Sunday Morning Update
The big question heading into this week has been the health of Christian McCaffrey. He’s popped up late on the injury report in the week with a “minor back issue”. He’s going to play, which makes it even trickier for the 9-4 49ers at home against the 2-11 Titans. The issue is whether he’s going to get the volume that he normally does this week, because if he sees a drawback in that volume, it becomes difficult to play him at $9k. The bigger issue for us as DFS players is that the game is not until 4PM.
In a GPP, he’s a pretty clear fade this week, but I’m still playing him in cash games. It appears he’s going to be close to 30% rostered in most GPP’s, which for a player who may see a reduced workload is just too high. However, in cash games, you’re taking a significant risk if you do decide to fade him. While you could go with a roster like Travis Etienne Jr., Woody Marks, and Derrick Henry, I just don’t know that I want to sit around all day having McCaffrey lingering over my lineups.
The other question this week is C.J. Stroud. I’ve gone back and forth on this one. I’ve really wanted to find a way to play Matthew Stafford as it provides some insurance against a Puka Nacua big game, but every lineup that I build that I was comfortable with was $100-$200 short. It also would require a downgrade from Derrick Henry to Travis Etienne Jr. and Carolina to the Giants and likely one additional move. It was just too much, as I expect a big game from Houston this week.
No change to the Primary Cash Lineup
- QB C.J. Stroud, HOU, $6,900
- RB Woody Marks, HOU, $6,500
- RB Derrick Henry, BAL, $8,400
- WR Michael Wilson, ARI, $7,000
- WR Jameson Williams, DET, $6,300
- WR Wan'Dale Robinson, NYG, $5,800
- TE George Kittle, SF, $6,300
- Flex RB Christian McCaffrey, SF, $9,000
- TD Carolina, $3,600
Check back each Sunday Morning around 10:30 AM EST for any updates and final slate thoughts.
Injuries Create Opportunity:
- Marvin Harrison Jr. will miss this week once again. That should make Michael Wilson a tremendous start even though the matchup is a difficult one against the Texans.
- Geno Smith will not play for the Raiders as he’s dealing with a shoulder injury. Kenny Pickett will get the start, and could be a fresh start for the Raiders these last four games. However, the lack of talent in this offense continues to be a problem and going up against Philadelphia likely limits any upside for this offense.
- Tee Higgins will miss for the Bengals this week. This will put Mitchell Tinsley in the starting lineup for the third time. Tinsley has been a player who has shown he’s capable, but has yet to statistically have a big game. He will get some interest this week based on his price being a very low $4,300.
- David Njoku will miss this week with a knee injury. Harold Fannin Jr. is coming off of a career game last week and is an excellent play once again for the Browns.
- Brady Cook will start for the Jets as both Justin Fields and Tyrod Taylor are injured. For Cook, he did not look great last week, and this could be a tough day for the Jets going on the road against the Jaguars difficult defense.
- Christian Benford will likely miss this week for the Bills. This is a massive loss if he’s unable to go, as he’s the team’s best cornerback and will put a lot of pressure on this defense against the Patriots passing attack.
- The Lions are without both of their starting safeties this week. This creates a massive hole for the Lions similar to what we saw last season where their defense absolutely collapsed and ended any deep playoff run chances. This will thoroughly test them against one of the league’s best passing offenses in Los Angeles.
Photos provided by Imagn Images