News and Notes

• Ben Tate placed on IR – Tate will miss the rest of the season after being place on the Injured Reserve list Wednesday due to a rib injury. He should be held on to in keeper leagues as he’s a free agent after this season. The name to pick up here is Dennis Johnson, who’s done OK in limited action this season. This week Houston faces Denver, which has given up the seventh most fantasy points to running backs. It’d be hard to recommend starting Johnson in such a crucial week, but he should see a good amount of carries as well as a few targets in the passing game.

• Welker out, Fitz in? – Wes Welker missed another practice Thursday and isn’t expected to play in Sunday’s game against Houston. Andre Caldwell took advantage of Welker’s absence last week and caught six passes for 59 yards and two scores. Jacob Tamme only caught one pass for nine yards. It’s risky to start Caldwell this week, but his upside may be worth it. Larry Fitzgerald practiced fully Thursday and should be cleared for Week 16 later today after suffering a concussion in last week’s game. Fitz’s matchup against Seattle is pretty tough; he hasn’t topped 64 yards in any of his past three games against the Seahawks.
• Cruz most likely done for season – Giants’ receiver Victor Cruz underwent knee surgery Thursday “for an injury that likely ends his season.” So make sure you get him outta your lineups, and while Rueben Randle and Jerrel Jernigan will most likely see an increase in playing time neither can be started with any certainty. Randle was shutout on just two targets last week while Jernigan caught seven passes for 67 yards, both season highs.

DraftKings Running Back Recommendations

If you’ve never played on DraftKings before, you can get a deposit bonus by signing up. And there are different options to pick from at DraftKings for any skill level.

Even though there are only two weeks left in the NFL season you can still play as many NFL games as you want as well as NBA, NHL, college football and college basketball daily games. The year is winding down, but the fun is still going strong.

Here are the rules for the different NFL games DraftKings offers, and I’ll go ahead and list the running back scoring settings here:

• 10 Rushing Yards = +1PT (+0.1PT per yard is awarded)
• Rushing TD = +6PTs
• 100+ Yard Rushing Game = +3PTs
• 10 Receiving Yards = +1PT (+0.1PT per yard is awarded)
• Reception = +1PT
• Receiving TD = +6PTs
• 100+ Yard Receiving Game = +3PTs
• Punt/Kickoff Return for TD = +6PTs
• Fumble Lost = -1PT
• 2 Point Conversion (Pass, Run, or Catch) = +2PTs

Expensive

LeSean McCoy – $8,500 – vs. Chicago – McCoy disappointed in last week’s plus matchup, but he’s got a chance for redemption this week against a poor Chicago run defense. The Bears are allowing over five yards a carry to running backs, as well as over a touchdown a game. This game should be a shootout in which McCoy should see plenty of touches.

DeMarco Murray – $7,600 – at Washington – Washington’s allowed two touchdowns to running backs in each of its last three games and five of its last six. Murray’s hit the 20-point mark in each of his last three games, and he should be able to gash Washington’s D on the ground and in the passing game.

Reasonable

Alfred Morris – $5,700 – vs. Dallas – The Cowboys are the league’s worst defense fantasy-wise against running backs. Dallas is allowing over 150 rushing yards a game to running backs in its last seven games. Morris broke out of a slump last week by averaging 5.4 yards a carry on 18 carries. He’ll see plenty of touches this week and is a good RB2.

Giovani Bernard – $5,000 – vs. Minnesota – Bernard is another good RB2 this week in a plus matchup. Minnesota’s allowed the third most receptions and fourth most receiving yards to running backs this year, and Bernard is averaging three catches and almost 30 yards a game.

Cheap

Jordan Todman – $4,400 – vs. Tennessee – Maurice Jones-Drew missed practice again on Thursday, and if he misses his second consecutive game Sunday Todman will be in line for another big game. Last week, the back had 29 touches (four catches) and 153 total yards. The Titans have allowed five touchdowns to running backs in their last three games, and in their last two games have allowed 301 rushing yards and 4.77 yards a carry. As long as MJD is out Sunday Todman should be a hot start.

Dennis Johnson – $3,000 – vs. Denver – As mentioned above Johnson has a good matchup this week, and he makes for a better play in daily leagues than during your league’s semi-finals or championship week. He should see plenty of playing time.