DJ Moore
FLEX call
Questionable, and his game is Monday night. The pivot has to be ready.
Your Week 9 matchup is untouched at 0-0 and every point of it gets decided Sunday and Monday. The Thursday night game was Jacksonville Jaguars at Baltimore Ravens and neither you nor honeybadgerr1 had a single player in it, so nothing has moved. That makes this a planning day, and there are two real decisions plus a thin running back room to deal with.
LordHaveMRSA
0.00
honeybadgerr1
0.00
No starters have played. First kickoff Sunday 9:30 AM ET.
Cam Skattebo
Hamstring
Did not practice Wednesday or Thursday. Trending toward out.
Justice Hill
18.2 PPR pts
85 rushing yards and a 65-yard touchdown Thursday. Free in your league.
1. Where the matchup stands
Last week: lost 100.06 to 112.80 to WhoottieBoys
WhoottieBoys is 2-6 and last in the league. Losing to him is the kind of result that costs a playoff spot in December. One hundred points is not a competitive score in full PPR, which is scoring that awards one fantasy point per reception on top of yardage.
You are 3-5 and sitting ninth of twelve, but with 819.22 points scored you are sixth in the league in scoring. That gap is not bad luck alone. Your maximum possible points this season are 958.22, which means 139 points have died on your bench. That is roughly seventeen points a week thrown away, and it is the single biggest thing separating you from a playoff seed.
This week you draw honeybadgerr1, also 3-5 but with 865.60 points scored, fourth-most in the league. He is a better team than his record and he is playing for the same sixth seed you are. Treat this as a must-win.
2. Starters who have played since the last report
Jacksonville Jaguars 33, Baltimore Ravens 10 - and it did not touch you
Trevor Lawrence (Jacksonville Jaguars) went 16 of 26 for 242 yards and a touchdown. Baltimore started undrafted rookie Joe Fagnano (Baltimore Ravens) with Lamar Jackson and Tyler Huntley both hurt, and he threw for 60 yards on 18 attempts with two interceptions. Derrick Henry (Baltimore Ravens) carried 17 times for 57 yards, a 3.4-yard average, and looked finished. Justice Hill (Baltimore Ravens) was the only fantasy-relevant Raven: 9 carries for 85 yards with a 65-yard touchdown, plus 3 catches. None of those players is on your roster or honeybadgerr1's.
None. Zero of your seven starters were on the field Thursday night.
3. The lineup you should run Sunday
| Slot | Player | Call |
|---|---|---|
| QB | Drake Maye (New England Patriots) | Start. 22.5, 28.4 and 23.8 the last three weeks, home vs Green Bay Packers. Geno Smith (New York Jets) stays on the bench. |
| RB | Kyren Williams (Los Angeles Rams) | Start. At Washington Commanders, projected 18.7. Your only dependable back. |
| RB | Samaje Perine (Cincinnati Bengals) | Start, but hold your nose. See below. |
| WR | Puka Nacua (Los Angeles Rams) | Start. 25.0, 21.8, 14.0 the last three. Best player you own. |
| WR | Tre Tucker (Las Vegas Raiders) | Start. Owed a bounce-back at San Francisco 49ers. |
| TE | Trey McBride (Arizona Cardinals) | Start. 20.2 and 27.1 the last two weeks. Top-two tight end. |
| FLEX | DJ Moore (Buffalo Bills) - if active | Questionable, Monday night at Minnesota Vikings. If he is ruled out Saturday, start DeMario Douglas (New England Patriots). |
Decision one: running back two is a problem with no good answer
Samaje Perine (Cincinnati Bengals) is projected for 6.5 points and has taken only 29 percent of Cincinnati's offensive plays over the last two games - that is his snap share, the percentage of his team's plays he was on the field for. Chase Brown (Cincinnati Bengals) owns this backfield at 73 percent of snaps and 64 percent of the carries. Perine's game is in Berlin against the Atlanta Falcons at 9:30 AM Eastern Sunday, the earliest kickoff of the week, so you must decide before you have any other information. Start him anyway: Cam Skattebo (New York Giants) has a hamstring strain and did not practice Wednesday or Thursday, and Zonovan Knight (Arizona Cardinals) is in concussion protocol. Perine is the only healthy body you have.
Decision two: the FLEX spot hinges on a Monday night injury report
DJ Moore (Buffalo Bills) is Buffalo's number one receiver and is projected for 12.8, the best FLEX number on your roster. He is also Questionable and his game is Monday night, which means if he is a surprise scratch you have no chance to react. Set a reminder to check Buffalo's Saturday designation. If he is out, DeMario Douglas (New England Patriots) is the play - he scored 16.6 in Week 8 and 19.6 in Week 6 with A.J. Brown (New England Patriots) banged up, and he plays Sunday afternoon so you can still swap. Xavier Worthy (Kansas City Chiefs) is the third option but he has put up 4.1 and 4.3 the last two weeks and does not deserve the slot.
Two slots are genuine decisions. The other five start themselves.
4. Injuries and what to do about them
Cam Skattebo (New York Giants) - hamstring strain, two straight days missed
He did not practice Wednesday or Thursday. If he does not get on the field Friday he is very likely scratched at Philadelphia Eagles. Do not plan around him, and do not drop him either - he was 19.1 points in Week 7 and he is still the Giants' lead back when healthy. Just treat your running back room as two deep this week.
Zonovan Knight (Arizona Cardinals) - concussion protocol
He left Week 8 after a big hit. Clearing protocol in time for Sunday against the Seattle Seahawks is unlikely. Worse for you, Tyler Allgeier (Arizona Cardinals) stepped in and went 11 carries for 147 yards and a touchdown plus 5 catches for 44 yards - 36.1 points - and markc1281 already owns him. That handcuff value, meaning the backup who inherits the job when the starter goes down, is gone.
Dameon Pierce (Philadelphia Eagles) - injured reserve
Dead roster spot. He is the obvious drop if you want to make a waiver claim and nothing else is expendable.
Keon Coleman (Buffalo Bills) - Questionable
Not in your lineup and should not be. 0.0 and 1.4 the last two weeks after a 15.9 in Week 6. Buffalo throws to DJ Moore and Dalton Kincaid first.
5. The waiver move
| Player | Why | Bid |
|---|---|---|
| Kendre Miller (New Orleans Saints), RB | Best free-agent running back on the board, projected 10.7 vs Cleveland Browns. 38 carries over his last three games. You are thin enough at the position that this is worth doing. Caveat: Travis Etienne Jr. (New Orleans Saints) is eligible off injured reserve this week and would erase the role. | $3 |
| Justice Hill (Baltimore Ravens), RB | Had the monster game - 85 rushing yards and a 65-yard touchdown Thursday, about 18 PPR points - and is rostered in only 5 percent of leagues. His Week 9 game is already played, so he does nothing for you this Sunday. But Derrick Henry (Baltimore Ravens) averaged 3.4 yards a carry and Baltimore is 4-5. This is a Week 10 play. | $2 |
| Jahan Dotson (Atlanta Falcons), WR | Depth only. 17.7 in Week 6 and 11.5 in Week 8, projected 7.5. Not better than what you already bench. | $1 or pass |
The honest recommendation
Spend $3 on Kendre Miller (New Orleans Saints) and cut Dameon Pierce (Philadelphia Eagles) to make room, but only if Travis Etienne Jr. (New Orleans Saints) is not activated. If Etienne is back, take Justice Hill (Baltimore Ravens) for $2 instead and hold him for Week 10. Keep the rest of your $34 - the trade deadline is Week 13 and you are going to need to buy a running back, not rent one.
You have $34 of your $100 FAAB left - FAAB is the season-long auction budget you bid with for waiver pickups. You are ninth in waiver priority, so a bid is how you win anything contested. This is a deep 12-team league and the good names are gone: Mike Washington Jr. (Las Vegas Raiders), Tyler Allgeier (Arizona Cardinals), Emmett Johnson (Kansas City Chiefs), Jonah Coleman (Denver Broncos) and Makai Lemon (Philadelphia Eagles) are all rostered. Here is what is actually free.