Thomason: Sleepers & Daily Fantasy Value Plays For Week 3
By Jack Thomason--
(CBS) As a reminder, this piece can be utilized for daily fantasy football and/or season-long leagues. The idea is to create one-stop show for sleepers at each position, no matter what league you're playing. Best of luck to everyone in Week 3.
Quarterback
Brian Hoyer, 49ers (vs. Rams) — There really isn't much in the way of statistics to go on here, but stats are a little misguided at the moment for Hoyer, given that he's faced the Panthers and Seahawks in the first two weeks. The Rams defense is highly rated in football outsiders' DVOA metric (seventh overall and third in pass defense), but they ranked 20th last year in pass defense and not a lot was done to improve it personnel-wise. 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan will have his team ready to go after almost pulling off an upset in Seattle and should find more room to operate his passing offense. This isn't for the faint of heart, but it's a gut feeling I'm running with. (FanDuel: $6200; DraftKings: $4800)
DeShone Kizer, Browns (at Colts) — The Colts defense ranks 27th in pass DVOA and ninth against the run. They're the definition of a funnel defense, and we should look to attack their weak secondary. Kizer had a nice performance against Pittsburgh and a rough one against Baltimore, but those two matchups are rough. Now the rookie Kizer will have his shot to put up some fantasy numbers, even though he's on the road, because of his dual-threat ability and the porous secondary of the Colts. (FD: $6900; DK: $5000)
Running back
Samaje Perine, Redskins (vs. Raiders) — At this point, there's no clear evidence that Rob Kelley will miss Sunday night's game, but if he does, Perine will be the early down pounder, with Chris Thompson doing the receiving work. After Kelley went down last week, Perine saw the bulk of the backfield duties, logging 21 touches. Oakland ranks 26th in run DVOA and Washington is going to want to keep the ball out of the Raiders offense's hands as three-point home underdogs. That should entail a heavy dose of Perine if Kelley can't get those ribs right in time. (FD: $5600; DK: $4500)
Javorius Allen, Ravens (at Jaguars) — After a stellar showing in Week 1, the Jaguars defense came crashing back to earth, getting lit up by the Titans. Allen has touched the ball 40 touches in two games, and now Terrance West is a little banged up. Right now, Allen is the one constant in the Ravens backfield, and he's producing fantasy numbers. He's more of a value on FanDuel currently but can be used on either site given his current volume. The Ravens are four-point road favorites, and the Jaguars rank dead last in run DVOA through two weeks. (FD: $5700; DK: $5000)
Receivers
Rashard Higgins, Browns (at Colts) — Higgins was the Browns' top target last Sunday, logging seven catches and 95 yards on 11 targets. And now Corey Coleman is out indefinitely with a broken hand, so Higgins should see plenty of looks again this Sunday. He's a nice WR3 play at his price point. (FD: $5100; DK: $4000)
Devin Funchess, Panthers (vs. Saints) — The Saints are horrific defensively, and nothing has changed since last year. The Panthers just lost their No. 2 receiving threat in tight end Greg Olsen, and Funchess is coming off a seven-target, four-reception, 68-yard game and should be heavily involved moving forward. At these prices, especially FanDuel, the upside is too great to ignore in a prime matchup. The Saints rank 30th or below in pass DVOA against every receiver position. (FD: $4800; DK: $4200)
Tight end
Jack Doyle, Colts (vs. Browns) — Doyle seemed to be new quarterback Jacoby Brissett's favorite target in his first start. He hauled in all eight passes for 79 yards and gets a Browns defense that ranks 32nd in 4for4's scheduled-adjusted fantasy points allowed to tight ends. If nothing more, Doyle has a safe floor and is a reliable red-zone weapon if and when the Colts make it there. (FD: $5300; DK: $3600)
Ed Dickson, Panthers (vs. Saints) — I might as well list the entire Panthers squad here, as we know to target the Saints defense. Because of Olsen's injury, the door opens for Dickson to snag a few passes and possibly get in the end zone. He's minimum price on FanDuel and near minimum salary on DraftKings, so why not? (FD: $4500; DK: $2700)
Just missed: Jay Cutler, Josh McCown, Darren Sproles, Chris Carson, Geronmio Allison, Tyler Lockett, Ben Watson and Eric Ebron.
Jack Thomason is 670 The Score's fantasy football expert and weekly guest of "Chicago's Fantasy Football Today," which can be heard every Sunday during football season from 8-9 a.m. CT on WSCR-670 and 670thescore.com/listen. Follow him on Twitter@jthomason77and feel free to ask fantasy questions.