SUNDAY MORNING UPDATE:
Sunday Morning Update #1: 11:31 AM EST
Injury Changes:
Julio Jones is out with a knee injury
Alvin Kamara is out with a rib injury
JK Dobbins is out with a knee injury
George Kittle appears like he will miss with a groin injury
Thought Changes
- Drake London is a player that I'm seemingly liking more and more this week. Seven targets last week against a good Saints defense for 74 yards catching five of the seven targets.
- Not playing Christian McCaffrey or Saquon Barkley has me extremely nervous given I know that I'll likely be facing quite a bit of them this week.
Lineup Changes:
No lineup changes this week. I strongly considered a lineup where Mark Ingram replaced Jonathan Taylor, and Cooper Kupp replaced Curtis Samuel, but with Ingram facing against a very strong Tampa Bay run defense, I believe there is too much risk to go with that approach. Kupp is a fantastic play, but Taylor hopefully will score two touchdowns this week as the Colts are going to have to rely heavily on him this week with the lack of pass catching options.
- QB Derek Carr, LV, $7,300
- RB Jonathan Taylor, IND, $10,000
- RB Javonte Williams, DEN, $7,300
- WR, Davante Adams, LV, $8,800
- WR Curtis Samuel, WAS, $5,700
- WR Jerry Jeudy, DEN, $6,300
- TE Zach Ertz, ARI, $5,200
- Flex RB Darrell Henderson, LAR, $6,200
- TD Jacksonville Jaguars, $3,000
SITUATIONS THAT STAND OUT TO THIS WEEK ON THE MAIN SLATE.
- Las Vegas (vs ARI) – 28.5 points
- LA Rams (vs ATL) – 28.25 points
- Denver (vs Hou) – 27.0 points
Week 1 Recap
Week 1 was a difficult one, because we identified a lot of the pieces to make a strong lineup, it just did not go accordingly to plan.
What went right:
- Jonathan Taylor over Christian McCaffrey was the right decision as Taylor ended up with 175 yards and a touchdown, while McCaffrey had just 57 yards and a touchdown.
- Jalen Hurts was incredible as he ran for 90 yards and a touchdown on 17 carries. He is definitely going to be someone we are going to look at frequently just based on the pure volume of carries he has as a quarterback this season.
What went wrong:
- Most of the blame can be had at the desire to punt at the running back position with Dameon Pierce to get up to Aaron Jones both of which players struggled and was a pivot off of Saquon Barkley/A.J. Dillon
- Tee Higgins got hurt last week, but even then it appeared the choice should have been stacking A.J. Brown with Jalen Hurts instead of going with Higgins.
- Higher expectations for Kyle Pitts than what he showed in Week 1. There should be some concern going forward whether he can get open as the primary target in this offense or whether he needs a number one receiver to compliment him.
- Mike Williams was seemingly absent in the Week 1 contest as he had just 2 receptions for 10 yards. Making it even more frustrating was his Thursday Night breakout with 8 receptions for 113 and a touchdown in Week 2. Just a week early on him.
Injuries Create Opportunity:
A lot of true questionable injuries heading into this week, which may make require an overhaul of our lineups on Sunday Morning if some of these come true.
D’Andre Swift is questionable with an ankle injury, and while he returned to practice on Friday, does seem like a game time decision. Complicating matters is that the Lions could be without their entire interior offensive line as Halapoulivaati Vaitai is already out, Frank Ragnow missed his third straight practice and appears unlikely to play, and Jonah Jackson was out for a finger injury suffered in Wednesday’s practice. If Swift is out, Jamaal Williams becomes an intriguing value play at $6,400 this week. Amon-Ra St. Brown would also be in line for an upgrade if Swift would miss alongside the interior line problems.
Michael Pittman out with a quad injury while Alec Pierce is already ruled out with a concussion. Parris Campbell, Jonathan Taylor, Ashton Dulin and maybe Mo Alie-Cox would be in line for an upgrade here. Taylor gets the biggest upgrade along with a small upgrade to the Jaguars defense. More on this injury throughout the rest of the article.
The Buccaneers are an absolute mess at the moment. Chris Godwin is out with a hamstring injury, while Mike Evans, Russell Gage, Julio Jones, and Breshad Perriman are all questionable, but appear to be ok to play this week. Mike Evans is interesting but has largely been shutdown by Marshon Lattimore not topping 11.8 points in their last six games. This could lead to a Julio Jones game or a Leonard Fournette game possibly where they try to win it on the ground against the good Saints run defense.
Alvin Kamara is questionable to play with a rib injury but appears to be fine from coach Dennis Allen. He’s not really someone we would play, but Mark Ingram would become a value play if he did miss.
Damien Williams will miss this week with a rib injury. This should put Cordarrelle Patterson in line once again for a big role as he had 22 carries last week along with three receptions. At $7,500, he is somewhat expensive, but is someone that could be considered this week.
Continue reading this content with a HALL OF FAME subscription.
"Footballguys is the best premium
fantasy football
only site on the planet."
Matthew Berry, NBC Sports EDGE
