THURSDAY 8/16 PRESEASON DFS Preview
Updated: 5:22PM EST
This Thursday features a three game slate that based on the Vegas odds should lead to some close entertaining and higher scoring games than what we saw in week one.
7:30 PM EST : Philadelphia ( 2.5 ) at New England ( -2.5 ) — T: 40.5
8:00 PM EST : NY Jets ( 2 ) at Washington ( -2 ) — T: 37
8:00 PM EST : Pittsburgh ( 2.5 ) at Green Bay ( -2.5 ) — T: 37.5
QUARTERBACKS TO TARGET
At this point it is still unclear whether Alex Smith will play against the Jets on Thursday, but even if Smith does expect a similar game to last season where Colt McCoy played for three-quarters of the game. McCoy was incredibly efficient in week one of the preseason as he had 13-18 for 189 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Brian Hoyer-
As we have seen in years past, Tom Brady will play for a quarter or so. With the Patriots only carrying three quarterbacks on their roster at the moment, expect Hoyer to play at least the full second and third quarters of this game which while his upside is not tremendous he should still have the playing time which is something that is critical. Last season, Jimmy Garoppolo who was the second-string quarterback had 23 pass attempts which if the trend continues for Hoyer, 23 pass attempts should provide a nice floor for him this week.
Update #1: Tom Brady is expected to play potentially the whole first half tonight. This puts him in play as one of the top overall options and removes Hoyer as a potential play.
Josh Dobbs-
With Ben Roethlisberger ruled out for this game, Josh Dobbs is expected to start this week against the Packers this week and will likely be one of the most popular plays this week. Dobbs has the running threat along with needing to continue to have a strong game to make the Steelers team. Expect a similar performance to last week where he was 9/13 with a touchdown and 20 rushing yards. The biggest question will be if he can get more playing time than last week and make a couple of big plays. This is an upside GPP play as he has the least predictable
Kizer is battling with Brett Hundley for the second-string job with the Packers, and was inaccurate in his first performance as he completed just 50% of his passes, but did throw for 134 yards while rushing for 19 yards. Expect Kizer to get the most playing time out of the Packers quarterbacks and while it is not as predictable as some other quarterbacks due to potentially four quarterbacks playing, Kizer's legs provide him a nice upside play that can be used in your GPP contests.
RUNNING BACKS TO TARGEt
With the injury to Derius Guice, the Redskins need to get Samaje Perine as many reps as they can before the season starts. Expect Perine to play most of the first half and should expand the volume and role that we saw last week where he had seven carries.
With the starters typically playing more in week two than they did in week one, Powell is the only healthy running back who is a lock to make the team as Elijah McGuire is out with a broken foot and Isaiah Crowell is out with a concussion. While Powell had a tough start to the preseason with just 6 carries for 5 yards should still continue to get the majority of the work this week with the first team. The Jets only have three running backs who will get carries this week and while some will like Trenton Cannon due to him getting 11 carries last week, expect Powell to get 10+ carries this week and the first chance at a touchdown if there is a goal-line opportunity.
This game presents a tremendous opportunity for Wendell Smallwood to get significant playing time. With Corey Clement, Donnel Pumphrey and Josh Adams not expected to play, Smallwood should see a significant amount of the game once Jay Ajayi gets the first few series as the only other healthy running backs are Darren Sproles who doesn’t play in the preseason and Matt Jones. Smallwood is one of the best plays on the slate.
Ralph Webb-
He is going to be popular so it is worth noting regarding Ralph Webb. The one concern here and why he was not in the original article is that with the Patriots expected to play Brady through the first half, most of Webb's work came in the fourth quarter of last game. If his playing time is cut short, this could be a trap to avoid this week. None-the-less the rookie looked impressive in week one and has received glowing reports in camp.
WIDE RECEIVERS TO TARGET
Simmie Cobbs-
By all accounts, Simmie Cobbs is having a tremendous training camp this summer and is fighting to make the team. He should get significant playing time this week as the team continues to evaluate him for one of the final spots on the team at the wide receiver position. Cobbs has a ton of talent as evidenced by his 11 reception 149 yards and a touchdown game against number four overall pick Denzel Ward last season.
Cam Sims-
Battling Simmie Cobbs for a spot on the roster is Cam Sims who made a tremendous impact week one with a 57-yard reception. Expect both Sims and Cobbs to see a lot of playing time as the Redskins are going to continue to evaluate these two tall receivers on which one they are going to keep. With Josh Doctson slowly returning from injury and Brian Quick dealing with a thigh injury this could be a potential opportunity for Sims to step in and continue to impress.
Damoun Patterson/James Washington-
The Steelers are the one team on this slate where you should not expect much to change from the first week as they are a veteran team that does not need a lot of work with their starters. Patterson had 10 targets last week while James Washington was second on the team with four. While you should not expect ten targets from Patterson, it is reasonable to believe that Patterson and Washington will be the two primary targets in the second half once Mason Rudolph enters the game.
The Eagles are a mess at the moment, with Nelson Agholor, Mack Hollins, Alshon Jeffery, Marcus Wheaton all expected to miss this game it leaves them limited at the wide receiver position which presents a tremendous value for Bryce Treggs as he should see significant playing time in this game.
While it is not likely that Smith-Schuster will get more than a quarter of play, it may not matter as all it takes for the second-year wide receiver is one pass similar to what we saw in the first preseason game where he caught a 71-yard touchdown. If Antonio Brown plays it likely won’t be much, which means that Smith-Schuster should get a majority of the snaps and opportunities when he is on the field. This is purely a GPP play as he could be pulled with one good series for the backups.
TIGHT END TO TARGET
At the tight end position, this week is really simple, there are no other tight ends worth playing besides Dallas Goedert. This is a situation where you just take the chalk play and start him.
Update #1: Keep an eye on Goedert's injury status, we will update here if anything breaks but there have been some rumors that the arm injury Goedert had over the weekend may limit him. Adding Chris Herndon as a potential play.
