Dion Sims Daily Fantasy News, Rankings, Projections

Dontrelle Inman and Dion Sims are both expected to play through questionable tags. Hicks was able to practice Friday after being sidelined all week with a knee injury while McPhee was absent from Friday's session with his own knee issue. Hicks is PFF's eighth-ranked interior defended in run defense and has the tenth-best run-stop rate at his position. Fellow interior defender Unrein is graded seventh in the area and has the third-best run-stop rate. The Bears run defense would certainly take a big hit if either or both of these guys end up inactive Sunday against the Eagles. Philly's backfield has been effective since Jay Ajayi came to town but it's a tough one in fantasy as they've given four different running backs touches over the past two games. Bellamy (concussion) has been operating as Chicago's third receiver. His absence could elevate Tre McBride to that role this weekend.

Sims has been listed as questionable on the Chicago Bears' injury report for Sunday's game against the Detroit Lions due to an illness that already forced him to miss one game. His absence allowed Adam Shaheen to work as the team's featured pass-catching tight end, though only saw two targets and converted them into 39 receiving yards. Clearly, regardless of Sims' availability, both tight ends possess extremely low floors in a run-first offense that has limited Mitchell Trubisky to 165 yards passing or less in all but one of his five starts.

He's been dealing with an illness all week and it's apparently enough to keep him sidelined today. As a result, rookie Adam Shaheen will be thrust into the top tight end role against the Packers this afternoon. Although he hasn't played much this season and has only attracted one target so far, he could jump right into an active role in the passing game given the state of Chicago's receiving corps. Unfortunately for him, the Packers have shut down tight ends this season, limiting them to the fewest PPR points per game.

Zach Miller dislocated his knee while trying to reel in a touchdown Sunday. He underwent major surgery last night in an effort to save his leg. Dion Sims and rookie Adam Shaheen will pick up more snaps and touches going forward. It’s another major blow to Chicago’s passing game, they’ll continue to hand off the ball to Jordan Howard as much as game flow allows. Howard will face a Green Bay Packers rush defense in Week 9 that ranks 18th in DVOA (per FO) and is allowing the fourth-most PPR points to RBs.

Jordan Reed exited Sunday’s game with a hamstring issue. He hasn’t been fully healthy all season and fellow tight end Niles Paul is now in the concussion protocol. That could potentially leave Vernon Davis with a huge role in Seattle in Week 9. The Seahawks pass defense got worked by Deshaun Watson and company but only two of the quarterback’s passes went to his tight ends. Overall, they’ve been pretty solid against the better TEs they’ve faced, limiting Jack Doyle, Martellus Bennett, and Delanie Walker to 43 scoreless yards or less each. Evan Engram did the most damage, finishing with a 6/60/1 line but he wasn’t particularly efficient considering he saw 12 targets in that contest. As a unit, Seattle ranked sixth in TE DVOA heading into Week 8. Washington will head into this contest with a banged-up offensive line that had three starters inactive Sunday and starting LG Shawn Lauvao exited early with a stinger. Seattle’s defense could be a popular fantasy option if they don’t get healthier up front.

Cole Beasley has entered the concussion protocol. He only played 48% of the team’s snaps over the past five games and he hasn’t topped 33 yards all season. Whether he plays or not, the Cowboys will try to employ a run-heavy approach. As seen yesterday when Bryant was chirping at coaches and quarterback Dak Prescott on the sidelines, this approached doesn’t seem to sit well with him. He hasn’t hit 100 receiving yards all season and he’s only topped 63 once. He had a tough matchup with Josh Norman and Quinton Dunbar this weekend though, and he’ll have a better one next Sunday against the Chiefs. He only runs 27% of his routes on Marcus Peters’ side, leaving him with Terrance Mitchell, PFF’s 84th cover corner, the most.

Pierre Garcon suffered an apparent neck injury and didn’t end up playing much in the second half of Sunday’s game. Afterward, he said he expects to play in Week 9 but it’s worth keeping an eye on him. If he suits up, he could be shadowed by Patrick Peterson, setting up an advantage for Marquise Goodwin. If he misses, it would elevate Aldrick Robinson into the starting lineup.

Chris Hogan left Week 8 early with a shoulder injury and was seen sporting a sling after the game. The Patriots are on a bye this week and then head to Denver for a tough matchup in Week 10. If Hogan isn’t able to return, it could open up snaps for Danny Amendola and Phillip Dorsett.

49ers S Jimmie Ward has a fractured forearm and is out indefinitely. On top of that, the 49ers lost starting LT Joe Staley, who’s dealing with a fractured orbital bone, and backup RT Garry Gilliam, who was filling in for the injured Trent Brown, left early with a knee issue. Quarterback C.J. Beathard was sacked four times and threw two interceptions Sunday while facing pressure on 27 of his 45 dropbacks. Although Arizona’s defensive line is 29th in adjusted sack rate, they could find success against this banged-up 49ers unit. Solomon Thomas has been diagnosed with an MCL sprain and is expected to miss a couple games. With DE Arik Armstead already on the IR, the 49ers will be without their two starting edge defenders.

Jets CB Morris Claiborne was successfully shutting down Julio Jones in shadow coverage until he went down with a foot injury in the third quarter. Naturally, Jones immediately reeled in a 53-yard grab as soon as Claiborne hobbled off. Although an x-ray came back negative yesterday, he’ll undergo further testing today. He’s got a short week to recover as the Jets host the Bills on Thursday night. Slot corner Buster Skrine was inactive Sunday with a concussion and he’s in danger of missing Week 9 as well, setting up a better spot for Tyrod Taylor and his pass-catchers. Receivers Andre Holmes, Zay Jones, and Jordan Matthews all caught exactly three passes in Week 8. Matthews could benefit from Skrine’s absence in the slot but he hasn’t seen more than five targets in any game this season. LeSean McCoy continues to pace the Bills with 46 targets and 38 receptions.

Eagles CB Patrick Robinson entered the concussion protocol Sunday. He’s been terrific this season, earning PFF’s fourth-best corner grade. It’s possible CB Ronald Darby remains sidelined in Week 9, which would leave Philly’s pass defense very vulnerable against the Broncos. It’s not clear if Emmanuel Sanders will be able to play tonight against the Chiefs, but he should be back for Week 9 and he travels to the slot more than Demaryius Thomas – 24% of his routes.

Seahawks S Earl Thomas injured his hamstring Sunday and he’ll undergo an MRI today to figure out the extent of the injury. For what it’s worth, he’s confident he can play this weekend but it’s worth keeping an eye on PFF’s sixth-ranked cover safety this week. The Seahawks host the Redskins this weekend, Thomas’ potential absence could open up some downfield opportunities for quarterback Kirk Cousins.

Bengals DE Michael Johnson suffered a back injury in Week 8, opening up snaps for Jordan Willis. Although he’s seen a somewhat limited role this season, Willis has earned PFF’s 24th-best run defense grade among edge defenders. If Johnson isn’t able to go this weekend, Willis will try to help the team stop Leonard Fournette, who’s expected to return from an ankle injury this week. As a unit, the Bengals were sixth in rush DVOA heading into Week 8.

Texans DT Christian Covington suffered an elbow injury that will cost him the rest of the season. He picked up a major role due to injuries on Houston’s defense and earned PFF’s 28th-best interior defender grade this season. Over the past three weeks he played, he’s earned the eighth-best pass rushing productivity rate at his position (per PFF). It's yet another huge blow to this defense that's been decimated by injuries. The Texans host the Colts this weekend, setting up a decent spot for Jacoby Brissett who passed for 233 yards and two touchdowns against a tougher Bengals defense in Week 8.

Steelers S Mike Mitchell exited Sunday night’s game with an ankle injury, although he said he would be alright. PFF’s 32nd cover safety has played a big role in Pittsburgh’s success defending the pass. They were the epitome of a bend-but-don’t-break defense last night against the Lions. Despite allowing Matthew Stafford to throw for 423 yards and make several trips into the red zone, they didn’t allow a single touchdown and won the game by five points. Mitchell will have a Week 9 bye to get healthy.

They were all listed as questionable heading into their game with the Chargers. San Diego ranks 5th in pass DVOA, so it will be difficult for Miami to get their passing game going. They may not have to with the way Jay Ajayi is running the ball. Stills' tendency to make big plays makes him worthy of tournament consideration, but is extreme inconsistency makes him a big risk. Landry will matchup with Brandon Flowers in the slot most of the day. He should pick up a good number of targets, especially if they get behind early. Flowers has a 78.5 PFF grade this season, so Landry will have his work cut out for him.

Sims has not been cleared from the concussion protocol and will not play this weekend against the Jets. With Jordan Cameron also out, MarQueis Gray will get the bulk of the work at the TE position for the Dolphins. He's not a viable DFS option.

The Dolphins TE looks as if he will return to action this week after practicing for the second straight day. Jordan Cameron continues to remain out so it'll be Sims and MarQueis Gray splitting the work at the TE position for Miami. They face a Jets defense that is 31st in Pass DVOA and 20th in TE DVOA but given the uncertainty at the position and the team utilizing TE's much you can avoid utilizing these two in your DFS rosters.

The #1 and #2 TE's for the Dolphins are both in the concussion protocol which will leave MarQueis Gray as the top TE. It's a decent match up against the Jets (20th in TE DVOA, 31st in Pass DVOA) for Gray and he could be a sneaky GPP play if you're running out multiple lineups.

The Dolphins TE did not practice today and appears extremely unlikely to play this week against the Steelers. Dion Sims will continue to work as the main TE passing threat for the team but is not a viable DFS option going against a Pittsburgh team that is 6th in TE DVOA.

Cameron has been in the concussion protocol since Week 3, which will keep him out of Miami's upcoming matchup with Tennessee. There is no timetable for his return at this point. Dion Sims will start in his place, but he isn't a player worth considering in fantasy. Look for all of the targets to head in the direction of Jarvis Landry, DeVante Parker, and Kenny Stills, in that order. DeVante Parker may have the best matchup of the three as he'll see a good amount of Perrish Cox, who holds an abysmal grade of 38 by PFF. Cox was burned for a pair of touchdowns by Will Fuller last week. Miami will likely use Parker as the deep threat and Landry as the short-to-medium depth target monster that he usually is.