- by the NFL DFS team
The main Sunday afternoon DFS slate will be missing plenty of big names. Not only are the Bills on a bye, but the Cardinals, Seahawks, Chiefs and Buccaneers will all be playing primetime games. Keeping that in mind, here are a couple of players to consider targeting at each position.
The Patriots pulled off an impressive win over the Ravens in Week 10 despite another quiet passing game from Newton, who finished with only 118 passing yards. On the bright side, he threw his first touchdown pass since Week 3 and he recorded at least one rushing touchdown for the third straight game. This is a much easier matchup against a Texans team that is not only allowing an average of 28 points per game, but they have also allowed the most rushing yards per contest in the league, which is certainly Newton’s area of expertise.
It looks like the Saints will have to try and hold onto their lead in the NFC South without Drew Brees (ribs) for at least a couple of weeks. Luckily for them, they have one of the best backup quarterbacks in football in Winston. Despite being a turnover machine for the Bucs last year, he did throw for over 5,000 yards to go along with 33 touchdown passes. This is an ideal matchup against a Falcons team that has allowed the second-most passing yards per game, so don’t be surprised to see him included in a lot of entries.
By his standards, Cook had a disappointing performance in Week 10 against the Bears. However, he didn’t exactly lay an egg with 96 rushing yards. The key is that he received 30 carries, which marked the third time in his last five games that he has received at least 27 carries. His floor is as high as any other running back on this slate, especially with the Cowboys allowing the second-most rushing yards per game. The game script should also work in his favor given that this matchup could turn out to be an easy win for the Vikings.
With Alex Smith under center, McKissic received a whopping 15 targets against the Lions last week. He caught seven of them for 43 yards. That performance came on the heels of him catching nine of 14 targets for 65 yards in Week 9 against the Giants. While it would seem to make sense for Washington to give the ball to their promising young back Antonio Gibson as much as possible, there are no signs of McKissic going away anytime soon. If he can continue to receive that volume of targets, he could be in for a productive afternoon against a struggling Bengals defense that has allowed an average of 27.8 points per game.
The Dolphins did a good job of limiting Allen last week, leaving him with three catches for 39 yards on seven targets. He did find his way into the end zone, which marked his third straight game with a score. His seven targets were very uncharacteristic for him considering he had at least 10 passes thrown his way in six of his previous seven contests. Look for him to turn things around in a big way against the Jets, who have allowed the fourth-most passing yards per game.
In desperate need of someone to step up at wide receiver, the Patriots have to be thrilled with how well Meyers has played lately. Despite a tough matchup against the Ravens, he still finished with five receptions and 59 yards last week. He even threw a touchdown pass on a trick play. The key to his success lately has been an increase in targets. With 37 of them across the last four games, he’s been able to record 27 receptions for 346 yards. Add his increased workload to how poorly the Texans have played on defense and Meyers could end up being a bargain.
Week 10 was one to forget for Hockenson, who finished with only two receptions for 13 yards. Part of the problem was that he received just four targets, which was his lowest mark since Week 4. In fact, he entered with at least six targets in each of the previous three games. This is an ideal matchup for him to bounce back against the Panthers, who are tied for the fourth-most receptions allowed to tight ends this season.
The Bengals haven’t been much better at slowing down tight ends than the Panthers, entering Week 11 tied for the seventh-most receptions allowed to the position. That could make Thomas a sneaky play at a reasonable salary on both sites. He finished with a season-high 66 receiving yards against the Lions last week and he’s caught at least four passes in five of nine games this season.