DFS Alerts
Devin Funchess (shoulder) active Sunday, as expected
Funchess is active, as expected, and will play in today’s Wild Card game against the New Orleans Saints after previously being listed as questionable on the Carolina Panthers’ injury report with a shoulder injury that had kept him sidelined for Wednesday and Thursday’s practices. Being banged up, Funchess is a tough sell in daily fantasy formats considering he is likely to see plenty of stud rookie cornerback Marshon Lattimore on the outside, and it would be far from surprising if Cam Newton takes it upon himself to shoulder more of the offensive load on the ground than normal given the difficult matchup with the Saints fifth-ranked pass defense DVOA.
As reported by: Josh Katzenstein via Twitter
LeSean McCoy (ankle) and Deonte Thompson (shoulder) active Sunday
McCoy is officially active and will play in today’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars after previously being listed as questionable on the Buffalo Bills’ injury report and ultimately expected to play through an ankle injury, while Deonte Thompson is also active following his earlier questionable designation on the injury report due to a shoulder injury. McCoy is only a week removed from sustaining a mid-grade ankle sprain, so it’s impossible to know how effective he’ll be on the field and is only viable as a last resort pivot off of more popular running backs like Leonard Fournette and Mark Ingram in his price range. If McCoy reaggravates the ankle injury or is unable to finish the game, the Bills would utilize a running back committee consisting of Mike Tolbert and Marcus Murphy, though the running back group as a whole has a difficult matchup against a Jaguars defense that ranks first in overall DVOA.
As reported by: Chris Brown via Twitter Other tagged players: Deonte Thompson T.J. Yeldon (illness) inactive Sunday
Yeldon is inactive and won’t play in today’s game against the Buffalo Bills after previously being listed as questionable on the Jacksonville Jaguars injury report due to an illness. He had been considered “50-50” to suit up, according to head coach Doug Marrone, and his absence should open up more passing-down work for Leonard Fournetts, as Chris Ivory will now be the primary backup and is typically more of a two-down running back. The Jaguars should lean heavily on Fournette and the run-game in this matchup with a Bills squad that ranks 31st in run DVOA, but with Marqise Lee not fully healthy and expected to be used “situationally” in the offense, Dede Westbrook and Allen Hurns appear to be the receivers to target if looking to attack this Bills defense through the air in daily fantasy formats.
As reported by: Michael DiRocco via Twitter Marqise Lee (ankle) will start Sunday
Lee was able to return to practice on Friday and will start in today’s Wild Card game against the Buffalo Bills after previously being listed as questionable on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ injury report with an ankle injury. That said, Lee clearly isn’t fully healthy and will reportedly be utilized “situationally”, meaning he’ll likely only see snaps in obvious passing situations or specific personnel packages. His mere presence does cloudy the outlook for the remaining members of the receiving corps, but Keenan Cole figures to be the odd man out in three-wide sets when Lee is on the field. The Jaguars should lean heavily on Leonard Fournette and the run-game in this matchup with a Bills squad that ranks 31st in run DVOA, but Dede Westbrook and Allen Hurns appear to be the receivers to target if looking to attack this Bills defense through the air in daily fantasy formats.
As reported by: Tom Pelissero via Twitter Marqise Lee (ankle) expected to play limited snaps Sunday
Lee was able to return to practice on Friday and is expected to play in today’s Wild Card game against the Buffalo Bills after previously being listed as questionable on the Jacksonville Jaguars’ injury report with an ankle injury. That said, Lee clearly isn’t fully healthy and will reportedly be utilized “situationally”, meaning he’ll likely only see snaps in obvious passing situations or specific personnel packages. His mere presence does cloudy the outlook for the remaining members of the receiving corps, but Keenan Cole figures to be the odd man out in three-wide sets when Lee is on the field. The Jaguars should lean heavily on Leonard Fournette and the run-game in this matchup with a Bills squad that ranks 31st in run DVOA, but Dede Westbrook and Allen Hurns appear to be the receivers to target if looking to attack this Bills defense through the air in daily fantasy formats.
As reported by: Ian Rapoport via Twitter LeSean McCoy expected to play Sunday
Schefter drops his late-night hammer a little early. McCoy has been expected to play throughout the week, although it remains to be seen how effective he’ll be on what appears to be a multi-week injury. If he falters at all, Mike Tolbert and Marcus Murphy will be available to pick up slack, although neither profiles as a DFS play beyond deep GPPs at this point. The Bills are the biggest underdogs on the slate and they’re on the road, so if you’re looking to target this offense, Charles Clay, Kelvin Benjamin and Deonte Thompson are viable tournament plays given that the Bills should be forced to throw a little more often than they’d like.
As reported by: Adam Schefter
Albert Wilson (hamstring) active Saturday, as expected
Wilson is active and will suit up for today’s Wild Card game against the Tennessee Titans after previously being listed as questionable on the Kansas City Chiefs’ injury report with a hamstring injury. This news is far from surprising as Wilson has been expected to play all week and has been battling through the aforementioned hamstring issue for several weeks. That said, his presence is a sizable boon to the Chiefs receiving corps following the loss of De’Anthony Thomas to injured reserve due to a leg injury. Wilson’s career-high 11-target performance in Week 17 with Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce inactive is obviously a tremendous outlier performance, but he’s still been plenty more involved in the offense the latter portion of the season, as he’s accumulated at least seven targets in three of the past five games prior to last week as well. Given the tighter pricing across the industry, especially on DraftKings, he’ll be in consideration as a core piece of lineups looking to spend up at the running back position.
As reported by: BJ Kissel via Twitter Michael Thomas not on final injury report, will play Sunday
Thomas looked healthy last week and played over 90% of snaps. He is not on the final injury report, so Thomas should be a great play in a wildcard weekend showdown vs the Panthers. Thomas should be inline for a good weekend as the Panthers have been shredded by opposing wideouts over the last few weeks.
Deonte Thompson questionable for Sunday's game
Thompson was able to get in limited practices on Thursday and Friday, so it looks like he should be able to play on Sunday. Thompson and the Bills offense has a brutal matchup this week, making this a tough spot to consider for fantasy purposes. Thompson played with this same injury last week and was able to catch two passes for twenty three yards.
LeSean McCoy officially listed as questionable on the injury report
McCoy was able to go through some individual work on Friday and there it’s believed that he will try to play on Sunday. The ankle injury will put him at less than 100% but given that this is a playoff game, McCoy appears determined to try and help the team. It’s still possible he won’t be effective and the Bills will have to turn to Marcus Murphy and Mike Tolbert to finish the game. From a DFS standpoint, the Bills offense as a whole looks like a mess due to injuries and a tough matchup against a very good Jaguars defense.
Kelvin Benjamin and Charles Clay are not on the final injury report and are expected to play Sunday
As expected the Bills will have both Clay and Benjamin for Sunday’s game vs the Jaguars. Benjamin is fighting through a meniscus injury and has clearly played less than full strength the last few games. Clay is no stranger to missing practice time as his knee has been bothering him for the last few weeks. From a matchup standpoint, Clay is the better play this week as he gets to face a Jaguars defense that ranks 20th in pass DVOA against the tight end. If LeSean McCoy were to sit this week, the target ceiling could raise for a player like Clay who should be a safety blanket for Tyrod Taylor.
Other tagged players: Charles Clay Devin Funchess questionable for Sunday
Funchess has been a regular attendee on the missed practice report for the last few weeks of the season, so we should not take much stock of him being listed as questionable for wildcard weekend. Cam Newton will need all available weapons on deck this weekend, and Funchess should suit up to play.
T.J. Yeldon is questionable to play with an illness
Coach Doug Marrone claims that Yeldon is “50-50” to play this weekend. If he is able to play then Yeldon would resume his normal role backing up Leonard Fournette. The Jaguars also have Chris Ivory at their disposal if Yeldon is unable to play.
As reported by: Tom Pelissero Twitter Kelvin Benjamin and Charles Clay were both limited in practice on Friday, but expected to play
The practice status of both Benjamin and Clay has remained the same this week as both have practiced in a limited fashion all week, and both are still expected to play this weekend. Benjamin is fighting through a meniscus injury and has clearly played less than full strength the last few games. Clay is no stranger to missing practice time as his knee has been bothering him for the last few weeks. From a matchup standpoint, Clay is the better play this week as he gets to face a Jaguars defense that ranks 20th in pass DVOA against the tight end. If LeSean McCoy were to sit this week, the target ceiling could raise for a player like Clay who should be a safety blanket for Tyrod Taylor.
Other tagged players: Charles Clay Marqise Lee returns to practice on Friday
Lee was able to return to practice for the first time this week on Friday, which is a good sign that he could play this weekend. Early week speculation had Lee perhaps playing even if he did not practice.The addition of Lee would be a big boost to the Jaguars offense, but If he can’t go the combination of Dede Westbrook, Keelan Cole and Allen Hurns should continue to fill in on for the team this week.