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.

New York Giants Passing Game

Player2017 Targets Per GameWeek 5 Projected Targets
Odell Beckham Jr8.313.8
Brandon Marshall7.38.1
Sterling Shepard6.87.1
Evan Engram7.07.8

Odell Beckham Jr. is banged up again, as he was in Week 2 after missing Week 1. Keep an eye on his status for Week 5, given New York can use him as a decoy if active. This isn't something I believe they will do, and at the moment I will consider him good to go in Week 5. He is coming off a 9-79-2 game, and a 7-90-0 game in the last two weeks, and is one of the elite fantasy plays when healthy. He has seen 15 and 13 targets over the last two weeks, so disregard that 8.3, because he only saw five in limited time against Detroit. Los Angeles may throw Casey Hayward on OBJ, which leaves them very much exposed to the other receivers. Brandon Marshall was brought in to be a productive WR2, and hasn't been anything close to that. He has seen 21 targets over the last two weeks, but has been held under 70 yards in both games. He simply looks out of place in this league, which might be the case for the 33-yard-old. He should continue to see 7-9 targets a game, but they are not productive ones.

Evan Engram has blossomed over the last few weeks, and Eli Manning is looking his way. He has seen 7, 7, and 11 targets over the last three weeks, and is tied with Rob Gronkowski in targets this season. He has caught 19-200-1 this year, and gets a plus matchup against the Chargers this week. Los Angeles ranks 31st in DVOA against tight ends this season. He is one of my favorite plays at tight end this week. Sterling Shepard is one of the lower floor receivers in the game, but we know he can breakout at anytime. Targets have varied, going from 8, 4, 10, and 5. The Chargers have allowed the 11th most fantasy points to opposing WRs this season, and New York are throwing 41.5 times a game. The Chargers have allowed touchdowns to Bennie Fowler, Kenny Stills, and Albert Wilson this season. Lots of secondary players scoring against Los Angeles.

Miami Dolphins Passing Game

Player2017 Targets Per GameWeek 5 Projected Targets
DeVante Parker9.08.7
Jarvis Landry11.09.8
Kenny Stills5.65.4
Julius Thomas3.63.1

Miami's offense has been horrendous this season, and a lot of the blame can be put on Jay Cutler, as well as not leaning on Jay Ajayi. Whether he isn't 100%, that is a mystery right now. Given Tennessee's passing defense already this season, we might be in for at least another try here. Miami has failed to produce against the Jets and Saints in back-to-back good matchups. The Titans have allowed the most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers this season, with a massive 59-688-8 line. When we look at the names of Jarvis Landry and DeVante Parker we should still be intrigued, even if DGAF Cutler is throwing the ball. Landry has seen 31.4% of the targets this season, catching 79% of them. Parker has seen 29 targets this season, catching 65%. Parker is a higher upside WR than Landry, unless we are discussing PPR scoring. Parker is 20th in aDOT, sitting at 15.4, and is averaging 77 receiving yards per game. Both come in as viable options for me, even with recency bias.

Kenny Stills has caught nine of 18 targets this season, and is just a downfield threat. He will never be anything more than a WR3 GPP dart throw if you are going that route, due to him being the vertical threat. Stills isn't on my radar, and neither is Julius Thomas who has a 4.7 aDOT this season. His routes are non-efficient for fantasy scoring and is always the odd-man out of this receiving core. I can understand if you are avoiding the Dolphins till further notice, but their weapons should be considered this week.

Philadelphia Eagles Passing Game

Player2017 Targets Per GameWeek 5 Projected Targets
Alshon Jeffrey8.57.8
Nelson Agholor5.66.3
Torrey Smith6.05.1
Zach Ertz8.08.2

Whenever we get a West Coast team traveling east, there is usually a drop off in production. Arizona has been no different, and they head to Philadelphia this week. Targeting Arizona is always a situation to be aware of, mainly because of Patrick Peterson. A top-three corner in the league usually shadows opposing WR1s, and in this case that is Alshon Jeffrey. The former Chicago Bear is quietly having a productive season, with a 17-215-2 line. He hasn't been effective with his 24.8% target share, with just a 46% completion rate. The likeliness of an efficient Week 5 game is low. Peterson has limited wideouts this season to a 55% catch rate, 0.18 F/R, and is only targeted 12% of the time. Only 3.5 passing attempts per game go to WR1s so far this season, while 6.9 go to WR2s, 7.3 go to other WRs, 4.8 to TEs, and 7.5 to RBs. We might be able to downgrade Jeffrey in targets this week, that is if Carson Wentz is wise enough to stay away from Peterson.

Zach Ertz has been a machine throughout 2017, and dating back to the second half of 2016. Catching 72% of his 24% target share this season, Ertz remains a popular option for Wentz. I don't believe that will change this week, even against a Cardinals team that has limited tight ends going back to last season. If history holds up, Ertz might be taken away leaving the secondary wide receivers as dart throws this week. While Arizona has limited WR1s, they have allowed the fourth most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers this season. Both Torrey Smith and Nelson Agholor have been about in the same boat this season, although Agholor has been the one to find the end zone twice. Agholor is the preferred target of the two, catching 67% of balls thrown his way this season, and is currently leading the Eagles in Red Zone targets. Philadelphia is throwing 37 times per game this season, as the running game is taking the backseat.

Seattle Seahawks Running Game

Player2017 Touches Per GameWeek 5 Projected Touches
Thomas Rawls14.014.2
Eddie Lacy8.011.1
J.D. McKissic5.04.3
C.J. Prosise4.65.1

Seattle continues to lock in a pretty loaded depth chart of running backs, and even after losing Chris Carson, this week will be no different. Thomas Rawls was a healthy scratch last week, and C.J. Prosise was out, but is due back in Week 5. Early reports have Rawls as the potential lead back in Week 5, yet any signs of struggle could have Pete Carroll move towards whoever is being the most effective. Carson was the reason why Rawls was a healthy scratch last week, given his performances this season. He has 208 rushing yards on 49 touches, and also has a 7-59-1 line in the passing game. After 20, 11, and 12 touches over the last three weeks, we will go back to seeing Eddie Lacy and Rawls on early down work. Lacy came in and rushed for 52 yards on 11 carries after Carson left the game, while J.D McKissic rushed for 38 yards on four carries, and also found the end zone on a 27-yard pass. McKissic is a pass-catching back, who has seen the field when Prosise has been out. Right now, Prosise is expected to play this week, which downgrades anyone hoping to use McKissic.

This is a tremendous matchup for Seattle running backs, but not a great situation. Los Angeles has allowed the most fantasy points per game to opposing running backs this season. They have allowed 560 yards on the ground, and 174 yards through the air this season, with seven total touchdowns. Only the Chargers and Jaguars have allowed more yards to opposing running backs. The matchup isn't the issue here, it is Carroll and trying to decipher who the go-to back will be this season. Seattle is averaging 27.5 rushing attempts per game this season, but between Russell Wilson and four running backs, that isn't all that appealing.

Rawls and Lacy both should hover around 10-15 rushing attempts, but there is the chance of a 18+ touch game for Rawls if he gets going early. He is super cheap across the industry, but deservingly so. I will hold off on using the other three in any real format, given Prosise and McKissic are unclear for their work in the passing game.



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