Every week we’ll bring you The Primer, a deep dive into every fantasy-relevant player from every NFL game of the week. You can find the full weekly Primer here. Below we dive into a few notable players ahead of this weekend’s games.
- Fantasy Football Start/Sit Advice
- Waiver Wire Picks
- Weekly Fantasy Football Expert Rankings
- Fantasy Football Trade Tools
Fantasy Football Outlook
Gardner Minshew: Minshew is a strong play this week. Among 48 qualifying quarterbacks, Minshew ranks 29th in yards per attempt, 28th in passer rating, and 32nd in CPOE and fantasy points per dropback. None of these numbers will make anyone rush to plug Minshew into their DFS lineups, but the matchup is a pass-funnel paradise. Since Week 12, Houston has allowed the third-most yards per attempt, the fifth-most passing yards per game, and the sixth-highest CPOE. Stacking Minshew and the Colts’ passing attack is perfect leverage off a popular Jonathan Taylor.
Pierre Strong: If Jerome Ford and Kareem Hunt sit, Strong will be an every-down workhorse in a smash matchup. Strong has long been the apple of my eye since his days as a prospect. He has done nothing to change that stance this season with limited work. Among 66 qualifying running backs, Strong ranks 29th in explosive run rate and 11th in yards after contact per attempt. He should shred the Bengals’ putrid run defense. Since Week 11, the Bengals have allowed the seventh-highest rushing touchdown rate, the fourth-highest yards before contact per attempt, and the fifth-highest yards per carry to gap runs (Strong 59.2% gap) with the eighth-lowest stuff rate.
DeAndre Hopkins: Hopkins likely doesn’t make it on my single entry or three-max builds, but he’s in play for GPPs this week. He’s first in deep targets and 14th in red zone targets. Since Week 12, Jacksonville has had the ninth-highest rate of two high (54.7%). Against two-high, Hopkins has a 24.3% target share, a 37.1% air-yard share, 2.34 YPRR, and a 30.9% first-read share. Since Week 12, Jacksonville has allowed the 11th-most receiving yards per game and the 12th-highest PPR points per target to perimeter wide receivers.
Tucker Kraft: Since Week 13, Kraft has had a 16.5% target share, 1.85 YPRR, and an 18.7% first-read share. Kraft has seven red zone targets over his last six games. We’ll see if the Packers activate Luke Musgrave this week, but even if they do, he’ll likely only be a limited snap player. Kraft should remain the every-down starter. Chicago has allowed the fifth-most fantasy points and the fourth-most receptions and receiving touchdowns to tight ends.
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | SoundCloud | iHeartRadio