RANKINGS UPDATE

I’ve moved D.J. Chark up in both standard and PPR. His matchup and likely usage is great. Marlon Humphrey on Julian Edelman worries me for his upside but he’s still a WR8 in PPR. John Brown is always tantalizing and has kept a good floor, but a breakout game is coming and the Jets pass defense is ready to help him out. Adam Thielen is a game-time decision, so I moved him down a little. We’re still waiting on Dede Westbrook’s status, but I moved him down and Chris Conley up due to a possible setback in game if he plays. I moved Danny Amendola up and wish I could move him higher. I love him in PPR this week. Parris Campbell and Zach Pascal get boosts with T.Y. Hilton out as well.

We will be without some wide receivers this week due to the byes, as Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley, Tyler Boyd, Robert Woods, Brandin Cooks, and Michael Thomas will get this week to rest their weary bones and brain injuries. But the drumbeat keeps leading us toward the fantasy playoffs, where we reach for eternal glory.

DeAndre Hopkins hasn’t gotten back to his previous upside, but he’s tearing up PPR scoring with 29 receptions on 37 targets over his last three games. He’s also topped 100 yards in his previous two games but has only one touchdown in his last seven. With Michael Thomas and Julio Jones out this week, he still makes for the highest upside play and a PPR lock against the Jalen Ramsey-less Jaguars.

Amari Cooper has dealt with injuries from day one of the season but is coming off the bye week to face the Giants. A healthy-as-can-be Cooper should decimate this Giants pass defense that has allowed wide receivers to average 201.5 yards per game, the worst mark in the league.

Chris Godwin and Mike Evans can both put up good numbers against this Seattle secondary, but I’m always going to take Chris Godwin as the safer play in PPR. The fact that Tampa Bay’s offense funnels target to Evans and Godwin and nobody else, should continue to keep their weekly ceilings high. This matchup also has the highest over/under of the week, making this game an excellent spot for fantasy production.

Tyler Lockett, much like Russell Wilson, needs the game script to go their way to help them produce near their abilities. This matchup is a great spot for them to showcase that ability. Tampa Bay has one of the toughest run defenses in the league while their pass defense isn’t quite so tough. Football Outsiders has their run defense ranked first in DVOA, and their pass defense ranked 26th. If you wanted to attack this team, how would you deploy your weapons? Hopefully, Pete Carroll agrees with my assessment that he should let Wilson throw the ball early and often. But, if Seattle still tried to establish the run, I expect the Bucs to have enough success scoring against Seattle’s pass defense to force Wilson to throw the ball no matter what.

It looks like the Vikings get Adam Thielen back this week, which helps Kirk Cousins but gives us a dilemma when trying to project Thielen and Stefon Digg’s numbers. Diggs has thrived as a PPR player as Thielen has found the end zone more often, but both have similar values. This week I like Diggs more, as he should see Bashaud Breeland in coverage, who is Kansas City’s weakest link in the secondary.

The Lions have one of the best matchups of the week, as they take on the Raiders. The good news is that the Raiders have played good offensively this season, while also playing the opposite of good against the pass. Much like the Buccaneers, that spells fantasy fun for opposing passing games. Golladay had a dud when Marvin Jones went off two weeks ago, but that game was the only game he dipped below eight targets. The Raiders allow the third-most fantasy points per reception and the fifth-most yards per game to wide receivers on the season.

The injured Texans secondary just allowed big games to Hunter Renfrow and Tyrell Williams and make for an excellent matchup for Jaguars receivers. That puts D.J. Chark firmly as a strong start, but after him, we have either Chris Conley or Dede Westbrook. Westbrook had to leave last week’s game against the Jets. If I were a betting man, which I am, I’d put money on Westbrook missing this week with the Jaguars bye coming up in Week 9, which would boost Conley up as a useful play.