With injury comes opportunity! We saw a few players go down in Week 1 that will open up opportunity for their replacement. Those value plays can be the key to success in a fantasy football lineup. Commentary based on DraftKings strategy and scoring. NOTE: This is a fluid post. Check back often for more updates at the week progresses.
TY Hilton was sidelined with a bruised knee and while he is “day to day”, there is a chance he misses Week 2. If he does, Donte Moncrief ($4,600) becomes the biggest beneficiary. Moncreif has shown tremendous upside at times over the last two seasons. He had 11 targets in Week 1, only three behind Hilton. He converted those targets into 6 catches, 46 yards and a TD for 16.6 DK points. It’s justifiable to think that if Hilton misses this game against the Jets, Moncrief could be the leading target for Andrew Luck. I am certainly not ready to panic on the Colts or Luck at this point. They had a matchup nightmare against the Bills in Week 1. They will get a Jets defense at home with extra time to prepare for this Monday Night matchup.
Dez Bryant will be sidelined for the next few weeks. While many will run to Terrance Williams, I actually think his upside is still a bit capped. The biggest boost might go to Cole Beasley ($3,300). Beasley should be on the field more often and see an uptick in targets. His shifty, slot style makes him more valuable in PPR formats. Beasley was 4-49 in Week 1.
I think a lot of people will be overlooking Pierre Garcon ($5,000). Garcon became an interesting play with Kirk Cousins being named the Redskins starter. Cousins and Garcon seem to have some type of chemistry between them. Garcon has averaged 14.85 DK points per game in the L6 Kirk Cousins starts. Compare that with a 7.77 average per game in his L11 games without Cousins. The bonus is that DeSean Jackson went down with a hamstring injury in week 1 and will miss a few weeks. That should open up another large percentage of targets for Garcon.
The extent of Andre Ellington’s injury has yet to be determined. If he missed a week, Bruce Arians has announced that Chris Johnson ($3,800) will receive the starting nod. Johnson ran for 37 yards on 10 carries against the Saints last week and it looks like a good matchup on paper with the Bears. The Bears surrendered 17.9 DK points to Eddie Lacy in Week 1 and Johnson wouldn’t need many points to hit value.
