The Wild Card weekend is upon us, and the Rotoworld crew has everything you need to cash in DFS this week and beyond. Graham Barfield tells you who to target in his Wild Card Tiers, Jeff Brubach ranks every fantasy player for the entire playoff slate, and Evan Silva breaks down every Wild Card matchup in his award-winning Matchups Column.
As for me, I am here to shed some light on the most important injury situations facing fantasy owners heading into the weekend. The sister resource to this column is the Rotoworld News Page, which will have every single inactive and all the late-breaking news up to kickoff and beyond. I also occasionally tweet about football @RMSummerlin.
Saturday Games
Chiefs @ Texans
*DeAndre Hopkins (hand), Cecil Shorts (hamstring), Nate Washington (hip), Alfred Blue (calf) and J.J. Watt (groin, hand) are probable and will play. Shorts and Washington are always interesting plays when the other is out, but they can both be ignored this week. Blue should handle the majority of the early-down work in what could be a run-heavy game plan, but he does not have a particularly high ceiling and will disappear from the offense if the Texans get behind. Jonathan Grimes is an interesting low-priced bet on the Chiefs jumping out to an early lead. Jadeveon Clowney (foot) is questionable. He is unlikely to play after sitting out Friday’s practice.
*Jeremy Maclin (hip), Travis Kelce (groin) and Spencer Ware (rib) are probable and will play. Kelce decimated the Texans Week 1, but that was his only big game all season. Kelce has just three red zone targets since the Week 9 bye. Maclin, on the other hand, has dominated red-zone looks and is a good bet to score even in a tough matchup. Tamba Hali (thumb, knee), Dee Ford (concussion, wrist) and Husain Abdullah (concussion) are questionable. Hali has not practiced this week and was limited to 14 snaps in the season finale, but he should be able to play a situational role. Kansas City will get Justin Houston (knee, probable) back. Even with a banged up pass-rusher corps, the Chiefs should be able to create pressure against an offensive line without Duane Brown (quad, IR). Mitch Morse (concussion) is out.
Steelers @ Bengals
*Andy Dalton (right thumb), Ryan Hewitt (knee) and Brandon Thompson (knee) have been ruled out. Dalton had his cast removed Monday, but he did not practice all week. He will be questionable at best for the Divisional Round if the Bengals advance. A.J. McCarron looked more dangerous than he has in his entire starting run against the Steelers in the game Dalton went down, and he is a good low-priced GPP play on the short slate. If A.J. Green is going to dominate the Steelers, as he is wont to do, McCarron will be the one racking up points with him. Leon Hall (concussion, back) is questionable, but he should play after practicing in full this week.
*DeAngelo Williams (foot) has been ruled out. Fitzgerald Toussaint is expected to serve as the lead back, but he did not look good last week and should lose work to Jordan Todman. There are better DFS punts. Martavis Bryant (neck) and Heath Miller (NIR) are probable. Bryant should be motivated after being called out by Ben Roethlisberger, but Cincinnati has a good secondary which gave up the fewest pass plays of 20-plus yards this season. Bryant has one red zone target the last four games, compared to eight for Markus Wheaton. There are #NarrativeStreet reasons to like Bryant, but this does not set up as a great spot for him.
Sunday Games
Seahawks @ Vikings
*Adrian Peterson (back) returned to a full practice Friday and is probable. This is the same routine he has gone through the last several weeks, and the injury should not affect his play. Peterson’s ability to gain consistent yards against a tough defense with a non-existent passing offense is another matter entirely. Kenrick Ellis (ankle) is out, but Linval Joseph (foot) and Everson Griffen (shoulder) are probable.
*Marshawn Lynch (abdomen) was stunningly ruled out Friday night despite practicing in full all week. Christine Michael has seen the most work and been the most effective the last two weeks, but Bryce Brown continues to steal carries and Fred Jackson is always a presence on passing downs. Michael is a good GPP play in what could be a run-heavy gamescript, but his usage is still questionable. Tyler Lockett (hip), Michael Bennett (toe), Russell Okung (calf), J.R. Sweezy (concussion) and Kam Chancellor (tailbone) are probable and will play. Luke Willson (concussion) is out.
Packers @ Redskins
*DeSean Jackson (knee, probable) practiced in full all week and will play. Jackson scored in four of the eight games he played significant snaps in the regular season. Matt Jones (hip), Quinton Dunbar (quad), Dashon Goldson (shoulder, rib) and Perry Riley (foot) are questionable. Coach Jay Gruden was “not very encouraged” by Jones’ work Friday, suggesting the rookie will not play. Pierre Thomas and Chris Thompson (toe, probable) should pick up the passing game slack. Alfred Morris will handle the early-down work.
*Eddie Lacy (rib) is probable and will play. Lacy is in the midst of a roller coaster season, but he has decent upside in a good matchup. David Bakhtiari (ankle), Jayrone Elliott (quad), Datone Jones (neck) and Justin Perillo (hamstring) are questionable. Bakhtiari will likely play after getting in back-to-back limited practices, and the Packers’ crumbling offense could use his stability on the left side. Sam Shields (concussion, doubtful) remains in the concussion protocol. Damarious Randall (groin, probable), Quinten Rollins and Casey Hayward will handle corner duties with Shields sidelined.
