We have one of the largest NFL DFS slates of the past few weeks ahead of us, as there are only two teams on a bye week and the London game is late enough to be included in the main tournaments. Therefore, 14 games give us more-than-enough options to find top plays for our lineups – as well as fair reason to avoid certain matchups.
Sporfolio’s NFL Daily Fantasy Sports game-by-game analysis columns are driven by expected game flow. Based on a combination of our Week 7 NFL picks against the spread and our expectations for a given game, we project the actions necessary to make these picks come to fruition. We aim to pinpoint players integral to our predicted game flow for each game of the week.
Luke May is our resident NFL DFS expert, and Mario Mergola operates Sporfolio as our expert for NFL Picks Against the Spread.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Buffalo Bills
Luke’s DFS Take: While seeing Ryan Fitzpatrick back under center is always a treat, if he is in line to start because of Jameis Winston’s injured shoulder, it will be a hard pass for me. Buffalo’s defense has continued its strong play as they have only allowed 20 points one time all season. The Bills are coming off a bye week so they should be plenty rested and ready to slow down the Buccaneers no matter which quarterback is under center – but especially if it’s Fitzpatrick. The Bills’ offense continues to struggle with injuries as it will be without their top wide receiver, Jordan Matthews and it top tight end, Charles Clay. This immediately makes LeSean McCoy a top-play of the week. McCoy is always heavily involved running the ball, but he is also leading the Bills in targets and catches this year, so his volume in this game should be through the roof. These injuries also make Nick O’Leary a solid cheap option at tight end. O’Leary is not a well known player to most, but after Clay went down last week, he stepped in and saw six targets which he turned into five catches for 54 yards. Considering Tyrod Taylor loves throwing to his tight ends, and doesn’t have many viable options left in his offense, it is possible that Nick O’Leary plays a huge role in the Bills offense on Sunday.
Mario’s DFS Take: As has been the case for much of the first half of the 2017 season, an injury to a quarterback sends a game into an area of uncertainty. Thankfully, we can find a relatively stable projection, regardless of the circumstances. That is, whether Ryan Fitzpatrick or Jameis Winston are under center for the Buccaneers, wide receiver Mike Evans will be involved. Evans leads the team in targets, yards, and receptions, and saw seven passes thrown his way with Fitzpatrick in the game in Week 6. Evans is, however, the only Tampa Bay player I would consider. If Fitzpatrick is starting, his propensity to throw interceptions makes the Bills’ defense a high upside play but, if Fitzpatrick is tossing interceptions, he is probably taking an aggressive approach that can burn the Bills.
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