5 Daily Fantasy Football Matchups to Exploit in Week 2
Carolina Panthers' Rushing Offense
Week 1 wasn't exactly the rousing start to the season we were all expecting for Christian McCaffrey. He finished with just 10 carries and 10.5 FanDuel points against an underwhelming Dallas Cowboys team.
On top of that, the team lost both Greg Olsen and right tackle Daryl Williams due to injury, putting a damper on the long-term outlook for the Panthers' second-year stud.
The Panthers weren't the only ones to get banged up in Week 1, though, and it may allow us to give McCaffrey a run again on Sunday.
The #Falcons placed playmaking LB Deion Jones on Injured Reserve because of a foot issue. First Keanu Neal, then Jones. Costly Week 1.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) September 11, 2018
The Atlanta Falcons have always had a reputation for bleeding volume to opposing running backs in the passing game, and it's one they've earned. They've allowed the most receptions in the league to opposing running backs each of the past three years, and losing Deion Jones and Keanu Neal ain't gonna help that.
B) Deion Jones was in coverage on 39 RB targets last year (third-most among all defenders). He or Keanu Neal was the primary defender on 47% of every RB target against ATL last year.
— Scott Barrett (@ScottBarrettDFB) September 12, 2018
That would bode superbly well for McCaffrey, who had 36.0% of the Panthers' total targets last week, including the team's lone red-zone target. The fantasy points weren't there, but you can bet your bottom that the usage was.
Losing Neal and Jones also figures to hurt the Falcons against the rush, an area where they already struggled last year. They finished 2017 ranked 22nd in Adjusted Defensive Rushing NEP per play, which accounts for the schedule a team faced. McCaffrey had 15 carries for 66 yards and a touchdown against them that season, and that was while Jonathan Stewart was still plodding along in the backfield.
With Stewart gone, McCaffrey played 85.1% of the snaps last week, more than he played in all but one game as a rookie. McCaffrey's role was exactly what we were expecting it to be; it just didn't translate into fantasy points.
Now, you're putting McCaffrey in a dome against a team that struggles both to stop the rush and to stop backs as receivers. This is about as peachy of a spot as you can find for him at $7,400.
Because McCaffrey's so involved in the passing game, you can toss him in a stack with Cam Newton. Newton's work on the ground has been noteworthy recently, too.
Over the past five regular season games, Newton has averaged 12.6 rushes for 59.4 yards and 0.4 touchdowns per game. New offensive coordinator Norv Turner has said that he wants Newton to keep running, so we shouldn't expect that to stop any time soon.
Given the Panthers' willingness to run read options with Newton and McCaffrey, it seems like both of these guys are in play and capable of exploiting the Falcons' weaknesses. We'd be wise to give them a look in DFS -- whether together or separate -- as a result.
