DFS Alerts

Kendall Wright is INACTIVE Sunday

Wright is a healthy scratch for violating team rules. He only had one target last week against the Bears, as Rishard Matthews has established himself as the number one receiver. With the Titans taking on the Broncos today, it’ll be hard to trust their receivers. Teams tend to attack Denver with their running backs and tight ends, and with linebacker Brandon Marshall out, Tennessee has a better chance of succeeding with that strategy. Both DeMarco Murray and Delanie Walker should see plenty of volume today and are solid tournament options.

Theo Riddick is INACTIVE Sunday

Riddick (wrist) was limited all week, but this is still a surprise. In his absence, Dwayne Washington should see plenty of work against the Bears today. Expected game flow is in his favor as the Lions are 7.5-point favorites. It’s a nice matchup too, as the Bears rank 21st in rush DVOA. Expect Zach Zenner to work in as well. He and Washington each had nine touches last week against the Saints. Neither back has been particularly effective this season with Washington averaging 2.8 yards per carry and Zenner at 3.3 ypc. The Lions could potentially employ a hot-hand approach, but we’re expecting Washington to be the lead back. He’s in play as a risky tournament option.

Dorial Green-Beckham inactive; Jordan Matthews and Ryan Mathews active Sunday, as expected

Expect Jordan Matthews to pick up a ton of targets today out of the slot. Fortunately, he’ll avoid Josh Norman most of the day, which should help with his efficiency. Ryan Mathews isn’t a great option in his first game back since spraining his MCL. Wendell Smallwood is expected to be the lead back for the Eagles.

RotoGrinders NFL Player Props are posted

The RotoGrinders NFL Player Props have been posted for most of the 1:00 PM ET games. In most places the props align with projections and recommendations across the DFS industry. As expected, David Johnson checks in with the highest rushing yardage prop. Since Le’Veon Bell plays later, we don’t have a prop for him yet but Jordan Howard checks in just behind Johnson. If you don’t have the money to spend up on both RB spots, Jeremy Hill makes a lot of sense. Vegas has his yardage prop at a very respectable 70.5. There are several other props that jump out (way too many to name). Go check them out for yourself! https://rotogrinders.com/grids/nfl-player-props-week-14-1480894

Schefter: "Falcons sound more pessimistic" that Julio Jones can play Sunday

It’s not looking good for Jones, who’s dealing with turf toe. Atlanta are already without Mohamed Sanu and if Jones can’t go, Taylor Gabriel would become the de facto number one receiver, providing him a nice workload boost. The Falcons will also lean on their running backs, Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman. Look for both of them to be pretty active in the passing game. On average, Freeman has out-touched Coleman 18.5-11.0 over the past two games. Given the circumstances, Freeman, who is secure in lead role, has a good shot to push past 20 touches today, and is a great option in full PPR formats.

Schefter: Michael Thomas a true game time decision Sunday

Thomas (foot) didn’t practice until Friday this week. Unfortunately, the Saints don’t play until 4:25pm, so we may not know his status until after lock. He’s clearly established himself as the Saints number one receiver, but he could be a bit limited today with his foot injury. If he can’t go, it would provide extra targets for Willie Snead and Brandin Cooks. Snead has the best individual matchup of the two; he’ll be guarded by Vernon Hargreaves in the slot, who has a poor 50.9 PFF grade this season. Cooks will line up with Brent Grimes and his excellent 81.5 score. As a whole, Tampa’s pass defense has been great the past four weeks; they’ve allowed the third-fewest FanDuel points to wide receivers over that stretch.

Jordan Reed expected to play Sunday

Reed (shoulder) is still dealing with pain in his shoulder and will be at less than 100 percent today. However, he’s elite tight end and will be a solid fantasy option in Week 14. Despite the injury, we’re currently projecting him as TE2 on FanDuel and TE3 on DraftKings. If his injury makes you nervous, Tyler Eifert and Greg Olsen are possible pivots with better points-per-dollar projections on both FD and DK.

Julio Jones will be a game time decision Sunday

Jones is dealing with a turf toe injury that will limit his ability to jump and cut today. If he plays, he’s expected to be used as a decoy. Fortunately, he should still draw Trumaine Johnson’s coverage, leaving Taylor Gabriel with E.J. Gaines, who has a terrible 37.4 PFF grade. The Falcons play at 4:25pm, so we may not know Jones’ status before lock. With Mohamed Sanu out, Gabriel will be in play whether Jones suits up or not. He’s had at least five targets for the past four games and scored three touchdowns in that stretch.

Ryan Mathews and Jordan Matthews expected to play Sunday

Mathews (knee) isn’t expected to be the feature back today, according to Adam Schefter. He expects Wendell Smallwood to lead the way and Darren Sproles to pick up some work. With a committee and hard-to-predict workloads, it’s a backfield to avoid. Jordan Matthews (ankle) is all set to play and should receive a ton of passes with Dorial Green-Beckham not expected to suit up. Philadelphia’s offense has struggled recently but have a nice matchup with Washington’s poor defense that ranks 20th in pass DVOA and 30th against the rush. Matthews will avoid Josh Norman’s coverage in the slot, instead lining up across from Kendall Fuller, who has a poor 50.6 PFF grade. Based on expected volume, Matthews is a nice target today; in terms of points-per-dollar, he projects as our WR4 on FanDuel.

Marvin Jones expected to play Sunday

Jones (quad) missed last game and was limited all week in practice but Adam Schefter is reporting he’ll play through the injury today. He hasn’t had more than five receptions since Week 4 and will have a tough matchup with Tracy Porter, who has done well against some of the best receivers this season. Jones picked up 11 targets in his last game, which means he could take some volume from Golden Tate this afternoon. Jones isn’t a great fantasy target at this point, he’s just a tournament dart throw.

Mark Ingram will play Sunday

Ingram (toe) didn’t practice Thursday, but Ian Rapoport is reporting that he’s moving better and he’ll be ready to take on Tampa Bay this afternoon. He’s best used as a tournament player since he will be in a time share with Tim Hightower and, if they get behind early, Travaris Cadet. Ingram has proven he’s capable of putting up big fantasy days within these constraints, as he put up 167 yards and two touchdowns against the Rams, despite being out-touched by Hightower. However, the following week, while dealing with this toe injury, he put up a dud on the Lions with 53 yards on 12 touches. Tampa Bay’s defense has been excellent in recent weeks. which is another concern. They’ve allowed the second-fewest FanDuel points to running backs over the past four weeks.

Chris Ivory expected to be OUT Sunday

Ivory (hamstring) was injured last week and won’t be able to suit up today. Jacksonville promoted practice squad running back Bronson Hill to fill in behind T.J. Yeldon and Corey Grant. Yeldon will be the workhorse back against the Vikings today. Although he should receive tons of touches, it’s not a great spot to target him; Minnesota has allowed the fifth-fewest FanDuel points over the past four weeks. Plus, the Jaguars’ offense is not functioning well in general. They have a low implied total of 17.75 points.

Trevor Siemian will start Sunday

Siemian (foot) will return from a one game absence to take on the Titans. It’s great news for both Emmanuel Sanders and Demaryius Thomas. Tennessee is weaker against the pass (24th in DVOA) than the rush (14th) and Denver has struggled to run all year. With Kapri Bibbs out, they have to run with Devontae Booker, who’s been ineffective (3.5 ypc), and newly-signed Justin Forsett. It could mean plenty of throwing from Siemian. Sanders and Thomas have combined for a 53.7% target share and they should continue to hog most of Siemian’s passes. We’re projecting Thomas slightly ahead as our WR13 on DraftKings and Sanders at WR20.

Three receivers in great matchups in Week 14

There are plenty of nice WR/CB matchups to exploit this week. Here are three notable ones. Advantage rating is based on player grades from Pro Football Focus, with 1.0 being the best and -1.0 being the worst.

Mike Evans vs. Delvin Breaux (0.72 advantage) – It’s the highest advantage rating in Week 14 and Tampa Bay is short on receivers after losing Cecil Shorts for the season and Adam Humphries for at least a week. Evans should exceed ten targets with ease – and be effective with those opportunities – in Breaux’s shadow coverage. Tampa is currently tied for the highest implied total at 26.5 points and Evans accounts for 41.7% of Tampa’s receiving touchdowns; he has a great chance to find the end zone at least once. Of course all of this means he’ll come with high ownership even though he’s the most expensive receiver across the industry. For example, on FanDuel we’re projecting his ownership at 27%.

T.Y. Hilton vs. Charles James (0.59 advantage) – Hilton will see James on roughly 57% of his routes. He had a huge game last week against the Jets, piling up 146 yards on nine catches. While he’s clearly the go-to passing option for Andrew Luck, he simply scores fewer touchdowns when Donte Moncrief is in the lineup. Over the past five games, Moncrief has scored exactly one touchdown in each contest, while Hilton has scored one total. He also has to worry about the tight ends as Luck has thrown nine touchdowns to Dwayne Allen and Jack Doyle this year. Fortunately for Hilton, Moncrief will be stuck with A.J. Bouye, who has the third-best PFF grade among cornerbacks (88.9), and Houston ranks 2nd in TE DVOA. Hilton has a better chance to score than normal in this spot and the Colts are currently tied for the highest implied total on the board at 26.5 points.

Taylor Gabriel vs. E.J. Gaines (0.49 advantage) – This is an interesting situation as it may actually help Gabriel’s outlook if Julio Jones (turf toe) plays. Beat writer D. Orlando Ledbetter strongly believes that Jones will be a decoy. If that’s the case, he could still draw Trumaine Johnson’s coverage even though Gabriel would become the de facto number one receiver with Mohamed Sanu already ruled out. Gabriel has had at least five targets over the past four games and scored three touchdowns in that stretch. He should see an increased workload given the circumstances and has show he can be effective. Plus, he’s cheap across the industry. Gabriel is an exciting tournament option this week.

Jaguars place Julius Thomas on IR

Thomas has missed the past two games with a back injury. Neal Sterling will likely be Jacksonville’s primary receiving tight end, followed by Ben Koyack. Sterling had a nice game against the Broncos, catching 5-of-6 targets for 43 yards. The Jaguars host the Vikings on Sunday, which is a bad matchup for their whole offense; Jacksonville has a low implied total of 18.25 points.