DFS Alerts
Jaguars offense closer to full strength
Marqise Lee will more than likely miss the next few weeks leaving snaps open for a young wide receiving core that his eager to make their mark. Allen Hurns is not one of the young and talented wide receivers on this team, but he will practice again today and looks closer to playing this weekend. Dede Westbrook and Keelan Cole should be featured in the offense this week, and both make for great plays over the final two weeks of the season. The Jaguars also have Leonard Fournette back at practice this week and he appears on track to play. With a playoff berth already sealed up, you could see the team take it extra cautious with their star running back over the last two weeks of the season. If Forurnette does indeed play then we could easily see a situation where the team only uses him for a half, so at this point, it’s a wait and see on the status of Jaguars backfield situation in terms of how many snaps we can expect from this star rookie.
Other tagged players: Dede Westbrook, Keelan Cole, Leonard Fournette, Marqise Lee
Joe Mixon at practice on Thursday
Joe Mixon looks closer to passing the concussion protocol and will look to get his second full practice under his belt on Thursday. Mixon is one step closer to play in a great week 16 matchup vs the Lions. With Gio Bernard filling in over the past few weeks for the injured Mixon, it remains to be seen if either back will resume a featured role. The most likely scenario is that the backfield becomes a committee with both players splitting time. Regardless of who dominates this carries, the offensive line for the Bengals is not very good, and the team appears to be mailing it under lame coach Marvis Lewis.
Davante Adams ruled out Sunday
The Packers confirmed today that Davante Adams will not play in a Week 16 matchup against the Vikings. Adams took a brutal hit during the loss last week and is still recovering from a concussion. With Adams out, Jordy Nelson is now the leading candidate to draw coverage from Xavier Rhodes. We would normally look to target other pass catchers in this situation, but with Aaron Rodgers on the IR, and Brett Hundley at the helm the other Packers wide receivers take a big hit. On the Thursday through Saturday slate or the Saturday only slate, Geronimo Allison becomes an interesting punt option at $3,100 on DraftKings. Hundley and the Packers will still have a brutal matchup against the ninth ranked defense in terms of DVOA.
Veteran WR Should Benefit From Matchup with Terrible Defense
Arizona is making a change at the quarterback position this Sunday, but the move from Blaine Gabbert to Drew Stanton shouldn’t cause Larry Fitzgerald’s production to take a hit. In two games that Stanton started earlier this season, Fitzgerald put up 15 catches and 183 receiving yards on 23 targets. This Sunday brings a match-up with a Giants team that ranks second-to-last in passing yards allowed with 3,687, and last in the league with 30 passing touchdowns allowed. Fitzgerald costs $7,500 on FanDuel and $6,800 on DraftKings, which leaves plenty of salary leftover particularly when paired with the minimum-priced Stanton in a stack.
Wide Receiver Looks to Continue Hot Streak This Sunday
Michael Thomas has put up some big numbers recently, with 24 catches for 280 yards and 3 receiving touchdowns over his last three games, and that doesn’t even account for the two touchdowns he had called back by replay last weekend. On the season Thomas ranks 5th in the league with 136 targets, 3rd with 94 receptions, and 6th with 1,085 receiving yards, and could be in a shootout this weekend with the New Orleans – Atlanta game carrying a 52.5 Vegas point total. Thomas will cost $8,200 on FanDuel and $7,600 on DraftKings, so he ranks among the pricier Wide Receivers, but with this game’s shootout potential he could be worth the price this Sunday.
Rams place kicker Greg Zuerlein on IR
This is a big blow to both the Rams and anyone in the DFS community who locked in Zuerlein as a kicker play on a site like FanDuel. On pace to have one of the best seasons, Zuerlein will be missed by a team who looks ready to make a run in the playoffs. The Rams signed K Sam Ficken, but he’s not in the player pool for Week 16
Explosive Wide Receiver Has Potential for Monster Game This Sunday
Tyreek Hill doesn’t put up the big target totals of some of his fellow wide receivers, ranking only 24th in the league with 98 targets, but he still manages to put up some impressive numbers. He ranks third among wide receivers in average FanDuel points, and sixth in average DraftKings points, due to his 1,074 receiving yards and 7 receiving touchdowns this season. This week he gets a home game as a 10-point favorite against a Dolphins defense that ranks 26th in the league in points per game allowed. At only $7,400 on FanDuel and $6,500 on DraftKings, Hill is priced below the other top WRs in the league, but he has the potential to put up a big point total this weekend.
Quarterback Could Put Up Big Points at Home This Weekend
There is no doubt that the New Orleans running game has had an outstanding year, sending two running backs to the All-Pro Game. The emphasis on Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram brings up the appealing prospect that you’ll be able to get quarterback Drew Brees at a lower ownership percentage this week, as a 6-point favorite in a home game with a 52.5 Vegas point line. Brees is still fourth in the league with 3,850 passing yards, ranks third with 8.05 yards-per-attempt, and despite the Saints running game ranks seventh in the league with 478 passing attempts. Brees is third among QBs on FanDuel at $8,400 and sixth on DraftKings at $6,500, and with the shootout potential this weekend in New Orleans, has as much upside as anyone.
Austin Ekeler limited at Practice on Wednesday
Early reports from last week hinted that the team would shut down Austin Ekeler for the season, but he practiced in a limited fashion on Wednesday suggest otherwise. With a broken hand, it’s hard to imagine that Ekeler could be effective, so it looks like Branden Oliver will back up Melvin Gordan once again.
Under-priced Veteran QB Draws Weak Defense at Home
Alex Smith has had a remarkable season, averaging the second most fantasy points for a quarterback DraftKings (trailing on Russell Wilson) and ranking third in average FanDuel points (trailing Wilson and Cam Newton). He is still doesn’t get a ton of respect in the pricing department though, ranking as the 5th-most expensive quarterback on DraftKings and the 9th-most expensive on FanDuel. This week Smith gets the benefit of playing the Miami pass defense at home, where Vegas has installed the Chiefs as 10-point favorites. The Dolphins rank 23rd in the league with 24 passing touchdowns allowed, 23rd in interceptions with only 9 on the season, and 26th in points-per-game allowed at 24.4. Smith may go overlooked due to concerns that the Chiefs will primarily run the ball, but entering the game only seven QBs have more pass attempts on the season than Smith, making him an appealing option for tournaments.
Quarterback Draws League's Worst Defense in Replacement Start
No team has allowed more yards in 2017 than the New York Giants – they rank last in the league in rushing yards allowed (1,798) and 31st in passing yards allowed (3,687). The non-yardage statistics for the Giants don’t look much better, with the team ranking last in the league in passing touchdowns allowed (30), and 26th in interceptions (8). This week they’ll be taking on Arizona and quarterback Drew Stanton, who gets the benefit of playing at home in his replacement start for Blaine Gabbert. Stanton put up decent numbers in his two starts earlier this season, totaling 474 yards and 3 touchdowns with only one interception. The price doesn’t get better than Stanton’s minimum-price $4,500 on DraftKings and $6,000 on FanDuel, making Stanton a good bet as the best value on the board at the quarterback position.
Ted Ginn limited practice on Wednesday
Ginn did not play in last week’s game vs the Jets with a rib issue. In his absence, Willie Snead and Brandon Coleman filled in but combined for just 4 catches on eight targets. Ginn was able to practice on Wednesday, but even if he plays, Micheal Thomas is the team’s primary receiver and looks to build on a 9-93 with one touchdown last week.
DeSean Jackson didn't practice on Wednesday
Jackson missed the majority of Monday night’s game with what looked like to be a pretty bad ankle injury, so it’s not surprising that he missed practice today. Jackson was spotted using crutches after the game, so his chances of playing this weekend remain highly questionable. If Jackson is unable to go then Chris Godwin would look to get a few more snaps and could possibly open up some value as a cheap wide receiver-punt option. In week 10 where he filled in for Mike Evans, Godwin was able to convert 10 targets into 5 catches and 68 yards. With O.J. Howard on the IR, the Buccaneers will need Cameron Brate to fill in and take a bigger role in the offense. Brate is banged up a little and was only able to practice in a limited fashion on Wednesday.
Other tagged players: Chris Godwin, Cameron Brate Theo Riddick practiced in full on Wednesday
Riddick has been the primary weapon out of the backfield for the Lions over the last few weeks and was able to practice in full on Wednesday after aggravating his wrist this last weekend. For now, it appears that the Lions will split carries between Tion Green and Riddick making Ameer Abdullah the odd man out in this backfield.
Joe Mixon back at practice now looks on track to play
Joe Mixon looks closer to passing the concussion protocol and with a full practice under his belt is one step closer to play in a great week 16 matchup vs the Lions. With Gio Bernard filling in over the past few weeks for the injured Mixon, it remains to be seen if either back will resume a featured role. The most likely scenario is that the backfield becomes a committee with both players splitting time.
Other tagged players: Giovani Bernard