DFS Alerts
Sammy Watkins (concussion) and Tavon Austin (concussion) practiced Wednesday
The receivers remain in the concussion protocol and were limited in today’s session. Watkins had his first big game of the season against the 49ers last Thursday with a 6/106/2 line. If he can play in Week 4, he’ll have another favorable matchup with the banged-up Dallas secondary that’s allowed the sixth-most fantasy points to receivers this season and the seventh-most yards to WR1s specifically (81.3 per game), per FO.
Michael Crabtree (chest) and Jalen Richard (calf) practiced Wednesday, CB Gareon Conley (shin) didn't participate
Both Crabtree and Richard were limited in today’s session. Crabtree appears questionable after sustaining a chest injury this past weekend. If he plays, he’s got a tough spot in Denver. Over the past three seasons, he’s faced the Broncos five times and hasn’t scored once. On top of that, he’s failed to top 54 receiving yards in any of those games and he’s averaged a pedestrian 3.8/7/34.8/0.0 line for 7.28 PPR points, a 48% decrease from his average production in all other games (13.96 PPR points).
Melvin Gordon (knee) didn't practice Wednesday
Head coach Anthony Lynn wanted Gordon to rest his knee. He should be fine to take on the Eagles this weekend. Philly currently ranks 20th in rush DVOA and 29th in receiving RB DVOA, which sets up a nice spot for Gordon. The running back has been productive through the air this season with 12 receptions, 90 yards, and a score while he’s struggled to a poor rate of 3.3 yards per carry. Even though he’s a bit banged up, he’s expected to continue to shoulder a large workload. Through three weeks, he’s accounted for 71% of the rushing attempts and 41% of the team’s total touches.
John Brown (quad) practiced Wednesday, G Alex Boone didn't participate
Brown was limited but his return to the practice field is a step in the right direction. Backup guard Boone may not be needed this week with Mike Iupati saying he’ll play this Sunday. As a team, they’re getting healthier. The Cardinals are hopeful starting tackle D.J. Humphries can play, which would return two starters to a struggling offensive line. LB Deone Bucannon got in a full practice and is trending in the right direction to make his season debut this Sunday. Bucannon was solid last season, piling up the sixth-most tackles among inside linebackers while posting the 10th-best yards per cover snap (0.75) among all linebackers, per PFF.
Other tagged players: Arizona Cardinals This Tight End has Become a Cash Game Staple
Zach Ertz already has 28 targets in the first three weeks, which leads all tight ends. He finally found the endzone in Week 3, finishing with a solid 8-55-1 line against the Giants. Ertz has now seen double-digit targets in six of his last ten games and he should see a heavy dose again this week. Even though the Chargers were able to tame Travis Kelce, they are still ranked 31st in DVOA against tight ends. Ertz’s price is only going to go up from here, so take advantage while you still can.
One of the Few Players We Prefer to Target on the Road
A.J. Green was everyone’s favorite sleeper early last week. He then turned into the chalk as the week progressed. He then proceeded to make everyone happy with ten receptions for 111 yards and a touchdown against the Packers. I’m going right back to the well this week. Tyler Eifert has already been ruled out, which should narrow the target distribution in this offense even more. We also love to target Green away from home. We have a massive sample size that backs the narrative up. In his career, he has averaged 30 more receiving yards per game on the road with eight more touchdowns than he has at home. He should have no problem against a Browns’ secondary that is ranked 31st in DVOA against number one wideouts.
Delanie Walker (hamstring) didn't practice Wednesday
The tight end is considered day-to-day, although he said he’s fine and he’ll play Sunday. He appears to have a solid spot against Houston this weekend. Although they hadn’t given up too much production to tight ends entering Week 3, the Texans were worked by Rob Gronkowski for an 8/10/89/1 line. A week prior, they faced Tyler Eifert and limited him to three catches for 42 yards but the Bengals offense was a complete mess and Eifert got banged up in that game. Walker is currently third among tight ends with 168 receiving yards and he’s posted an excellent 78.9% catch rate.
Corey Davis (hamstring) ruled out for Week 4
Davis remains sidelined with a hamstring injury. That will leave Taywan Taylor in their third receiver role and could help top wideout Rishard Matthews pick up a larger market share. Matthews is coming off a great game against the Seahawks in which he set season-highs across the board: six receptions, ten targets, 87 yards, and a touchdown. He continues to be towards the top of the league in yards per route run. He currently ranks 15th (1.93) a year after placing eighth in the metric, per PFF. Impressively, he’s been able to achieve that mark with only one deep target this entire season. Quarterback Marcus Mariota hasn’t been going downfield very much this season, attempting just nine passes 20 or more yards downfield. Considering Matthews had the fifth-best deep passing catch rate (44.8%) and sixth-most yards on deep balls (388) a season ago, if Mariota turns it up, Matthews should be the primary beneficiary and will provide huge upside in fantasy. Week 4 against the Texans could be the right time to be more aggressive. In Week 3, Tom Brady went 5-for-8 on passes over 20 yards and racked up 185 yards and three touchdowns. A week prior, while Andy Dalton struggled to a 53.1% completion rate on passes within 20 yards, the QB connected on 3-of-5 20 yards or deeper for 109 yards. Matthews is still available for under $5k on DraftKings this week and could come with low ownership; he looks like a solid GPP option.
Other tagged players: Rishard Matthews, Taywan Taylor Time for this Workhorse to Reclaim his Throne
Ezekiel Elliott has looked sluggish this season, but he’s still one of the best running backs in the NFL. In the two games where the Cowboys were playing from ahead this season, Zeke had 29 and 25 touches. We can expect a similar workload this week, as the Cowboys are large favorites at home against the Rams. Even though Los Angeles was carved up by Brian Hoyer last week, they are still ranked sixth in FootballOutsiders’ DVOA against the pass. They are ranked much lower against the run (19th) and they haven’t defended running backs well out of the backfield. When it comes to cash games, we are looking for volume and a good game script. Zeke has both of those in his corner this week.
He's Cheap, Good at Home, And Has Plenty of Weapons
When there are viable options, I like to pay down at quarterback. The position has a thin range of potential outcomes and it allows me to pay up at running back and/or wide receiver. Trevor Siemian stands out like a sore thumb this week in a home matchup against the Raiders. It’s still early in the season, but Oakland is ranked 28th in FootballOutsiders’ DVOA against the pass and they’ve allowed five touchdowns to Josh McCown and Kirk Cousins in the last two weeks. We’ve seen Siemian step up his play this season, especially at home. He has scored at least 23 fantasy points in each of his first two starts in Mile High.
Smash Spot at Home for this Quarterback
Russell Wilson is coming off of his best performance so far this season. In fact, he scored more fantasy points against the Titans than he did against the Packers and Niners combined. Wilson had signicantly better splits at home than he did on the road last year. He averaged 18 more passing yards per game, he threw five more touchdowns, and he threw five fewer interceptions. This week he gets to square off against a Colts’ defense that has given up big outings to Jared Goff, Carson Palmer, and DeShone Kizer. The Seahawks have struggled to get their running game going and should lean on Wilson early in this one.
Bengals S Shawn Williams (knee) didn't practice Wednesday
Cincinnati’s starting strong safety was sidelined today with a knee injury. Although he’s struggled in a pass coverage, he’s been a force in against runners, ranking 7th among safeties in run defense, per PFF. His absence would be a boost for Isaiah Crowell, who’s struggled this year, averaging 2.9 yards per carry.
Kenny Britt (knee) didn't practice Wednesday
It’s a new injury for Britt and the severity isn’t clear. The receiver had his biggest game of the season in Week 3, amassing a team-high ten targets, although he remained inefficient, catching just three. He’ll see Adam Jones the most this weekend when the Browns take on the Bengals. Jones was solid against the Packers last week, allowing just seven receiving yards on five targets. However, he should also work into Dre Kirkpatrick’s coverage a decent amount a week after the cornerback was exposed for two touchdowns and 92 yards on eight targets while allowing a 75% catch rate. Kirkpatrick is now the 90th cover corner by PFF’s grading.
Randall Cobb and Ty Montgomery will play Thursday night
Both players were removed from the Packers’ injury report Wednesday, as was Kentrell Brice. Green Bay is expected to be without both of their starting tackles though; David Bakhtiari and Bryan Bulaga are both doubtful. On the defensive side of things, DT Mike Daniels and LB Nick Perry are both questionable for Week 4. Their presence would be helpful for the Packers pass rush; Perry ranks eighth in the area among edge defenders and Daniels would be 17th among interior defenders if he had enough snaps to qualify.
Other tagged players: Ty Montgomery, Green Bay Packers, Aaron Rodgers Shane Vereen (calf) and Olivier Vernon (ankle) didn't practice Wednesday
With fellow running back Orleans Darkwa also sidelined, the Giants could be thin at running back this weekend. Darkwa has said he plans on playing though. Despite logging ten fewer carries (13) than Paul Perkins (23), Darkwa leads the team in rushing yards (53); 43 of Darkwa’s rushing yards came on three carries of 11 or more yards. Through three games, he’s the only Giants running back to pick up a gain longer than eight yards and appears to be the “most effective” RB option they have. There were rumblings last week that he could become the featured back but Perkins remained the starter. It’s probably best to just avoid this backfield when they take on the Bucs this weekend.