Game Info
Kickoff: Sunday, November 13 at 1:00 PM ET
Location: MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Betting Odds: NYG -6.5, 40.5 Total on Oddshark
Network: CBS
Writer: Drew DeLuca (@DrewDeLaware on Twitter)
Houston Texans
QUARTERBACKS
Davis Mills (Sit)
In August, Davis Mills was a trendy mid-to-late round selection in Superflex leagues. After a strong second half of the 2021 season, many were enamored with the upside offered by the former top high school recruit in the nation. Some salivated at the notion of him targeting Brandin Cooks early and often, with Nico Collins stretching the field and John Metchie doing the dirty work underneath, Well, that carriage has turned into the proverbial pumpkin. Metchie was unfortunately lost for the season, Cooks may or may not play another down for the Texans, and Collins has been shelved with a groin injury.
As a result, Mills has lost his luster and hasn’t surpassed 200 passing yards in three of his last four games. Given his dearth of weapons (more on that below), we have a hard time recommending him against a New York Giants defense that has been far better than advertised this season. With the exception of bye week emergencies in Superflex leagues, Mills shouldn’t be appearing in fantasy lineups in Week 10.
RUNNING BACKS
Dameon Pierce (Start, RB2), Rex Burkhead (Sit), Dare Ogunbowale (Sit)
Dameon Pierce took the reins from Rex Burkhead as the Texans’ primary running back in Week 2 and hasn’t looked back. With one exception, Pierce has compiled 20 or more touches in every game since and has been the RB11 since Week 3. He’s an every-week start, no matter the opponent or matchup.
Meanwhile, Burkhead can be safely ignored by fantasy managers. Likewise, we included Dare Ogunbowale just to be nice; we hear he’s a swell fella. He has seven touches so far this season. Seven. That’s it. So, don’t start him. Like, ever.
WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS
Brandin Cooks (Sit*), Nico Collins (Sit*), Chris Moore (Sit), Phillip Dorsett (Sit), Brevin Jordan (Sit), O.J. Howard (Sit), Teagan Quitoriano (Sit), Jordan Akins (Sit)
Brandin Cooks saw 10 or more targets in both of the Texans’ first two games. Since Week 5, no other Houston wide receiver has drawn more than five looks in a game. Cooks is persona non grata after taking to Twitter to announce his displeasure with the team’s failure to ship him out of town before the trade deadline. Even if he suits up this weekend, we’d trust him in lineups only slightly more than Elijah Moore at this point.
Nico Collins is the only other Texans wide receiver to see more than five targets in a game this season: nine in Week 2, and six in Week 5. A groin injury has kept Collins out of action the past two weeks, but the former Michigan Wolverine returned to the practice field on Wednesday. The Giants’ defense is one of the league’s four toughest against fantasy wide receivers, however, so we’re avoiding Collins this weekend even if he does put on the pads.
That leaves Chris Moore and Phillip Dorsett. If either is among your best options this week, I’m so very sorry. I’m in no rush to recommend either in a plus matchup, never mind a subpar one. The New York Giants’ defense hasn’t been anywhere near as stout against opposing tight ends. The only problem: trying to figure out which Texan tight end to play from the grouping of Brevin Jordan, O.J. Howard, Teagan Quitoriano, or Jordan Akins. Jordan has seen the most targets of this group over the past three weeks, followed by Howard, then Akins. Quitoriano scored a touchdown on his first and only touch of the season to date. Jordan would be our low-confidence pick to lead the team in targets this week, making him an ideal DFS GPP option but a less-than-ideal choice in season-long leagues.
New York Giants
QUARTERBACKS
Daniel Jones (Start, QB1)
Daniel Jones is a QB1? In this economy? OK, to be fair, he’s a low-end QB1 this week, right on the cusp of being a high-end QB2. It’s quite fair to question the assessment, as the Houston Texans have been statistically solid against the pass this year. However, I’m convinced this vaunted ranking is primarily due to two causes that don’t involve the talent on the defensive side of the ball.
First, the Texans want to run as much as possible, chew up the clock, and keep the ball out of the opposing team’s hands. Second, people want to run as much as possible on them because…well, they can, and the Texans can’t stop them. More on that later, but Jones can bring it on the ground in his own right.
One game removed from a 100-yard rushing performance, the former first-round pick of the Giants is averaging 52.8 rushing yards per game over his last six contests and has accrued 20 or more yards on the ground in all but one game this season. He has more rushing yards than Kyler Murray so far in one fewer game and has eclipsed Jalen Hurts, as well. The only quarterbacks with more yards on the ground this year are Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Justin Fields. Jones is currently tied for fifth in rushing touchdowns by a quarterback, as well.
While we’re confident enough in his floor, Jones’s play as a quarterback has remarkably improved under first-year head coach Brian Daboll. He has thrown only two interceptions all year and leads the NFL in both 4th Quarter Comebacks (4) and Game-Winning Drives (5). All with a receiving corps that gives off serious “Island of Misfit Toys” vibes. As we’ll outline below, we see the stars aligning up a Top 12 finish this week for Jones this week, with upside for more.
RUNNING BACKS
Saquon Barkley (Start, RB1), Matt Breida (Sit), Gary Brightwell (Sit)
The renaissance of Saquon Barkley has been nothing short of a revelation for fantasy managers who took a chance on him early in drafts this year. The former Penn State standout has tailed off a bit in recent weeks, however, finishing as RB13 or lower in four of his last five games. Expect that to change this week, however: no team has allowed more points per game to opposing fantasy running backs than the Houston Texans this season. Expect Barkley to return to the realm of RB1s, and he may very well claim the throne as THE RB1 for Week 10.
Some teams split backfield touches to the point where multiple running backs become viable fantasy starters. The Giants are not one of them. Leave Matt Breida and Gary Brightwell on waivers where they belong. Brightwell hasn’t touched the football in a game since Week 5, and Breida has logged more than five touches only once this season.
WIDE RECEIVERS/TIGHT ENDS
Wan’Dale Robinson (Start, Flex), Darius Slayton (Start, Flex), Marcus Johnson (Sit), Kenny Golladay (Sit), David Sills (Sit), Richie James (Sit*), Chris Myarick (Sit), Tanner Hudson (Sit)
Seven different wide receivers have caught two or more passes in a game for the Giants so far this season, but not a single one has recorded more than 80 total yards in a game. Richie James was the clubhouse leader out of the gate with 10 receptions in the first two games, but he has faded since. Kenny Golladay recorded a pair of receptions in Week 1 but unsurprisingly hasn’t played since due to…you guessed it…yet another injury. Sterling Shepard picked up the slack and was just starting to emerge as an attractive fantasy option when his season was derailed by an ACL injury.
Things are looking up, however: Reports indicate that Golladay may return this week. Meanwhile, Darius Slayton has recorded 10 or more PPR fantasy points in three of his last four games, and rookie Wan’Dale Robinson is one game removed from a six-catch performance; no Giants wide receiver has caught more passes in a game this season. Slayton and Robinson have been targeted 15 times each over the last three games, more than any other Giants receiver. We expect their target shares to continue to trend upwards in the wake of Daniel Bellinger’s serious eye injury; however, low volume totals cap the duo’s upside.
While both are flex-worthy, we prefer Robinson over Slayton. We also prefer to leave James, Marcus Johnson, David Sills, Chris Myarick, and Tanner Hudson on waivers where they belong. Under no circumstances should any of them see your fantasy lineups in any format.