What’s up Karma Nation and welcome into my third game-by-game breakdown of the season. This is my third season doing this article, so if you’ve read it before welcome back, and if you’r new, grab a seat! I will also be covering cash games for both FanDuel and Draftkings on Fridays, and doing an NFL Final Thoughts cheat sheet each week as well…let’s get it!
Cleveland Browns @ Baltimore Ravens
Vegas Implied Team Totals: Ravens 26, Browns 19
Quarterback- Oh man, I’m going to get the disappointment out of the way by covering this game first. New HC Freddie Kitchens looks overmatched in his first go around as a Head Coach, and he’s struggling mightily with handling head coaching + play-calling duties at the same time. Many have blamed the offensive line for Baker Mayfield’s early season struggles, but I’m willing to firmly put the blame on him holding onto the ball too long + the terrible play-calling. The issue here is that Kitchens has said repeatedly he has no plans to overturn play-calling to air-raid specialist Todd Monken, which is going to hurt the Browns offensively as a whole. As a result, we will not be targeting Baker Mayfield in DFS this week, or in the near future.
On the opposite side of this game, Lamar Jackson showed us just why he is so valuable in fantasy last week, having by far his worst game of the season but still salvaging a 20 fantasy point outing. I don’t want to go out of my way to attack this Cleveland defense this season, but coming home, with one of the highest-floors in fantasy football, Jackson is firmly on my radar each and every week.
Running Back- If you’re looking for a Running Back to play in tournaments, it’s definitely Nick Chubb and not Mark Ingram for me this week. Chubb has been the lone bright-spot for this Browns offense this season, and he’s coming off a game where he completely took over passing down work and saw a career-high seven targets. A change that should continue this week. Ingram found the box three times in Week 3, and can be used in a stack with Jackson as big home favorites, but this Browns defensive line is no joke and I would prefer to run Jackson naked, or pair him with a receiving threat.
Pass Catchers- With my lack of interest in Baker Mayfield and this Browns passing offense, plus his matchup with Marlon Humphrey who has been one of the better corners in the league over the last calendar year, I’m keeping Odell Beckham Jr on the shelf in this matchup. If you are stacking the Ravens and want to run it back, I would look at Jarvis Landry who has the best matchup inside against this Ravens defense, and is due for positive regression given that his catch rate this season is over 10% lower than his career-average. Hollywood Brown and Mark Andrews are the two stacking partners with Lamar Jackson once again this week, but we also need to monitor Andrews’ injury status up until kickoff. Brown has the highest-upside of the two, but he should see Denzel Ward’s 4.32 speed in coverage. certainly fast enough to keep up with Brown.
UPDATE: It looks like the Browns will be without Greedy Williams AND Denzel Ward AGAIN this week, bumping Hollwood Brown even further up my board.
Cash Game Options: None
GPP Options: Nick Chubb, Jarvis Landry, Hollywood Brown, Mark Andrews (if active), Lamar Jackson!
Oakland Raiders @ Indianapolis Colts
Vegas Implied Team Totals: Colts 26, Raiders 19
Quarterback- I’m expecting the Colts to easily handle this game, and if I wasn’t interested in Derek Carr in any of his prior three games, I’m probably not going to start now with him on the road for another early game. Jacoby Brissett is still operating as mainly a game-manager for the Colts with Andrew Luck now retired, but he has still managed DK point totals of 16, 18 and 23 despite not having to attempt more than 30 passes yet in a game. The Raiders offense is certainly not as a capable as the Falcons or Chargers, so I’m expecting another low-volume game for Brissett. Despite the strong matchup, I won’t be considering him in DFS, especially if TY Hilton is unable to play.
Running Back- Josh Jacobs continues to be irrelevant in negative game-script situations, something the Raiders will be in often this season, and I will not be looking at him in DFS when they are big underdogs until he (or the Raiders coaches) prove to me he’s going to be used as a pass catcher out of the backfield. Marlon Mack is one of the best Running Back plays on this slate, installed as a huge home favorite against this Raiders run-defense that was dusted by Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison a week ago. I dissected Mack’s increasing usage with the Colts shifting to a more run-heavy game plan sans Luck last week, and I’m expecting what should be his best game of the season this week. He’s a target of mine in both cash games and tournaments.
Pass Catchers- There’s really two targets I’m interested in here, Darren Waller of the Raiders and potentially Parris Campbell of the Colts if Hilton misses this week. Waller comes into Week 4 with the third-most targets among Tight Ends — more than Travis Kelce — and is in one of our absolute favorite matchups. The Colts surrendered the most fantasy points to Tight Ends a season ago, mainly due to their zone-heavy scheme that puts emphasis on limiting the outside options and big plays, and they are also missing one of the best Safeties in the NFL in Malik Hooker. This has resulted in similar results to last season, Austin Hooper shredded them for multiple touchdowns a week ago and outside of Will Dissly, Waller is the best overall Tight End play on this slate.
This could very well be the Parris Campbell coming out party I’ve been waiting for if Hilton is inactive. We have seen perimeter threats destroy this Raiders defense, coughing up big play after big play, which plays right into the hands of Campbell and his 4.31 jets. Another product of Ohio State, he will make his way into GPP builds this weekend if we get negative word about Hilton’s status.
Cash Game Options: Marlon Mack, Darren Waller
GPP Options: Parris Campbell (if TY Hilton out)
Carolina Panthers @ Houston Texans
Vegas Implied Team Totals: Texans 26, Panthers 22
Quarterback- This is a much better slate overall in terms of fantasy games than last week (at least to me) and outside of the Seattle/Arizona game, this may end up as my overall favorite. We also have the Chiefs high-powered offense, and an extremely juicy game between the Redskins and Giants, but both of those spots project to be higher-owned than this affair rocketing it to the top of my GPP list. We were right in our assumption that Kyle Allen would be an upgrade over Cam Newton, as he led the Panthers to win, our DFS teams to the moon, and is primed for another big game against this Texans defense. He obviously got a nice price hike, eliminating him from “must play” territory, but it wasn’t enough to keep him out of the conversation in any format this week.
The reason I like this game so much is the presence of Deshaun Watson, and the ability of the Panthers to stay in this game with Allen now at Quarterback. Watson routinely has one of the highest ceilings at his position, as he’s shown with multiple 30 DK point games already this season. This Panthers defense looks tough on paper, but they’ve faced off with (road) Jared Goff, Jameis Winston and rookie Kyler Murray. This game has already risen 1.5 points in Vegas, and given how fast the Panthers play on offense I wouldn’t be shocked if it jumped a bit more. Watson is right there with Russell Wilson and Jared Goff as my favorite tournament QB options this week.
Running Back- It’s pretty clear that Christian McCaffrey is the name to talk about in this section, especially after he rebounded from a tough Week 2 to post a monster 30 DK point game last week at a surprisingly non-chalk level of ownership. The field won’t be that foolish this week, as CMC is the lone “stud” RB on this slate outside of Dalvin Cook against the fierce Bears front…he’s the best Running Back play on this slate and pretty much a lock in cash games for me.
Pass Catchers- Curtis Samuel delivered in Week 3 and looked to have strong chemistry with Kyle Allen, out-targeting DJ Moore seven to two. While I think Samuel is certainly playable in all formats at his price this week, and a prime run-back candidate in a Texans stack, we have to mention how Greg Olsen stole the show in Week 3. Olsen continued to turn back the clock delivering a 6-75-2 line and he somehow has remained top-three in air yards at the TE position. Will Dissly (see below) is set-up to be the massive chalk at Tight End this week, making Olsen a strong tournament play as a leverage pivot.
As for the Texans, if I’m playing Watson I’m certainly going to be playing Nuk Hopkins regardless of matchup. James Bradberry has played really well for the Panthers in the secondary so far this season, but even with him expected to shadow Nuk, I will bet on arguably the best WR in football especially when he is projected for low-ownership — if you’re worried about his matchup, you can simply pivot to Will Fuller who has flashed slate-breaking upside on numerous occasions and then run it back with one or both of Samuel and Olsen.
UPDATE: Donte Jackson, the Corner expected to cover Will Fuller who has been great at limiting big plays this season, did not practice on Friday. If he is out, this gives a nice boost to Fuller and would put him about even with Nuk for me when baking in his price.
Cash Game Options: Kyle Allen, Christian McCaffrey, Curtis Samuel, Greg Olsen
GPP Options: Deshaun Watson, DeAndre Hopkins, Will Fuller
Tennessee Titans @ Atlanta Falcons
Vegas Implied Team Totals: Falcons 25, Titans 21
Quarterback- I don’t really know what to make of this game, Mike Vrabel’s Titans know how to play team’s tough and win dirty, but at the same time I feel like the Falcons at home should be larger than only four point favorites. It feels like the end of the Marcus Mariota era in Tennessee is drawing closer with each day, and he has looked so skittish behind this offensive line that I won’t be targeting him in DFS on the road. Ryan gets yet another dome game, at home, where he has excelled throughout his career, but this Titans defense is a lot better than the public realizes and that may keep me off of him for DFS this week. I prefer guys like Jared Goff, Deshaun Watson and Kyler Murray to Ryan for my Week 4 lineups.
Running Back- Both backs in this game should garner your attention in tournaments, starting with Derrick Henry who has all but eliminated Dion Lewis from even being a small part of this Titans offense. Henry has scored in each game so far in 2019, and is up against a Falcons defense that we have willingly attacked with Running Backs since Dan Quinn took over as Head Coach. The pass catching concerns are almost non-existent at this point, Henry took a screen pass 70+ yards to the house in Week 1 against Cleveland and heavily out-snapped Lewis in Week 3 despite playing from behind against the Gardner Minshew-led Jaguars.
Devonta Freeman is one of my favorite buy-low candidates for season-long leagues, he has been the victim of bad luck when it comes to touchdowns so far this season but has held a commanding lead as the main back for the Falcons and looks as healthy as he could be. People will definitely overlook this spot as a home favorite, but I would like some exposure to him in tournaments this weekend.
Pass Catchers- If you’re looking for a pass catcher in this game it pretty much starts and ends with Julio Jones for me, though I will note that Delanie Walker should get a matchup boost with stud Safety Keanu Neal suffering a season-ending Achilles injury last week for the Falcons. Jones has now scored in…checks notes…SEVEN straight games, officially putting to bed the #JulioDoesn’tScore narrative? Regardless, while this Titans defense is tough, I love attacking their outside corners, and Jones should see time against two of our favorite week-to-week targets in Adoree Jackson and Malcolm Butler. Jones is a high-ceiling tournament play who should get overshadowed by Keenan Allen in ownership on this slate.
Cash Game Options: None
GPP Options: Derrick Henry, Devonta Freeman, Julio Jones, Delanie Walker
New England Patriots @ Buffalo Bills
Vegas Implied Team Totals: Patriots 25, Bills 17.5
Quarterback- This is a much better real-life game than it is fantasy-game, as two of the remaining undefeated teams are set to square off in a divisional showdown. If looking to play a Quarterback in this game, I like Josh Allen much more than Tom Brady for DFS given the ceiling that Allen has flashed us multiple times. This Bills defense is for real, and it’s good enough to limit Brady from a huge fantasy day, while Allen has upside through the air and with his legs, even in garbage time if this game were to get out of hand. The Patriots have yet to allow a touchdown to an opposing offense this season, but Allen has the highest-upside at this position outside of Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson each week, making him a weekly GPP buy.
Running Back- The backfields here are kind of a hot mess, especially if Devin Singletary is unable to go again this weekend for Buffalo. I won’t be looking at Frank Gore against this defense, even though he came through for me last weekend, and on the Patriots side we have to decide between James White or Rex Burkhead. Sony Michel has been a disaster this season, and with the loss of FB James Develin, the Patriots will be forced to implement White/Burkhead into the offense more moving forward than they will Michel. Michel got his lowest amount of work of the season in Week 3, a clear sign that his usage will begin to shrink. He still has touchdown upside, but he’s not someone I will be attacking in DFS moving forward.
Pass Catchers- These are very clearly two of the best defenses in the NFL, and I will largely be avoiding this game — as you can tell by the players I have highlighted below. With Tre’Davious White locked onto Josh Gordon, you would be better off looking at Julian Edelman as a one-off who will line up in the slot, as long as he is active — he missed practice time this week due to a chest injury that sidelined him early against the Jets. I won’t be stacking Allen with anyone given how good this Patriots defense has been, and with Stephon Gillmore following John Brown. #NakedJoshAllen FTW.
Cash Game Options: None
GPP Options: Julian Edelman, Josh Allen, Rex Burkhead
Washington Redskins @ New York Giants
Vegas Implied Team Totals: Giants 25.5, Redskins 23
Quarterback- This is set to be one of the most popular DFS games of the slate after Daniel Jones eruption in his first NFL start, and with the total rising throughout the week…now approaching 50 points. Case Keenum missed practice time this week due to a foot injury, but the Redskins seem confident the will be able to go this weekend even with Dwayne Haskins stealing some first-team reps in practice on Thursday. Keenum is not really in play for me given all of the strong QB plays this week, and I would like to focus on Jones here.
Jones looked the part in Week 1, delivering one of the most impressive first starts I’ve ever watched despite being under immense pressure from the Buccaneers defensive-line throughout the game. This Redskins defense brought Mitchell Trubisky back from the dead on Monday night, and I have no doubts that Jones should be able to carve them up through the air and on the ground at home this weekend. I don’t think you need to roster him in cash games this week, but he is playable in all formats for me.
Running Back- Adrian Peterson will continue to have touchdown equity for this Redskins offense, but he will also continue to get out-snapped by Chris Thompson, which leaves me to focus on Wayne Gallman in the backfields from this game. Gallman stepped in and logged every Running Back touch after Saquon Barkley left injured in Week 3, and with nothing but a UDFA and a fullback behind him, I would be shocked to see that change against the Redskins. There’s a lot of value this week at WR, Marlon Mack and Kerryon Johnson are both relatively cheap, so I don’t want to cal Gallman a “must play” but he is certainly viable in cash games given the expected volume and his ability to catch the ball out of the backfield. I’ll update my thoughts on him in my cash game article which drops on Friday night.
Pass Catchers- There are three extremely viable plays here in all formats, and I’m going to start with Terry McLaurin of the Redskins. Whether it be McLaren F1, Scary Terry, or McLovin, we can safely assume that he has exceeded everyone’s expectations as a rookie wideout in the NFL. He’s put up over 15 fantasy points and scored in ever game thus far of his career, and now gets a matchup with Janoris Jenkins…the same Janoris Jenkins that MIke Evans carved up last week and that has been routinely beaten all season. He popped up on the injury report Thursday, so be sure to monitor his status up until kickoff. If he is a full-go, he’s a borderline lock for me at his price in this matchup.
If we are interested in Jones stacks, they are going to be with one of Sterling Shepard or Evan Engram, both of whom get a massive upgrade with Jones taking over for Eli Manning. I really like Darren Waller, Greg Olsen and Will Dissly this week at Tight End, so if choosing one it will probably be Shepard who returned in Week 3 to see 9 targets from Jones. The Redskins have already surrendered four touchdowns in the slot this season, which bodes extremely well for Shepard this week.
UPDATE: Terry McLaurin did NOT return to practice on Friday, and he is in serious jeopardy of missing this game. Even if he’s active, there’s a good chance he will be limited and tough to trust anyways. This gives a nice bump to the rest of the Redskins pass catchers — Trey Quinn, Paul Richardson and Chris Thompson. I think that all of them would enter the cash game conversation for me if McLaurin was out, particularly Quinn who is min-priced.
Cash Game Options: Wayne Gallman, Terry McLaurin
GPP Options: Daniel Jones, Sterling Shepard, Evan Engram
Kansas City Chiefs @ Detroit Lions
Vegas Implied Team Totals: Chiefs 30.5, Lions 24
Outlook: This is a clear stack spot, but I wan’t to note than both of Darius Slay and Rashaan Melvin have missed practice time this week for the Lions. If one (or both) of the Lions top DB’s are out for this game, it could change my stance on this game entirely and become an even bigger priority than it already is.
Patrick Mahomes is traveling to a dome for the first time in his NFL career, and it’s surely going to be a sight to see. Mahomes continues to laugh in the face of regression, as the rocket-armed youngster has already tossed for 10 touchdowns this season. The Lions aren’t known to yield ceiling-level outputs to opponent offenses given their slow pace of play, but that doesn’t matter when it comes to Mahomes and he is the top QB play on this slate once again. The backfield situation is murky enough for me to avoid it completely, so I will simply be focusing on Mahomes stacks with one or two of Sammy Watkins, Travis Kelce and Mecole Hardman. Watkins gets the best matchup as he has transformed into their full-time slot receiver, and he will avoid Slay there even if he suits up. He’s also quietly top-ten in the NFL in targets, and I will continue to roster him while Tyreek Hill is out.
There is one Lions player in play for cash games this week, and it’s Kerryon Johnson coming off career-high usage with CJ Anderson out of town. We definitely don’t like the potential game-script here, but the Chiefs are a legitimately bad run-defense and I am comfortable with Johnson in all formats given the usage hike I covered in my Week 3 review article. If you’re looking to run back a Chiefs stack, I would be doing it with Kenny Golladay, who should go under-owned due to his dud last week. Outside receivers have had more success against this Chiefs defense this season, and Hollywood Brown was inches away (a few times) from a massive Week 3 stat-line.
Cash Game Options: Patrick Mahomes, Sammy Watkins, Kerryon Johnson
GPP Options: Travis Kelce, Kenny Golladay, Mecole Hardman
Los Angeles Chargers @ Miami Dolphins
Vegas Implied Team Totals: Chargers 29, Dolphins 14
Outlook: As I’ve done pretty much all season, I’m going to break down this game differently because that’s just what has to happen against this Dolphins team right now. The Dolphins were trounced once again in Week 3 by the Cowboys, setting up an absolute smash spot for the Chargers offense, even on the road.
We are going to be heavily focused on two options in all formats — Keenan Allen and Austin Ekeler. Both are viable in both cash games and GPPs, and both will be firmly in my cash game pool again this weekend. Allen is probably my favorite overall play on the entire slate, I just can’t seem to pass up the usage he has seen thus far this season. I’ve dissected his role-change a few times already this season, but his air yards and average depth of target remained way higher than year’s past in Week 3. He still has over 40% of the Chargers team targets, more than doubling Austin Ekeler’s 20 which is the second-most on the team. He also has an elite matchup in the slot, where top CB Xavien Howard is known not to travel.
As for Ekeler, it was confirmed on Wednesday that Melvin Gordon is ending his holdout and will report to the team, meaning this is their last game without him. That should give the Chargers all the more reason to give him a heavy-workload in this game, and Ekeler himself has been a fantasy monster this season owning the most receiving yards in the NFL among Running Backs. While I think Ekeler is certainly viable in all formats, Justin Jackson is an intriguing GPP option as his work has grown each game. He had another TD called back in Week 3, and we have seen multiple backs on one team both post big fantasy days — see Zeke Elliott and Tony Pollard last week.
Another good tournament play is completing you Chargers team stack with Philip Rivers, who should end up under-owned with more “attractive” QB spots on this slate, and concern of a blowout.
UPDATE: HUGE news on Friday with Justin Jackson being ruled out along with Mike Williams, and Travis Benjamin slated as doubtful. Already great plays, Ekeler and Allen seem like pure locks to me in all formats, and we can also look at Dontrelle Inman who is min-priced.
Cash Game Options: Keenan Allen, Austin Ekeler
GPP Options: Phillip Rivers, Justin Jackson
Minnesota Vikings @ Chicago Bears
Vegas Implied Team Totals: Bears 20, Vikings 18
Outlook: I wasn’t originally going to break this game down any differently than the others, but the more I researched the more necessary it became given that there are just two players cracking my pool here…
Dalvin Cook- Cook comes into Week 4 leading the league in rushing yards, and has topped 20 touches in each game clearly benefiting from new run-first approach of this Vikings offense. This is one of the toughest matchups in the league, but it’s certainly possible for Cook to post a good score in tournaments at minute ownership given his volume. He’s a great GPP dart this week.
Allen Robinson- Robinson is the epitome of a GPP flier this week in a tough matchup with the Vikings, and I wouldn’t be shocked at all to see him top 100 yards here at around 2-3% ownership. He leads this Bears team in air yards by a wide margin, and is also first on the team in targets (27). Taylor Gabriel stole the show on Monday Night Football, but he is set to miss this game for the Bears which should boost Robinson’s ceiling even higher.
Jacksonville Jaguars @ Denver Broncos
Vegas Implied Team Totals: Broncos 20.5, Jaguars 17.5
Outlook: Similar to the last game, there simply aren’t enough players that I’m interested in to go with the full write up. There are expected to be heavy winds in this game, but it’s early in the week so we will have to wait until Sunday to fully analyze the weather. That being said, I have just ONE player I want to include in my pool from this game, and its a RB I like a lot this week, especially in tournaments.
Leonard Fournette- I know that you’re reading this, and you physically watched Leonard Fournette last Thursday night in primetime rush for negative yards until a late 69 yard scamper, but hear me out. The Jaguars offensive line is so bad, that it’s preventing him from running, that’s a fact…BUT…he also is DOMINATING the snaps and work for this team, and he’s quietly top-five in targets among running backs. This Broncos defense has been HORRID against RB’s this season, and if there was a matchup for Fournette to see some positive touchdown regression this could be it. His newfound passing game involvement raises his floor, and at his price he is a great tournament play this weekend.
Note: Phillip Lindsay has seen his touches climb in each game thus far, but the presence of Royce Freeman keeps him out of anything other than the GPP dart range for me. The same can be said for Emmanuel Sanders, though he will benefit from the absence of Jalen Ramsey in this game. Overall, there are just other mid-tier WRs I like better, the same story as last week. I’m not looking to go overboard on a game with a sub-40 O/U.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers @ Los Angeles Rams
Vegas Implied Team Totals: Rams 29, Bucs 20
Quarterback- This is one of my absolute favorite tournament spots on this slate, and the majority of my interest lands on the Rams side. Jameis Winston finally broke out in Week 3 against the Giants, but this will be a much tougher task on the road against a Rams defense that has been absolute death to Quarterbacks this season. Jared Goff on the other hand has averaged over well over 20 fantasy points per game at home over the last few seasons, and now gets the Buccaneers defense that allowed a near 40 fantasy point outing to Daniel Jones in his first ever NFL start. He is arguably my favorite tournament arm on this slate.
Running Back- I definitely will be attacking the passing games in this matchup, but both backfields leave a lot to be desired. It’s been proven that it’s easier to attack the Rams on the ground than through the air this season, but we are still dealing with a healthy dose of both Peyton Barber and Ronald Jones, with Dare Ogunbowale mixing in. I would understand taking a shot on Barber or Jones, especially if stacking the Rams, but it will ultimately be a little bit too thin for me even in GPPs.
The same can be said for the Rams backs, and their matchup is actually much tougher anyways. The Bucs have been great at bottling up opposing Running Backs this season, even Christian McCaffrey, and are almost willingly getting burnt through the air. I was off Todd Gurley coming into the season, and his usage (especially in the passing game) becomes more of a concerning mystery each week.
Pass Catchers- This is where the money will be made in DFS, and where I will be looking to be overweight in tournaments come Sunday. Mike Evans took Janoris Jenkins for a walk in Week 3, dropping nearly 200 yards and three touchdowns on his head in a career performance. The sledding will be a lot tougher this week, but I still see the tournament appeal in a game stack build, especially if Chris Godwin misses this game, which looks like a definite possibility as of now.
Cooper Kupp torched the Browns on Sunday Night Football, and gets the top matchup this weekend among the Rams wideouts in the slot. Kupp, like Goff, has been much better at home throughout his career, and is my favorite stacking option with him this weekend. He also will be the highest-owned receive of their dynamic trio, so pivoting to Brandin Cooks or Robert Woods makes a ton of sense, or simply stacking two receivers with Goff is in play as well. Cooks is 16th in the NFL in air yards this season with an aDOT of 13.8, and the Bucs have been burnt on multiple big plays already this season in the secondary.
Cash Game Options: Jared Goff, Cooper Kupp
GPP Options: Robert Woods, Brandin Cooks, Mike Evans
Seattle Seahawks @ Arizona Cardinals
Vegas Implied Team Totals: Seahawks 26.5, Cardinals 21.5
Outlook: Another game I will be breaking down separately, which I have done the first few weeks of the season each time the Cardinals have played as well. Overall, my take those three weeks have been to go all-in on these games and stack them up and down, which should have returned positive results to anyone that tailed me. Unfortunately, after Kyle Allen’s eruption last week (that readers of my content were all over) I think the secret is out and we will no longer be getting these game stacks low-owned, which is still okay.
Russell Wilson is having yet another monster fantasy season already, and he’s coming off a game where he threw the ball 50 times, which is noteworthy considering he averaged just 25 attempts per game a season ago. The Cardinals have allowed 9 passing touchdowns already this season, and Russell Wilson is my favorite QB on this slate.
Chris Carson can’t seem to stop fumbling the ball, but that might not matter for at least another week since it looks like backup Rashaad Penny will be out for this game as well. He was out-snapped by CJ Procise after fumbling again last week, but the Seahawks were also down big to the Saints so they were in primarily passing situations throughout the game. As you can see, they are favored in this contest, and this will be Carson’s best matchup of the season. Pete Carroll publicly backed Carson to the media after the game, and I will still be heavily interested in him for tournaments this week as long as Penny is sidelined.
We have a few potential chalk situations in the Seahawks receiving corps in Tyler Lockett and Will Dissly. Lockett’s newfound volume this season has unlocked him for fantasy, and he should be one of the highest-owned receivers on the slate behind Keenan Allen, and he’s in just as good of a matchup. When it comes to Dissly, I was all over Greg Olsen last week given how bad the Cardinals struggle vs Tight Ends, and he responded with two touchdowns…as I said, the secret is out. Dissly himself is in good form with three touchdowns in his last two games, and I will most likely be deploying a three-man Seattle stack in cash games this week — similar to what I did with the Panthers last week.
For the Cardinals, I think you simply stack them in tournaments and run it back with Lockett + Carson (or Metcalf for lower ownership). Kyler has struggled at times in real-life, but he;s top-ten in fantasy points right now and I think that number will only increase as usage with his legs opens up more and more. Both of Christian Kirk and Larry Fitzgerald are viable in cash games again this week, however, as they both hold such valuable roles in this Kliff Kingsbury offense. Seattle will definitely be the higher-owned side of this game, but I’m a bit surprised that this game only features a 48 O/U. I like it to go over 50, and I will be all-in for all formats once again this week.
Cash Game Options: Russ Wilson, Tyler Lockett, Will Dissly, Christian Kirk, Larry Fitzgerald
GPP Options: Kyler Murray, David Johnson, Chris Carson, DK Metcalf
Written by Ben Hossler (Follow @BenHossler on Twitter)
