DFS NFL DraftKings/Fanduel Lineup Advice 8/15/19 (Preseason)
Welcome to “Rookie Week”. Okay, that’s not really a thing, but it shoul be. Historcially speaking Week 3 of the preseason has always been the week that most of the starters play a good portion of the game, it’s referred to as the “Dress Rehersal”. In that same vein, Week 2 is typcially when we see the rookies get a large share of snaps. This week is their “Dress Rehersal”. You will notice a theme as you read thru my plays this week, but before we get to that…
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Okay, now on to the advice…
Quarterbacks
Cody Kessler (PHI)
Nate Sudfeld (wrist) is out for six weeks, Carson Wentz may see a drive or two in this game, but nothing more. That leaves Cody Kessler and fifth-round rookie Clayton Thorson to soak up the rest of the snaps. Thorson did not look good in his first action as a pro, not that Kessler looked much better, but there is a bit of “revenge” narrative for Kessler going against his old team. The revenge narrative might be a bit of a stretch, but at the very least, he should be familiar with the defenses he will see.
Dwayne Haskins (WAS)
Colt McCoy (foot) has been ruled out. Judging from how raw Haskins looked last week, Case Keenum is likely the Week 1 starter, which could limit his reps before the Week 3 “dress rehearsal” game next week.
As I mentioned in the open, rookies tend to see the most playing time in Week 2 of the preseason. Last year four of the top five rookie QBs all saw 40 percent or more of the snaps in Week 2 with Josh Allen being the only exception — he played 38 percent.
Kyler Murray (ARI)
Murray looked good in his first action as a pro last week going 6-for-7 for 44 yards on his first and only drive of the game. Head coach Kliff Kingsbury has already come out and said Murray will get more than one drive in the second game. If I had to guess, he’ll play close to 40 percent of the snaps.
Trace McSorley (BAL)
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Robert Griffin (thumb) will be out for the rest of the preseason. There is no need to risk injury to Lamar Jackson in a meaningless game, so he will see limited snaps. That leaves rookie QB Trace McSorley and lifetime practice squad player Joe Callahan as the only QBs. The Ravens invested a late-round pick in McSorley and they will want to give him every opportunity to prove he belongs in the NFL.
Bengals QBs
Jeff Driskel and Ryan Finley combined to throw 37 passes in last week’s preseason game and the Bengals only ran the ball 12 times. New head coach Zac Taylor has brought a new offensive system to Cincinnati that revolves heavily on the pass and that showed in Week 1. Running backs Joe Mixon and Giovanni Bernard won’t play much and Trayveon Williams was hurt last week and may not play at all, so they will likely be airing it out once again.
Running Backs
Miles Sanders (PHI)
Sanders didn’t look good last week, albeit on limited touches, but the Eagles’ beat reporters have been touting him as the best RB of the group. I’d expect the Eagles to try to get Sanders more work in this game as he is a rookie with limited NFL experience. I’d venture to guess he could play 30-to-40 percent of the snaps.
Devante Mays (JAX)
This comes down to “last man standing” as rookie RB Ryquell Armstead (concussion) will likely not play, Benny Cunningham was cut, Thomas Rawls (hamstring) has yet to return to practice, leaving starting RB Leonard Fournette, backup Alfred Blue, Quadree Henderson and Devante Mays as the only backs healthy. *Note: Henderson is not in the player pool.
Bengals RBs
I’m not playing any of the Bengals RBs this week. They only rushed the ball 12 times total last week as a team. Now, they could come out and go entirely run-heavy and they do have some injuries in that backfield, but I don’t think I want to risk it.
Samaje Perine (WAS)
I know, he burned us last week, however, he is still being talked up in camp, Adrian Peterson is still 183-years-old, Derrius Guice is still recovering from his ACL injury, and Chris Thompson still gets injured getting out of the shower in the morning…the workload will be there, let’s just hope he does something with it this time.
Keith Ford (GB)
Ford was picked up off waivers as a “camp body” for the Packers and he has virtually no shot to make the final-53, but he will also likely be the last RB to get into the game and could play half of the third and all of the fourth as the Packers lack depth right now with all their injuries at the RB position.
Dexter Williams (GB)
Aaron Jones has been cleared to practice, but I doubt he sees any time in this game, Jamaal Williams is still out, leaving Dexter Wiliams to be the lead RB again this week. Week 2 is “rookie” week, he should see a ton of snaps in this game. I wouldn’t be surprised if he plays the entire first half
Justice Hill (BAL)
Hill was given a large workload last week and I’d expect more of the same this week. I’m beating a dead horse, but Week 2 is usually when teams give their rookies a lot of playing time. He is expected to take the passing down role that had been occupied by Kenneth Dixon (when he wasn’t injured) and should see 3-to-5 targets in this game.
Qadree Ollison (ATL)
If he keeps making blocks like this, he may see more time in the field then expected. I know I’m still beating that horse, but it’s “Rookie Week”
I did get to see Qadree Ollison make this good block. pic.twitter.com/cccK8Bpg2y
— JaiHawkFLY (@JaiHawkFly) August 9, 2019
Josh Jacobs (OAK)
This Tweet makes me a little nervous when they quote John Gruden, “…we may see him next week”, but I think he still gets a good amount of snaps, assuming he is healthy.
Gruden says Josh Jacobs didn’t play tonight because he had a lot of work in the joint practices with the Rams and that he wanted to see DeAndre Washington play a lot tonight…mentions we may see him next week
— Jesse Merrick (@JesseNews3LV) August 11, 2019
Wide Receviers
J.J. Arcega-Whiteside (PHI)
The news from camp is he has become one of their best red zone options, I’d love to see them put that to good use in this game.
8. The receiving options are pretty sick for the #Eagles, but they‘re particularly excited about some of what they’re seeing from rookie JJ Arcega-Whiteside. The skill from his tape at Stanford is translating really well. Despite the veteran wealth at WR, he could factor in 2019.
— Charles Robinson (@CharlesRobinson) August 14, 2019
Josh Malone (CIN)
I still think Malone wins the “A.J. Green replacement” job, but he will need to show more then he did last week. The Bengals offense only ran the ball 12 times last week, if they go pass heavy again, that should help Malone and the next guy on my list…
Auden Tate (CIN)
I was high on Tate last year but his lack of speed kept him off the field last season. He has started to show off why I liked him last year, his ability to win contested catches.
Auden Tate took it off the TOP SHELF. 👀 @lil_t8te pic.twitter.com/4kM5XYjoHx
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) August 11, 2019
Terry McLaurin (WAS)
He only played 1 snap last week, which tells me he has already won a starting role in this offense, but he is still a rookie that needs reps — he should get those reps in this game. With Haskins once again expected to get a ton of snaps, look for the Haskins-to-McLaurin connection that is said to be unstoppable in camp.
Haskins ➡️ McLaurin pic.twitter.com/nwOKWvs0g5
— Jackson Didlake (@diidlake) August 11, 2019
Miles Boykin (BAL)
Boykin’s game last week could have been so much better. At least two big plays were called back on penalties, including this TD…
We know it didn’t count…
But this TD throw from @McSorley_IX to @MBoykin814 was prettyyyy. pic.twitter.com/9j0WKCcMHo
— Baltimore Ravens (@Ravens) August 9, 2019
Oh, and did I mention, it’s “Rookie Week”.
Cardinals WRs
Pay close attention to the news leading up to this game in regards to Kyler Murray. My expectation is that he will play about 40 percent of the snaps, and if he does, I’d expect WR Christian Kirk to see an uptick in snaps over the five he played last week. I want to stack these two players in at least one GPP lineup.
After Kirk, it’s anyone’s guess. Hakeem Butler played the second-highest amount of snaps last week and did little with them. Andy Isabella (knee), who missed last week, should make his debut in this game and their third rookie WR KeeSean Johnson is also an interesting choice. If you’re the type of player to play only two or three lineups, I’d avoid all the Cardinals WRs, but if you play five or more, I’d try to have a few combos that include at least one of these guys in your lineups.
Russell Gage (ATL)
Gage only played 20 percent of the snaps last week and still led the team in targets. Don’t forget, this is the Falcons third preseason game, so we may see the starters play a little longer, which could end up being a good thing for Gage as I don’t expect Julio Jones (foot) to play at all in this game, and Calvin Ridley (hamstring) might play, but will be limited. That means Gage could see some time on the field with QB Matt Ryan.
Greg Dortch (NYJ)
Dortch is an exciting player. He might be too small to make an impact on offense once the games start to count, but in the preseason when the defense is vanilla and speed and quickness really show, Dortch could have a big play.
Nice punt return by Greg Dortch – he had a lot of fans pre-draft pic.twitter.com/oen0UL1Ypj
— Connor Rogers (@ConnorJRogers) August 9, 2019
Hunter Renfrow (OAK)
I had Renfrow in my column last week and he disappointed, but I’m going to give him another shot during “Rookie Week”.
Tight Ends
Foster Moreau (OAK)
Moreau only caught one pass last week but he also played the fewest snaps of the three TEs that saw the field. I’d expect to see him get some more snaps in this game and could find himself in the end zone. #RookieWeek.
Rookie Foster Moreau showing off the hands. pic.twitter.com/7Ox37tGj9b
— Evan Groat (@Egroat5) August 13, 2019
Drew Sample (CIN)
I don’t love Sample, but as much as the Bengals passed last week, Sample will get some chances to make something happen. His Week 1 performance wasn’t great, I know, but the opportunity should be there.
Jeremy Sprinkle (WAS)
Sprinkle is the third string TE on the team, but the two guys ahead of him are walking-injury Jordan Reed and 35-year-old Vernon Davis. The Redskins would be wise to give this guy some playing time in the preseason because there is a good chance he is their starter at some point this season.
Defenses
Green Bay Packers @ BAL
Lamar Jackson won’t see a ton of snaps, leaving Trace McSorley to take a bunch of snaps again this week, advantage Packers defense.
Jacksonville Jaguars vs PHI
Carson Wentz won’t play much, Nate Sudfeld (wrist) is injured, leaving Cody Kessler and Clayton Thorson as the Eagles QBs.
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