New England Patriots at Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1:00 p.m. EST
QB Drake Maye has been great, coming off another 20-plus performance. He has an excellent chance to do it again this week because teams can’t run the ball against Tampa Bay. Expect a lot of throwing and at least 50 yards rushing. I don’t know who the ball is going to go to, but he finds a way. WR Kayshon Boutte is dealing with a hamstring injury, and he is in doubt. That leaves WR Stefon Diggs as the frontrunner, and maybe he can get over that 20-point hump if Boutte is out. It feels like we could be chasing points with DeMario Douglas, but I think he is also a solid, cheap option if Boutte is out. It would not surprise me to see a Patriot receiver in the winning lineups. As mentioned, it is challenging to run against the Patriots, meaning I am avoiding all running backs. Besides, they have a mess there with them splitting the volume. TE Hunter Henry hasn’t scored more than 7.7 points in over a month.
I know many are awaiting the return of Tampa running back Bucky Irving, but he has not been back to practice. Additionally, New England is a tough team to run against, which means the backs don’t project well. Even if Irving returns, will he receive a full workload? They could ease him back and split the carries with RB Rachaad White and still allow RB Sean Tucker to have some involvement. It is highly unlikely that a Tampa back will win a tournament. So, then we move on to QB Baker Mayfield and the passing game. New England has excellent corners, but allowed a monster game to WR Drake London last week. Can WR Emeka Egbuka do the same? He hasn’t scored more than 10 points in his last three games, and I think he is going to have a difficult time because he doesn’t have much support around him. WR Chris Godwin is banged up and not effective when he is out there, and WR Tez Johnson is just a guy that we hope has cheap upside from week to week. Still, the ball has to go somewhere, and just like London, Egbuka is likely to be low-owned, so he is worth a shot for volume players. The Patriot defense does allow yardage to tight ends, making Cade Otton a player to be interested in.
Seattle Seahawks at Arizona Cardinals 4:05 p.m. EST
QB Sam Darnold keeps it going, and now the Seahawks have added another weapon in WR Rashid Shaheed. Some are worried that his addition will take away from WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba, but I think it ensures the middle of the field will remain open for him. JSN needs to be considered on a weekly basis, and the team’s new addition may impact his ownership. My concern is that the Cardinals defense is relatively solid, and maybe they can slow them down just a tad. Other than Darnold and JSN, I will pass on the offense. Shaheed is priced too high, and it feels like his addition will take more away from WR Tory Horton. The tight ends do have a good matchup, but AJ Barner and Elijah Arroyo cancel each other out much like their running back situation of Kenneth Walker and Zach Charbonnet.
I have an interest in only one Cardinal, and that is TE Trey McBride. Look for QB Jacoby Brissett to target him over and over again, as I think the Seattle secondary can take away WR Marvin Harrison Jr. Perhaps you can take a shot at RB Emari Demercado in a milli-maker tournament. He is getting out of the doghouse because I think he’s the best back currently suiting up. Plus, it isn’t easy to run against Seattle, and I can see a scenario where he has five or more catches and a touchdown.
