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Can we take a moment to thank our lord and savior Gardner Minshew II for blessing Jimmy Graham with good health so far this season. Sure, Graham was a non-factor in Weeks 2 and 3, but he was on the field and saw snaps, so that’s worth something, right? Plus, he’s coming off a decent performance last Thursday vs. the Eagles, catching six of nine targets for 61 yards and a TD, good for 18.1 fantasy points in PPR. His snap count was up to a season-high 57, mostly because top WR Davante Adams injured his toe and the Packers needed more secure pass-catchers to keep up with Philly.
Fantasy football analysis, Green Bay Packers TE Jimmy Graham
Right now, it appears Adams isn’t going to play Sunday at Jerry World against the Cowboys. That leaves Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Geronimo Allison as QB Aaron Rodgers’ top WR targets. Other than Adams and MVS, Graham has seen the most targets from Rodgers (16) and we can safely say he should see an uptick from 4.0 per game after receiving nine last week.
This is easily Dallas’ toughest test of the young season. They could have sleepwalked through the first three weeks (NYG, WAS, MIA) and faced Teddy Bridgewater and the Saints in a snoozefest last week. We’ve also seen what an elite TE being funneled targets can do to the Cowboys; Evan Engram had 14 targets and 11 catches for 116 yards and a TD in Week 1 (31.6 FPTS).
My feeling is Graham will lead Green Bay in targets this week, which elevates his floor quite a bit. He should also see some looks in the red zone; Graham had four red-zone targets vs. the Eagles. Because of this, Graham is shaping up to be a pretty appealing fantasy football play this week. If he’s on the wire, scoop him up. If you had Adams, Graham isn’t a bad pivot. At the very least, you’re looking at 5-50, which is solid in PPR formats. At the most, Graham could turn back the clock to his New Orleans days for a vintage performance.
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“All views expressed are my own. I am an employee of DraftKings and am ineligible to play in public DFS contests.”