IT’S HERE FOLKS - CHAMPIONSHIP WEEK. This is for all the marbles so we are going to focus hard on who is actually viable in your most important matchup. But, for those of us eliminated and playing DFS, we’ll also try to mention any high risk, high reward options to win those big tournaments as well. So let’s dig in!

 

 

Arizona Cardinals

WR: Weird situation here - Marquise Brown didn’t start as a punishment for being late to a meeting. Yet he still played 58 snaps. DeAndre Hopkins and Marquise Brown are the two guys you can trust with Greg Dortch remaining more of a boom/bust DFS play. 

RB: James Conner has been locked in but keep an eye on the updates for him. He’s been sick this week and did not participate in the last two practices. One full practice or news that he is fully healthy and you lock him in the lineup though.

TE: Trey McBride continues to play a snap share similar to what Zach Ertz would play and he once again lined up at WR for more than 50% of his snaps. He got 11 targets in the two games Colt McCoy started and McCoy is back so he’s a deep league option and a solid DFS play, as we wrote about in the Tight End DFS Coach article this week. 

 

Atlanta Falcons

WR: They use so many tight ends that Drake London and Olamide Zaccheaus are the only two guys that play full snaps. London you can consider in real leagues, Zaccheaus is barely a DFS dart. He’s turned 15 targets over the last three weeks into only 31 yards.

RB: Tyler Allgeier has slowly clawed away this job from Cordarrelle Patterson and this week he not only played more snaps overall (42 vs 26) but he played more in both the run and pass game.

TE: There is no viable pass-catching tight end here. If I were going to throw a DFS dart at someone, it would actually be Anthony Firkser since he actually has a pass-catching skill set (only 15 snaps but 11 were routes run). Parker Hesse and MyCole Pruitt are blocking tight ends.

 

Baltimore Ravens

WR: We very rarely see teams do what this team is doing. The top two WRs played 58% (Demarcus Robinson) and 33% (Sammy Watkins) of the snaps. Meanwhile, fullback Patrick Ricard played 85% of the snaps. It’s like Bill Belichick’s dream offense. You can’t trust any of these wide receivers. 

RB: Yikes, not what we wanted to see. JK Dobbins and Gus Edwards essentially split the snaps and the carries right down the middle. Dobbins is still the better start than Edwards given his explosiveness and Edwards might be viable in some formats now but we obviously would prefer if they didn’t split at all. Dobbins at least ran 6 routes to 3 for Edwards so slightly not in that facet.

TE: We mentioned the fullback playing 85% of the snaps - TWO tight ends also played 81% of the snaps in Mark Andrews and Josh Oliver. Andrews ran all 18 routes and Oliver ran 10. Andrews is hard to trust these days. 

 

Buffalo Bills

WR: Gabriel Davis and Stefon Diggs are both full-time players on the outside which you like to see. But we have less confidence than ever in guys like Isaiah McKenzie (23 snaps of 64), Khalil Shakir (25), and Cole Beasley (6) after they all split snaps to a certain degree. 

RB: Devin Singletary is the starter and the preferred back but the days of him playing all the snaps are over. He played 37 snaps to 26 for James Cook. 

TE: Dawson Knox ran 24 of 36 routes - we’d like to see that number higher but he continues to offer an okay floor with touchdown upside so he’s a backend TE1. 

 

Carolina Panthers

WR: DJ Moore continues to have one of the highest snap shares of any wide receiver in the league. This week, he played 65 of 68 snaps. Terrace Marshall also plays a big snap share so he’s a DFS dart. No other WR played more than 24 snaps so can’t trust anyone else.

RB: They split the snaps down the middle with D’Onta Foreman playing 30 and Chuba Hubbard playing 31. But the workload isn’t split evenly as Foreman plays more run plays and Chuba plays more pass plays. The Buccaneers are favored by three points at home this week, so the game script direction isn’t super clear (compared to say, the Cowboys who were favored by 14 over the Titans). 

TE: You can’t start either of these guys in real leagues. There were 36 pass plays - Tommy Tremble ran 13 routes and Ian Thomas ran 11.

 

Chicago Bears

WR: Tons of injuries here. Chase Claypool is once again questionable. If he’s out, it should be Byron Pringle and Dante Pettis on the outside with Velus Jones Jr. splitting with N’Keal Harry. I wouldn’t trust any of those guys in a real league, Pringle and Pettis are dart throws for DFS but one of them will likely get taken away by Jeff Okudah. 

RB: David Montgomery is the main attraction still even with Khalil Herbert back. He played more snaps on both run and pass plays (42 total vs. 25 for Herbert). 

TE: Over the past four weeks, Cole Kmet has played every offensive snap but three. And he has a great matchup. Last time he faced the Lions, he had seven targets and caught two touchdowns. 

 

Cincinnati Bengals

WR: It used to be the same three guys every play but now Trenton Irwin mixes in with Tyler Boyd making Tyler Boyd less appealing. Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins are still guys you start everywhere though. 

RB: The set up right now seems to be that Joe Mixon plays more run plays than Samaje Perine (20 vs. 7) while they split the pass work evenly (29 vs. 28 snaps). Mixon is still the guy in that format obviously. 

TE: Hayden Hurst returned to practice but he’s not really a guy you want to start coming off an injury vs. a top defense vs. the tight end. Matt Milano is a tough draw in championship week. 

 

Cleveland Browns

WR: Amari Cooper (62 of 70 snaps) and Donovan Peoples-Jones (68) are locked in on the outside, David Bell (51) plays a pretty decent snap share from the slot at times but in other games he’s not heavily utilized so it’s hard to trust him.

RB: The split this week was more reminiscent of old times. Nick Chubb got more run work as always but Kareem Hunt played 25 pass plays to only 10 for Chubb. That’s likely due to a lingering foot issue for Chubb so Hunt isn’t very appealing.

TE: David Njoku once again played a huge snap share (68 of 70 snaps) and he ran 35 of 36 routes. That’s great usage but his matchup is less than ideal. He’s still in the TE1 range though given how tough the position is. 

 

Dallas Cowboys

WR: CeeDee Lamb, Michael Gallup, and Noah Brown. Those are the guys. TY Hilton mixes in a little bit but he’s just a field stretcher. 

RB: Tony Pollard is banged up so we should get a good amount of Ezekiel Elliott. The next man up is Malik Davis who should contribute. 

TE: Dalton Schultz continues to play a huge snap share and run a ton of routes. The production hasn’t been there as of late, but that kind of usage offers a decent enough floor and a lot of upside. He ran 39 of 45 routes.

 

Denver Broncos

WR: Courtland Sutton is back so it’s now Jerry Jeudy and Sutton on the outside with Freddie Swain the next man up, manning the slot.

RB: Latavius Murray lost a bit of his luster this week as Chase Edmonds returned to split the work. 31 snaps for Murray, 28 for Edmonds. 

TE: Greg Dulcich is expected to miss this week. Both the Erics (Tomlinson and Saubert) are blocking tight ends and Andrew Beck is more of a fullback so there isn’t much there fantasy wise. No chance I’m rolling out Albert Okwuegbunam.

 

Detroit Lions

WR: Amon-Ra St. Brown and DJ Chark are both full time guys. We are waiting for Jameson Williams to play a bigger snap share but it might not happen this year. Josh Reynolds is a dart throw in DFS until that happens.

RB: Jamaal Williams got nicked up so D’Andre Swift played over 50% of the snaps but Williams is expected to play. So we probably will Swift, Williams, and Justin Jackson all split some snaps. 

TE: “You can’t start Lions tight ends in any format. If you were FORCED to, it would oddly be Shane Zylstra who ran 16 routes to 8 for Brock Wright.” - This is what we said last week. Did not expect three touchdowns from Zylstra but that is what happened. He still only ran 24 routes out of 50 but clearly he’s the best pass-catching tight end they have.

 

Green Bay Packers

WR: With Christian Watson banged up it will be Allen Lazard and Romeo Doubs on the outsides and both should be viable against the Vikings. Randall Cobb will contribute in the slot. 

RB: Aaron Jones is back in action but it was AJ Dillon that got the bulk of the work. The split will probably be a bit more even rest of the way if we had to guess with Dillon getting more short yardage work, Jones skewing pass downs. 

TE: Robert Tonyan only played 38 of 66 snaps - it’s been like that all year.

 

Houston Texans

WR: We got our answer here - with Brandin Cooks back, it was Cooks and Chris Moore playing the snaps. Phillip Dorsett took a back seat. Cooks is startable in redraft leagues while Moore is more of a DFS play. 

RB: Royce Freeman is the lead dog here with Dameon Pierce out with Dare Ogunbowale contributing on pass plays. 

TE: Your best bet in any sort of fantasy is Jordan Akins. He runs the most routes. 

 

Indianapolis Colts

WR: They dropped back 37 times. Michael Pittman ran 37 routes. Parris Campbell ran 33. Alex Pierce ran 29. Those are the guys. 

RB: Zach Moss continued to lead the backfield and the split was even more drastic than expected. He played 36 snaps while Deon Jackson and Jordan Wilkins each only played 8.

TE: Whenever Kylen Granson is out, Jelani Woods goes from a guy who plays 25-35% of the snaps to ~65%. Granson has been ruled out already so Woods is an interesting DFS play and maybe a sneaky deep league play. 

 

Jacksonville Jaguars

WR: Zay Jones and Christian Kirk are the full time guys, Marvin Jones simply doesn’t play enough to trust - even in DFS.

RB: Travis Etienne played 51 of 72 snaps so he’s the man and he has a juicy matchup with Houston.

TE: Evan Engram has been a revelation this year for fantasy gamers. He’s been the top scoring tight end in fantasy the last four weeks. 

 

Kansas City Chiefs

WR: JuJu Smith-Schuster led in snaps again but he didn’t get the double digit targets he had the last two games. Justin Watson plays a lot but mostly for blocking and no one else played even 50% of the snaps. Can’t really trust anyone other than Juju and even he is dicey.

RB: Jerick McKinnon continues to flash though Isiah Pacheco plays more in the run game while he plays more pass downs. Both are viable options but cap each other's upside to a certain degree.

TE: Travis Kelce is the king.

 

Las Vegas Raiders

WR: Davante Adams and Mack Hollins are the split end and flanker. Hunter Renfrow only played 25 of 53 snaps as they still worked in Keelan Cole. With the QB change, only Adams can be trusted.

RB: Josh Jacobs is a beast. Just have to hope they can move the ball against the 49ers.  

TE: Darren Waller played less than 50% of the snaps for the second week in a row. The Raiders are eliminated from contention with a backup QB so I would look elsewhere if possible. 

 

Los Angeles Chargers

WR: Mike Williams and Keenan Allen are locked in. Josh Palmer is the third fiddle and played ~60-65% of the snaps typically. 

RB: Austin Ekeler is the man, Joshua Kelley just spells him from time to time.

TE: We warned you about Gerald Everett with all the pass catchers healthy. He is not to be trusted.

 

Los Angeles Rams

WR: With all the injuries, it’s Van Jefferson, Tutu Atwell, and Brandon Powell. They are probably all DFS dart throws at best but Jefferson is the clear lead dog. 

RB: Cam Akers has run away with this backfield and he sure looked good this weekend. He’s a viable option.

TE:  Tyler Higbee was blocking on wayyy too many pass plays in the games leading up to this week but, with Ben Skowronek out, he was involved more in the pass game. He still only ran 24 of 30 routes. I don’t trust him.

 

Miami Dolphins

WR: Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle are every down guys. Trent Sherfield rotates with Cedrick Wilson and Mike Gesicki so he’s not viable. 

RB: Jeff Wilson returned and took over the short yardage work, Raheem Mostert contributed as a change of pace speedster. Start them if you must vs. New England but they hurt each other.

TE: No tight end here is viable. Mike Gesicki only played 12 snaps and Durham Smythe, despite playing 32, only ran 8 routes. 

 

Minnesota Vikings

WR: This one is easy. Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen, every snap. KJ Osborn is the third fiddle. No WR outside of these three played a single snap.

RB: Dalvin Cook is the man, Alexander Mattison is the handcuff. 

TE:  TJ Hockenson played 65 of 72 snaps and looked amazing. This team is the easiest to write up for this article because the snaps are so highly consolidated. Only 14 guys played on offense. Outside of the starters, it was Johnny Mundt (22), Alexander Mattison (15), and CJ Ham (13). That’s it.

 

New England Patriots

WR: Jakobi Meyers played every single snap and he’s the one guy you can really use in you championships. If you want a dart throw, it’s Tyquan Thornton. The rest of the guys mix and match.

RB: Rhamondre Stevenson was the lead dog again with Damien Harris but he did fumble to lose the game. Typically, Stevenson would be locked in but you have to worry about punishment.

TE: Jonnu Smith and Hunter Henry are banged up so we’ll have to monitor them. Not like you were starting them anyway. If they are both out, Scotty Washington is the name you want to look for. He was the one that tipped a deep throw to Kendrick Bourne.

 

New Orleans Saints

WR: Chris Olave is banged up but, even if he’s healthy, he has a tough spot vs. Darius Slay and James Bradberry. You can’t really consider anyone else. 

RB: Alvin Kamara is still the guy and he was back at practice today. David Johnson is the backup.

TE: Juwan Johnson is the best bet for a real tight end but he doesn’t play a full snap share and it’s a tough matchup. Taysom Hill is Taysom Hill.

 

New York Giants

WR: Darius Slayton, Isaiah Hodgins, and Richie James all play big snap shares though James is the odd man out if they do go with two WRs. All are dart throws in DFS but hard to trust in real leagues unless it’s deep.

RB: Saquon Barkley got back to a big share (63 of 69 snaps). He’s a stud. 

TE: Daniel Bellinger played 68 of 69 snaps and ran 49 routes so he’s a threat at any time. Unfortunately, he fumbled in this game which hurt him.

 

New York Jets

WR: Garrett Wilson and Corey Davis play the big snap shares out wide, Elijah Moore isn’t far behind them but he’s the smaller guy so he comes out for jumbo sets.

RB: Zonovan Knight on run downs, Michael Carter on pass downs. Seattle does not have a great run defense so I like Knight of the two.

TE: Good matchup for Conklin but he still splits with Uzomah to some degree. Conklin ran 30 of 41 routes, Uzomah ran 14 of 41.

 

Philadelphia Eagles

WR: DeVonta Smith and AJ Brown are the full time guys, Quez Watkins works in the slot. Watkins is a DFS dart, the other two are in your real lineups.

RB: I thought we were safe from tight end vulturing QBs but Gardner Minshew stole one this week. Ouch. Sanders has been limited and, if he’s out, expect Boston Scott to work on run downs and Kenneth Gainwell on pass downs. 

TE: Dallas Goedert is back - it’s the matchup that scares us. But he played 67 of 71 snaps.

 

Pittsburgh Steelers

WR: Diontae Johnson and George Pickens are the only WRs that matter here.

RB: Najee Harris played 68 of 69 snaps which is great. Jaylen Warren is the backup.

TE: Pat Freiermuth had played ~55% of the snaps in three straight games but he bounced back in a big way with 81% this week. He’s back.

 

San Francisco 49ers

WR: With Deebo Samuel out, Brandon Aiyuk is the man and Jauan Jennings fills in opposite him. They use a fullback so not much room for a WR3.

RB: Christian McCaffrey is set and forget.

TE: George Kittle played 47 of 52 snaps and scored twice in back to back games. Happy to have him.

 

Seattle Seahawks

WR: Tyler Lockett reportedly will play only a couple weeks after hand surgery. Talk about toughness. It will be him and DK Metcalf on the outside with no one else being an option.

RB: Kenneth Walker is back so forget everyone else in this backfield.

TE: With Will Dissly on IR, Noah Fant gets a boost. The return of Tyler Lockett pours some cold water on that. 

 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

WR: Chris Godwin and Mike Evans every snap. Russell Gage and Julio Jones split the rest of them which takes them both off the table.

RB: Leonard Fournette simply gets better usage than Rachaad White. More carries, more pass plays. We like White in dyno but it is Fournette right now.

TE: Cade Otton is the full on starter it seems - he played 68 snaps to only 8 for Cameron Brate. In fact, Kyle Rudolph (11) and Ko Kieft (14) played more than Brate.

 

Tennessee Titans

WR: Treylon Burks is back so it was Burks, Robert Woods, and Nick Westbrook-Ikhine. All more DFS plays than redraft.

RB: Derrick Henry is out so it’s Hassan Haskins and Julius Chestnut as the options. A scary situation.

TE: Chigoziem Okonkwo and Austin Hooper hurt each other's upside by splitting snaps. Can’t really trust them with backup QBs. 

 

Washington Commanders

WR: Jahan Dotson is awesome and he plays a full snap share alongside Terry McLaurin. Curtis Samuel plays in the slot but we have a sneaky Curtis Samuel call if you keep on reading.

RB: Both pass catching backs are out in Antonio Gibson and JD McKissic. Robinson is a smash play vs. the Browns. When coach Ron Rivera lost Christian McCaffrey in 2020, Curtis Samuel played 70 snaps in the backfield and got 40 carries. He could be in line for a very interesting workload. 

TE: Logan Thomas isn’t playing the 100% snap share of yesteryear but Carson Wentz is a boost for the tight end. A DFS play perhaps?

 

 

 

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