Apologies for the late release this week.
Have had to re-write this after Sterling Shepard is a late addition to the injury report. This is never a good sign as he was added with an illness.
With that said, if he plays, I still like Shepard this week.
Weather:
Two concerns here
The first is in New York. 22MPH winds with gusts up to 40MPH.
The second is in Cleveland where it is 23 mph wind and a wintery snow mix.
Quarterback-
For me, this week it starts with Tom Brady as my top guy this week. Brady has been a little bit disappointing this season, but he is going up against this Raiders secondary that does not have an interception all season and is one of the worst teams against the pass in the NFL allowing 244.6 yards per game through the air. Brady is in a great spot here in Mexico City in a game which is projected to be one of the highest scoring games of the week.
Other quarterbacks I like this week:
Eli Manning
Ryan Fitzpatrick
Alex Smith (Weather has me off of him)
Running Back-
This is a week where I want at least one top running back and possibly two. This starts with Kareem Hunt. Hunt is a player who has struggled after a great breakout start to the season as he has not scored a touchdown in six weeks and is only averaging 47.5 yards over his last four game. So why like him as a player to pay up for? The Giants rush defense has been atrocious in allowing big plays as just last week they allowed three carries for 20+ yards and are allowing 155 yards rushing per game over their last three games.
The only question I have regarding Hunt is whether he is cash viable. Todd Gurley is $600 cheaper, and Melvin Gordon is $800 cheaper. Gordon is in a tremendous matchup going up against a Bills run defense that has been atrocious allowing 298 yards rushing last week.
Gurley is intriguing as Minnesota has been very good against the run as they have not allowed a 100-yard rusher this year, but they are averaging allowing 5 receptions for 40 yards to opposing running backs. Gurley is probably more of a GPP play for me this week
Cheap running backs I like
Jamaal Williams
Joe Mixon
Wide Receiver-
Are there any wide receivers that we feel comfortable with this week? There are not any that I truly love this week. Sterling Shepard was my favorite heading into this week, but with the weather and the illness that I already mentioned, I'm quickly fading on him. DeVante Parker is in a good spot, but he only has three red zone targets this season which greatly limits his upside. Deandre Hopkins is a volume machine but in a tough matchup against Patrick Peterson.
Here's my list of receivers I am considering:
Mike Evans
Jamison Crowder (ugh)
Larry Fitzgerald
Sterling Shepard
Bruce Ellington
Cooper Kupp
Marvin Jones
Emmanuel Sanders
Tight End-
This week, it is either Gronkowski or Kelce on FanDuel. You could potentially make a case for Zach Ertz as well, but this is not a week to spend down at tight end.
Defense
The Chargers are likely to be the most popular this week going up against Nathan Peterman, but I actually think Peterman is an upgrade over Tyrod Taylor. The reason for this is that Taylor would run himself into sacks as he had been sacked 30 times this season.
My favorite defense is Jacksonville, but I don't know if I can spend up that high based on lineup construction.
Other defenses I like:
Cleveland
Kansas City
Green Bay
Does the wind hurt Kelce at all...or does it mean more short targets for him?
ReplyDeleteHow do you feel about Landry instead of Parker? Hargreaves is out now so his matchup just got even easier.
ReplyDeleteAlso, even though it’s half ppr, I really like burkhead (even though his price is way high compared to DK) stacked with Brady even for cash.
In theory, the way that it should hurt Kelce is if the Giants just fail to move the ball. It should not hurt Kelce that much and could actually lead to more targets, but if Hunt has two early long touchdowns from a game script standpoint it could hurt
ReplyDeleteGurley is $100 more than Hunt (you mentioned he was $600 less). Maybe you meant L. McCoy is $600 cheaper. What are your thoughts on Landry for this week? I am leaning towards really paying down at all 3 WR spots this week and paying up everywhere else...
ReplyDeleteWhy do you have the GB DST over Baltimore? That’s a bit counter the mainstream view.
ReplyDeleteI also like Maclin a bit as everyone seems to be passing at will against GB
I think both defenses are in play. With the over/under only 38 points, and Flacco's tendencies to throw interceptions makes me like the Packers this week.
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