5 Daily Fantasy Football Matchups to Exploit in Week 6

Jacksonville Jaguars' Rushing Offense

T.J. Yeldon isn't Leonard Fournette. Fournette went fourth overall in the draft for a reason, and you're not going to get the same bruising runs when that guy's on the sidelines.

But with Fournette out, Yeldon gains name-brand-level attrativeness. He's also in a baller matchup this week.

The Jacksonville Jaguars are paired with the Dallas Cowboys, which is a seemingly rough spot for fantasy production given the reputation of both teams. Although that's still partly true, the teams are ranked 11th and 16th, respectively, in situation-neutral pace, according to Football Outsiders. It's not going to be some world-class shootout, but it should at least motor faster than perception.

Things also look different when Dallas is forced to play without linebacker Sean Lee, who is still week-to-week and did not practice Thursday. According to The Quant Edge's injury tool, the Cowboys allowed 4.88 yards per carry when Lee was off the field last year compared to 3.52 when he was on it. That's a major hole in the middle of the field.

That said, the Cowboys planned for this in the offseason. They drafted Leighton Vander Esch in the first round, hoping to pair him with Lee when Lee was healthy and have him fill in the times Lee was forced to sit. Vander Esch has done that, playing all 80 defensive snaps in Week 5, but there's still a dropoff without Lee.

Again turning to The Quant Edge's injury tool, here's what the Cowboys' defense has done with and without Lee this year.

It's a pretty sizable sample without Lee, and things have been much worse for the Cowboys. This has also harmed them against the pass with their sack rate falling to 8.6% from 11.4% and the pass success rate skyrocketing to 57.8% from 40.3%. Even with all the injuries, Lee is still a legit difference-maker for the defense.

That's the matchup, and it's pretty solid. The main appeal here, though, is Yeldon's projected workload.

Not only is Fournette out, but Corey Grant is now done for the year after injury his foot last week. With Grant going down early, Yeldon played 92.8% of the snaps. They did sign Jamaal Charles, but this is Yeldon's backfield until Fournette gets back.

Because the Jaguars fell down early in that game, Yeldon didn't get to do much as a rusher, netting just 10 carries. This week is a bit different because instead of facing Patrick Mahomes, they get a struggling Dak Prescott. That should keep the run game in play a bit longer this time around.

When Yeldon has gotten that rushing volume, he has looked pretty solid. He's 18th in Rushing Success Rate, according to numberFire's metrics, out of 46 running backs with at least 30 carries. Not having Lee staring him down should only help matters.

If the Jaguars do decide to go with a pass-heavy approach -- whether by choice or by necessity -- Yeldon will still be involved. He had 10 targets in that loss last week, his third game this year with at least seven targets. A target is worth twice as much as a carry for a running back in half-PPR formats, making targets a must for backs on FanDuel. That's not a concern for Yeldon.

Yeldon is $7,100, and that's not the bargain pricing he carried last week. But at the same time, it's not often you'll find a running back slated to play 90% of the snaps for a price this low. That puts Yeldon in play for cash games, and a plus matchup and a tasty workload allows us to use him in tournaments, as well.