provide big upside if he can find the endzone and the game script falls in his favor.
Darrius Heyward-Bey (ankle) doubtful for Sunday
Darrius Heyward-Bey (ankle) is doubtful for Sunday, but that doesn’t really have any DFS impact. Antonio Brown, JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Washington are all firmly ahead of him in the pecking order, and DHB’s absence will likely just lead to Justin Hunter being active. Brown and Smith-Schuster are both elite WR targets in what should be a back and forth meeting with the Falcons.
Overlooked RB Could Put up Big Yards On Weak Rushing Defense
Austin Ekeler continues to go overlooked despite ranking second in the league with 6.7 yards-per-rushing attempt. This week Ekeler gets the benefit of matching up against a Raiders run defense that ranks second worst in the league in yards-per-rushing attempt allowed, and with the Chargers favored at home by five points, Ekeler should have both the space and opportunity to run. Ekeler is particularly underpriced this week on DraftKings, where he costs only $4,200 and gets a full point per reception.
Bengals place Tyler Eifert on injured reserve
The Bengals placed Tyler Eifert on injured reserve today after he suffered a gruesome lower-leg injury this past weekend. It’ll set up CJ Uzomah to get more work as a receiving TE and Tyler Kroft’s snaps should also rise, but Uzomah has more pass-catching upside between the two and he’d already secured somewhat of a valuable role in the red-zone with Eifert healthy. Uzomah is squarely on the GPP radar if you are looking to punt the TE spot.
Other tagged players: C.J. Uzomah, Tyler Kroft DeVante Parker (quad) questionable for Sunday
Is Parker ever going to get off the injury report? He was able to practice in a limited fashion this week, but is once again listed as questionable for Sunday. It appears more likely that he plays which eats into the value of the secondary options (Wilson, Grant especially) and takes some appeal away from Kenny Stills. If he ends up sitting, Stills becomes a stronger GPP target.
Dolphins TE A.J. Derby (foot) out Sunday
This has been the prevailing though most of the week, and it should set up Mike Gesicki to continue logging heavy snaps again. He played 83% of the snaps last weekend and only saw two targets, but that could (and should) change this week against the Bengals. Gesicki still isn’t safe by any stretch of the word, but there is some contrarian appeal here in large-field tournaments.
Other tagged players: Mike Gesicki Chris Carson (hip) will play Sunday
Chris Carson (hip) will play Sunday. He missed Week 4, which led to Mike Davis being one of the most valuable backs of the weekend with Rashaad Penny also seeing an increased workload. It sounds like Pete Carroll wants to utilize somewhat of a committee, keeping Davis and Penny involved, but Carson ran away with the job while healthy and could very well do so again down the line. I wouldn’t expect that to start against the Rams, who do not play the best run defense but should give the Seattle defense enough trouble that Russell Wilson should be thrust into more pass attempts than he’d like.
Other tagged players: Mike Davis, Rashaad Penny Alex Collins practices in full Friday
Alex Collins practices in full Friday, so it seems like he’ll be fine for Sunday’s game with the Browns. Collins has been sharing a frustrating amount of work with Javorius Allen, but given Collins’ issues with fumbles in the early season, it’s not a huge shock as to why. Allen has been utilized pretty heavily in the red-zone and is the much-preferred option on passing downs, so Collins is still game-flow dependant.
Quincy Enunwa (hip) will play Sunday
Quincy Enunwa (hip) will play Sunday. He’s lost some luster after a hot start in Week 1, but he’s still seen at least eight targets in each game since and it’s sensible to think the Jets will be throwing pretty often here. Still, this isn’t really a match-up or situation we can trust, so Enunwa is best left for tournament play.
Jets TE Neal Sterling (concussion) out Sunday
Neal Sterling will miss yet another contest, leaving an already thin Jets TE group even more barren. Eric Tomlinson, Chris Herndon and Jordan Leggett, although none of them are recommended DFS options against Denver.
Gio Bernard expected to miss 2-4 weeks with sprained MCL
He’s not going to factor into the equation this weekend, good timing for Joe Mixon’s return. If anything happens to Mixon, it’ll be Mark Walton and Thomas Rawls to help fill the void.
Adrian Peterson (ankle) practicing on Friday
Adrian Peterson (ankle) is practicing on Friday and shouldn’t be limited at all on Monday night against the Saints. Both he and Chris Thompson will be firmly on the DFS radar for Monday night Showdown slates.
Dalvin Cook (hamstring) not practicing Friday
Dalvin Cook (hamstring) not practicing Friday, but he did get some work in on the side and is listed as questionable for Sunday’s game against the Eagles. It’s going to be tough to invest much in the Minnesota backfield with them kicking off at 4:25 in Philly, but that may not be the worst thing in the world against a stout Eagles defense that doesn’t figure to spring many holes against an underwhelming Vikings offensive line. If Cook can’t go, Latavius Murray would lead the backfield and step squarely onto the DFS radar. Things couldn’t possibly go as bad as they did against Buffalo.
Other tagged players: Latavius Murray