Kendall Wright Daily Fantasy News, Rankings, Projections

Chicago's receiving corps is a mess and the team is committed to keeping the ball out of their rookie quarterback's hands. That said, with Zach Miller out, more targets should head towards the receivers. The pecking order isn't very clear. Tanner Gentry has led the group in snaps for three straight weeks but he's only picked up three targets and one reception during that stretch while Kendall Wright leads them with eight. They appear to be high on Tre McBride but he hadn't attracted a single pass until last week. He seized the opportunity though, turning five looks into three catches for 92 yards. It will be Inman's first game with the team. Although he's not a particularly exciting talent, he could work his way towards the top of this group in the coming weeks. It looks like Wheaton will be the odd man out. He's been terrible in limited action this season, catching one of his nine targets. They take on the Packers this week, whose defense is giving up the fifth-most PPR points per game to receivers but it'll be tough to predict which, if any, Bears receiver can exploit the matchup. It may be best to focus on their ground game in fantasy like they will in real life. Jordan Howard has picked up at least 19 touches in six straight games and he's averaged 21.7 carries per game. Although Howard has been on a scoreless drought for the past four outings, he may be in a good spot to find the paint as the Packers are allowing the seventh-most rushing touchdowns per game (0.8) and the back has picked up the tenth-most carries inside the ten-yard line (9).

The Bears receiver has a tear in his groin and he may miss up to six weeks to rehab the injury. That leaves the Bears, who just cut Deonte Thompson, with Kendall Wright and Tre McBride as their top receivers. Wright played just 54.1% of the snaps on Monday night and still led the team with 46 yards and four catches. With Wheaton out of the picture, Wright's snap count should rise back up. He won't be an appealing option this weekend against the Ravens though. Baltimore's pass defense has limited opposing quarterbacks to the second-lowest passer rating in the league (66.1) and rookie Mitch Trubisky will be under center for the Bears in his second start. The weak spot on this defense appears to be against tight ends. They rank 32nd in TE DVOA and they've allowed the tenth-most PPR points to the position. Zach Miller led the Bears with seven targets Monday night and caught Trubisky's lone touchdown. He could continue to see a sizable workload this weekend and pick up some usage in scoring position, although the Bears may struggle to get that far downfield often. Miller's $2.9k DK salary is cheap enough to consider him as a very risky option in GPPs but someone like Jack Doyle appears to be a better deal for an extra $800.

Green Bay has a very long injury list at the moment featuring starters in all areas. They're getting healthier though; Bulaga and House are the only two players not practicing Tuesday. Head coach Mike Montgomery said players would be "hard-pressed" to play Thursday night if they couldn't get on the field today, which means Bulaga and House are doubtful. Ty Montgomery (wrist) is participating and is fully expected to start at running back Thursday. Other notable players practicing today and looking questionable for Week 4: DT Mike Daniels (hip), LB Nick Perry (hand), LT David Bakhtiari (hamstring), and S Kentrell Brice (groin). It'll be important for the Packers to get Bakhtiari back as Bulaga is not looking like he can suit up and they sent backup LT Kyle Murphy to the IR this morning. If Bakhtiari can't go, they're going to have to dig further into their bench to protect Aaron Rodgers' blindside. With the litany of injuries on the defensive side of the ball, including at linebacker, defensive coordinator Dom Capers played as many as four safeties at a time last week against Cincinnati. With S Kentrell Bryce sidelined, Josh Jones got an opportunity and made the most of it; he racked up 12 tackles and two sacks while primarily lining up as an ILB. With House injured and Quinten Rollins off to a horrendous start, S Morgan Burnett moved into the slot, leaving Damarious Randall and Kevin King on the outside. A.J. Green turned up the heat on them, hauling in 10-of-13 targets for 111 yards and a score but they won't face the same type of competition this week against the poor Bears receiving corps. Deonte Thompson and Markus Wheaton will see them the most, potentially providing them a better spot than top receiver Kendall Wright. Depending on the how the Packers injuries all shake out, Burnett could man the slot again, which would be bad news for Wright considering Burnett has earned an excellent 86.0 PFF pass coverage grade. He was only targeted once last week in the 26 passing snaps he was in the slot and didn't allow a completion.

Kendall Wright and Benny Cunningham were also removed from the report Friday. Howard is rehabbing a shoulder injury, which could still be a problem for the running back on Sunday. Although he's going to start, it may be harder for him to powerfully run the ball, especially near the goal line, and it could hurt his ability to block in pass protection. As long as Howard is banged up, Tarik Cohen will benefit. The rookie has already piled up 16 receptions in his first two games and game flow could work in his favor again this week; the Bears are currently 7-point dogs.

Chicago's running back is considered questionable but Ian Rapoport says he's expected to play against Tampa Bay this afternoon. Things don't look as good for Wheaton, who's still dealing with a broken finger. The Bears have the weakest receiving corps in the league, which could lead to Mike Glennon targeting his tight ends and running backs quite a bit. He threw to those positions for a combined 65% of his passes in Week 1. As 7-point road dogs, projected game flow seems to favor running back Tarik Cohen, who accumulated 12 targets last week as the preferred receiving back. Last year, the Buccaneers ranked 26th in DVOA against receiving running backs, per FO. They were also 26th against the rush, which could favor Howard early on. Even so, given his injury combined with expected game flow and his timeshare with Cohen, Howard is looking like a risky option in fantasy. At receiver, Kendall Wright disappointed many in Week 1 but he's the unquestioned number one receiver now that Kevin White is sidelined. He may make sense as a tournament option in full PPR this week. Although Tampa Bay ranked eighth in WR1 DVOA in 2016, they allowed the sixth-most receptions per game (9.2). Plus, slot corner Robert McClain allowed a terrible 85% catch rate last season, the highest mark among starting cornerbacks this week.

Cornerback Prince Amukamara (ankle) and guard Kyle Long (ankle) were also limited Thursday. Both players missed the first game but appear to be on track to return for their Week 2 matchup with Tampa Bay. If he plays, Amukamara, the top cornerback on the team, will have a difficult task ahead of him defending Mike Evans. In holding Julio Jones to a 4/66/0 line, Chicago extended their success against opposing top receivers from last season. According to Football Outsiders, they held WR1s to the second-fewest receptions per game last year (6.9). At the same time, they allowed WR2s the third-most catches (7.5). In Week 1, WR2 Mohamed Sanu led the Falcons with nine targets and six receptions. These trends make DeSean Jackson an appealing GPP pivot option off of Evans. On the offensive side of the ball, Josh Bellamy (ankle) was also limited but coach John Fox said he "should be fine." They're completely decimated at receiver, so they'll need Bellamy and Wheaton active if at all possible. Kendall Wright will now operate as their top receiver but Glennon may continue to favor high-percentage passes and checkdowns to tight ends and running backs. Last week, 65% of his targets went towards those positions. A season ago, Tampa Bay ranked 26th in DVOA against receiving running backs, which bodes well for Howard and Cohen. Howard has been limited all week but it appears he'll be able to suit up Sunday. Following Cohen's breakout performance with 113 yards and eight receptions, it's almost certain the rookie has carved out a decent timeshare in the backfield and may be the preferred receiving option over Howard. The starter Howard should out-snap and out-touch Cohen as he did in Week 1, although it may not be by much.

White shoulder injury could potentially lead to surgery which would likely end his season, but at this point he's still eligible to return after Week 8. The former 1st round pick hasn't been able to stay healthy during his short stint in the NFL and he'd be no sure bet to stay healthy even if he returns this year - Donte Moncrief suffered a similar injury last season, missed five games and re-injured the shoulder upon returning. Kendall Wright, Josh Bellamy, Deonte Thompson and Markus Wheaton (when healthy) will pick up the slack at WR, but the Bears appear willing to involve the RBs (Howard/Cohen) and TEs (Miller/Sims) more to offset the lack of talent at the receiver spot.

Allen Robinson tore his left ACL Sunday, which will end his season. Jacksonville will now start Allen Hurns and Marqise Lee at receiver with Keelan Cole operating as the third option. With the Jaguars jumping out to an early lead, quarterback Blake Bortles only attempted 21 passes (and completed just 11) Sunday. Hurns led the team with four targets while Lee didn't get a single look. They'll get the Titans next week, which should open up more receiving opportunities.

David Johnson sprained his wrist against the Lions. ESPN's Chris Mortensen reported he would miss a "few weeks" or "half the season or more." However, Pro Football Talk countered that, saying it hasn't yet been determined if DJ will miss time. It'll be an important situation to monitor this week as the Cardinal's get a mouth-watering matchup with the Colts on Sunday.

Kevin White, the perpetually-injured receiver, may have suffered a broken collarbone that ESPN's Dan Graziano believes will require season-ending surgery. Expected to be without their top two receivers going forward, Chicago will need to lean on Kendall Wright as their WR1. Wright only saw four targets against the Falcons while tight end Zach Miller topped him with six and breakout running back Tarik Cohen led the team with 12, hauling in eight for 47 yards and a touchdown. the 5'6" rookie added 66 rushing yards on five attempts.

Danny Woodhead was carted off the field on Baltimore's opening drive. The team fears he'll miss significant time due to the injury. That should provide a major boost to Buck Allen, who ended up seeing 33-of-66 snaps on Sunday. Overall, the Ravens rushed the ball 42 times in their shutout victory over the Bengals and Allen led the way with 21 attempts, turning them into 71 yards. It looks like he could enter into a timeshare with starter Terrance West, who played 27 of the offensive snaps.

Ronald Darby, the starting right cornerback for the Eagles, will be out 4-6 weeks with a dislocated ankle. Philadelphia's defense was already vulnerable on the outside; his absence should help the Chiefs passing game in Week 2.

Orlando Scandrick, the starting left cornerback for the Cowboys suffered a broken left hand Sunday night. It hasn't yet been determined how many games he'll miss, but Dallas was optimistic Sunday night. The Cowboys visit the Broncos in Week 2.

The Bears third receiver is expected to miss their first game. That leaves Kevin White, Kendall Wright, and Deonte Thompson as the primary options for Mike Glennon against the Falcons Sunday. Offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains said he would employ a "committee" at wide receiver to replace Cameron Meredith, which essentially means de facto number one Kevin White won't necessarily pull away from Wright in the targets and production departments. Both are clearly better choices than Thompson, but in a Glennon-led offense, neither are particularly appealing. White has five inches and 30 pounds on Wright, giving him an edge in the red zone. Plus, in his limited action last season, the oft-injured third-year player picked up 8.75 targets per game. Chicago may be built to be a run-heavy team with a strong line and running back but they'll be playing from behind in most games this season. They're seven-point dogs in Week 1 against the Falcons, which should force Glennon to throw more than the Bears would like. White, a risky GPP play at best, appears to have the highest ceiling among the receivers and is the best bet to pull down a score.