Green Bay Packers WR Romeo Doubs (concussion) vs. Miami Dolphins
Date/Time: Thursday, 8:20 pm Eastern
Green Bay Packers X-wide receiver Romeo Doubs has been ruled out for Week 13 against the Miami Dolphins due to a Week 12 concussion. He was fully unable to practice all week, though his timeline was condensed given the Thursday Night Football turnaround. Green Bay wide receivers Dontayvion Wicks, Bo Melton and Malik Heath warrant respectively descending levels of flex-consideration but tight end Tucker Kraft also stands to benefit from Doubs’ absence.
Miami will be without No. 2 perimeter cornerback Kendall Fuller (concussion), linebacker Anthony Walker Jr. (hamstring) and backup edge rusher Tyus Bowser (knee/calf).
Miami bizarrely released safety Marcus Maye this week after rendering him inactive in Weeks 10-12. Maye served as the primary, and most effective, tight end-coverage defender among Miami linebackers and safeties, forcing incompletions at an 18.2 percent rate while allowing 0.16 yards per coverage snap and zero explosive pass plays on qualifying snaps, per Pro Football Focus. Walker now leads the linebacker and safety corps in tight end-coverage snaps, leaving the unit short-staffed, though the newly signed linebacker, Tyrel Dodson, is a capable contributor. Kraft is a TE1 with flex-appeal.
Wicks will face Fuller’s backup, undrafted free agent rookie cornerback Storm Duck, on a plurality of snaps. He can be started as a positively volatile WR3/4. Melton and Heath are explosive-pass-play-dependent WR6s in re-draft, who deserve WR3 consideration in single-game DFS tournaments.
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Los Angeles Chargers TE Will Dissly (groin) and RB J.K. Dobbins (MCL sprain) @ Atlanta Falcons
Date/Time: Sunday, 1:00 pm Eastern
Los Angeles Chargers tight end Will Dissly appeared on Wednesday’s injury report with a groin injury. He is a mid-to-high TE1 if active against the Atlanta Falcons’ zone-coverage scheme, and even warrants flex consideration. Los Angeles placed backup tight end Hayden Hurst (hip) on injured reserve on Monday, leaving Tucker Fisk and Stone Smartt as his Dissly’s backups. If Dissly is unable to play on Sunday, rookie running back Kimani Vidal could see a fantasy-friendly target share, operating as a short-area receiving weapon.
Atlanta’s tight end-coverage unit allows the 10th-most expected points added (EPA) per play (0.093) and a league-high 76.8 percent catch rate. Smartt warrants DFS consideration if Dissly is inactive.
Atlanta overwhelmingly utilizes zone coverage rather than man. Dissly’s 32.7 percent target rate, 36 targets and 2.96 yards per route run (YPRR) earned against zone coverage rank seventh or better among NFL tight ends.
Los Angeles has rendered Vidal inactive on game day since backup running back Gus Edwards returned from injured reserve in Week 10 but starter J.K. Dobbins’ Week 12 MCL sprain potentially thrusts Vidal into a passing-down role. Vidal has efficiently averaged 1.63 YPRR on 33 receiving snaps this year and Atlanta’s running back-coverage unit allows the ninth-highest catch rate (74.9 percent) while ranking 14th in EPA allowed per play (0.028).
Indianapolis Colts WRs Josh Downs (shoulder) and Alec Pierce (foot), Indianapolis Colts @ New England Patriots
Date/Time: Sunday, 1:00 pm Eastern
Reports vary as to whether Indianapolis Colts slot receiver Josh Downs (shoulder) and perimeter wide receiver Alec Pierce (foot) suffered significant Week 12 injuries. Neither player practiced on Wednesday and Thursday, nor did rotational wide receiver Ashton Dulin (ankle). Downs and Pierce reportedly did not even dress for Thursday’s practice and instead observed from the sideline in street clothes. The developments increase target share potential for volatile No. 1 wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. and rookie speedster Adonai Mitchell against the New England Patriots.
Among NFL teams in Weeks 8-12, New England’s wide receiver-coverage unit ranks 19th EPA allowed per play (0.082), 18th in explosive pass plays allowed rate (15.3 percent) and 21st in yards allowed per coverage snap (6.81). New England produced these mid-to-low wide receiver-coverage results despite facing just one NFL wide receiver corps ranking inside the league’s upper half in EPA per play; the 16th-ranked Los Angeles Rams wide receivers (0.069).
Pittman is a WR3 for the occasion, who should push for double-digit targets. Mitchell is a high-upside flex option, who should see six-plus targets. His 27.5 percent deep-target rate ranks 16th among 114 NFL wide receivers with at least 145 receiving snaps.
New York Jets RB Breece Hall (knee) vs. Seattle Seahawks
Date/Time: Sunday, 1:00 pm Eastern
New York Jets No. 1 running back Breece Hall “tweaked his knee” in Week 11 before experiencing soreness following the team’s Week 12 bye, per ESPN’s Rich Cimini. Hall did not participate in Wednesday’s practice but participated in “agility drills and did positional drills” on Thursday. Fantasy managers must exercise patience while waiting to see how Hall’s sore knee responds. Interim head coach Jeff Ulbrich is reportedly “still hopeful” that Hall can face the Seattle Seahawks on Sunday though the ambiguity can worryingly be read as obfuscation. Hall underwent ACL reconstruction and a meniscus trim in in 2022. Fantasy managers should immediately add No. 2 running back Braelon Allen wherever available.
Since Seattle’s Week 10 bye, the Seahawks’ run defense ranks 11th in EPA allowed per play (-0.244) and ties for 15th in average depth of tackle (3.79) but ranks 24th in average yards allowed before contact (1.5) and 26th in explosive run plays allowed rate (14.7 percent).
During that span, Seattle’s running back-coverage unit ranks 20th in catch rate allowed (76.0 percent) but seventh in yards allowed per coverage snap (5.69).
Allen has proven himself to be a capable, but still developing, dual-threat player. Among 51 NFL running backs with at least 60 rushing attempts, the 6-foot-1, 235-pound Allen ranks 27th in yards after contact per rushing attempt (3.0), 17th in stuff rate (16.1 percent) and fifth in first-down and/or touchdown conversion rate (27.4 percent). Among 57 NFL running backs with at least 75 receiving snaps, Allen ranks 17th in target rate (19.5 percent) and 31st in YPRR (1.05).
Allen is a low-end RB2 if he gets the start.
Washington Commanders RBs Brian Robinson (ankle) and Austin Ekeler (concussion) vs. Tennessee Titans
Date/Time: Sunday, 1:00 pm Eastern
Washington Commanders Nos. 1 and 2 running backs, Brian Robinson and Austin Ekeler suffered injuries in Week 12. Robinson sprained his right ankle while Ekeler was concussed. This is Ekeler’s second 2024 concussion and the fourth recorded concussion of his career. Per Doctor of Physical Therapy (DPT) Jeff Mueller, Robinson’s injury mechanism suggests he suffered an inversion (low) ankle sprain. Robinson affirmed this later, telling reporters he did not suffer a high-ankle sprain. Robinson is on track to play in Week 13 after practicing in a limited capacity on Wednesday. Ekeler appears unlikely to play, elevating No. 3 running back Jeremy McNichols to the change-of-pace and passing-down role. North-south rusher, running back Chris Rodriguez Jr. was notably elevated from the practice squad to the active roster earlier this week.
McNichols played on 2-of-7 positional third- and fourth-and-long snaps and 3-of-3 positional two-minute-drill snaps with Ekeler sidelined by his first 2024 concussion in Week 4. He was on-field for 26-of-71 offensive snaps overall, running the ball eight times (27.6 percent positional rushing share) while earning just one target.
McNichols is rushing efficiently this season, leading Washington running backs in yards per rushing attempt (4.9). His 0.18 missed tackles forced per rushing attempt ties for second. McNichols will likely have access to a part-time passing-down role, specifically the fantasy-friendly two-minute drill, but he has been a terribly inefficient target earner this season, ranking dead last in target rate (2.7 percent) among 62 NFL running backs with at least 70 receiving snaps.
The Tennessee Titans’ run defense ranks fourth in EPA allowed per play (-0.174) and its running back-coverage unit ranks 13th (0.028).
McNichols could benefit from Washington’s status as a 5.5-point home favorite but this is not a soft matchup. Fantasy managers should consider McNichols a touchdown-dependent flex option, likely limited to 10 touches. Robinson is an RB2, if active.
