Cracking FanDuel Week 3

Photo: USA Today Sports

SUNDAY MORNING UPDATE:

Check back here around 11:30 EST for any updates

Sunday Morning Update #1 10:30 EST

Injury Update: Jordan Poyer is ruled out leaving the Bills without their top two cornerbacks and top two safeties this week.

Lineup Update:

One player, that I'm really coming around to is Dameon Pierce at $5,800 and one player I'm becoming less bullish on is David Montgomery. My worry here is David Montgomery's extremely volatile and somewhat touchdown dependent in this low volume passing offense in Chicago. While Houston's run defense is bad, a lot of that was driven by 4th quarter and overtime performances from Jonathan Taylor, as they held him in check in the first half of that game. It took 31 carries for Taylor to get to his 160 yards in that contest. Where Houston has excelled is shutting down receptions from running backs as Javonte Williams after having 11 receptions against Houston, was able to just amass one reception last week. Part of Montgomery's value is as a receiver, and while I think Montgomery is a solid play, the gap between him and Pierce is not as wide as originally thought.

The Bears run defense looked horrendous against Green Bay, as they are still trying to rebuild their defense with the loss of Akiem Hicks and Khalil Mack in the offseason. Roquan Smith looked lost at times trying to stop Aaron Jones who averaged 8.8 yards-per-carry rushing for 132 yards against Chicago on Sunday Night.

Primary Cash Lineup

• QB Jalen Hurts, PHI, $8,100
• RB Leonard Fournette, TB, $7,200
• RB Dameon Pierce, HOU, $5,800
• WR, Drake London, ATL, $6,200
• WR Jaylen Waddle, MIA, $7,500
• WR Stefon Diggs, BUF, $8,300
• TE Zach Ertz, ARI, $5,200
• Flex RB Dalvin Cook, MIN, $8,300
• TD Jacksonville Jaguars, $3,200

Alternative Cash Lineup: This is something I like, but will not be playing, based on playing one cash game lineup. I know a lot of people love Amon-Ra St. Brown this week, so wanted to show a very easy way to get him into your lineup.

• QB Jalen Hurts, PHI, $8,100
• RB Leonard Fournette, TB, $7,200
• RB Dameon Pierce, HOU, $5,800
• WR, Drake London, ATL, $6,200
• WR Amon-Ra St. Brown, DET, $7,800
• WR Stefon Diggs, BUF, $8,300
• TE Zach Ertz, ARI, $5,200
• Flex RB Joe Mixon, CIN, $8,200
• TD Jacksonville Jaguars, $3,200

As always, please provide any feedback on this article to knotts@footballguys via email or twitter.com/devinknottsfbg

SITUATIONS THAT STAND OUT TO THIS WEEK ON THE MAIN SLATE.

• Minnesota (vs DET) – 29.3 points
• Buffalo (at MIA) – 29.0 points
• Kansas City (at IND) – 28.0 points
• Philadelphia (at WAS) – 26.8 points
• LA Rams (at ARI) – 26 points

Week 2 Recap

Week 2 certainly wasn’t pretty, but it got the job done as the lineup put up 107.28, which was good enough to cash in most 50/50’s finishing in about the top 40-45% of lineups.

QB- Derek Carr- 18.98
RB- Jonathan Taylor- 6.8
RB- Javonte Williams- 9.0
WR- Davante Adams- 8.2
WR- Curtis Samuel- 19.4
WR- Jerry Jeudy- 1.7
TE- Zach Ertz- 11.5
Flex- Darrell Henderson- 10.7
Team Defense- Jaguars- 21.0

What went right:

• Curtis Samuel was massive as he was rostered in just 20-30% of lineups and he was fantastic last week amassing 19.4 FanDuel points
• The Jaguars defense was the key to cashing last week. They simply dominated the Colts and bailed me out.
• Zach Ertz at $5,200 was incredibly solid amassing 8 receptions for 75 yards.

What went wrong:

• Jonathan Taylor was a mistake, as surprisingly he had just 9 carries for 54 yards. The Colts had First and Goal from the 4-yard line and threw the ball three straight times. Definitely something to keep an eye on, as it is going to be hard to immediately go back to Taylor, which likely means in a GPP that it may make sense to do so.
• Jerry Jeudy got hurt in the first quarter and played just 10 snaps last week. Meanwhile Courtland Sutton just dominated with 7 receptions for 122 yards in Jeudy’s absence.
• Not playing Amon-Ra St. Brown was a mistake. Admittedly, I thought the excitement over the Lions was largely overblown as I talked about it last week. St. Brown was dominant in 25-30% of rosters amassing 34.9 fantasy points as he was able to find the end-zone twice and added 114 yards last week

Injuries Create Opportunity:

This week may set the record for defensive injuries that are critical and could impact a given week and the perception of different teams

The Buffalo Bills secondary is an absolute mess. Dane Jackson is out with a neck injury, All-Pro Safety Micah Hyde is out with a neck injury, All-Pro Jordan Poyer is questionable with a knee injury, and All-Pro Tre’Davious White is still on the PUP list. On the defensive line, they’re likely going to be without three of their top 4 defensive tackles as Jordan Phillips (hamstring), Ed Oliver (ankle) are both out, and Tim Settle is questionable with a calf injury. This makes the Miami Dolphins certainly in play this week even given the tough matchup, but if you’re without your top two All-Pro caliber players in the secondary and potentially a third in Poyer, defending Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle is going to be an extreme challenge.

Justin Herbert, while not ruled out yet looks like he is going to miss this week as the line has dropped from 7.5 to 3.5 and Herbert is still dealing with a fractured cartilage issue against the Jaguars this week. Chase Daniel would get the start, and needless to say it would significantly impact any upside in this game. It also appears that Keenan Allen is unlikely to play this week as he did not participate in practice on Friday. This could open up Austin Ekeler as a sneaky option.

Hunter Renfrow will miss this week with a concussion. This should open up additional opportunities for Davante Adams this week after being a significant disappointment last week outside of the touchdown he scored in the first quarter. Mack Hollins is also a decent option here at just $5,300 as a potential punt wide receiver.

Josh Jacobs is questionable and did not travel with the team with an illness. If he does miss, figuring out who the top running back might be in Las Vegas could be critical as Brandon Bolden is $4,800, and Zamir White is $4,600. It likely could be a combination of the two, but something to keep an eye on. Zamir White is likely the answer here as Bolden would likely take the pass-catching role, while Abdullah would be relegated to the bench.

J.K Dobbins appears likely to play this week returning from a knee injury as he has practiced in full for the second-week in a row, but John Harbaugh made some uncertain comments in practice today saying “You’ll know it when you see it” when asked when he will be ready. Harbaugh also indicated that Justice Hill could see more carries this week.

D'Andre Swift remains questionable with an ankle injury, and if he plays it seems likely that he will be on a snap count once again like he was last week which means that there isn’t much to love in Detroit as Jamaal Williams likely won’t see enough volume this week.

Tampa Bay’s wide receiver room is in shambles as Mike Evans is suspended, Chris Godwin has been ruled out with a hamstring, Julio Jones is a true game-time decision with a knee injury leaving Russell Gage and Breshad Perriman to face off against a very strong Green Bay secondary.

Hayden Hurst is questionable with a groin injury, while backup Drew Sample has already been ruled out also with a groin injury. If Hurst is ruled out, Devin Asiasi could be a name to keep an eye on at $4k this week.

James Conner is a game-time decision with an ankle injury. If he were to miss, we would have to take a hard look at Eno Benjamin at $5k, although it would be a split between Benjamin and Darrel Williams.