🕹 3 Cheat Code WRs To Start

🙌 Throw your hands up, George Kittle SZN is upon us...

In today’s Fantasy Life Newsletter presented by Pikkit.

Back in the mid-90s, my dad would call for a play-action pass from Troy Aikman to Michael Irvin after Emmitt Smith would open a game up with multiple successful runs. "Now hit 'em deep", he would yell at the television.

Dad, you were ahead of your time.

Defensive coordinators respect the run, and it doesn't matter if you are good at rushing or if you use play action all the time; defenders are programmed to react. Of course, the caveat to my dad's argument is play action doesn't apply to only deep shots. Play-action targets can create space for offensive weapons all over the field.

Who cares about this nerd stuff, Dwain? Why does this matter for fantasy football?

I am so glad you asked.

🤓 A play-action target is worth 18% more in fantasy points.

Play-action targets drive efficiency up in multiple ways for WRs based on data from 2018 to 2021, per PFF.

Message FL Newsletter Editing

• Yards per reception increase by 23% ✅

• Touchdowns per reception increase by 19% ✅

• Contested targets reduce by 15% ✅

🔍 3 WRs with the most play-action targets in 2022.

➡️ Stefon Diggs: 12 play-action targets

Diggs is the No. 2 WR in target share in the NFL, and 55% of his looks have come on play-action. The Bills are a pass-happy offense that understands they can still maximize play-action. What an offensive environment -- Diggs could be the WR1 in 2022.

➡️ Tyreek Hill: 10 play-action targets

Hill is tied for No. 7 in WR target share (31%), and 40% of his opportunities are off of play-action. Mike McDaniel is smashing the play-action button the most in the NFL (41%). He is doing all this while keeping his foot to the gas 12% more than the average NFL team, even with a lead of four or more.

Watch and learn, Kyle Shanahan. This could be you with Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk. 

➡️ Curtis Samuel: nine play-action targets

Samuel was forgotten in fantasy drafts, but he is off to a fast start averaging 22.1 fantasy points per game. He has a healthy 23% target share, and a whopping 50% of his targets have come off of play-action.

His average depth of target (ADOT) is only 3.0 yards, proof that play-action targets can come all over the field.

Samuel continues to climb the ranks — play-action isn't his only schematic advantage, as you will find out in the rankings update.

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Going with your gut can only get you so far. Use our industry-leading rankings to gain an edge on your league mates. Need help? Don't worry, Dwain has you covered.

📈 Risers

📈 WR - Curtis Samuel

The Washington coaching staff is going out of their way to scheme optimal looks for Samuel.

His targets are coming in a variety of ways, per PFF data:

• 50% play action

• 32% motion

• 27% screen

• 14% RPO

The Commanders are moving him all over the formation, with 67% of routes coming from the slot and 5% from the backfield.

He has also handled 10% of their rushing attempts.

Samuel is a low-end WR2 as long as the team continues to scheme him up in such beneficial ways as a mismatch utility player.

📈 WR - Romeo Doubs

Sammy Watkins has been ruled out, and Randall Cobb (illness) and Christian Watson (hamstring) missed the last two practices. Doubs flashed in the preseason and should see an expanded role against the Buccaneers in Week 3.

He moves into boom-bust WR4 territory in 12-team formats.

📈 TE - Darren Waller

Waller moves into Tier 1 alongside Travis Kelce and Mark Andrews with Hunter Renfrow (concussion) ruled out. We could see 50 to 60% of the targets funnel towards Waller and Davante Adams this weekend against the Titans, who have allowed 505 yards and six touchdowns passing.

📈 TE - George Kittle

Kittle (groin) was removed from the injury report for the 49ers' Week 3 matchup against the Broncos. He climbs inside my Top 6.

Deebo Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk will challenge for targets, but we should see a slight boost in pass attempts with fewer Trey Lance scrambles (11%) and designed rush attempts (15%).

📉 Fallers

📉 QB - Justin Herbert

Herbert (ribs) is questionable for a tilt against the Jaguars. The line has fallen 3.5 points, and the game total is down five points since the beginning of the week over at BetMGM.

The third-year QB is at risk of not playing in the late window and carries the risk of re-injury if he does suit up. He moves down to high-end QB2 territory, given the additional risk.

📉 QB - Tom Brady

Brady will be without Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, plus Russell Gage, Julio Jones and Breshad Perriman are all questionable. Whoever manages to suit up likely won’t be 100% and could exit the game early.

The GOAT moves into mid-range QB2 territory for his Week 3 matchup against the Packers.

🤔 Monitoring

🤔 RB - Josh Jacobs

Jacobs (illness) didn’t travel with the team to Tennessee and is at risk of missing the game. If he can’t go, we could see Zamir White handle the early-down role with Brandon Bolden and Ameer Abdullah working in on passing downs.

White becomes a boom-bust RB3 if Jacobs sits this one out.

🤔 RB - J.K. Dobbins

Dobbins (knee) practiced in full every day for the second consecutive week. If he dons a Ravens jersey this weekend, we should expect a tempered approach to his workload.

He becomes a mid-range RB3 if active.

🤔 RB - James Conner

Conner (ankle) is questionable after two limited practice sessions. If he can't go, Darrel Williams handled 56% of the snaps after Conner left the game in Week 2, including passing downs. He and Eno Benjamin are low-end RB3s if Conner is out. 

🤔 WR - Keenan Allen

Allen (hamstring) missed practice on Friday along with several other Chargers, including Herbert. Allen is only a high-end WR3 this week if Herbert plays due to risk of re-injury to both players.

🤔 WR - Jerry Jeudy

Jeudy (shoulder/ribs) missed practice Thursday and got in some light work on Friday. If he can’t play against the 49ers, Courtland Sutton moves into the top-10.

In this Creator Spotlight, we're joined by Drew Dinkmeyer, the head of NBA at Establish the Run, and the creator of the Welly Maker.

💧 What is the Welly Maker? 

The Welly Maker is a charity campaign where the Fantasy Sports community works together with the incredible people at Charity: Water to help deliver clean, sustainable drinking water solutions to people in need.

💧 Why Charity: Water? 

1) The Cause and 2) The Charity. I believe very strongly that clean drinking water is essential. One in ten people worldwide do not have access to clean drinking water. Diseases from dirty water are lethal. More people die every year from diseases as a result of dirty water than all forms of violence, and over 40% of all deaths related to those diseases are to children.

Charity: Water has created a business model that guarantees 100% of every donation goes directly to water projects. The organization provides incredible transparency into the impact your donation makes.

💧 What made you want to start the project?

I was so inspired by this guest appearance that Scott Harrison had on the Bill Simmons podcast. The podcast educated me on the global water crisis and how much of a toll the search for drinking water took on communities, particularly women and children.

Scott’s passion for the cause is infectious, and his professional journey resonated with me. He was previously working in an industry that helped entertain people with disposable income but didn’t leave much of a mark on improving the world. I felt similarly with the work I was doing in DFS and wanted to make a change.  

💧 How has your success in DFS influenced your want to give back?

In a few ways. First, playing DFS professionally can involve large swings of money on incredibly small differences in outcomes. I was fortunate enough to win a “Milly Maker” in 2014, and the difference between winning $1,000,000 and $100,000 was a single play. If Marquess Wilson drops a touchdown instead of securing it, my financial situation is meaningfully different.

Secondly, success in DFS afforded me more opportunities to travel. Those opportunities helped me better understand wealth disparities around the world. 

💧 What is your ultimate goal for the project?

The big goal is to live in a world where everyone has access to sustainable clean drinking water. There are 771 million people who don’t have access currently, and Charity: Water has helped eliminate the issue for 15 million people since their inception. 

Personally, I’d like to help raise at least $1 million and perhaps get to the point of having contributed $1 million personally to the cause. We just pushed through the $500,000 mark in total donations raised through Welly Maker campaigns, and I’ve personally contributed just over $130,000 so far.

Still, a lot of work to be done, but I think it’s realistic I can end up taking something that was so symbolically life-changing for me (winning a Milly maker) and turn it into something that is really life-changing for generations of others. 

💧 How can people get involved? 

The easiest ways to get involved are by supporting the cause and spreading the message. If you’re willing to spend the time listening to Scott Harrison talk about the cause, I think it’s a perspective-altering experience. 

If you have a platform or audience that could benefit from sharing this story, please spread the word! 

If you’re interested in contributing financially, we’re matching the first $40,000 in donations this year, and you can find the project here. .

🎱 Are Rookie WRs a cheat code? Outlook good.

🚀 Don't lose faith in Marquise Brown too soon. Oh my.

🥇 Is Dalvin Cook RB1 overall in Week 3? Marcas and Dwain chop it up on the Fantasy Life podcast.

🎱 Should we worry about this WR/CB matchup? Concentrate and ask again.

🥋 Benching a fantasy eruption is a tough whiff. No matter how pretty.

😎 No-look passes aren't new. This OG was doing it when Eleven was fighting Demogorgons.

Our resident betting sharps at Fantasy Life have a group chat. Lucky for you, they are leaking the alpha. Here's what they came up with for Week 3.

🔥 Garrett Wilson Over 48.5 Receiving Yards -115 BetMGM

Garrett Wilson has been the apple of Flacco’s eye, leading the team with 22 targets, and owning a 24% target share. As Dwain McFarland pointed out in The Utilization Report, the Jets are ready to make Garrett Wilson a full-time player. He ran a route on 72% of dropbacks in Week 2, up 16% from Week 1.

The Jets are throwing the ball at the highest rate in football and take on the Cincinnati Bengals, who have already let five players go for over 50 receiving yards against them this season. That's with the Bengals playing Mitch Trubisky and Cooper Rush, two of the rare QBs who might actually be worse than Joe Flacco. Look for the Jets to continue to feed the former top-10 pick on Sunday, and I am comfortable betting this up to 53.5.

You can track all my action on Pikkit to see the rest of my plays for this weekend’s NFL games. 

Playing the best players is easy enough, but value is where it's at in DFS. Every other week, Alex from Roster Watch will be dropping by the Fantasy Life offices to give you his top DFS values of the week. 

✅ Chris Olave ($4500 Drafkings, $5500 FanDuel) 

Olave, ranked as the top rookie WR prospect in a stacked 2022 class by RosterWatch, made big waves in Week 2 by racking up 330-plus air yards. They did not result in a monster game (5 receptions, and 80 scoreless yards) but, along with his 13 targets, serve as a terrific indicator for future opportunity.

Olave leads the NFL in targets of over 20 yards on the season with seven, but is anything but a one-trick pony and downfield lid-lifter. 

In Week 3, at just his price, Olave is too cheap, even against an improved Panthers secondary.

✅ Drake London ($5800 Draftkings, $6200 FanDuel) 

London has predictably become the clear No.1 target in Atlanta. After two weeks of action, only Cooper Kupp, A.J. Brown, Stefon Diggs, and Amon-Ra St. Brown command larger shares of their teams' total targets than London (33.3%). London is currently 8th among all qualifying WRs in yards per route run.

London figures to see plenty of Seahawks rookie CB Tariq Woolen in this matchup. Woolen -- at nearly 6-4 himself -- certainly profiles as a player who London may have trouble dominating with his 6-5 frame. However, the talent disparity is wide here.  Woolen is a size/speed "project" and a wide receiver-to-corner convert. 

Talent and polish should win out here, allowing London to return good value in Week 3. 

Check out Roster Watch for more from Alex!