Dwayne Allen Daily Fantasy News, Rankings, Projections

As expected, both Brady and Gronkowski will be good to go for Sunday's matchup against the Minnesota Vikings despite being limited participants in Patriots practice all week, while Dwayne Allen has been ruled out due to a knee injury. With Gronkowski cleared to play, the absence of Allen doesn't really have a tangible effect on the New England offense, but Gronkowski caught his first touchdown since Week 1 in last week's contest on just three targets, so he could be an intriguing tournament target at a suppressed price tag if Brady continues to pepper him with targets in the red zone.

Dwayne Allen has officially been ruled out for Week 12 due to a knee injury. While Allen himself isn't a fantasy-relevant player regardless, his being ruled out further supports the assumption that Rob Gronkowski will return to action this weekend against the Jets, as Allen was handling most of the tight end duties in Gronkowski's absence.

The Patriots' star tight end is expected to be questionable for Thursday night's game after it was reported yesterday that he wasn't dealing with a serious injury. It’s been a disappointing season thus far for Gronk, partly due to being the primary focus of defensive schemes and seeing constant double teams. Assuming he is healthy enough, that could start to change this week due to the return of WR Julian Edelman (suspension) and the expected increase in snaps for Josh Gordon after being on the field for just 18 plays in his first game with the Patriots. If Gronk is ruled out, then Dwayne Allen would see TE1 duties with backup tight end Jacob Hollister expected to miss Thursday's game as well.

It's a bad start to the week for Hogan, who wasn't able to play last weekend due to a shoulder injury. If he's able to play, he'll have a terrific outlook. As a unit, Oakland is dead last in pass DVOA, and Hogan would primarily match up with CB David Amerson, who's allowing the most fantasy points per route defended among CBs playing in Week 11 (0.52, per PFF). He and tight end Rob Gronkowski have established themselves as Tom Brady's go-to pass catchers in scoring position. Despite missing a game, Hogan is eighth in the NFL with 11 red zone targets and he's racked up the third-most looks inside the ten-yard line (7). With Hogan down in Week 10, Gronk picked up three RZ passes while Danny Amendola, Rex Burkhead, and Dwayne Allen each picked up two - Burkhead and Allen both scored. If the receiver remains sidelined this weekend, Brady would likely spread those opportunities in a similar fashion again. That's promising for Gronk, especially considering the Raiders are 30th in TE DVOA and allowing the seventh-most PPR points to the position. Brandin Cooks also picked up a RZ target and he saw 11 overall, a season-high for the receiver. He would have a good shot at double-digit targets again if Hogan sits and the Raiders are 31st in WR1 DVOA. Not surprisingly, the Patriots currently have the highest implied total on the board (29.75 points).

It's not immediately clear how Allen (hip) was injured or how serious it may be, but it was enough to keep him out of practice today. If he ends up missing their game, it would be a clear bump to Jack Doyle. With Donte Moncrief looking doubtful, both T.Y. Hilton and Doyle would be in play in a tough matchup with the Vikings. In the one game Allen was inactive (Moncrief was also out), Doyle caught 9 passes for 78 yards and a touchdown, although that was against the Titans, who have a weak pass defense. Fortunately for Doyle, Minnesota's worst positional rank is against the tight end; they rank 24th against the position in DVOA.

Moncrief's status is one to monitor this week. It's beginning to look like he's on the doubtful side of things. If he can't go, T.Y. Hilton should be a target monster against the Vikings on Sunday. It'll be a tough matchup as Minnesota ranks 2nd in pass DVOA and they've allowed the 9th-fewest fantasy points to wide receivers per game over the past four weeks. Still, he should have a large market share and his touchdown equity is much higher with Moncrief out of the lineup. On the season, he averages 0.8 touchdowns per game when Moncrief is inactive and 0.25 when he plays. Dwayne Allen (if he plays, hip) and Jack Doyle should also see a bump in usage in the red zone.

This was expected, but he's reportedly playing at less than 100%. Allen isn't a very strong option if you're playing the later slates, especially considering Gates is just a touch more expensive across the industry. His presence will downgrade Jack Doyle, who will also lose targets to Donte Moncrief. Both Moncrief and T.Y. Hilton are solid plays if you're looking to get exposure on the Colts' passing game. Green Bay ranks 25th in WR1 DVOA and 26th in WR2 DVOA. Andrew Luck loves targeting Moncrief in the red zone, which makes him an exciting tournament option in a game that has a total of 53 points, the highest of the day.

Ian Rapoport reported that Allen's ankle is still banged up, but he'll play through it. He's a risky play at tight end with his injury. Unfortunately, having Allen and Moncrief both in the lineup really hurts Jack Doyle's fantasy value. His target share will drop, and he isn't a strong cash play. He's still a viable tournament option as he's a skilled receiver, gets red zone looks, and faces a banged up secondary today.