WR Adam Thielen, CAR
Have I said to sell Adam Thielen these past two weeks? Yeah, I have. Has he finished as a top-20 wide receiver the past three weeks? You know it. Am I going to recommend starting him this week? Yabsolutely. Vegas has the Lions as 10 point underdogs in Detroit, and that feels like it’s right on par with what we should be expecting in this one. That translates to the Panthers likely chasing points in this matchup, which means more dropbacks and more opportunity for Panthers receivers. Thielen has been a fine start every week based on volume alone, but he’s even more attractive of an option with the Lions just happening to allow the most points per game to slot receivers! Thielen runs 75% of his routes from the slot, which sets him up to be a really strong WR3 start and he can even be serviceable as a WR2 in a pinch.
WR Drake London, ATL
You know what really doesn’t go well with a wide receiver that has chronic flareups of low usage and a quarterback that has trouble pushing the ball downfield? A matchup with the Texans! Houston is allowing the fourth-fewest fantasy points to perimeter wide receivers, and whaddya know - London runs 85% of his routes on the outside. These are two 2-2 teams meeting up in Atlanta, and Vegas sees this being a close game: somehow, it’s the FALCONS who are favored by one and a half points. Regardless, a close matchup means that the Falcons will be able to do what they love to do early and often, and that’s run the ball. You think the Falcons - the ARTHUR SMITH Falcons – are going to go into a matchup against a defense that’s struggled way more against the run than the pass and not run the ball into oblivion? The Texans are allowing the 7th-most fantasy points to RBs this year. That sounds like a recipe for failure for Drake London, and with just a 41 point over-under, this doesn’t sound like shootout material that he could capitalize on.
WR Romeo Doubs, GB
Christian Watson will definitely be more involved this week than he was last week - remember, he ran just 48% of routes against the Lions - but Doubs has seen a target share where, at the very least, he’ll remain a significant part of the Packers passing attack. He hit season highs in target share (38%) and air yards share (41%) last week even with a sub-100% Watson running routes, and has scored 18 PPR points in three out of four games this season. Now he’s got a matchup against the Raiders, who are allowing the fifth-most fantasy points to WRs that line up on the left side – which is where Doubs primarily runs his routes from. Teams are picking on Raiders corner David Long early and often - he’s been targeted on over a quarter of his routes defended, and that’s something that spells good news not only for Doubs, but the entire Packers WR corps.