XANDAMERE’S SHOWDOWN SLANT
After the bore of writing up the Sunday night game, we get one that’s a bit more exciting with the Eagles taking on the Chargers in a 41.5 total game with Philly favored by 2.5. Okay, maybe I spoke too soon about it being exciting. This one opened at 45.5 but has been bet down, and of course, Justin Herbert having a fractured non-throwing hand isn’t exactly a sign of optimism (yes, it’s not his throwing hand, but you still use both hands when playing football so it could affect him, and it could also just make him more sensitive to pain/being hit in the game). Herbert is expected to play, but he could not be at full strength, and then the Eagles offense has looked pretty broken all season long (at least compared to what we’re used to seeing from them). Fun!
LOS ANGELES
On the Chargers side of things, they’re getting Omarion Hampton back from injured reserve, putting an end to Kimani Vidal being a bell cow. Vidal has actually played well for Los Angeles, and it’s likely he retains a role. I doubt, at least, that Hampton assumes anything remotely like a bell cow role in his first game back. That leaves him looking like a pretty shaky option, even though he’s just $7,800, as the matchup is awful and the workload is uncertain. It’s worth thinking “what if” here, though, as running backs always carry high touchdown equity, and “what if” he plays a bigger role than expected and/or gets a 1-yard score after an end zone DPI call? I wouldn’t touch him in cash, but in tournaments, depending on ownership, he could be interesting as a contrarian option. If he projects for under 20-25% ownership, I’m intrigued. BUTTTTT…the Chargers coach has talked up Vidal. Vidal has run really, really well. Maaaaybe Vidal plays ahead of Hampton? This backfield is going to be really tough to trust, but since projection services have Hampton projected ahead, I’d guess Vidal’s ownership here is sub-5%. I have no real confidence in this, but I think there’s a greater than 5% chance that Vidal plays as the lead back.
Showdown Ownership Projections!
Ownership updates automatically
In the passing game, the emergence of Oronde Gadsden at tight end gives the Chargers too many weapons. There are now four talented pass catchers all vying for work. Ladd McConkey is the ostensible WR1, but he only has three games over 20 DK points all season because of how many options the Chargers have. Quentin Johnston started the season hot but has faded, only reaching a modest 15 DK points once since Week 4. Same with Keenan Allen, who was lighting the world on fire early in the year, culminating with a 31.9 point performance in Week 7, but he hasn’t even reached double digits since. Despite having three talented wideouts, the Chargers are still giving meaningful snaps to Tre Harris, who has yet to reach double digit DK points or more than 34 receiving yards in a game…why? Gadsden also exploded onto the scene, but has done little since Week 8. This is a tough spot to figure out because it feels like any of these guys could hit on any given week, but it’s really tough for more than two to hit, and it’s awfully hard to predict who’s likeliest to do well. Ladd is the best option here with the most consistent involvement since his slow start, but he’s also the most expensive of the Los Angeles skill position players so it’s not exactly all that helpful to say his projection is the best. Allen is a tough sell for me as a 33-year-old who has looked to be fading for weeks now, and it’s generally best to play older players early in the season when they’re fresh, as they tend to wear down as the season goes on.
Gadsden is another tough one for me as Ladd’s resurgence has coincided with his lack of work, and then Philly has presented one of the toughest matchups for tight ends in the league (though I don’t place THAT high a value on defense-vs-position metrics, it can be something of a tiebreaker when looking to sort out this ugly situation). Johnston has one of the best matchups out on the perimeter. Ladd and Johnson are my favorites here, while Allen and Gadsden are clear underweight positions for me.
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