Preseason DFS Week 3

By Jen Ryan

Dress rehearsal is finally here. It has been a brutal two weeks trying to cash in daily fantasy during these first two week but we finally have the chance to play as many starters as we want. It is generally accepted that most starters will see at least the first half of action this week. Week 1 is creeping up on us and this week we should get a taste of what is to come. Here is a player from each game that I will have my eyes on over the next few days.

Thursday

DeVante Parker – Miami Dolphins vs. Atlanta Falcons
Parker is a head scratcher for me. I have never understood his fifth round ADP and his nagging injuries haven’t helped his situation. He has seen four targets this preseason. He returned to practice this week and is expected to see a decent amount of playing time tonight. Will he step up or will he be out-shined by Kenny Stills? Someone has to play second fiddle to Jarvis Landry and we should know who that is by the end of tonight.

Alfred Morris – Dallas Cowboys @ Seattle Seahawks
I know Ezekiel Elliott is making his professional debut tonight. As a Cowboys fan I am very excited. As a fantasy football enthusiast I do not care. It has been reported by Cowboy reporters that Elliot will be in for 8-12 plays. Morris has had a solid preseason so far and will get a lot of run with the ones tonight. Elliot needs to be eased into action and Morris looks revived behind the Cowboys’ vaunted offensive line. It would not surprise me in the least bit to see a near even split between Elliot and Morrison over the first half of the season.

Full Disclosure: Two game slates are difficult to work with and I will be fading tonight’s action in its entirety.

Friday

James White – New England Patriots @ Carolina Panthers
It feels like we are headed for a three-headed monster in New England with LeGarrette Blount, Tyler Gaffney, and James White. I will be looking at White who played a major role in the Patriots’ passing game during the playoffs last year. He is the prime candidate to fulfill the “Shane Vereen role” of the past and I will specifically be interested in seeing how often he lines up as a pure receiver.

Rashad Ross – Washington Redskins vs. Buffalo Bills
Here is a fun stat courtesy of Scott Barrett from Pro Football Focus: “Last season, Rashad Ross led all preseason WRs in fantasy points. This season, Rashad Ross leads all preseason WRs in fantasy points”. It is time to see if Ross is nothing more than a preseason all-star or if he can challenge Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson for meaningful snaps. This is a bold call, but I do wonder if he could supplant one or the other.

Josh Gordon – Cleveland Browns @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
It feels like it has been years since we have seen Josh Gordon play football. It has been years since we have seen him play football. Will there be rust? Can he duplicate his elite production from 2013? Three years later questions remain about Gordon, although his inflated ADP tells a different story. Depending on how he looks tonight, the Cleveland Browns could be rolling out one of the – gulp – most dangerous receiving corps in football.

Colin Kaepernick – San Francisco 49ers vs. Green Bay Packers
The relationship with Kaepernick and the 49ers front office is a bizarre one, to say the least. I do not believe that bizarreness necessarily includes Chip Kelly and this weekend we finally get to see Kaepernick take the helm at the quarterback position. I am sick of this Blaine Gabbert foolery we have been dealing with. Tomorrow night is Kaepernick’s chance to take back what is his.

Saturday

Kevin White – Chicago Bears vs. Kansas City Chiefs
I have been waiting all preseason to see Kevin White do something. I would be happy with anything, really. He is a former first round pick who has yet to play in a regular season game. The metrics are all there for elite production, we just need to see it. He has not so much as flashed his potential, but increased time tonight could show us what we are looking for from White.

Javorius Allen – Baltimore Ravens vs. Detroit Lions
Allen is sandwiched in between seasoned veteran Justin Forsett and rookie Kenneth Dixon. While I feel the Ravens’ backfield is crapshoot, I will be looking for Allen to seize all opportunities he is given this weekend. He has had a mediocre preseason and is currently listed behind Forsett on the depth chart. A solid performance should yield a sense of clarity in this murky backfield.

Victor Cruz – New York Giants @ New York Jets
Those two teams with New York tags who play in New Jersey are having their annual preseason showdown this weekend and I am so excited to see Victor Cruz on the football field that I wanted to write his name in all capital letters above. I want to see the Cruz who stormed onto the scene in the preseason against the Jets in 2010. He has missed so much football it is hard to imagine that version of Cruz still exists but he is the ultimate underdog and he is built to overcome adversity. All we need is one salsa dance to make us all face palm ourselves for passing over Cruz late in drafts this summer.

Back Up Running Backs – Tennessee Titans @ Oakland Raiders
It is fitting that these teams are playing each other because there are no RB2’s in the league I am more interested in seeing during dress rehearsal than Derrick Henry and DeAndre Washington. Both players are behind two of the few bell cow backs left in the league, and their usage in the first half of this game could give us a sense of how these backfields will work. How much usage these RB2’s steal from the Murray’s will have a major impact on how we as fantasy players will use them this season.

Pharoh Cooper – Los Angeles Rams @ Denver Broncos
I still like Cooper’s upside in the Rams’ offense, considering the cast of receivers around him. He has the ability to make an impact as a rookie with little competition at the position and I am just waiting to see it. I am looking for Cooper to cement himself as a starter in the Rams’ offense this weekend. The question is can he step up and earn the role?

Sunday

Teddy Bridgewater – Minnesota Vikings vs. San Diego Chargers
Bridgewater is one of the cheapest quarter backs in fantasy football. He will have a cake match up at home for at least a full half of football. The ingredients for a great game are all there for Bridgewater, in spite of his sore shoulder. I look forward to seeing him play through the pain, hush some of the critics, and move up my draft board as a late-round quarterback to target in drafts.

Michael Floyd – Arizona Cardinals @ Houston Texans
It puzzles me that Floyd is the least talked about Cardinals receiver. That should change this week when Floyd has much of the field to himself to remind everyone that he is a former first round pick who happens to be in a contract year. John Brown unfortunately has lingering concussion symptoms and Larry Fitzgerald has been held out of practice due to a sore knee. I am not looking for Floyd to flash or contribute; I am looking for him to dominate.

T.J. Yeldon – Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Whether or not Chris Ivory is the RB1 in Jacksonville is up to T.J. Yeldon. He has let Ivory outplay him this preseason. We already know Ivory will be the goal line back, which is a hit to Yeldon’s value, but is he more than that? Yeldon will need to perform at a high level on Sunday or we may see the backfield split shift further toward Ivory’s favor.