Dallas Cowboys at Philadelphia Eagles

Total: 43.0
Line: PHI by 6.5

QBs
Dak Prescott: It was good to see Prescott throwing to a No. 1 receiver last week, but it also led him to try and force the issue in the red zone which led to an interception. The biggest issue with him right now is the offensive line, which has badly missed Travis Fredrick up the middle. On top of that, rookie Conner Williams appears to be out for this week after Jason Garrett said he’d probably need surgery on his knee. With all the pressure the Eagles bring, Prescott likely won’t have much time to do anything. Their defense also hasn’t allowed more than 21 points since back in Week 4, so the preview isn’t painting a pretty picture for him. The glimmer of hope, however, is that the Eagles appear to be without both cornerbacks Sidney Jones and Jalen Mills for this game, which would leave them starting Dexter McDougle and Rasul Douglas in their place. The Eagles have dominated time of possession at home at 56.3 percent, which is the second-highest mark in the league. That combined with the Cowboys 47.0 percent time of possession on the road just doesn’t amount to many fantasy points. Prescott will be their best avenue to move the ball, but the pressure makes him a risky streamer. He’s a middling QB2 who could surprise due to the injuries in the Eagles secondary, though he’ll need time to make that happen. Most don’t realize he’s been the No. 14 quarterback since the start of Week 4.

Carson Wentz: He’s been playing at an MVP-level once again this year, as he’s thrown for at least 278 yards and two touchdowns in each of his last five games, including 286 yards and three touchdowns against the Jaguars in London. On top of that, they gave him another weapon during his bye week, as Golden Tate provides an extension to the run-game, racking up yards after the catch. The Cowboys have been one of the better teams in the league against quarterbacks, allowing the 17th-most fantasy points to them, though not much has come through the air, as they’ve allowed the third-fewest yards (1,881) and passing touchdowns (10). They’ve only intercepted two passes, so it’s not as if they’ve been a team you don’t want to throw on, and the high 69.2 percent completion rate proves that. They’ve allowed plenty underneath, but refuse to be beat deep, as they’ve allowed just 20 pass plays of 20-plus yards, which ranks second-lowest in the league. Because of that, Wentz is on the low-end QB1 radar, but he’s not someone who’ll likely light the scoreboard on fire with the way Dallas has played this year.

RBs
Ezekiel Elliott: After a blazing-hot start to the season, Elliott has been just the RB37 since the start of Week 7, totaling just 94 rushing yards on 32 carries the last two games and failing to score in that time. It was odd, as he looked to be running well against the Titans to start the game, but they caught on quickly and slowed him after the opening drive. The offensive line woes have extended to the run-game, though the matchups were brutal against the Redskins and Titans. Things won’t get easier against the Eagles, who have allowed a league-low 405 rushing yards through nine weeks. They’ve also allowed a league-low two total touchdowns to running backs, with one going to Saquon Barkley and one to Tevin Coleman, though Coleman’s was back in Week 1. In fact, Barkley was the only one who finished better than the RB18 against them. Here’s the catch, though. The Eagles have only faced three running backs who’ve seen double-digit carries and just one running back who’s seen more than 13 carries. The Eagles were a dominant run defense last year, too, but Elliott was able to hang 103 yards on them, though it took 27 carries to get there. He’s more of a low-end RB1/high-end RB2 in this game rather than the elite RB1 he typically is.

Josh Adams, Wendell Smallwood, and Corey Clement: So many people out there are expecting Adams to become the lead back after he totaled nine carries against the Jaguars in London. Guys, he’s played just 36 snaps all season and his season-high is 18 snaps. He’s not involved in the passing-game and his team definitely favors the pass. What is different about him than someone like LeGarrette Blount? Do you want to own Blount in fantasy? Dallas is going to be without Sean Lee for this game (what else is new), but the addition of Leighton Vander Esch has helped much more than what they’ve had in years past. With Lee, the Cowboys have allowed just 3.34 yards per carry this year with a 35.1 percent success rate. Without Lee, they’ve allowed 3.72 yards per carry with a 43.8 percent success rate, so it’s definitely an upgrade for the Eagles running backs. Since losing Jay Ajayi, their snap counts are 110 for Smallwood, 64 for Clement, and 26 for Adams. The issue is that the only running backs to finish as top-15 options against the Cowboys were running backs who touched the ball at least 23 times (Saquon Barkley, Chris Carson, Alfred Blue, and Dion Lewis), though most of the damage they allow is through the air, as they’ve allowed 52 receptions for 409 yards to running backs. This is a tough backfield to predict coming off the bye, but my guess is that Smallwood still leads them in fantasy points, making him a middling RB3, while Adams is a touchdown-dependent RB4, and Clement is a wildcard RB5 who played a season-low 13 snaps in London.

WRs
Amari Cooper: In his first game with his new team, Cooper saw eight targets, hauling in five of them for 58 yards and a touchdown. It was clear that he received more attention from Prescott than anyone else, and rightfully so. The Eagles aren’t using Ronald Darby in any shadow coverage, though it wouldn’t be a bad thing for Cooper, as he’s a better physical cornerback who does well in contested situations, but Cooper should be able to gain separation against him. The Eagles secondary is likely to be without both Jalen Mills and Sidney Jones this week, so the Cowboys would be wise to move Cooper around, as Dexter McDougle and Rasul Douglas would step in and play for them. Douglas hasn’t been terrible, but knowing he’s been playing behind Mills says the Eagles know something, as Mills has been pretty bad. With all their starters, the Eagles have allowed seven top-15 performances out of wide receivers. It’s tough to expect that from Cooper given his limited time with the team, but he’s most definitely on the low-end WR2/high-end WR3 radar.

Michael Gallup: Even though Allen Hurns got the glory on the touchdown, it was Gallup who was playing alongside Cooper in 2WR sets. He played 47 snaps compared to just 18 snaps for Hurns, so Gallup would be the option who’ll see more consistent targets. He’s now seen 11 targets over the last two weeks, so he’s clearly trending in the right direction. He’s also totaled 132 yards and a touchdown on them, so the efficiency has been good. He’s going to see Rasul Douglas (provided Jalen Mills sits out) most of the time, a second-year cornerback who wasn’t playing without injuries. He played quite a bit against the Cowboys in Week 17 last year and allowed 6/76/1 on nine targets, though the wide receiver corps is obviously different. It’s going to be difficult for Elliott to get much going against the Eagles, so we could see 30-plus pass attempts out of Prescott, putting Gallup on the WR4/5 radar in a plus-matchup with a banged-up secondary.

Cole Beasley: If there’s one guy who should benefit from the offensive line struggles, it’s Beasley who has average depth of target of just 7.6 yards. He’d totaled at least 46 yards in 4-of-5 games before Cooper came into the picture, but saw just four targets for 3/16/0 last week, though he didn’t have a great matchup with Logan Ryan. This week, he’s likely to match-up with Dexter McDougle in the slot, a former fourth-round pick from 2014 who’s played just 215 snaps over the course of his career. He allowed six catches for 77 yards in his coverage against the Jaguars in London when he was asked to fill-in, which obviously bodes well for Beasley, though the Eagles did hold him to two catches for seven yards in the game he played against them last year. He gets an upgrade with Sidney Jones likely out, but he’s still nothing more than a WR5.

Alshon Jeffery: There are a lot of things that are likely to change with the Eagles wide receiver targets now that Tate has been added to the mix. Prior to him getting there, the wide receivers averaged a total of 16.8 targets per game, though that number has been 19.8 targets over the last five games with Wentz in the full swing. Whatever the case, that’s much lower than most teams and they didn’t trade for Tate to not use him. Jeffery’s role shouldn’t be affected much, as he plays most of his snaps on the perimeter and has been ultra-efficient with the targets he’s been given. If anything, the addition of Tate should limit the amount of bracketing teams can do with Jeffery. The Cowboys haven’t been a great matchup for receivers this year, allowing just four wide receivers to finish as top-36 options against them. The only team who’s allowed less points to wide receivers is the Jaguars, who just held Jeffery to 4/35/0. The Cowboys aren’t on their level of great, but they’ve made it a point to limit big plays against them, as there’ve been just 20 passing plays of 20-plus yards against them, which ranks second in the NFL. Jeffery can consistently catch balls underneath if the Eagles choose to do so, but knowing that Tate’s there, how do they distribute those targets? Jeffery should be put into lineups as a low-end WR2, but there’s some risk playing him in DFS this week.

Golden Tate: Just like Amari Cooper, Tate had a bye week with his new team before being thrown into action. That likely gave him some time to learn some of the playbook and get to know his quarterback. Tate’s best attribute is what he does after the catch, something the Eagles were apparently unhappy with Agholor doing in the slot. Because of the role Tate plays, his learning curve will likely be a bit less complex. The Cowboys have Anthony Brown covering the slot, who has allowed 118 yards on 13 slot targets this year, with 84 of them coming after the catch. He’s exploitable, so while we should limit expectations for Tate in his first game with the team, the matchup is a good one. Consider him a WR3 who’s far from a sure thing, but one who may surprise.

Nelson Agholor: The addition of Tate was a death sentence for Agholor, who will now go back to the perimeter role he played early-on in his career when everyone labeled him a bust. While playing in the slot the last two years, he’s averaged 8.6 yards per target and nine touchdowns on 112 targets. While playing on the perimeter, he’s averaged just 4.2 yards per target and no touchdowns on 44 targets. The As mentioned in Jeffery’s notes, the Cowboys have allowed the second-fewest points to wide receivers this year, so you don’t have to consider him when setting lineups this week.

TEs
Geoff Swaim: We don’t know if Swaim will play this game after he sprained his MCL back in Week 7, but the Cowboys could really use him because Blake Jarwin was brutal as the starter in Week 9. Even though he played the most snaps, he was part of a three-way timeshare with Dalton Schultz and Rico Gathers. Whatever the case, you cannot trust a tight end against the Eagles this week, as they’ve been among the best in football at defending the position. They’ve allowed just a 56.8 percent catch-rate to them, while keeping them in check with just 6.48 yards per target. Both of those numbers are top-six against the position, so it’s best to just wait until we see Swaim back in a full-time role before trusting anyone from this tight end group.

Zach Ertz: He had what may have been his toughest matchup of the year against the Jaguars in London, but still managed to post at least 12 PPR points for the seventh game in a row. With Tate being added to the offense, you have to wonder if that affects Ertz’s target share over the middle of the field. He’s currently on pace for 168 targets this season, though that’s not going to keep up. Tate still has to get up to speed in the offense, so as of now, we shouldn’t project too much of a dip in targets for Ertz. Similar to the way they defend wide receivers, the Cowboys defense has allowed a 75 percent catch-rate to tight ends but have again kept the play in front of them, allowing just 7.04 yards per target, which ranks 10th-best in the NFL. Here’s something to consider, though… they’ve had possibly the easiest tight end schedule to this point, as they’ve not played a single top-12 tight end this season. The closest they’ve come is Evan Engram, who totaled 7/67/1 on seven targets. Ertz should continue to be plugged-in as an elite TE1.

New York Giants at San Francisco 49ers

Total: 43.0
Line: SF by 3.0

QBs
Eli Manning: Apparently Pat Shurmur had a conversation with Manning over the bye week, telling him that he needs to play better in order to retain the job. He’s been playing conservative football and if there’s no option open in the short area of the field, he often turns to the side and dumps it off to Barkley or takes a sack. The fact that he has absolutely no mobility behind this offensive line creates a lot of problems, as non-basic plays don’t have time to develop. The 49ers defense hadn’t been swarming the quarterback this season, but against the Raiders last Thursday night, they racked up a season-high eight sacks (previous high was three). Knowing that Manning has been sacked 15 times over the last three games isn’t a good marriage for his production. The issue for the 49ers, though, is that they don’t have the cornerback talent to hold up to the Giants pass-catcher talent. Outside of a game against Josh Rosen and a game against Derek Carr (without Amari Cooper), the 49ers have allowed at least two passing scores in every game, including three touchdowns in three games. Rosen and Carr were also the only quarterbacks who finished outside the top-18 quarterbacks for that given week, which has included five quarterbacks who’ve finished as the QB13 or better. Manning will take some sacks, but I also believe he’ll throw some touchdowns. He can be considered a high-end QB2 who’s on the streaming radar. If he’s not, he’s likely not under center come Week 11.

Nick Mullens: What a debut on primetime for Mullens last week, eh? We must not forget that he played against a Raiders defense that’s allowed a 7.7 percent touchdown percentage and 8.94 yards per attempt, which both are league-worsts, but it still requires competence on his part. We saw Jimmy Garoppolo come into the offense on short notice last year and he did well, so let’s not simply overlook the possibility that Mullens may be good enough to be streamed. The Giants defense hasn’t been as bad as some want to say, as they’ve allowed just a 4.0 percent touchdown percentage (ranks 8th-lowest percentage) and 7.37 yards per attempt, which is near the league average. They did trade away Eli Apple, though that may not be a massive downgrade, and Damon Harrison, which hurts their run-defense more than anything. They have allowed just three quarterbacks to throw for more than one touchdown against them this year, a list that has Carson Wentz, Deshaun Watson, and Cam Newton. The Giants opponents average just 34.2 pass attempts per game, so the volume may not be enough for him to get into the top-15 conversation. He’s a middling to low-end QB2 this week.

RBs
Saquon Barkley: The week off likely did Barkley well, as he’s averaged a massive 21.1 touches per game to start his NFL career. He’s currently on pace for 1,038 rushing yards, 996 receiving yards, and 14 total touchdowns, which is mighty impressive given the current state of the offense that has scored just 18.8 points per game. Of the five running backs who’ve seen at least 18 touches against the 49ers, every one of them have totaled at least 15.5 PPR points and finished as a top-24 option against them, including three of them who finished top-10. On a per-touch basis they haven’t been bad at all, allowing 4.03 yards per attempt and 1.54 PPR points per target to running backs, which are both in the top-half of the league in terms of defensive efficiency. There have been just two teams of running backs to rush for more than 82 yards against them, so it’s a week where he’ll have to rely on his passing-down work, and that’s fine because he’s totaled at least nine receptions and 10 targets in each of his last three games. He’s an RB1 this week who presents one of the best floors in football.

Matt Breida and Alfred Morris: With Raheem Mostert out of the picture, at least we know how the backfield will be handled going forward. Breida will have had 11 days to rest up his aching body and should resume as the primary workhorse for them. Not counting the game he left early against the Rams, he’s totaled at least 13 touches in each of his last three games. He hasn’t been very efficient and has seen just one target in those games, but again, his rest should help. The Giants traded away Damon Harrison the week before the trade deadline, so we have already seen their run-defense in action prior to this game and it wasn’t good as they allowed 162 yards on 29 carries to the Redskins offense.  Prior to that game, they’d allowed just one team total more than 95 rushing yards against them, and that was the Saints. They’ve also allowed 11 total touchdowns to running backs, which ranks as the sixth-most, and the majority of that was with Harrison. It hasn’t been the most predictable backfield, but Breida should be played as a low-end RB2. The concern with him is that Morris has totaled 19 carries to Breida’s 16 carries in the red zone, so they’re clearly giving Morris plenty of run where it matters most, even though he’s averaged just 0.9 yards per carry on those carries. Morris is nothing more than a touchdown-dependent RB4 who shouldn’t be playing many snaps.

WRs
Odell Beckham: Similar to Barkley, you’re lucky as a fantasy owner that Beckham currently sits as the No. 9 fantasy receiver despite his team averaging just 18.8 points per game. We can only go up from here, as Beckham’s two touchdowns on 91 targets will not stay like that forever. The 49ers defense has been rather generous to wide receivers when it comes to finding the end zone, as they’ve allowed a touchdown every 15.9 targets to them, which ranks as the 10th most often in the league. Their cornerback duo of Richard Sherman and Ahkello Witherspoon stands little chance against Beckham, as Sherman isn’t a shadow cornerback (never has been) and Witherspoon has been benched this season, but is playing due to injuries. Teams tend to avoid throwing to Sherman’s side of the field because they have better opportunities elsewhere, so don’t be shocked to see Beckham run more routes than ever at LWR this week, where he typically plays about 35-40 percent of the time. All the Giants have to do is go watch tape on how the Packers did it a few weeks back when Davante Adams shredded them for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Beckham is an elite WR1 play.

Sterling Shepard: Despite the return of Engram, Shepard has still been seeing plenty of opportunity in the offense, as he’s totaled at least seven targets in all but one game this year. Like Beckham, he’s scored just twice on the season and the 49ers slot cornerback K’Waun Williams hasn’t allowed a touchdown in his coverage this year. Still, he’s not someone you need to run from in a matchup, as here are a few lines posted by slot-heavy receivers against the 49ers: Golden Tate 7/109/0, Adam Thielen 6/102/0, Keenan Allen 7/63/0, and Larry Fitzgerald 8/102/1. It’s important to note that each of them saw at least 10 targets, but if that’s the way teams are game planning against them, it benefits Shepard. The 49ers do run man coverage about 70 percent of the time, which is what Shepard has succeeded the most against throughout his career. He’s totaled less than 40 yards in two of the last three games, so it’s tough to say he’s anything more than a low-end WR3 this week, but his targets should amount to production in this matchup.

Marquise Goodwin: He’s only seen four targets in each of the last two games, which included his one-catch, 11-yard performance with Mullens last week. He does rely on the big play and the Giants haven’t been especially vulnerable to them this year, allowing just three plays of 40-plus yards through the air, as only five teams have allowed fewer. It’s likely that he’ll see a mixture of Janoris Jenkins and B.W. Webb, unless the Giants believe he’s worthy of shadow treatment by Jenkins. Webb runs a 4.5-second 40-yard-dash, so he’d definitely require safety help over the top, while Jenkins is in the low 4.4-second area. But here’s the thing… Jenkins can get burned, and he has this year a lot more than in years past, as he’s allowed six touchdowns on 50 targets, compared to just two touchdowns on 54 targets last year. Goodwin is nothing more than a boom-or-bust WR4, but he can run by these cornerbacks.

Pierre Garcon: In his first game with Mullens he saw a team-high five targets that netted three catches for 56 yards and a touchdown, Garcon’s first one since Week 14 of 2016. He didn’t play any more slot snaps than usual, even with Trent Taylor a healthy scratch, so it’s not wise to think his production continues. It’s odd that they don’t use him there more, as his touchdown last week came on his lone snap target that he received. While Janoris Jenkins and B.W. Webb aren’t the most talented cornerback duo, they should be able to handle Garcon, who struggles to gain much separation at this point in his career, as he’s averaging a team-low 2.7 yards of separation at target. Update: Garcon is looking unlikely to play this week. 

TEs
Evan Engram: He’s played in five games this year and has totaled more than 25 yards exactly one time. He was targeted a season-high nine times by Manning in Week 8, but managed to finish with just 25 yards, though he did score, which salvaged his fantasy day. The 49ers haven’t been a friendly defense to tight ends this year, either, allowing just 7.1 yards per target (much more than Engrams current 5.6 YPT) and a 58.3 percent catch-rate, both of which are in the bottom-12 for tight end efficiency. There are two games that stand out, though, as they allowed 8/11/0 to Travis Kelce and 5/104/0 to Jimmy Graham, who both have other options in the passing-game to worry about on the field, which is similar to Engram. He can be played as a low-end TE1 who may benefit from the safeties shading towards the wide receivers.

George Kittle: It was such a beautiful matchup for Kittle last week against the Raiders, though many got a bit scared by Mullens starting that game (not going to lie, I was one of them). He only saw four targets but they were highlighted by a 71-yard catch-and-run with a touchdown on the same drive, he did more than enough with them. It’s clear that he’s the focal point of the passing attack though the Giants aren’t quite as tight end friendly as the Raiders were. They’ve allowed just a 59.3 percent completion rate to tight ends, while allowing just one touchdown on the year (59 targets). The lone touchdown they allowed was to Zach Ertz, who is just as important to his offense as Kittle is to his. The knock, however, is that the Giants have still yet to allow any tight end more than 53 yards. Tight end is very fickle and can be hard to figure out, so given how often Kittle is targeted in the 49ers pass-attack, you play him as a TE1 every week, though this matchup doesn’t scream must-start in DFS or anything.

Carolina Panthers at Pittsburgh Steelers

Total: 50.0
Line: PIT by 5.0

QBs
Cam Newton: After trampling and essentially being able to do whatever they wanted to the Buccaneers, the Panthers will head into Pittsburgh to play a much-improved Steelers defense. After allowing 29.0 points per game in the first four games, they’ve played much better over the last month, allowing just 18.0 points per game over their last four games, with no more than 21 points to any team in that stretch, which included the Falcons, Bengals, Browns, and Ravens. The good news for Newton is that the Steelers do run man-coverage nearly half the time, which is good for mobile quarterbacks such as himself, as they’d have to assign a spy to keep him in check. It’s the reason we’ve seen them allow the eighth-most yardage to quarterbacks on the ground, including 77 yards and a touchdown to Tyrod Taylor. Prior to Joe Flacco busting last week, the Steelers had allowed at least 16.4 fantasy points to every quarterback they’d played, and that’s largely because teams haven’t been able to run on them. Newton will have to carry this team if they want to win in Week 10 and he should be able to post plenty of fantasy results in the process, making him a rock-solid QB1.

Ben Roethlisberger: With the way James Conner is running the football, Roethlisberger hasn’t had to do too much lately. He’s now thrown for less than 275 yards in four of his last five games. Going back home is always a good thing for him, especially when his implied team total is 27.5 points. The Panthers haven’t been a soft pass defense, allowing just 7.01 yards per attempt (9th-lowest in NFL), as the addition of Donte Jackson has really helped James Bradberry. They have allowed 16 passing touchdowns, including at least two of them in each of their last seven games. They’re coming off a divisional game where they looked sharp early, but eventually allowed four passing touchdowns to Ryan Fitzpatrick, though he only threw for 243 yards and 6.1 yards per attempt. This matchup should provide Roethlisberger with a rock-solid floor of at least 250 yards and two touchdowns, though his ceiling may be a bit capped with the improvements to the Panthers defense, and the emergence of James Conner. He’s a solid low-end QB1 this week.

RBs
Christian McCaffrey: Rejoice, McCaffrey owners! He’s now totaled four touchdowns the last two weeks, making up for the start of the season where he scored one touchdown in the first six games. It was good to see him take advantage of the smash-spot against the Bucs, though this week he’ll have a bit harder time against the Steelers, who have allowed the third-fewest fantasy points to running backs. It’s across the board, too. They’ve allowed just 3.61 yards per carry (5th-lowest), 3.98 yards per target (2nd-lowest), and just 187 receiving yards to running backs (2nd-lowest). On the year, there hasn’t been an entire team of running backs who’ve scored more than 19.1 PPR points against them, which is something that no other team in the NFL can say. Their front-seven has played extremely well and have made this a matchup to shy away from for most running backs. With McCaffrey, he sees nearly 100 percent of their touches, so you don’t want to shy away front him, but you should temper expectations into middling RB2 territory.

James Conner: He’s now rushed for at least 107 yards in four straight games and it’s not a coincidence that he’s doing this right before Le’Veon Bell may return. At this point, you cannot take the job away from Conner. He just went into Baltimore to play against a team that hadn’t allowed more than 87 total yards to any running back this year and totaled 163 yards and a touchdown. The Panthers haven’t been a great matchup either, but they’re not as stiff as Baltimore. The reason they’ve allowed just the seventh-fewest fantasy points to the position is not necessarily due to lack of efficiency, but rather due to lack of volume. Running backs have averaged just 17.1 carries per game against them, which is the fourth-fewest in the league. They’re allowing a rather robust 4.49 yards per carry, so knowing that Conner has toted the ball at least 15 times in 6-of-8 games should make you feel pretty good. Running backs have also seen a lack of volume in the passing game against them, as they’ve been targeted just 45 times through eight games, but again, the efficiency hasn’t been bad. The bottom line is that you can produce against the Panthers if you get the touches. Conner should be played as a solid RB1 who’s running away with the starting job.

WRs
Devin Funchess: It was disappointing to say the least when Funchess totaled just four catches for 44 yards against the Bucs, but that’s kind of how it goes when you play for a team like the Panthers who have so many complementary options. The matchup against the Steelers isn’t nearly as good, though it’s not as bad as it could be. It’s unlikely the Steelers view him as someone who warrants shadow treatment from Joe Haden, so he’ll see a mixture of Haden and Coty Sensabaugh, who has taken over for Artie Burns at RCB. There have been 13 wide receivers who’ve seen at least seven targets against the Steelers, and 11 of them were able to post at least 11.2 PPR points, including four 100-yard games. When opponents go into Pittsburgh, they average over 42 pass attempts per game, which bodes well for Funchess’ chances of seeing those seven-plus targets. He’s on the WR3 radar this week and one who should provide a stable floor.

D.J. Moore: We talked about some of the risk with Moore last week, so to see him walk away from the Bucs game with just one catch for 16 yards, though he did add in another 32 yards on the ground. The great news, however, is that Moore played a season-high 84 percent of the snaps. With Torrey Smith out of the lineup, Moore has become a full-time player, meaning the production will come once they figure out how to best utilize him. He’s going to see a lot of Joe Haden in this matchup, who happens to be the best cornerback on their team. He’s allowing just a 55.6 percent catch-rate in his coverage with just 10.8 yards per reception. The hope for Moore is that they shadow Funchess with him, though I don’t think that happens. The downside to Smith being out is that Moore has ran just 25 percent of his routes from the slot, which often means catch-and-run opportunities. Moore is on the WR4 radar in a game where the Panthers will throw more than normal, but you now know his fantasy floor.

Antonio Brown: His tough times in Baltimore continued last week, but his owners should feel relieved to know he caught a touchdown to save his 42-yard day. He’s now scored in six straight games and will look to continue that against James Bradberry, who has been taking care of opposing No. 1 wide receivers. While he’s been good, he’s far from unbeatable in coverage. Over the last month, we’ve seen Odell Beckham post 8/131/1 on 14 targets, and Alshon Jeffery post 7/88/1 on 10 targets against the Panthers. One odd stat, though, is that there’s been just four wide receivers who’ve posted top-24 numbers against the Panthers this year, so there’s typically room for just one receiver to produce against them. Brown is a must-play WR1 this week who I’m not too concerned about, even with the Bradberry matchup.

JuJu Smith-Schuster: After his hot start that had him reel-off 116-plus yards in three straight games, Smith-Schuster has cooled off since then and has been outside the top-40 wide receivers since Week 4. The Ravens were a tough matchup for the Steelers, but do the Panthers pose the same issues for them? After watching slot-only wide receiver Adam Humphries go-off for 8/82/2 against Captain Munnerlyn last week, you have to wonder if the Steelers can attack that area of the field. The one area you have to worry about is the stat I threw up in the Brown notes, that the Panthers have allowed just four top-24 receiver performances all year, and haven’t allowed a team to have two top-40 options in one game. It’s hard to say that Brown isn’t the guy to do it, which leaves some question marks around Smith-Schuster, though you should still plug him in as a middling WR2 who does actually have a better matchup than Brown.

TEs
Greg Olsen: Three weeks, three touchdowns? Olsen has looked much better than I expected to in his return to the lineup, though he’s had a few great matchups the last two weeks. That will continue against the Steelers in Week 10, who have now allowed seven top-16 performances to tight ends, including four top-10 performances. Their young safety duo of Sean Davis and Terrell Edmunds haven’t quite figured out the communication needed with the linebackers in order to limit tight end production, as there’s a soft spot in-between the two. That’s the reason there’s been six tight ends who’ve posted at least 50 yards, so you shouldn’t even need to rely on another touchdown out of Olsen for production. In a game where Newton is likely to throw the ball 35-plus times, Olsen should be considered a solid high-floor TE1.

Vance McDonald: For those who rely on McDonald for production, you’ve unfortunately seen more Jesse James than you would like. Over the last two weeks, McDonald has run 50 routes compared to just 32 for James, so if you’re betting on one for production, it’s still McDonald. Against the Panthers, you should expect results. After allowing two touchdowns to O.J. Howard last week, they’ve now allowed seven top-12 performances to tight ends. They’ve now allowed the most PPR points to tight ends on the season (158.3) while the closest team is 15-plus points away. A large reason for that is the 73.3 percent completion rate, and touchdown every 10.7 targets to them. You never want to say starting McDonald is a sure thing, but if you can’t trust him here, you never will. Consider him a low-end TE1 with some upside.

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Mike Tagliere is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive and follow him @MikeTagliereNFL.