The Week 8 NFL Dashboard
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Jets at Browns
The Jets will travel to Cleveland this week as three-point Vegas favorites implied to score 23.25 points. The Browns’s 20.25 total is one of the lowest in the slate.
New York Jets
Writer: Joe Holka
QB – Ryan Fitzpatrick
Fitzpatrick threw the ball 14 times in relief of Geno Smith last week as the coaching staff fed their 30-year-old RB 34 touches against a Ravens defense that at that time had given up the third-fewest FD points per game to RBs. It’s probably safe to say that Fitz’s post game comments in which he claimed that the coaching staff may no longer have faith in him could be accurate. [Editor’s Note: Unlike his throws.]
Due to the uncertainty surrounding Fitz, he’s hard to consider as even a GPP flyer, despite his good matchup against the Browns, who have allowed the fourth-most passing yards (297.14) and most passing TDs (2.57) per game. Fitzpatrick is the lowest-rated DK QB in the Levitan Model, possessing the slate’s second-lowest floor (3.9 points) and by far the lowest Projected Plus/Minus (-1.21).
RB – Matt Forte
Last week, Forte saw his biggest workload since Week 2 and was again a factor in the passing game, collecting four passes for the first time since Week 1. Forte was also involved in the red zone, scoring twice. He now is fourth in red-zone carries on the season (3.6 per game). He’s done pretty well this year when he sees 15-plus rush attempts:
If he again sees a lot of touches, he will be a solid play against a Browns team giving up the second-most rush yards per game in the league (119.86). Forte has the eighth-highest FD ceiling (19.5) and Projected Plus/Minus (+4.52) and is currently projected at just five to eight percent ownership in the Sunday Million. He owns a 96 percent FD Bargain Rating.
RB – Bilal Powell
Powell is still sixth in targets among RBs (4.9 per game), but the workload Forte received last week makes it hard to trust Powell in cash games. If you’re determined to be contrarian, his FantasyLabs projected DK ownership of zero to one percent is attractive, and he currently has the third-highest Projected RB Plus/Minus (5.21). That said, even though Cleveland is giving up the eleventh-most DK points to RBs, the defense allows the third-fewest receptions to RBs at 3.57 per game.
WR – Brandon Marshall
Marshall is an elite receiver getting a ton of opportunity even in a bad offense. The Browns have been terrible in 2016, especially against WRs. Per our Trends Tool:
They’re also 30th against WR1s, letting target hogs A.J. Green and Jarvis Landry do this to them:
Marshall is eighth in the NFL in target share (27.2 percent) and third in red-zone target share (41.4 percent). He rates as the third-highest FD WR in the CSURAM88 Model and is facing a defense that has allowed a +3.3 Plus/Minus to WRs over the last 16 games. Marshall carries risk — his offense is very unstable — but he’s a strong GPP play with the slate’s sixth-highest FD ceiling (19.5) and a 99 percent Bargain Rating.
WR – Quincy Enunwa
Enunwa is now twelfth in the league in yards after catch (4.1 per target) after breaking a long 69-yard touchdown last week. After that, he mostly faded into mediocrity in an offense that doesn’t throw a whole lot to players who aren’t RBs or the No. 1 WR. Still, he’s firmly the No. 2 WR and has potential as an upside GPP option against a Cleveland team that would rather watch people score than stay on the field for another play.
WR – Robby Anderson
Anderson played 74 percent of the snaps in Week 7 and had three targets and one long 30-yard rush against the Ravens. He has surpassed the threat of Jalin Marshall pretty convincingly and looks to be the No. 3 WR . . . which isn’t that attractive of a role for the purposes of DFS. Anderson is a fringe GPP dart at best.
TE – Austin Seferian-Jenkins
Cleveland is ranked 30th against TEs in pass DVOA, and yet a Jets TE is still not on the radar. That’s how little they use them.
By the way, ASJ (ankle) is officially doubtful for Week 8. Not that it really matters.
Cleveland Browns
Writer: John Proctor
QB – Josh McCown
Cody Kessler was off to a decent start in Week 7, completing nine of 11 passes for 82 yards. Unfortunately, he suffered a concussion and departed midway through the second quarter. Thus, the returning Josh McCown (collarbone) is expected to start this week against the Jets, who are 31st in pass DVOA and allowing the fourth-highest yards per attempt. McCown is a viable GPP option.
RB – Isaiah Crowell
This week, Crowell faces off against a stout Jets run defense that is allowing only 3.2 yards per carry. The Jets are also causing a tackle for loss 21.6 percent of the time, fifth in the NFL. They have allowed only four rushing touchdowns this season, three of which were scored by David Johnson. The matchup is not ideal for Crow, who has a projected ceiling of only 13.8 DK points.
RB – Duke Johnson Jr.
Week 8 should be a ‘Duke game’ against the defense ranked third in rush DVOA. The Jets defensively are horrible in pass defense and rank 20th against RBs in pass DVOA. However, in his matchups against two high-ranked rushing defenses (Baltimore and Philadelphia), Duke averaged only 36 receiving yards.
While Duke has had more than six carries in only two games this season, he has had fewer than five targets only once. However, those targets have translated to more than 50 receiving yards just once this season. Even if this is a ‘Duke game,’ that might not be worth much. He’s currently projected for just 9.9 DK points.
WR – Terrelle Pryor
Pryor (hamstring) played against the Bengals at less than 100 percent last week, seeing only 48 percent of the offensive snaps and just four targets. This week, however, he’s reportedly back to full strength — he’s not on the team’s injury report — and he practiced fully on Friday. All of that’s great news, as he draws a dream matchup against a Jets defense that is allowing the fourth-highest yards per reception at 7.9. With their receiver-friendly funnel defense, the Jets have allowed 79 percent of the yards and 76 percent of the TDs against them through the air.
Last week, the Jets allowed Mike Wallace to catch 10 of 13 targets for 120 yards. If Pryor is near 100 percent for this game, he makes for a great play this week. He rates just outside the top-20 DK WRs in the Levitan Model. His hamstring is definitely a concern, but he makes for a nice tournament option, especially with McCown at QB.
WR – Andrew Hawkins
Hawkins saw only four targets last week, even with Pryor ailing, giving him four or fewer targets in six of seven games. He’s nothing more than a PPR GPP NFW option.
WR – Ricardo Louis
After seeing nine targets in Week 6, Louis managed to see only three in Week 7. He caught one pass for five yards. Until Corey Coleman returns, Pryor will continue to be the only fantasy relevant WR on this team.
TE – Gary Barnidge
With Pryor limited, Barnidge saw seven targets last week, catching six of them for 66 yards. And now McCown is returning . . .
With six DK Pro Trends, Barnidge is a massive discount at just $3,330 as long as his bestie McCown starts.
News Updates
After this piece is published, FantasyLabs is likely to provide news updates on a number of players herein mentioned. Be sure to stay ahead of your competition with our industry-leading DFS-focused news blurbs:
