DFS Alerts
Lions waive LT Greg Robinson, LT Taylor Decker close to return
Robinson was having a poor year and he was battling an ankle injury over the past few weeks. Fortunately for Detroit, Decker (shoulder) is getting healthy and was able to practice this week after being activated from the PUP list. It’s possible he suits up for their matchup with Cleveland on Sunday. He had an impressive rookie campaign last year, earning the 25th-best tackle grade by PFF grading. He’s a huge upgrade over Robinson, currently sitting in 71st among 75 qualifiers. As a unit, the Lions are currently 26th in pass blocking efficiency and dead last in adjusted line yards (2.88, per FO).
Cardinals S Tyvon Branch has torn ACL
It’s a big blow for this defense and should make the Cardinals a more fantasy-friendly matchup for tight ends the rest of the season. Branch earned PFF’s fifth-best cover grade among safeties and limited pass-catchers to 0.4 yards per cover snap. He was injured on Jimmy Graham’s first score last night and the tight end finished with a 6/27/2 line. They’ll take on C.J. Fiedorowicz and the Texans in Week 11.
Julio Jones is practicing Friday
Jones is dealing with an ankle injury that held him out of practice Wednesday and Thursday. He’s fully expected to play this weekend. He’ll have an exploitable matchup with Cowboys CB Jourdan Lewis. Our WR/CB tool gives Jones the eighth-best matchup rating this week. As a unit, Dallas is 19th in WR1 DVOA and they’ve given up the sixth-most PPR points to receivers. Jones has only scored once this season but he’s picked up the tenth-most targets inside the ten-yard line (5) and Dallas is allowing a touchdown on 56% of their opponents’ red zone trips, the 14th-highest rate.
Dolphins RT Ja'Wuan James expected to be out "an extended period of time"
James left in the fourth quarter of Week 9’s with a hamstring injury and he may miss the rest of the season, per Ian Rapoport. It’s a huge loss for Miami’s pass protection. James is PFF’s fifth-ranked tackle in pass blocking and he’s only given up 11 pressures all season, the seventh-fewest at his position. The weakened offensive line will have a tough matchup with the Panthers this week, whose defense ranks third in adjusted sack rate.
As reported by: Ian Rapoport Other tagged players: Carolina Panthers Matt Forte isn't practicing Friday
Forte’s surgically-repaired knee swelled up earlier this week and he hasn’t been able to practice. He should be considered doubtful for Week 10 at this point. If he’s unable to suit up, it should be a nice boost for Bilal Powell, although he could be in a timeshare with Elijah McGuire, who out-snapped Powell 20-15 last week and out-touched him 14-9. Even so, Powell should take over most of the receiving work. Forte averaged 5.8 receptions per game over the past four weeks while Powell added 2.3 during the same stretch. That alone presents promising volume against a Tampa Bay defense that ranks 29th in receiving RB DVOA (per FO) and gives up the third-most PPR points per game to the position while posting bottom-11 numbers in RB receptions, receiving yards, and receiving touchdowns. Powell is just $4.0k on DraftKings this week and will likely become a chalky option should Forte sit.
Other tagged players: Bilal Powell, Elijah McGuire Zay Jones and LT Cordy Glenn ruled out for Week 10; Charles Clay and CB E.J. Gaines questionable
Jones is dealing with an ankle injury and hasn’t been able to practice all week. Tight end Charles Clay is expected to play through his questionable tag against New Orleans this weekend. The Saints currently have the league’s most-improved pass defense from a season ago and that’s extended to tight ends. In addition to ranking fourth in TE DVOA (per FO), they’ve allowed the third-fewest PPR points to the position. Considering the added injury risk, Clay, who remains the team’s leading receiver despite being sidelined for three games, may be a tough sell in fantasy this week. On the bright side, the Bills are at home and he could benefit from quarterback Tyrod Taylor’s home splits as he normally does. Since 2016, Clay hasn’t caught a touchdown on the road (10 games) but he’s averaged 0.6 at the Ralph (10 games). Jones’ absence could open up some targets for newcomer Kelvin Benjamin. Saints CB Marshon Lattimore, PFF’s top-graded corner, will likely follow Benjamin around this weekend. Lattimore frustrated Mike Evans in Week 9; the Bucs top WR finished with just one catch for 13 yards and earned a suspension for fighting the CB. Lattimore’s raw numbers are nothing short of impressive. Despite taking on opposing WR1s all year, he’s limited QBs to the second-lowest passer rating (37.4) while allowing the eighth-fewest yards (160), posting the ninth-best cover snaps per reception rate (16.3), and he hasn’t been charged with a single touchdown. Jordan Matthews may be the biggest beneficiary based on the matchup and Benjamin’s potential limitations in his first game in a new offense. Saints DB Kenny Vaccaro covers the slot but he’s banged up right now and hasn’t been able to practice. Since Week 4 (his second game as a full-time slot CB), Vaccaro is eighth in yards per cover snap when lined up inside (0.83) and seventh in cover snaps per reception (12.8). The Saints don’t have depth in their secondary, which is why Vaccaro moved from safety in the first place, so if he’s out, Matthews will have a much better spot. Should Gaines return it would be a downgrade for Michael Thomas and Ted Ginn as they wouldn’t be able to pick on Shareece Wright. While Thomas hasn’t had any “big” games this season, he’s provided a nice floor most weeks with 5-8 catches in all but one game and 65-89 yards in six of eight. Gaines has limited receivers to a 51.7% catch rate and 0.83 yards per cover snap (per PFF) which would be 16th if he qualified.
Other tagged players: Charles Clay, Buffalo Bills, Kelvin Benjamin, Jordan Matthews, Michael Thomas Martellus Bennett has torn rotator cuff and torn labrum
The tight end was playing with the injuries in Green Bay this season and may try to do the same in New England. He was ruled out of Week 10 by the Packers before they waived him and it’s not clear when he’ll be able to suit up for the Patriots, if at all.
This WR Is Cheap And Lets You Get The Studs On DraftKings
At only $3,100 on DraftKings, Adam Humphries appears to be the key that unlocks (at least one of) Le’Veon Bell and/or Antonio Brown for cash games. With Mike Evans out, Humphries is obviously going to see a rise in his market share of targets amongst the Tampa Bay pass catchers. In the limited time that Ryan Fitzpatrick has played this season, Humphries actually has received the most targets from him (eight) out of the Buccaneers that are available for this game. He makes for a much better play on full-point PPR sites like DraftKings, and we really don’t need much out of him to get us what we want from a value perspective. And his cheap price tag really allows you the flexibility to pay up for the premier plays on the slate. He just makes too much sense in cash games on DraftKings and is a guy I will be looking to plug into one of my wide receiver positions.
A Great Cash Game RB On DK If Injury News Breaks Our Way
This is of course contingent on Matt Forte not playing on Sunday, but Bilal Powell would make for a great cash game play on DraftKings at only $4,000. This game has sneaky shootout potential, and Powell would just be too cheap for his new workload even with Elijah McGuire getting some work as well. When Forte was out in Weeks 4 and 5, Forte out-snapped McGuire 63 to 55, out-carried him 23 to 21, and out-targeted him 10 to 5. Even if the two ultimately are in a timeshare, Powell’s involvement in the passing game alone makes his price too cheap for full-point PPR sites. Furthermore, the Bucs rank 30th in defense DVOA, so this Jets offense should be able to move the ball and get some scoring opportunities. If Forte is out, Powell is a lock for me in cash games on DraftKings.
The Perfect WR3 For FanDuel Cash Games
In Shepard’s first game back last week after missing several games due to an ankle injury, he stepped right into a lot of volume in this Giants passing game. And luckily for us, the price does not reflect that volume on FanDuel. In Week 9 against the Rams, he played on almost 93% of the snaps and received nine targets (which included one red zone target). It is apparent that the majority of the targets going forward are going to largely be spread between him and Evan Engram. And now the Giants get a favorable matchup against San Francisco, who currently ranks 27th in pass defense DVOA. Shepard’s $5,500 price tag on FanDuel lets you easily jam in the killer B’s from Pittsburgh, making him an easy guy to plug into your WR3 in cash games.
Attack This Mid Tier WR In Cash Games On FanDuel
Over Detroit’s last three games, Marvin Jones has become the go-to guy for Matthew Stafford. He has played on almost 97% of snaps and received a whopping 36 targets in that timeframe. That has led to a 28% market share of targets amongst the Lions pass catchers, with Golden Tate coming in a distant second at 19%. In addition to the massive volume, he is also getting a ton of chances in the red zone. In these past three games, he has seen nine red zone targets, which he was able to turn into one touchdown. Now he gets to face a classic pass funnel defense in the Browns that rank 1st in rush defense DVOA and 28th in pass defense DVOA. The price tag on FanDuel fits cash game roster construction perfectly. He just makes too much sense on that site to overlook.
A Lock As Your RB1 In Cash Games
If you don’t think Bell is the ideal cash game play this weekend, then you can stop reading now. It is probably a waste of everyone’s time to explain why he is such a phenomenal play, so the real decision is whether we can fit him comfortably into our cash game lineups. The answer to that is a resounding yes. The loose pricing on FanDuel makes it extremely easy, and there are several viable cheap plays on DraftKings that make it almost as simple. In fact, paying up for him and his teammate, Antonio Brown, is for sure the optimal route on FanDuel. And I think that is the way I am leaning on DraftKings as well. With all of the cheap value we have at our disposal, I think this is the rare occasion where I will be actively jamming in high priced teammates into cash games.
Double-Digit Targets Likely For This Moderately Priced Tight End
After a couple subpar weeks, the price on Brate has dropped and I’m not worried about the lack of recent production. I love this spot for him and the Bucs passing game. The Jets are 26th versus the tight end position and with Mike Evans out, we can expect to see Brate with an expanded role. Historically Ryan Fitzpatrick has used his tight ends quite a bit and Brate is a focal point of this offense. I don’t see there being a major drop off with Jameis on the sideline and think we can expect 9+ targets this week giving us a solid floor with high upside. As I’ve mentioned in some of my other takes, I love the potential game script here and I will have plenty of Cameron everywhere.
This TE Provides Some Safety Combined With Upside
Tight End is flat out ugly this week with Ertz and Kelce both out on bye weeks and Gronk not being available on the main slate of Sunday games. At the low end, Kroft is my favorite for those priced under $4K on DraftKings. The Titans pass defense is one of the worst in the league and are even worse when you look at their schedule. They have been lit up by every competent offense they faced and currently rank 22nd in defensive DVOA and 26th against TEs. They allow 8.5 targets per game to the TE position and while Kroft is not exciting he has been a key red zone target (3 TD’s) while averaging about five targets a game. It’s not an exciting play but if you’re looking for some value, it’s one of the safest and comes with upside facing this Titans D.
Get In On This WR At This Price While You Still Can
I expect Corey Davis to have several monster games the second half of the season as he is a tremendous receiver that was drafted 5th overall. He’s finally healthy as evidenced by playing 39 of 52 snaps last week and running routes on 84% of Marcus Mariota’s drop backs. It’s still speculative as when he’ll take over a major role in this offense but at his price it is definitely time to take a gamble on his upside. There is a lack of good value at the position, making Davis even mroe enticing. The Bengals are a good defensive team but are not one I am running away from. This is a GPP play only and he’ll have some ownership but with his upside/price, I am going to have some shares.