Week 13 is coming up as the season winds down quickly, and there are NFL DFS picks to be made and daily fantasy football advice to be given for DraftKings, FanDuel and Yahoo contests. Greg Ehrenberg breaks down some of the key news in his Slant and Go article for your Week 13 DFS lineups on Sunday.
Daily Fantasy Football: Week 13 DraftKings + FanDuel NFL DFS Picks
Josh Jacobs Dealing With An Ankle Injury. **UPDATE JACOBS IS OUT**
Jacobs carried the ball just 10 times during the Raiders’ blowout loss to the Falcons. He injured his ankle and, although it looked serious at the time, he still might play against the Jets. I am less confident that Jacobs will play than I am about Cook. Not only did Jacobs’ injury look worse, there isn’t much of a need to force him to play this weekend. The Raiders are favored by more than a touchdown against the Jets. They should win comfortably this weekend even without Jacobs. Playing the winless Jets, I tend to think Las Vegas will give Jacobs the week off to recover. If this is the case, Devontae Booker is in line for a big game at a reasonable price point across all daily fantasy football sites. He is posting a strong year with an average of 5.5 yards per carry, and the game script sets up well against the winless Jets.
Be sure to stay up to date on all the injury news on both Cook and Jacobs by checking the Awesemo Injury Report, where we track all of the injury news and update it daily.
Dalvin Cook Questionable To Play With An Ankle Injury
Cook practiced on Wednesday, although it wasn’t a full practice. It’s a situation to monitor, but I don’t think this is a big concern yet. Cook banged up his ankle on Sunday and briefly left the game before returning. If he sits, Alexander Mattison becomes a viable option, even though he struggled in his last start against the Falcons. Mattison averaged 4.6 yards per carry and should play well against the Jaguars’ weak run defense if he starts. The game script is ideal since the Vikings are 10-point favorites.
If Cook plays, one of the toughest decisions on the slate is whether to roster Cook or Derrick Henry. The league’s two top rushers are both viable plays, but I think Cook is the stronger play of the two. As mentioned above, if Mattison starts, the matchup and game script are ideal for a running back. Henry is coming off a big game and is having a nice season, but he doesn’t possess quite the same upside as Cook. The Vikings lead back has gone over 25 DraftKings points five times this season, while Henry has only topped that mark three times despite playing in more games.
Austin Ekeler Returns To Normal Role
I learned one major lesson this season. Do not listen to any of Ian Rapoport’s Sunday morning playing-time reports. They are proving to not have value. From reports like Christian McCaffrey playing limited snaps in his return to reporting Ekeler wouldn’t play his normal role last weekend, his Sunday morning reports aren’t accurate. Luckily, I went into last week’s slate with this information in mind and went way over the field with exposure to Ekeler despite Rapoport’s report of limitations. It paid off since Ekeler saw 16 targets and hauled in 11 of them for a nice PPR game on DraftKings. He wasn’t efficient, but the passing game work was still enough for a good daily fantasy football outing. Ekeler is one of my favorite plays on the slate going up against a Patriots defense that isn’t nearly as good as its reputation.
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Value In The Texans’ Receivers Without Will Fuller
In a monster story, Fuller is suspended for a PED violation. Fuller is playing on 90.8% of the snaps this season with a 21.4% target share. This leaves a massive void in the Texans’ offense. The most obvious player to step up and fill the gap is Brandin Cooks. He projects as one of the highest-owned plays this weekend. This is hard to argue, and I think Cooks is a must-have in cash games. He’s a good play for tournaments, but there is leverage to find. Keke Coutee stands to play a bigger role and is not projecting for much ownership. He’s one of my favorite values on the slate. I like the idea of making some lineups with Coutee as opposed to Cooks. Duke Johnson could also step up in the passing game after catching four passes and scoring a touchdown last week. Johnson and Coutee both have upside at a third of the ownership of Cooks.
Alvin Kamara Disappearing In The Passing Game
As long as Taysom Hill is starting at quarterback for the Saints, Kamara is a player I will fade. Unlike Drew Brees, Hill is rarely looking to throw short passes to his running backs. One of the most feared pass catchers out of the backfield playing with Brees, Kamara has a total of one reception in two games playing alongside Hill. Kamara was targeted at least eight times in nine games with Brees this season. Since he only has three targets in two games with Hill, Kamara doesn’t look like a viable fantasy option unless his price drops or there is a quarterback change.
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