Cleveland Browns at New England Patriots 1:00 p.m. EST
The Browns are a complete pass for me. RB Quinson Judkins’s price has jumped up a bit, and this isn’t a great matchup. Until he proves he is matchup-proof, he is a week-to-week DFS play. The passing game is really non-existent, and we are back to a wash at tight end with David Njoku back.
QB Drake Maye is always in play. The average is 22.5 points per game, but this is a tough matchup against the Browns. His advantage is that he is probably going to have to pass the football because I think the Browns will shut down the run game. Look for receivers Kayshon Boutte and Stefon Diggs to be solid, but I don’t think they’ll put up the big numbers to get in the winning lineups.
New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles 1:00 p.m. EST
I know there is mania about QB Jaxon Dart and RB Cam Skattebo right now, but I’m passing on the Giants. I think that they will struggle against an Eagles team out for revenge with defensive lineman Jalen Carter back.
I am also passing on the Eagles. The running game hasn’t been good, and I don’t think the Giants will get beaten deep like the Vikings did. We saw how bad the Viking pass defense was last night. The Eagles’ passing game price boost is a bit inflated.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at New Orleans Saints 4:05 p.m. EST
I am expecting a Buccaneers bounce-back in what could be a high-scoring game. QB Baker Mayfield should have a solid game, especially if there is pushback from the Saints’ offense. My one concern is that WR Emeka Egbuka did not look ready on Monday and has been limited in practice this week. He can crush any slate, but I don’t think I can play him at his price. I am most interested in WR Tez Johnson, who I think can have 5-plus catches and become a huge bargain if he scores in his third straight game. RB Rachaad White will have low ownership due to his price, but he could be a great pivot because I think he has a great shot to score more than 20 points. Don’t sleep on TE Cade Otton, who has double-digit points in three straight games. He should continue to see many targets as WR Mike Evans is out. If he scores, he will make many winning lineups.
I think the Saints can score a bunch of points as well. I think QB Spencer Rattler is too cheap this week, and he will be in many of my lineups. You can’t run on the Buccaneers, forcing him to pass, and he could have 50-plus attempts. Receivers Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed both could have huge games. Olave will have the volume, and Shaheed will have the big plays, but I could see him having 6 plus catches as well. I like TE Juwan Johnson most weeks. He is limited in practice, but it seems like the tight end situation is always murky in New Orleans. I prefer Otton over him.
Dallas Cowboys at Denver Broncos 4:25 p.m. EST
The Cowboys offense has been on fire, but will it cool off versus a good Broncos defense? I am looking for a lower-scoring game just because these two teams are coming off high-scoring games. I think Dallas will struggle to run the football, forcing them to throw a ton, even though it is a revenge game for RB Javontae Williams. I’m not on WR CeeDee Lamb due to the coverage from Denver CB Patrick Surtain. TE Jake Ferguson should be solid, as he has been the best fantasy tight end. As mentioned, I expect Lamb to get the coverage, meaning WR George Pickens could have a huge game. I just don’t know about his price because it is $7,100. His appeal is that his ownership is expected to be below 6% according to the DFS Hero Optimizer.
The Broncos offense was bad for about 50 minutes last week, and then they went on fire. They figure to have a good match-up against the Cowboys, but the Cowboys switched up their defense last week. They didn’t play that deep zone and switched to man, but maybe that was just because Washington didn’t have the receivers to match up with man with Terry McLaurin and Deebo Samuel out. It will be interesting to see what defense Dallas chooses because the Broncos can beat man. Either way, I do like WR Courtland Sutton. He is their best receiver and hasn’t scored a touchdown in a month, but I think that changes this week. I know they have other receivers, but picking between Marvin Mims and Troy Franklin becomes very difficult. For me, it’s Sutton or nothing at the receiver position. RB J.K. Dobbins should have a solid game, but he hasn’t scored more than 16 fantasy points all year. He’s going to need to score 20 plus to get in the winning lineups, and I don’t see it happening.
