DFS Alerts
Cam Newton limited in practice on Wednesday
A common theme for this time of the year is to see players listed as a limited participant in practice. Cam Newton has a banged up shoulder but should not be considered even a small risk to miss this week’s game.
Chris Hogan limited in practice on Wednesday
After playing in his first action in the last six weeks, Hogan finds himself back on the injury report heading into a crucial matchup vs the Pitsburg Steelers. Its worth noting that Hogan’s appearance on the injury report carries less weight on a Wednesday afternoon. Hogan looked rusty in his return to the field last week, but I expect the both he and the Patriots will have a heightened sense of purpose after last week’s shocking loss to the Dolphins. Hogan’s injury status should be worth monitoring the rest of the week, and if he is trending towards a healthy start, then we can look to roster him as a high upside play vs the Steelers.
Ted Ginn misses practice on Wednesday
Ginn popped up on the injury report with a lingering rib injury. As the 4th or 5th option in the Saints passing attack, there should not be much fantasy value to gain if Ginn were to miss time. Both Brandon Coleman and Willie Sneed should fill the role left behind by Ginn, but Brees does such a good job of distributing the targets that it makes it hard to find value in either play.
Other tagged players: Brandon Coleman, Willie Snead Adam Thielen lands on the injury report
For the first time this season, Thielen lands on the injury report with a knee injury. Offical practice notes list the Vikings star wide receiver as a limited participant in Wednesday practice. At this point in the season, a limited practice or two is not something that merits any kind of overreaction. Thielen is having a monster year and unless the injury news gets worse we should expect him to play well in this week’s matchup vs the Bengals. Jerick McKinnon also landed on the limited practice report for Wednesday, but much like Thielen, we should just chalk this type of report to the wear and tear of an NFL season. Both players should appear as full participants as the week progresses.
Other tagged players: Jerick McKinnon Alvin Kamara tells reporters that he is good to go
Kamara was spotted at the open part of practice today and has not yet officially cleared concussion protocol. With hopes of getting a positive report on the late Wednesday injury report, Alvin Kamara provided a bit more excitement than a normal typed injury report. Kamara told reporters on Wednesday that he is good to go and will play on Sunday. WIth a high price tag on DraftKings Kamara will need to continue to make the most of his touches in order to pay off his salary. From a team standpoint, the Saints appear closer to getting back to full health and the offense should continue to score a ton of points. The official injury report for the Saints had Kamara as a full participant on Wednesday.
I Think I’m Gonna Stay On the Hype Train A Little Longer
Over the course of two weeks, Josh Gordon’s price has risen from $4,100 up to $6,800 on DK, yet he’s still way too cheap. From a talent perspective, Gordon is right there alongside Antonio Brown and Julio Jones, and if he had a competent QB, he’d be priced with those studs too. Since coming into the offense, he had 10 targets against the best CB in the league and then six targets in an incredibly windy game in which the Browns were ahead, for what I can only assume was the first time this year. This week, Cleveland is playing the Ravens, who are seven-point favorites and are going to be without Jimmy Smith. Without a lockdown CB to contend with, you can expect Gordon to smash in this spot, even in a tough overall matchup. Don’t hop off the wagon just yet, as his chemistry with DeShone Kizer is just going to get better the more they play together.
Rashaan Melvin ruled out for Thursday night
Trevor Sieman needs all the help he can get, and the Colts 31th ranked scoring defense somehow got a little worse this afternoon. The team announced that they will be without PFF’s number 17 ranked cornerback Rashaan Melvin for this week’s matchup vs the Broncos. Sieman has disappointed us before in great matchups, so even though the injury news looks encouraging it’s still probably smart to handle this situation with caution. It’s worth noting that the Broncos offense has not scored more than 24 points in a game since week two.
Bryce Petty to start for the Jets
With Josh McCown now out for the season, there was some speculation to whether or not the Jets would take a look at Christian Hackenberg. For now, the team will start the more experience of the two quarterbacks in Bryce Petty. And by experienced we mean he has at least started and played a complete NFL game. Still yet to play a snap in the NFL Hackenberg must patiently wait his turn as the team looks to Petty in a tough matchup vs the Saints. The Jets figure to struggle in the hands of either quarterback, and opposing defenses make for an interesting streaming option for the final weeks of the season.
This QB Has Upside Despite Being on a Run-First Team
I am primarily looking to pay up at the QB position, but Bortles is one of the two options I am looking at if paying down. Whatever we think of him as a real-life QB, it’s hard to ignore the solid production he has had this year, and now he gets to face a Texans team that allows the most fantasy points to QBs in the NFL. The Jags don’t throw often (the lowest percentage of snaps in the league), but they have played more snaps than most teams because of their elite defense, and as such they are in the upper half of the league in total pass attempts. Bortles will chuck it up 30-plus times a week, almost regardless of the score, which gives him significant upside along with a high floor. The addition of Dede Westbrook has made the passing game better than at any time this season. I love pairing Bortles with either Westbrook or Marqise Lee and think all three are safe options this week.
Giovani Bernard limited in practice on Wednesday
In the absence of Joe Mixon last week, Bernard played 46 out of the 54 snaps for the Bengals last week. Wednesday’s listing of Bernard as limited in practice should be more about the wear and tear of the workload and less about his chances of playing this weekend. With Mixon still in the protocol, Bernard is very likely to play in a less than desirable matchup vs the Vikings in week 15.
Damien Williams still not practicing
At this point, the only thing a healthy Williams could do is to steal a few snaps away from Kenyan Drake. Having not practiced since injuring his shoulders some three weeks ago, it appears that Williams is nowhere close to giving Drake a run for his money. Over the last two weeks without Williams, Drake is averaging 28 touches a game and can be penciled in as a three-down back for a very affordable $5,800 on DraftKings this week.
Other tagged players: Kenyan Drake Alvin Kamara spotted at the start of open practice
The Saints are hopeful that rookie sensation Alvin Kamara will clear concussion protocol and return to action in week 15. Kamara was spotted at the open part of practice today and has not yet officially cleared concussion protocol. The Saints will release an official injury report at the end of today’s closed practice session.
Amari Cooper out of practice on Wednesday
Last week we saw a very questionable Cooper give it a go in a key matchup vs the Chiefs. Cooper lasted less than 15 snaps last week, and it’s no surprise that he was not at practice today. The Raiders are preparing for a primetime game against the Dallas Cowboys in week 15. If Cooper is once again out, we can expect Crabtree to see a large number of targets. In last week’s game, Crabtree had 13 targets and could turn out to be an excellent target for any slate that features the Sunday night game.
Still Way Too Underpriced
Since Dede Westbrook has come back from injury, he has taken over the number one receiving role in the Jags offense. Thus far, when Westbrook has been on the field, he has been targeted almost 30% of the time. That’s more than Marqise Lee, whom he has more open field ability than. This week Westbrook gets a matchup against a Houston team that is ranked in the bottom third of the league against slot wide receivers and 31st in DVOA across the middle, so overall the matchup couldn’t be much better. In addition, the Texans don’t give up a whole lot to running backs in the passing game, and the Jags don’t have a high-volume TE to throw to (which is where HOU struggles most), so a lot of targets should be funneled to the WRs in this matchup, that is if this game doesn’t turn into a blowout too quickly.
This Record-Setting QB is BACK!
He’s baaack! Carson Wentz suffered a disappointing season-ending injury last week, so it will be Nick Foles back at the helm for the Philadelphia Eagles. He looked relatively good in his brief time last week after Wentz got injured and now gets a matchup against a Giants defense that has given up for the season and is missing many of their best players. The Giants defense has allowed the fourth-most fantasy points to the QB position. While the loss of Wentz hurts, the Eagles are still loaded with weapons and have an excellent pass-blocking line. Foles was incredible back when he started for the Eagles under Chip Kelly, and he’s actually a decent QB who is familiar with the Eagles offense. The biggest problem I have with this play in GPPs is that I’m having trouble figuring out who to pair him with. Jeffery, Ertz, and Agholor are my preferences, in that order. There isn’t much to pay down for at QB this week, which makes this play stand out even more. Though I will mostly be paying up at the position, Foles will be one of two quarterbacks I use in the lower-priced tier.