Volume and usage are two areas of Daily Fantasy Football that are key to successful lineup building. The correlation between rushing attempts or receiving targets greatly favor the amount of fantasy points a player receives at the end of the week. We are breaking down interesting team scenarios, trying to get a grip on some of the trickier situations in the NFL. We will be looking at crowded wide receiver cores on a week-to-week basis, as well as split backfields. Some will stay away from uncertainty in NFL, which gives an edge for those willing to take chances on teams with unclear usage. Injuries will also open the door for others, which can be found here. When a WR1 goes down, it isn't always the WR2 who picks up the slack. There is a lot of variance, which is what we will be covering. If there is a team situation that didn't get covered in the article, a comment below or finding me on Twitter (@JGuilbault11) will be the best way get it answered.

Cincinnati Bengals Running Game

Player2017 Touches Per GameWeek 4 Projected Touches
Joe Mixon14.024.2
Giovani Bernard6.07.2
Jeremy Hill7.05.1

After touching the ball 21 times over the first two weeks, Joe Mixon had 21 touches in Sunday's overtime loss against Green Bay. The second round draft pick has a ton of talent, and was finally in a featured back role. Is it a coincidence that the Bengals had their first chance at winning when Mixon was a part of the offense? No. I believe we have turned a new leaf in Cincinnati, finally dodging the weekly guessing game of Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard. Mixon has caught every target thrown his way (7), and while Bernard might see some snaps in extreme passing down situations, Mixon can showcase his talent there as well.

Mixon out-snapped Hill by 20 snaps, and had 21 more snaps than Bernard. It is pretty clear under Bill Lazor who the running game is going to go through. He is just $5,600 on FanDuel this week, and $5,700 on DraftKings. On a week that lacks clear cut value options, Mixon stands out.

Philadelphia Eagles Running Game

Player2017 Touches Per GameWeek 4 Projected Touches
LeGarrette Blount9.313.8
Darren Sproles7.30
Corey Clement2.05.3
Wendell Smallwood7.315.2

The news has already come out with Darren Sproles breaking his arm, potentially ending his career. He was averaging 7.3 touches per game, and saw 12 targets in the first two weeks of the season. This has been a tricky rotation to figure out, but there is one less body out of the way. It doesn't mean it gets any easier though. LeGarrette Blount rushed 14 times in Week 1, finishing with 46 yards, and one receiving touchdown. He was then non-existent in Week 2, getting no rushing attempts, and one target in the air. We can't trust going forward, but it seems him and Wendell Smallwood are the two backs who have the most potential.

Corey Clement found the end zone, and had six attempts for 22 yards after the Sproles injury. Smallwood finished with 71 rushing yards, on 12 attempts, and two targets. He also saw 57% of the snaps, which was the highest of any Philly running back. The Chargers have given up 412 rushing yards through the first three weeks of the season. If we can get a 15+ touches for Blount or Smallwood, they will be in a good spot. There are plenty of easier running backs to target in a DFS standpoint for predictive touches, but say you are in a late only slate, or just wanting to be contrarian, we are trying to get ahead of the curve.

Jacksonville Jaguars Passing Game

Player2017 Targets Per GameWeek 4 Projected Targets
Allen Hurns4.66.8
Marqise Lee7.67.9
Mercades Lewis3.04.2
Leonard Fournette4.03.8

Allen Robinson went down in Week 1 of the season, and we have a small two game sample size of targets without him. This is still going to be a run heavy offense, but Leonard Fournette has seen a decent share of targets for what was expected. Fournette has seen 3, 5, 4 targets this season, in addition to his 15+ rushing attempts per game. He shall continue to see a 20 touch floor in this offense, and how it is designed to be ran.

Mercades Lewis caught three touchdowns against the Ravens in London for Week 3. He saw five targets, and caught four for 62 yards. Lewis isn't someone I am going to be looking at on a weekly basis. He saw two targets in each of the first two games, failing to catch any. This is still erratic Blake Bortles we are talking about, and I am not really going to be trusting Bortles' weapons on a weekly basis, especially a hardly used 33-year-old.

The real uptick in usage is going to be with Allen Hurns and Marqise Lee. Hurns has found the end zone twice already, and has seen ten targets since Week 1, and 14 in total. Hurns is going to be a better red zone threat than Lee, even though Fournette is still going to get the cracks to cross the goal line. Hurns is 6'3 205, compared to Lee who is 6'0 195. Lee is more of a yardage guy, where you hope he can hit a long touchdown. Lee has seen plenty of targets since Robinson has gone down (19), and 23 all together.

Los Angeles Chargers Passing Game

Player2017 Targets Per GameWeek 4 Projected Targets
Keenan Allen9.610.1
Antonio Gates4.04.1
Melvin Gordon5.34.8
Travis Benjamin5.04.7
Hunter Henry2.31.9
Tyrell Williams6.05.8

The Los Angeles Chargers passing game has become a little bit clouded, well outside of Keenan Allen that is. He has averaged 9.6 targets per game so far this season, which isn't unusual. He is also averaging 10.3 yards per catch, and 65.3 yards per game. Those numbers took a bit of a hit against Kansas City, where this passing game was off stride. Allen is still the go-to option in this offense, and will be as long as he stays healthy. Unfortunately he is creeping up there in price.

Antonio Gates seems to keep Hunter Henry out of fantasy relevance. Henry had a seven target game against Miami, catching all seven for 80 yards. In the other two games, he has not been targeted. Gates has caught two balls in each of the three games, finding the end zone against Miami. He has seen 3, 4, 5 targets and is another tight end that lacks any real fantasy upside. Between the 20s, Gates is essentially useless at this point.

Things get a little rocky when looking at a potential WR2 in San Diego. Travis Benjamin had an eight target game against Kansas City, catching five for 105 yards. He had a 3-43-1 line against Denver. Tyrell Williams hasn't found the end zone, but has seen 7, 4, and 7 targets in the three games, and has been someone Rivers has trusted since last season. Williams has seen more snaps, as him and Allen lead that category.

Melvin Gordon is going to be able to tack on a few receptions a game if he keeps seeing five targets a game. He already has 12 catches on the season, and that is with being held reception-less in Week 3 against Kansas City. Gordon is a true workhorse in any scenario.



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