Saturday Injury Updates and Impacts to Skill Position Matchups in Week 2:
- Jacksonville has cluster injuries on the OL with Brandon Scherff and Luke Fortner both listed as questionable, which is not a good development with Chris Jones slated to return to the KC defensive line.
- CB Kristian Fulton and S Amani Hooker were both officially ruled out, which is an excellent development for the Chargers’ passing offense and Keenan Allen specifically.
- Both Jets’ OT’s – Mekhi Becton and Duane Brown – are questionable heading into their Week 2 matchup on the road in Dallas. Becton is dealing with a knee issue, while Brown has an injured shoulder. Even if these guys play, Zach Wilson going to be swimming heavily upstream against Dallas’ elite pass rush.
- Patriots’ CB Jonathan Jones DNP on Friday and is listed as questionable with an ankle injury. Since 2018, Jonathan Jones has held Tyreek Hill to 11 receptions on 23 targets for a total of 143 yards, 0 TD’s and 1 INT. Jones’ potential absence will have a significant impact in this game.
Best RB Matchups
- Nick Chubb: Chubb (O79.5 rushing yards – DKNG) is the clear lead back for the Browns now that Kareem Hunt is out of the mix, and rushed for 108 yards on just 18 carries against a Cincy run defense that finished 2022 ranked 7th in rushing yards allowed per game and explosive run plays allowed (10+ yards) and 5th in YPC.The Browns head into Pittsburgh for a Monday night matchup with a Steelers defense that allowed the 49ers to run for 188 yards in total, led by Christian McCaffrey, who rushed for 152 yards and 1 TD on 22 carries (5.9 YPC). Cam Hayward injured his groin early in the first half and is now out for an extended period of time, which leaves a big hole in the middle of Pittsburgh’s DL in the run defense – DT Larry Ogunjobi also DNP on Friday. Chubb should have plenty of opportunities as the lead back in a scheme where he’ll be the focal point in charge of exploiting a major weakness – he broke 5 rushes for 10+ yards in Week 1 against a Pittsburgh defense that allowed 5 rushes of 10+ of their own.
- Rhamondre Stevenson: Stevenson (O50.5 rushing yards) has an excellent matchup against a Miami rushing defense that allowed the LA Chargers to rush for 234 yards in Week 1. Austin Ekeler (16 carries, 117 yards, 1 TD, 7.3 YPC) and Joshua Kelly (16 carries, 91 yards, 1 TD, 5.7 YPC) had their way against this rushing defense, and if the Patriots know what’s good for them, they’re likely going to work to string together some long, deliberate drives to keep Tua, Tyreek and Jaylen Waddle off the field. Stevenson logged 58 snaps to Zeke’s 28 in Week 1 against Philly, logging 12 carries (albeit for 25 yards against a stout Philly front) and catching 6 balls for 64 yards. He’s a focal point of the Patriots offense and should get enough touches to get over this number against a Dolphins defense that allowed 5 runs of 10+ yards and 5.9 YPC in Week 1. Miami also ranked 26th in RB receiving yards allowed in 2022 and allowed Austin Ekeler to catch 4 balls for 47 yards – Stevenson should have an opportunity in the screen game to exceed his receiving yard total of 23.5.
Best WR Matchups:
- Keenan Allen: Allen (O71.5 receiving yards – DKNG) led Chargers WR’s in targets in Week 1 with 9, catching 6 balls for 76 yards and nearly missing a TD catch on a play where he was called down at the 1-yard line. Allen caught 8 balls for 86 yards in a Week 14 matchup against the Titans defense that ranked 32nd in passing YPG allowed, 25th in YPA and 30th in explosive passing plays. is playing the X position in Kellen Moore’s offense and has another excellent matchup against a Tennessee secondary that allowed New Orleans to pass for 305 yards in Week 1 and has availability issues with S Amani Hooker and CB Kristian Fulton both OUT.
- Josh Reynolds: Detroit’s passing offense has an excellent matchup against a Seattle secondary that allowed Puka Nacua and Tutu Atwell to catch a total of 16 balls for 238 yards in Week 1. Reynolds caught 4 balls of his own for 80 yards on 7 targets in Week 1 and will benefit early in the season with Jameson Williams suspended until Week 7. Devon Witherspoon returns to Seattle’s secondary, but Jamal Adams was ruled out for Sunday. Reynolds is an intriguing option at O36.5 receiving yards (Fanduel) given his early connection with Goff in Week 1 – Reynolds caught 7 balls for 81 yards and 1 TD on 8 targets against Seattle in Week 4 of 2022.
Worst QB Matchups:
- Zach Wilson: Wilson (U180.5 passing yards – DKNG) is going to have an extremely difficult time against a Dallas defense that has one of the league’s top pass rushes (3rd in sacks, 5th in QB hits per game) behind a Jets offensive line that failed Aaron Rodgers badly early in Monday night’s game against Buffalo. Wilson finished with 140 yards on 14-21 passing against Buffalo’s defense and looked very jittery in the pocket against an above average pass rush. Dallas logged 7 sacks against NYG’s bad offensive line in Week 1 and held Daniel Jones to just 104 yards and 2 INT’s on 15-28 passing. Wilson is not going to have enough time to sit in the pocket and allow routes deep down the field to develop, and OT’s Becton and Duane Brown are both questionable as of Saturday afternoon. We like Wilson to go under his yardage total to get exposure to the strength of Dallas’ pass rush and secondary.
- Kenny Pickett: Pickett had a fantastic preseason, but fell flat on this face against one of the top front 7’s in football in Week 1 at home behind an offensive line that allowed 23 pressures and 5 sacks. Let’s not overreact to Cleveland’s strong defensive performance too much in Week 1, but defensive coordinator Jim Schwartz is likely going to dial up some pressure with Myles Garret and Za’Darius Smith early to test Pickett and this offensive line after holding Joe Burrow to just 82 total yards through the air in the season opener.
Head over to our Dashboard section of the site to comb through game matchup dashboards for every game on the board in Week 2, and browse our Player Matchup Analysis dashboards to optimize your DFS / FF lineups and target the player prop markets.
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