DFS

With Sterling Shepard landing on IR, Darius Slayton is the clear alpha receiver in the Giants offense. He already showed what he can do with that role in Week 1, where he rang up 102 yards and two touchdowns on an elite Pittsburgh secondary. He is an underpriced smash play against this banged-up 49ers defense. Expect double-digit targets given New York’s offensive injuries in this soft matchup. He should be a high-floor, high-ceiling lock in cash lineups this week.

The real way to attack the Rams is on the ground. They rank No. 27 in Defensive Rushing DVOA and have allowed Miles Sanders and Ezekiel Elliott to rack up 258 scrimmage yards and three touchdowns in two weeks. Devin Singletary has shown a solid receiving floor with 10 (No. 6 among qualified running backs) targets through two weeks, so we can project him for workhorse touches with no Zack Moss and a soft matchup. At $4900 on DK, he’s a solid cash game option.

Gone are the days of Derrick Henry starting the season slow. Through the first two weeks, Henry has recorded 59 touches, with 200 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. For the first time in his career, the Titans are 2-0, reeling with injuries at wide receiver and cornerback. Jonnu Smith, through two weeks, has already tied a career-high with three touchdowns. Smith has run 19.4-percent of snaps out of the slot, one of Minnesota’s weakest positions.

The Podfather will hammer the FOX Game of the Week in the afternoon slate. Ezekiel Elliott averages 22 rushing attempts per game and has scored three (No. 4) touchdowns while averaging 4.2 (No. 27) True Yards per Carry. When Dallas gets in the red zone, it’s either Zeke or Dak Prescott getting the touches against a Seattle defense that gave up two rushing touchdowns in Week 2. 

A.J. Green enters Week 3 of his age-32 season leading the league in Air Yards. Unfortunately, the veteran wide receiver has translated this opportunity to only 8.0 (No. 69 among qualified wide receivers) Fantasy Points per Game. Leading the league in Unrealized Air Yards and ranking No. 1 on this week’s Air Yards Value model, the former Pro Bowler is at a inflection point. Is he still one of the game’s top wide receivers or is he a sell low candidate?

A devastating season-ending injury to Saquon Barkley may result in the Giants airing it out a bit more in the passing game. If they do, Darius Slayton is the clear beneficiary. He continues to lead the Giants in Air Yards and has remained efficient with his opportunities, posting a +29.3 (No. 17) Production Premium, with only 44 Unrealized Air Yards. Still priced below $5,000, Slayton will look to continue his excellent efficiency against a banged up 49ers defense.

Cooper Kupp is affordable with a projected rostership low enough to take down a GPP if he pops facing off against good, but beatable Buffalo coverage. He boasts a 30-point fantasy ceiling and should garner a higher Target Share while Robert Woods squares off against Tre’Davious White. Get exposure to this week to Kupp, who packs tournament-winning upside. He also makes for a solid stack with Jared Goff.

Having Jeff Driskel under center is keeping Jerry Jeudy’s roster percentage down, but the QB is not afraid to sling it. He averaged 9.0 (78th-percentile) yards per attempt in college and registered 12 Deep Ball Attempts in only three games last season. Jeudy’s status needs to monitored due to a rib injury that kept him limited in practice, but it does not appear to be serious. A big-time playmaker at Alabama, his NFL coronation is coming sooner than later.

The Jets have certainly been strong against the run, ranking No. 6 in Defensive Rushing DVOA, but David Montgomery just racked up 127 total yards against this team at 6.7 yards per touch. Jerick McKinnon’s explosiveness in Kyle Shanahan’s scheme should afford premium opportunities for fantasy points. Plus, he’s explosive catching the ball, which will be massive given the 49ers injuries at skill positions. McKinnon looks like a league-winning RB and a week-winning DFS free square.

It didn’t take long for Antonio Gibson to take over the Washington backfield. In Week 2, he received more carries and targets than J.D. McKissic and Peyton Barber combined. It should have been this way all along given Gibson’s athletic profile. The man is 6-0, 228-pounds, and runs a 4.39 (98th-percentile) 40-yard dash. He has yet to get to the second level against strong Philadelphia and Arizona fronts, but we’ll see the fireworks soon enough.

The Rams-Bills game projects to be a high scoring affair in which the Rams are underdogs. Given the expected Game Script, Jared Goff will be forced to throw. When he does, Cooper Kupp will be the beneficiary. With Goff and Kupp, we have slight underdogs in a projected high scoring affair who have been efficient to this point with a dream defensive matchup. We get that with low projected ownership and price; Goff is QB19 on DraftKings.

Despite being a rookie, Joe Burrow fits the mold to power out big time fantasy performances for himself and his teammates. His 10 (No. 4 among qualified quarterbacks) Deep Ball Attempts and 759 (No. 3) Air Yards demonstrate his aggressive nature. It hasn’t materialized in the box score yet, but the volume A.J. Green has seen is undeniable. His 22 targets rank No. 4 among qualified wide receivers, while his 338 Air Yards rank No. 1.

DeSean Jackson was peppered downfield with targets from Carson Wentz in Week 1, amassing 214 Air Yards, the most on the week. Unfortunately, Weintz was sacked eight times and seldom had time in the pocket to allow for downfield routes to fully develop. With right tackle Lane Johnson expected back in Week 2, look for Wentz to finally hook up with Jackson this week.

Fifth-round rookie Quintez Cephus saw a surprising ten targets with Kenny Golladay out of the lineup in Week 1. Seeing 24.4-percent of Matthew Stafford’s passes, Cephus finished No. 9 in the league in Air Yards for Week 1. He also failed to capitalize on the bulk of these targets, finishing with only 7.3 fantasy points. There’s a chance that he was plain unlucky. Priced near the minimum on DraftKings, he’s a worthy gamble to bounce back in Week 2.

It’s happening. Parris Campbell is finally breaking out. The sophomore WR dealt with a plethora of injuries as a rookie, but has finally captured a starting job for the Colts. More importantly, he ran out of the slot on an NFL-leading 55 snaps. With his 4.31 (100th-percentile among qualified wide receivers) speed and 135.5 (97th-percentile) Burst Score, he’s in the ideal role for a fantasy receiver against a Minnesota secondary that should be aggressively targeted in DFS.

The Chiefs have the third-highest implied team total at 28 points. While the Chargers play at a middling Pace (2.40 offensive plays per minute), they’ll certainly need to push it to keep up with the explosiveness of their opponent. This game environment gives Mike Williams a high target floor with a monster ceiling. That’s a pretty good combination for a guy that costs $4200.

With Kenny Golladay ruled out again, the Lions facing a burnable Packers defense in Week 2. Only priced at $3800 on DraftKings, Quintez Cephus is close to a free square this week. While missing his top target and facing mostly positive Game Script, Matthew Stafford still dished out 42 (No. 6) pass attempts. Combine that passing volume with his 8.8 (No. 6) Air Yards per Attempt and we have a QB ready to put up massive numbers.

This week, the Chargers face the fearsome Kansas City Chiefs. Given the offense they’ll be going against, they will have no choice but to unleash Taylor given the likelihood that they face negative Game Script. With Taylor costing only $5300 (QB23) and Williams at only $4200 (tied for WR60 and $1500 cheaper than Keenan Allen), this stack presents maximum upside while unlocking salary for a loaded RB corps.

In Week 1, Davante Adams smoked Minnesota’s young defensive backs for 156 yards on his own. The Packers receivers racked up 315 yards, second to only Atlanta’s 401 yards. Parris Campbell and T.Y. Hilton bring upper 90th-percentile 40-Yard-Dash scores into matchups with inexperienced slow corners. Minnesota’s lack of speed was evident on Sunday, giving up three receptions of over 38 yards. 

The Podfather’s Monkey Knife Fight Prop of The Week comes from Nashville, Tennessee. We see Jacksonville leaning on James Robinson after he received all 16 running back carries for Jacksonville in Week 1. The only UDFA to ever start at RB in Week 1, Robinson averaged 3.9 yards per carry in his pro debut. Expect the Jags to continue their slow-paced offensive approach from Week 1, pounding the rock early to counter Derrick Henry.