The Week 9 NFL main slate kicks off on Sunday, Nov. 3, at 1 p.m. ET. In this piece, I highlight the wide receivers who stand out in our large suite of analytical DFS Tools, most specifically the industry-leading FantasyLabs Models.
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Top Wide Receivers in the FantasyLabs Models
There are five wide receivers atop the individual Pro Models that Jonathan Bales, Peter Jennings (CSURAM88), Adam Levitan, Sean Koerner, Chris Raybon, Kevin McClelland (SportsGeek) and I have constructed.
- Tyler Lockett: $7,500 DraftKings; $7,500 FanDuel
- Marvin Jones Jr.: $6,000 DraftKings; $5,700 FanDuel
- Alshon Jeffery: $5,000 DraftKings; $6,600 FanDuel
- Jarvis Landry: $4,500 DraftKings; $6,200 FanDuel
- Cole Beasley: $4,100 DraftKings; $5,600 FanDuel
Tyler Lockett: Seattle Seahawks (-6) vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 52 Over/Under
Last year, Lockett had a magically efficient season. He turned 57 receptions and 13 carries into 1,034 yards and 10 touchdowns. He produced a perfect QB rating of 158.3 for Russell Wilson on his 70 targets. He had a league-high 77.8% catch rate on passes of at least 20 yards (per Pro Football Focus).
This year, he’s had something of a mixed campaign. Lockett leads the team with his unreal 85.2% catch rate as well as 54 targets, 46 receptions, 615 yards receiving, 163 yards after the catch and four touchdowns receiving. He’s a close No. 2 with 603 air yards.
But he has just one top-12 fantasy performance this year (per RotoViz NFL Stat Explorer).
There’s nothing wrong with 13.5 FanDuel points per game, and Lockett has provided good value with his +4.43 Plus/Minus. He has been incredibly reliable with his 87.5% Consistency Rating (per our FantasyLabs Trends Tool).
But Lockett isn’t seeing enough volume each week to be a consistent high-end producer. In six of his eight games, he’s had fewer than eight targets. He’s simply too risky for cash games.
For tournaments, though, Lockett is viable because of his efficiency and play-making ability. Since last season, he’s had an 83.1% catch rate and 10.8% touchdown rate to go along with his 13.1 yards per target in 25 games (including playoffs). Lockett is No. 1 with a 9.2 target quality rating (per Player Profiler).
With numbers like that, all it takes is a little luck or a little more volume, and Lockett could have a 120-yard, two-touchdown performance — especially this week: I love Lockett’s matchup.
The Bucs have had a pretty soft schedule of opposing passing games led by non-elite quarterbacks.
- Week 1 (vs. 49ers): Run game-restricted Jimmy Garoppolo
- Week 2 (at Panthers): Injury-impacted Cam Newton
- Week 3 (vs. Giants): Wide-eyed Daniel Jones
- Week 4 (at Rams): Regression-saddened Jared Goff
- Week 5 (at Saints): Noodle-armed Teddy Bridgewater
- Week 6 (vs. Panthers): Experience-limited Kyle Allen
- Week 7: Bye
- Week 8 (at Titans): Undead-and-resurrected Ryan Tannehill
And yet the Bucs have still allowed the fifth-most FanDuel points to opposing wide receivers with 34.7 per game.
Although the Seahawks tend to rely on the running game, they might skew toward the pass in this matchup: The Bucs have one of the league’s most extreme funnel defenses. They’re No. 1 against the run (-42.5% DVOA) but No. 26 against the pass (21.8% DVOA, per Football Outsiders). Coaches often behave irrationally, but it would make sense for the Seahawks to leverage the strength of their highly efficient receiver against the clear weakness of their opponent.
I expect that Lockett in the slot will match up with cornerback Vernon Hargreaves III, who has a 44.7 PFF coverage grade and has allowed a 72.7% catch rate this year. For most of the season, Hargreaves has lined up at right corner, but last week the Bucs shifted him to the slot in nickel packages. Against Hargreaves, the superior Lockett should have little trouble converting his targets to fantasy points.
If the Bucs revert back to their former alignment, that will put rookie corner Sean Murphy-Bunting against Lockett in the slot — and the thought of Lockett running most of his routes against a first-year player is intoxicating. SMB has been in the corner rotation for just three games, and he has 98 coverage snaps of NFL experience.
Whether he’s going against Hargreaves or SMB, the speedy Lockett has the clear one-on-one edge. He’s a slot savant.
And on a macro level, I like the situation: The Seahawks are easily one of the league’s best home teams. Under head coach Pete Carroll (since 2010), the Seahawks are 46-33-3 against the spread at home, good for a 13.7% return on investment (per Bet Labs).
In the Carroll era, the Seahawks have averaged 21.7 points per game on the road but 26.4 at CenturyLink Field. That home/road offensive differential of +4.7 points is No. 3 in the league.
The Seahawks have a slate-high 28.75-point implied Vegas total.
Defensively, the Bucs are No. 2 overall with 474.7 air yards and yards after the catch allowed per game (per AirYards.com). Yah-tzee. Use our Lineup Builder to stack Lockett with quarterback Russell Wilson.
Lockett is the No. 1 wide receiver in the Bales, CSURAM88, Levitan, Koerner and Freedman Models for FanDuel, where he has a position-high six Pro Trends and elite 97% Bargain Rating.
Lockett is the No. 3 wide receiver in our Week 9 fantasy football rankings.
Marvin Jones Jr.: Detroit Lions (+2) at Oakland Raiders, 50.5 O/U
If you don’t already know, my telling you probably won’t make a difference — but I have to say it all the same: You absolutely cannot roster Jones in cash. He has double-digit targets in just one game this year. He has a cellar-dwelling fantasy floor. He’s strictly a tournament-only play.
He is the definition of a boom-or-bust receiver.
There’s no middle class in the Jones economy — either you live like a king or you die in the streets.
Like most volatile players, Jones is an extremely touchdown-dependent producer. When he scores, he breaks the slate. When he doesn’t score, he sabotages lineups (per RotoViz Game Splits App).
- Touchdown (two games): 28.7 FanDuel points, 11 targets, 8 receptions, 97 yards, 2.5 touchdowns
- No Touchdown (five games): 6.2 FanDuel points, 5 targets, 3.6 receptions, 43 yards, zero touchdowns
This productivity split is extreme, but it’s in keeping with the general trends he’s exhibited across his career. Just two weeks ago, he became the league’s only active receiver with multiple four-touchdown games in his career. And then last week he had 22 scoreless yards.
With Jones, his mean numbers are irrelevant. What does it matter that he’s averaged just 6.7 targets, 4.9 receptions and 58.4 yards per game this season? What matters is what Jones does when he erupts and how frequently he does so.
In his 48 games since joining the Lions in 2016 (including playoffs), Jones has had five games with at least 25 FanDuel points. In three of those games, he’s been the slate’s No. 1 fantasy receiver. In all of them, he’s in the top five.
For a non-elite guy to offer GPP-winning production at a historical clip of 10.4% is outstanding.
And I think Jones has an elevated chance of hitting that mark this week. Jones is in the top 12 at the position with five end-zone targets, he has a career-high 72.3% catch rate this year and his matchup is splendid.
Jones moves across the formation quite a bit, lining up 189 snaps out wide to the right, 112 snaps out wide to the left and 109 snaps in the slot, so he’ll see sustained regular action against all three Raiders corners.
All of them are beatable.
The Raiders are No. 30 with a 40.8 PFF coverage grade, which is both horrendous and perhaps generous.
Without cornerback Gareon Conley, whom they traded last week, the Raiders are thin at the position: No. 1 corner Daryl Worley has below-average PFF coverage grades of 51.5 and 61.0 in his two seasons with the Raiders. Slot man Lamarcus Joyner has allowed a putrid 79.1% catch rate. And new starter Trayvon Mullen is a rookie with just 92 coverage snaps to his name.
I expect Jones to face Mullen the most — and he could absolutely annihilate the first-year corner — but whoever he faces, Jones will have an advantageous matchup.
And I expect the Lions to throw. They are without starting running back Kerryon Johnson (knee, injured reserve), so they should skew toward the pass anyway, and the Raiders have a funnel defense that ranks No. 9 against the run (-17.9% DVOA) but No. 29 against the pass (37.5% DVOA).
The Raiders have allowed the sixth-most FanDuel points to opposing wide receivers with 34.0 per game, and Lions-Raiders is No. 2 on the slate with a 50.5-point over/under.
Jones is the No. 1 wide receiver in the Raybon and SportsGeek Models for FanDuel, where he has a position-high +3.38 Projected Plus/Minus and top-tier 98% Bargain Rating.
Alshon Jeffery: Philadelphia Eagles (-5) at Chicago Bears, 42 O/U
UPDATE (Nov. 2): WR DeSean Jackson (abdomen) is questionable but seems likely to play. RBs Darren Sproles (quad) and Miles Sanders (shoulder) are in.
Yeah, baby! #RevengeGame!
I tend not to think all that much about Jeffery on a week-to-week basis, but he deserves some attention. Wide receiver DeSean Jackson (abdomen) finally returned to practice on Wednesday, but he’s not certain to play this weekend. If D-Jax sits one more game, Jeffery will be in play against his former team.
Since Week 4, when he returned from a calf injury, Jeffery has led the Eagles with 40 targets, 25 receptions, 268 yards receiving and 424 air yards and yards after the catch combined. He’s also chipped in a couple of touchdowns. In a Jackson-less environment, Jeffery is still the clear No. 1 receiver in the offense.
In his 41 career games with the Eagles (including playoffs), Jeffery has averaged 7.3 targets and 12.5 expected receiving points per game (per RotoViz Screener). With eight targets and 12.8 DraftKings points per game over the past five weeks without D-Jax, Alshon is pretty much the same guy he’s been since he left the Bears in 2017.
And that guy is capable of putting up points. In nine games — 22.0% of all his games with the Eagles — Jeffery has had 20-plus DraftKings points. Most people haven’t thought of Jeffery as a fantasy WR1 since his days with the Bears, but that’s what he’s been almost a quarter of the time with the Eagles, usually at a significant discount to his production.
And he’s relatively inexpensive this week. In his entire time with the Eagles, only once has Jeffery been $5,000 or cheaper and that was in the playoffs, when the pricing scale changes because of the smaller slates. In fact, in the entire FantasyLabs database (since 2014), that’s the only time Jeffery has been this cheap.
And in all fairness, there’s a reason he’s priced down: He has a tough matchup. The Bears aren’t as defensively ferocious as they were last year, but they still have two above-average perimeter corners in Prince Amukamara and Kyle Fuller, and they have held opposing wide receivers to the seventh-fewest DraftKings points per game with 30.2.
And D-Jax very well might return. In Week 1 — the only full week in which both D-Jax and Jeffery have been healthy — Jackson was clearly the team’s No. 1 receiver.
- DeSean Jackson: 8-154-2 receiving on 10 targets
- Alshon Jeffery: 5-49-1 receiving on six targets
If D-Jax plays, Jeffery’s target volume will almost certainly take a hit.
But if Jackson is inactive, I expect that Jeffery will be both viable and easily rosterable in GPPs: Because of his matchup, we’re projecting him for a sub-2% ownership rate, which would give him a position-high 99% Leverage Score.
And despite the matchup, he still might be able to produce: In his one previous #RevengeGame in 2017, he had a respectable 5-52-1 performance on nine targets.
Jeffery is the No. 1 wide receiver in the Bales and Levitan Models for DraftKings, where he has five Pro Trends and a strong 91% Bargain Rating.
In the video above, I use the FantasyLabs Trends Tool to research Jeffery and Landry’s historical salaries. Click here to access the FantasyLabs Trends Tool.
Jarvis Landry: Cleveland Browns (-3) at Denver Broncos, 39 O/U
UPDATE (Nov. 2): Broncos SCB Will Parks (hand) is out.
Landry (shoulder) is dealing with a lingering injury, but he practiced on a limited basis on Wednesday and is expected to play this weekend.
I’m not much of a Landry truther, but can you tell me what the real difference is between Odell Beckham Jr. and Landry right now?
- DraftKings salary: $6,600 vs. $4,500
- DraftKings points per game: 13.7 vs. 12.1
- DraftKings Plus/Minus: -2.63 vs. +1.10
- Targets, red-zone targets, end-zone targets: 61-9-3 vs. 54-11-2
- Receiving production: 34-488-1 vs. 30-504-0
- Average depth of target (aDOT): 11.8 vs. 10.7
OBJ’s on-field numbers are slightly better, but only slightly, and he’s horribly underperformed his salary-based expectations. As a producer, Landry has been similar enough to OBJ this year to make him a viable arbitrage play against the Broncos.
In truth, Landry is so discounted that he’s actually an option for cash games.
At $4,500, Landry is CHEAP. For Week 9 last year, Landry was $6,500. A $2,000 decline for a receiver playing almost every snap and still seeing regular targets is massive.
Landry entered the league in 2014. Do you know the last time he was as cheap as $4,500? Week 12 of 2014, when he was a wide-eyed rookie with just 10 NFL games and 400 yards to his name. That was almost a half decade ago.
In the four full seasons since then, Landry has averaged 1,109.7 scrimmage yards and six all-purpose touchdowns per year.
This season, he’s pacing for 1,174.9 yards from scrimmage.
BUSINESS. AS. USUAL.
I get why Landry is discounted. He has zero touchdowns this season, and his per-game target volume has fallen from a 2015-18 average of 9.5 to 7.7. But with all the yards he’s still getting, Landry will eventually have a touchdown reversal of fortune. Plus, Landry’s target decline has been offset by enhanced efficiency. In 2015-18, Landry averaged 7.0 yards per target. This year, he has a career-best mark of 9.3.
And it’s not as if 7.7 targets per game is bad. That’s more than guys like Lockett, T.Y. Hilton and D.J. Chark are getting. Landry has at least five targets in every game. And just last week he tied his season high with 10 targets.
Scott R. Galvin-USA TODAY Sports. Pictured: Jarvis Landry
The main issue with Landry this week is that he has a tough team-level matchup: The Broncos are No. 3 with an 84.4 coverage grade, and they’ve held opposing wide receivers to a league-low 24.4 DraftKings points per game.
But perhaps naïvely, I think his actual matchup isn’t that bad. The Broncos have been shuffling players in and out at slot corner all year and are still relatively unsettled at the position.
In Weeks 1-3, Kareem Jackson was the team’s primary slot corner, but he was exposed so the team moved him back to free safety, where he’s traditionally played. In Weeks 4-5, Duke Dawson Jr. — a second-year corner with no NFL experience — played in the slot, but he allowed an 80% catch rate in those games.
In Weeks 6-7, safety Will Parks started in the slot, but he broke his hand in Week 7 and was replaced by Dawson, who got the start in Week 8 and will likely man the middle in Week 9.
Landry has run 71.2% of his routes from the slot this year, and he’s No. 4 at the position with 2.21 yards per slot route run, trailing only Cooper Kupp, Lockett and Chris Godwin (per PFF). If Landry gets to run the supermajority of his routes against a third-string slot corner with just 129 cover snaps in the NFL, he could have a massive performance — especially since lockdown shadow man Chris Harris Jr. will likely tail Beckham, which could funnel targets away from OBJ and toward Landry.
And when he moves to the perimeter, Landry will likely face cornerback Davontae Harris, a 2018 fifth-rounder with a 51.5 PFF coverage grade and no NFL experience till he was pushed into action in Week 5.
In a sign of how sharp the market has gotten, we’re projecting Landry to be one of the slate’s most popular receivers even with his zero touchdowns and tough team-level matchup.
Landry is the No. 1 wide receiver in the Koerner, Raybon and Freedman Models for DraftKings, where he has position-high marks with a +3.80 Projected Plus/Minus and seven Pro Trends.
Cole Beasley: Buffalo Bills (-9.5) vs. Washington Redskins, 37 O/U
UPDATE (Nov. 2): Redskins CB Quinton Dunbar (hamstring) is in. Redskins S Montae Nicholson (ankle) is out.
Beasley is the destitute Jarvis. He’s tied with John Brown for the team lead with 53 targets, and he has a reliable role in the slot.
In all honesty, Beasley has been a forgettable producer this year.
But he has a few factors in his favor.
First, he’s cheap. If you roster Beasley, you have a lot of roster flexibility. You can jam in almost anyone else you want.
Second, he will have an almost nonexistent ownership rate. If he hits, he will give you a contrarian lineup that is instantly in the running.
Third, his odds of hitting are probably better than most people expect. Since 2015, when Beasley became a regular receiver in three-wide sets, he has played 73 games (including playoffs). In that sample, he has had 20-plus DraftKings points five times and 30-plus twice.
People will act as if he has almost no chance of being a fantasy WR1, but in two games this year he’s had double-digit targets, and he’s scored touchdowns in back-to-back games. While his salary and likely ownership rate suggest that he has less than a 1% chance of having a slate-breaking performance, his history and usage indicate his true odds are probably closer to 5%. While the spread between 1% and 5% might seem small, it’s actually quite large given the roster flexibility and contrarian constructions Beasley affords.
And Beasley has a good matchup. The Redskins have shifted cornerbacks Fabian Moreau and Jimmy Moreland in and out of the slot this year, and regardless of which one he faces, Beasley will have edge. Moreau has a 49.2 PFF coverage grade and has allowed an 87.0% catch rate. Moreland is a seventh-round rookie who has allowed an 88.2% catch rate. If Beasley is ever to have a 10-100-1 receiving game with quarterback Josh Allen, it seems like it would come against guys like this.
Through eight weeks, the Redskins have faced two slot receivers who were significantly involved in their offenses. Both had success.
- Sterling Shepard (Week 4): 16.9 DraftKings points, 7-76-0 receiving on nine targets, 1-23-0 rushing
- Julian Edelman (Week 5): 28.0 DraftKings points, 8-110-1 receiving on nine targets
Beasley’s not in Edelman’s and Shepard’s class, but he’s a solid slot veteran with a great matchup and good chance for eight targets.
Beasley is the No. 1 wide receiver in the CSURAM88 and SportsGeek Models for DraftKings, where he has a solid 87% Bargain Rating.
Upside Wide Receivers for Guaranteed Prize Pools
Adam Thielen, Minnesota Vikings ($7,800 DK, $7,100 FD): Thielen (hamstring) suffered an in-game injury in Week 7 and missed Week 8, but has practiced on a limited basis this week and is tentatively expected to return. Before his injury, he was averaging 14.3 FanDuel points with a +4.09 Plus/Minus through six games. Thielen has a position-high 99% Bargain Rating on FanDuel. UPDATE (Nov. 2): WR Adam Thielen (hamstring) is a game-time decision. Chiefs CB Kendall Fuller (thumb) is questionable but seems likely to play after practicing all week on a limited basis.
Kenny Golladay, Detroit Lions ($7,700 DK, $7,600 FD): Golladay is coming off a Millionaire Maker-winning performance last week. He’s No. 3 in the league with nine end-zone targets, and No. 4 with 138.1 air yards and yards after the catch per game. In his 15 games since the Lions traded wide receiver Golden Tate last season, he’s averaged 8.7 targets. In his 11 career games with a touchdown, he’s averaged 18.9 points on FanDuel, where he has a 98% Bargain Rating.
Stefon Diggs, Minnesota Vikings ($7,600 DK, $7,900 FD): Diggs could lose work with the return of Thielen, but for the season he has career-high marks with a 75.5% catch rate and ridiculous 14.4 yards per target. Since his Week 4 breakout, Diggs has averaged 120.8 yards per game. Diggs is No. 2 in the league with a 0.44 market share of yards despite having a modest target share of 0.22. UPDATE (Nov. 2): WR Adam Thielen (hamstring) is a game-time decision. Chiefs CB Kendall Fuller (thumb) is questionable but seems likely to play after practicing all week on a limited basis.
Tyreek Hill, Kansas City Chiefs ($7,400 DK, $7,700 FD): Hill has averaged 16.2 FanDuel points, 78.3 yards and one touchdown per game since his Week 6 return from injury. In his 41 career games with a snap rate of at least 60% — a mark he’s hit in every game since 2017 when healthy — Hill has averaged 18.9 DraftKings points. Hill has a winnable matchup in the slot against the Vikings, who just two weeks ago allowed Danny Amendola an 8-105-0 receiving performance. UPDATE (Nov. 2): QB Patrick Mahomes (knee) is questionable but tentatively expect to sit one more week.
Chris Godwin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers ($7,300 DK, $8,200 FD): Godwin is No. 1 with 18.9 FanDuel points and No. 3 with 139.6 air yards and yards after the catch combined per game. Despite sharing targets with Mike Evans, the slot-centered Godwin leads the team with 47 receptions and 705 yards. Bucs-Seahawks has a slate-high 52-point over/under, and Godwin has position-high median and ceiling projections in our Models. UPDATE (Nov. 2): TE O.J. Howard (hamstring) is out. Seahawks CB Tre Flowers (neck) is in while S Quandre Diggs (hamstring) and defensive end Quinton Jefferson (oblique) are doubtful.
Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers ($7,200 DK, $8,100 FD): Evans trails Godwin in receptions and receiving yards, but he leads him with 67 targets, and they’re tied with six touchdowns. Most importantly, Evans is easily No. 1 in the league with 158.6 air yards and yards after the catch per game. After his slate-best 45.8-point performance last week, Evans is now No. 4 at the position with 21.2 DraftKings points per game. Whether right corner Tre Flowers (neck) returns to action or backup corner Akeem King plays in his place, Evans gets a large upgrade with his matchup. UPDATE (Nov. 2): TE O.J. Howard (hamstring) is out. Seahawks CB Tre Flowers (neck) is in while S Quandre Diggs (hamstring) and defensive end Quinton Jefferson (oblique) are doubtful.
Allen Robinson, Chicago Bears ($6,800 DK, $7,200 FD): Robinson is handling Mitchell Trubisky’s inevitable Bortlesian decline with as much equanimity as anyone could muster. A-Rob easily leads the Bears with 66 targets, 46 receptions, 526 receiving yards, 691 air yards and three touchdowns. The Eagles have allowed an NFL-high 45.1 DraftKings points per game to opposing wide receivers. UPDATE (Nov. 2): Eagles CB Avonte Maddox (concussion) is in while DT Timmy Jernigan (foot) is questionable after a limited practice session on Friday.
Keenan Allen, Los Angeles Chargers ($6,400 DK, $7,300 FD): Allen is a toothless 22-213-0 receiving on 38 targets over the past five weeks, but for the season he’s still No. 5 with 136.9 air yards and yards after the catch per game. He’s No. 7 in Josh Hermsmeyer’s WOPR metric, which weights targets and air yards. In Allen’s 19 Dignity Health games, he’s averaged 21.7 DraftKings points.
JuJu Smith-Schuster, Pittsburgh Steelers ($6,300 DK, $7,300 FD): JuJu has been inconsistent, but he’s playing without Ben Roethlisberger, and he’s still pacing for 1,012.6 yards and 6.9 touchdowns. In terms of yards per route run, his 2.01 mark this year is almost identical to last year’s 2.02 (per PFF). JuJu has an advantageous matchup against slot corner Kenny Moore II, who has allowed a 74.2% catch rate this year. UPDATE (Nov. 2): RB James Conner (shoulder) is doubtful and expected not to play. RB Benny Snell (knee) is out. RB Jaylen Samuels (knee) will return to action and be one of the slate’s most popular players. Colts CB Pierre Desir (hamstring) is questionable but has not practiced all week. CB Kenny Moore II (knee) is in. S Malik Hooker is questionable but missed practice on Friday.
John Brown, Buffalo Bills ($6,100 DK, $6,200 FD): The Abolitionist has a team-high 53 targets, 38 receptions, 527 yards receiving and 735 air yards and a career-best 71.7% catch rate. The Redskins are No. 24 with an 18.0% pass defense DVOA. Smoke ’em if you got ’em. UPDATE (Nov. 2): Redskins CB Quinton Dunbar (hamstring) is in. Redskins S Montae Nicholson (ankle) is out.
Tyrell Williams, Oakland Raiders ($5,900 DK, $6,300 FD): Williams has missed a couple of games this year with a lingering foot issue, but he played last week, and he has 16.7 DraftKings points per game with a +6.30 Plus/Minus and 100% Consistency Rating. Shadow corner Darius Slay (hamstring) missed Week 8 and is uncertain for Week 9. If Slay is inactive, Williams will get a large upgrade against backup cornerback Mike Ford. Defensively, the Lions have allowed league-high marks with a 10.4-yard aDOT and 523.4 air yards and yards after the catch per game. The Raiders are No. 2 on the slate with a 26.5-point implied Vegas total. Williams has a position-high floor projection on DraftKings. UPDATE (Nov. 2): Lions CB Darius Slay (hamstring) practiced fully on Friday and seems likely to play.
D.K. Metcalf, Seattle Seahawks ($5,700 DK, $6,700 FD): Metcalf leads the team with 622 air yards and the league with 12 end-zone targets. The Bucs have allowed the fourth-most DraftKings points to wide receivers with 43.8 per game. He makes for an intriguing leverage play given that most DFS investors will prefer Godwin, Evans and Lockett when stacking the Seahawks-Bucs game.
Robby Anderson, New York Jets ($5,500 DK, $6,200 FD): Anderson has just 5-53-0 receiving over his past two games, but this week he gets the mother of all matchups against the Dolphins, who are No. 32 with a 60.5% pass defense DVOA. Shadow corner Xavien Howard (knee, IR) is out, and pseudo-No. 2 corner Ken Webster (ankle) is yet to practice this week. Anderson has scored a touchdown in 37.5% of his games with quarterback Sam Darnold, averaging 23.2 DraftKings points across the sample. UPDATE (Nov. 2): LT Kelvin Beachum (ankle) and TE Chris Herndon IV (hamstring) are questionable but still seem unlikely to play. Dolphins CBs Xavien Howard (knee, IR) and Ken Webster (ankle) are out while S Reshad Jones (chest) is doubtful.
DeSean Jackson, Philadelphia Eagles ($5,200 DK, $6,100 FD): Jackson (abdomen) has finally returned to practice this week and might suit up on Sunday. In the 68 games since his first stint with the Eagles, D-Jax has caught a touchdown in an astoundingly high 30.9% of the sample, averaging 99.4 yards and 22.1 DraftKings points per game. In Week 1 — his only fully healthy week of the season — Jackson had 10 targets and scored 38.4 DraftKings points. UPDATE (Nov. 2): WR DeSean Jackson (abdomen) is questionable but seems likely to play. RBs Darren Sproles (quad) and Miles Sanders (shoulder) are in.
Danny Amendola, Detroit Lions ($4,700 DK, $6,000 FD): Only a true contrarian would roster Amendola in Lions stacks instead of Golladay and Jones — but we’re contrarians to the core. Amendola already has two 20-point performances in six DraftKings slates this year, and since 2017, he’s had seven such games in 39 opportunities. He has a great matchup against slot corner Lamarcus Joyner, who has allowed a putrid 79.1% catch rate. Amendola has a career-best 8.9 yards per target this year.
Mike Williams, Los Angeles Chargers ($4,600 DK, $5,700 FD): Williams is a scoreless big-play receiver suffering from the angry pendulum of regression after scoring 11 touchdowns last year. But he’s No. 6 in the league with 109.7 air yards per game and tied for No. 7 with seven end-zone targets. Over the past month, he’s had 8.8 targets per game. He’s getting targeted deep, in the end zone and more frequently. At some point, his opportunities will translate into yards and touchdowns.
DeVante Parker, Miami Dolphins ($4,400 DK, $5,800 FD): Parker has nine targets per game since Ryan Fitzpatrick returned to the starting lineup in Week 8, and he’s No. 12 in the league with 102.1 air yards per game. Cornerback Trumaine Johnson (ankle) aggravated an existing injury last game and is yet to practice this week. If Johnson is out, Parker will have an advantageous matchup against backup corner Nate Hairston, who has allowed a 69.5% catch rate for his career. Parker has five Pro Trends and a 99% Leverage Score on DraftKings. UPDATE (Nov. 2): C Daniel Kilgore (knee) is doubtful. Jets LB C.J. Mosley (groin) is out while LB Neville Hewitt (neck, knee) is doubtful. CB Trumaine Johnson (ankle) is out.
Preston Williams, Miami Dolphins ($4,200 DK, $5,500 FD): Even though he’s an undrafted rookie, Williams leads the Dolphins with 51 targets, 27 receptions, 356 yards receiving and five end-zone targets. The Jets have given up the seventh-most FanDuel points to wide receivers with 31.5 per game. Cornerback Darryl Roberts has allowed a 68.5% catch rate this year. UPDATE (Nov. 2): C Daniel Kilgore (knee) is doubtful. Jets LB C.J. Mosley (groin) is out while LB Neville Hewitt (neck, knee) is doubtful. CB Trumaine Johnson (ankle) is out.
FantasyLabs Positional Breakdowns
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Matthew Freedman is the Editor-in-Chief of FantasyLabs. He has a dog and sometimes a British accent. In Cedar Rapids, Iowa, he’s known only as The Labyrinthian.
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