Cowboys-Titans DFS Showdown: Injury and Slate Analysis

Free up-to-date projections and optimization tools for all NFL DFS slates are available at DailyRoto.com. For bookmarking purposes, optimal probability simulations and expected ownership projections will be available on a continuous link here.QUARTERBACK:

Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys will head into Tennessee to take on a depleted Titans squad on Thursday Night Football, giving us a rather lopsided DFS showdown matchup. Dak’s been as dependable as it gets from a fantasy perspective. In seven of his last eight games, he’s passed for at least 250 yards while also throwing multiple touchdowns. Interceptions have been a concern, but Tennessee’s pass defense is not good, so that isn’t as much of a worry. Malik Willis has been dreadful as a starter. There isn’t any passing ceiling to look for, so we’ll need him to use his legs a ton.

Tony Pollard headlines the Cowboys’ injury report on the offensive end, listed as questionable. He did not participate in practice all week but is expected to play. His workload is something to monitor, and it’s safe to assume that Ezekiel Elliott will out-snap Pollard comfortably, something Zeke has done only once in the past six weeks. Zeke has found the end zone at least once in each of the last eight games, so with an expected increased workload, we’ll look for that trend to continue. Malik Davis could see some volume with Pollard limited, but nothing drastic unless this game is so out of hand that they look for Davis to come in and kill the clock.

Derrick Henry is listed as doubtful, completely changing the entire dynamic of the Titans’ offense. Henry’s presence has alleviated some of the pressure on Willis, so it will be interesting to see how Hassan Haskins holds up as the featured back. He has only rushed the ball eleven times all season, but he could eclipse 15 carries tonight, as they don’t want Willis to carry the load. Julius Chestnut will rotate in for some looks, but this should be Haskins’s show.

CeeDee Lamb is coming off of back-to-back 120-yard games and is positioned well against a defense that allows 280 passing yards per game on average, second worst in the NFL. Michael Gallup and Noah Brown round out the primary trio, with Gallup having the edge on the depth chart and offering more consistency than Brown. T.Y. Hilton burst on the scene last week with his reception on 3rd and 30, so look for the veteran wideout to continue to get more involved in this offense.

The Titans have a bottom-two receiving room in the league if you want to also include the Ravens in that mix. The leading receiver in the WR room is Robert Woods, who hasn’t reached 500 yards this season despite playing every game. We have Treylon Burks projected as the WR1 since he was brought in to replace AJ Brown, but he was brought in to make plays, and rookies usually eat up targets toward the end of the season. Now fully healthy and having run a higher route% than Woods last week, we expect more from him. Anything more than two receptions for Nick Westbrook-Ikhine as the WR3 would be a surprise, with Chris Conley coming in rotationally without being a factor.

The Titans defensively allow the most yards per game to opposing tight ends in the league, so Dalton Schultz could be in for a big night. Jake Ferguson and Peyton Hendershot could see a target or two as depth options. Chigoziem Okonkwo and Austin Hooper will have primary roles in the Titans’ offense, and each could see five targets, which is good from a Titans’ point of view, but it will come down to how much confidence you have in Willis feeding them the ball.