On top of Ja’Marr Chase ($8,000) returning after being suspended for one game, Joe Burrow ($6,000, toe) is expected to play Thursday vs. the Ravens, but Tee Higgins will be out due to a concussion he suffered last Sunday vs. the Patriots, per NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo.
With Chase out this past week, Andrei Iosivas ($4,300) operated as Cincinnati’s No. 2 receiver behind Higgins and Iosivas caught four of his seven targets for 61 yards vs. New England (10.6 FPTS). Iosivas saw a 24% target share and he ran a route on 92% of his team’s dropbacks, both of which were team-highs for the Bengals.
Now, with Higgins out and Chase returning, Iosivas will once again be Cincinnati’s No. 2 wideout this week. The 26-year-old should continue to run a route on most of his team’s dropbacks and having Burrow under center is an upgrade from Joe Flacco ($5,000), but Iosivas’ target share is likely to be notably lower, as playing alongside Chase is much different than playing alongside Higgins, as the former is the far better target earner than the latter. This season, Chase is garnering a target on 29% of his routes while Higgins is obtaining a target on 18% of his routes.
Iosivas is seeing a target on just 11% of his routes this season and he is likely to only see a handful of targets Thursday vs. Baltimore. Another problem is this matchup, as the Ravens have greatly improved defensively after a rough start to the season, with their defense giving up the seventh-fewest yards per pass over the last three weeks (5.7). Iosivas finishing with single-digit FPTS in this tough spot is likely and he is worth a fade this week, especially for Thursday’s three-game NFL DFS slate on DraftKings, as Iosivas could be a popular pick for the short slate.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, the Bengals are a seven-point underdog vs. the Ravens.
