DFS Alerts
The Bears defense banged up for week 14
In what is quickly turning into the battle of teams depleted by injury, the Bears defense will likely be without three key players this Sunday. Bears S Adrian Amos (hamstring), OLB Pernell McPhee (shoulder), NT Eddie Goldman (hip) all doubtful for Sunday. This is great news for the Bengals Gio Bernard, as he is expected to get the work as featured back in the absence of Joe Mixon. Already trending as one of the greater sources of value for this week’s slate, this injury news makes it easier for Bernard to create a path to exceeding weekly value.
Zach Ertz practices but remains in protocol
After suffering only their second loss of the season, The Eagles received news late Thursday afternoon that star TE Zach Ertz is clear to practice but he has still yet to pass the concussion protocol. In the midst of his best season to date, Ertz leads the Eagles in receptions and ranks second in targets per game. Carson Wentz would love to have his favorite target back as The Eagles look to stay ahead of the up and coming LA Rams in this week’s premiere NFC matchup.
Donte Moncrief ruled out Sunday
Having been pretty much a nonfactor in the passing game all season, Moncrief’s absence on Sunday should not be a significant one. T.Y. Hilton will continue to work as the number one offensive weapon for the Colts.
Other tagged players: T.Y. Hilton Rishard Matthews expected to return this week
After missing the last few weeks with a hamstring injury, Matthews will make his return to the playing field in this week’s matchup vs The Cardinals. The team also announced the Delanie Walker is also good to go on Sunday, thus giving Marcus Mariota a full choice of weapons to choose from this week. The return of both players only makes it harder to decipher where targets will go moving forward, and it’s worth noting that the Titans passing attack has only eclipsed the 300-yard mark twice in the last nine weeks.
Other tagged players: Delanie Walker Panthers passing attack on track to play
The Panthers announced on Friday that both Greg Olsen and Devin Funchess should play in spite of their questionable practice tags.The Panthers star TE will attempt to play for the third consecutive week after missing eight weeks of the season with a foot injury. Olsen has struggled in his return and this week’s matchup vs The Vikings is a less than desirable spot to target any player let alone one who is fighting an injury. Even though The Panthers claim that Olsen is not on a snap count, but its worth noting that Olsen has reaggravated his foot each of the last two weeks. Devin Funches should remain as a number one target for Cam Newton moving forward. Funches is playing through the pain associated with a banged up shoulder.
Other tagged players: Greg Olsen Matt Forte expected to play Sunday
Even though he has a questionable tag, The Jets fully expect Matt Forte to suit Sunday against the Broncos. Forte will continue his role as one of the three featured backs in New Jersey, thus making it hard to pin anyone as a great play in terms of DFS. With Both Bilal Powell and Elijah McGuire involved in the offense it makes picking a player in this backfield a complete mess.
Robby Anderson practices in full and is expected to play on Sunday
One of the league’s most surprising and consistent wide receivers suffered a hamstring injury during practice Thursday sending a buzz through the industry that he would be questionable for the Jets’ Week 14 matchup against the Broncos. Anderson’s five-game touchdown streak is finally over, but his 8-107-0 line last week against the Chiefs still provided enough upside to make Anderson a great roster option last week. The No Fly Zone defense has not lived up to its name this year, and now that Anderson appears on track to play this Sunday he should be considered a sneaky upside play in what some casual fans would recognize as a tough matchup.
Jalen Ramsey questionable for Sunday
Despite the questionable tag Ramsey is expected to suit up for the Jaguars’ Week 14 matchup against the Seahawks. Ramsey could move over to cover slot receiver Doug Baldwin, which should prove to be a less than desirable matchup for the Seahawks number one receiver. The Jags could also get back LB Telvin Smith this week which would be a great boost as he rates out as PFF’s number 4 linebacker.
Bengals defense missing key players
In addition to missing two of their starting cornerbacks ( Jones & Kirkpatrick), The Bengals will also not have star LB Vontaze Burfict for a week 14 matchup against The Bears. The absence of Burfict is good news for Jordan Howard and The Bears. Burfict has been outstanding in run defense this season, and Howard has struggled to gain any momentum in the last few weeks.
Joe Mixon ruled out Sunday
Updating a previous post, Mixon has now been ruled out for Sunday’s game. Gio Bernard should be in a for a heavy workload in Mixon’s absence.
Other tagged players: Giovani Bernard Amari Cooper expected to miss this week's game
With the concussion protocol behind him, Cooper was not able to get his ankle healthy enough to play this week. In what has been an overall disappointment of a season, Cooper had his best game of the season in a Thursday night matchup vs the Chiefs in week seven. Look for Seth Roberts to step up as a popular streaming wide receiver option this week. The Raiders will get back Michael Crabtree from suspension this week making him the clear-cut number one option in the passing game, but there should still be plenty of targets for Roberts now that Copper is out.
Other tagged players: Michael Crabtree, Seth Roberts Bargain Receiver Could Play Big Role This Week
It’s looking more likely that Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford will be able to play this Sunday after increasing his practice activity throughout the week, and that increases the chances that the Tampa Bay – Detroit game will have a high point total with more passing. One beneficiary could be Bucs receiver DeSean Jackson. Jackson should avoid the tougher Detroit defensive back Darius Slay, and the Detroit pass defense has been poor overall this season ranking 24th in yards per passing attempt allowed, and 27th in passing yards per game allowed. Jackson has put up good numbers this season with both Jameis Winston and Ryan Fitzpatrick at quarterback, totaling 45 receptions for 616 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns on the year. Bargain priced at $6,500 on FanDuel and only $4,400 on DraftKings, Jackson has the potential to put up a big point total at an affordable salary this Sunday.
Tom Brady returns to practice on Friday
Brady missed Thursday’s practice but returned to practice on Friday. Brady also took off practice last week, and we can expect to see a similar pattern in the final few weeks of the season. Brady and The Patriots get the benefit of facing The Dolphins on Monday night, and the team should have no issues carving up a unit ranked 28th in DVOA pass defense.
Sterling Shepard practices for the second day in a row
Shepard is trending in the direction of paying this week vs the rival Dallas Cowboys. Shepard will have the benefit of facing one of the worst pass defenses in the league. As the 26th ranked defense in terms of DVOA, The Cowboys have repeatedly given up yards in chucks to slot receivers. Due to the dumpster fire known as NY Giants football Sheppard has seen a pretty noticeable decrease in his DraftKing salary. At $5,500 and with Eli Manning back in action as his QB, Sheppard is in a great spot vs a Cowboys team that should not provide a ton of resistance for in terms of preventing a big day.
Joe Mixon back at practice, but not expected to play on Sunday
One week after missing the second half of last week’s game with a concussion Bengals star running back Joe Mixon is in danger of missing this week’s game vs The Chicago Bears. With Jeremy Hill already on the IR, Gio Bernard stepped in as the feature back in the absence of Mixon during last weeks game vs The Steelers. If Mixon is unable to go, Benard should figure to be one of the highest owned players on this week’s slate. At $3,100 on DraftKings, Benard should see three down work this week vs The Bears and becomes an obvious source of salary relief for this week’s slate.
Other tagged players: Giovani Bernard