DFS Alerts

Pay Up To Differentiate

With the focus on jamming in high-priced RBs and some great TE values looming at cheaper price points, Jordan Reed’s price increase projects to keep his ownership low. He ran just 21 routes last week, but looked healthy, earning 5 targets and catching 4 for 48 and a score. The key is all of that production came in the first half in a game Washington dominated. Their Week 2 matchup with Indianapolis could see more passing overall, and it’s a strong matchup for Reed. He’s in play in GPPs on the idea we might not have seen his full usage in Week 1. If he plays more, his ceiling is well worth the price increase.

A few D/ST units ripe for a bounce back performance

Oh boy were things bad for the Saints defense in Week 1. Getting completely shredded by Ryan Fitzpatrick is not a good look. They are a really nice D/ST bounce-back candidate in tournaments thanks to some vulnerability in the form of the Browns tackles – most notably LT Desmond Harrison, who handles Tyrod’s blind side. One poor game is not enough to make us think this still isn’t one of the league’s better defenses.

Despite a road meeting with Tampa, the Eagles are another D/ST unit that’s very likely to go overlooked. Darren Sproles’ absence doesn’t help, but they should still give Ryan Fitzpatrick considerably more trouble than he had in Week 1. It’s risky to bet on Tampa to keep up even a similar level of offensive production.

Joe Mixon expected to be out two weeks with knee injury

Joe Mixon is expected to be out for two weeks, after the team determined that his knee injury will require a scope. Look for Giovani Bernard to hold down the Bengals backfield in his stead. Bernard will be an interesting RB option for week 3, depending of course on how much the sites increase his price to account for Mixon’s absence.

Patriots RB's Burkhead and Michel both questionable for Sunday

Patriots RB’s Burkhead and Michel both questionable for Sunday. As has been the case over the last few years, it’s going to be tough to project how this backfield is going to shake out. The injury concerns only make it tougher. If both are active, we can expect Burkhead to eat up more of the rushing work with James White still dominating passing downs, so it’ll be hard to invest confidently in Michel. None of these backs are safe cash game plays, but Burkhead and White are absolutely viable GPP targets.

Vance McDonald questionable for Sunday

McDonald did not play in Week 1, but appears likely to return to action in Week 2. Jesse James and Xavier Grimble ate up the TE snaps against Cleveland, but neither player really produced much in the way of fantasy totals. James and McDonald will be vying for targets behind Brown and Smith-Schuster, with James Conner also likely to be more involved as a receiver. The Pittsburgh TEs are nothing more than GPP dart throws.

Deandre Hopkins and Will Fuller both listed as questionable for Sunday, both expected to play.

Hopkins and Fuller are both expected to play in Week 2. Fuller was inactive this past week, but appears to be ready to suit up for the first time in 2018. After a disappointing performance against the Patriots, a Watson-Hopkins stack is one of the higher-upside plays in GPPs, with Fuller also being a viable option to add.

Ben Roethlisberger officially questionable for Sunday, expected to play

There is very little doubt that Roethlisberger is going to play on Sunday. He’s arguably the top overall QB play and should be treated as such as we approach the weekend. He’s back at home where he’s historically fared much better from a fantasy perspective.

Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams both questionable for Sunday

Aaron Rodgers and Davante Adams both questionable for Sunday, although it appears more likely that both end up playing. Randall Cobb may end up being the most oft-targeted Packers pass catcher due to the draw with Minnesota (they are more burnable via the slot), just as he was last week in a comeback win over Chicago. We’ll provide updates on these two as Sunday approaches.

Corey Davis no longer on injury report, will play Sunday

Corey Davis no longer on injury report, will play Sunday. No real surprise here, but it’s worth noting that Davis may be even more heavily involved this week thanks to Delanie Walker’s injury. Jonnu Smith will eat into most of that work, but Davis showed that he’s clearly the top pass-catcher in this offense now.

Marquise Goodwin (quad) ruled OUT Sunday

Marquise Goodwin (quad) ruled OUT Sunday. With Goodwin out, Dante Pettis is expected to start alongside Pierre Garcon, and he may actually be the most viable 49ers pass-catcher outside of George Kittle. After a Week 1 performance where he was heavily involved, Kittle is going to be a very popular target against a Detroit pass-defense that just got ravaged by the Jets aerial attack. Stacking up Jimmy G with Pettis/Garcon is certainly a viable plan of attack in Week 2.

David Johnson no longer on injury report, will play Sunday

It appears Johnson is not seriously hindered by the back issue that caused him to log limited practices Wednesday and Thursday, and will be good to go for Sunday’s divisional game against the Rams. That said, he has a difficult matchup in front of him against a stout Rams defense. The Rams are also massive favorites in this game, so Johnson’s best path to a solid performance is if he can be more involved in the pass game than he was in week 1 if the Cardinals are trailing.

Michael Thomas and Ted Ginn not on final injury report, both will play Sunday

Both Thomas and Ginn will be active for the Saints, who’s Vegas-implied team total of 29.75 currently sits as the highest on the slate. Look for this high flying offense to be lead by the trio of Brees, Thomas and Kamara, with Ted Ginn having GPP appeal as well in what is likely to be a shootout against the Browns on Sunday.

Bounce back coming from Texans' Watson & Hopkins?

Despite suffering a big blow in the form of Seantrel Harrison’s season-ending injury, I expect the Texans offensive line to hold up better in Week 2. The Titans struggled to generate much of a pass rush against the Dolphins and didn’t excel in that area last season, so there are plenty of reasons to be optimistic about a major bounce back from Deshaun Watson and DeAndre Hopkins. Both are likely to see low ownership thanks to a down performance against an underrated Patriots defense.

49ers WR Marquise Goodwin not in uniform and working on side field at start of practice

Goodwin’s failure to participate on Friday puts his status against Detroit in serious jeopardy as he continues to recover from a deep thigh bruise. George Kittle stepped in as the go-to passing option last week and is firmly in the TE1 conversation, though Dante Pettis likely receives the biggest bump. The rookie snagged a 22-yard touchdown pass in Goodwin’s stead and is in a good spot facing an exploitable Detroit secondary. Pettis is a cheap WR3 or flex option, especially on FanDuel where he’s listed at the literally the lowest wide receiver price, $4,500.

Bucs list WR DeSean Jackson as questionable for Sunday

The deep threat returned to practiced yesterday and seems to be on track to play in Week 2. Chris Godwin will likely remain in the No.3 wide receiver role after finished second on the team in WR snaps following Jackson’s concussion last week. After showing a nice rapport with Ryan Fitzpatrick against New Orleans, Jackson is in play on Sunday, especially on sites like DraftKings with bonuses for 100-yard receiving yard games.