Hey all and welcome to the Colts Broncos DFS breakdown for the Thursday Night Football Showdown slate. Both teams have not looked as advertised prior to the start of the season. There are plenty of injuries on both sides, which we’ll get into. However, before we get into the game, I got some good news.
Discord Server is up!
Borisville is ready to go! Please click this link to join! If you do not have a Discord, then it should prompt you to take a moment and sign up. Trust me, once you’re on you’ll quickly realize why this thing has taken off. Along with Slack, it’s the fastest way to reach a specific community. I’m on Discord a lot throughout the day, it’s probably even my most used app at this point. This will be the easiest way to communicate directly with me should you have specific questions. In my server there are channels for a variety of fantasy football topics. It is here where I will make myself available every Sunday between 11:30 and 12:30 EST.
On to tonight’s the game!
Colts Broncos DFS Game Overview
Denver Broncos – 3.5
O/U: 43.5
Money Line: Denver Broncos – 180
Colts Key Injuries
- Jonathan Taylor, drafted by many number one overall in seasonal leagues, avoided a major ankle injury but is still OUT for Thursday night’s game.
- LB Shaquille Leonard has a few ailments, but his concussion will keep him OUT of this one.
- S Julian Blackmon has an ankle issue and is OUT.
- DE Tyquan Lewis is OUT with a concussion.
Broncos Key Injuries
- RB Javonte Williams is done for the year with an ACL tear.
- Melvin Gordon has a neck issue but has been practicing and will play.
- Arguably worse than Javonte, LB Randy Gregory was placed on IR with a right knee injury.
- LB Aaron Patrick has a concussion and is OUT.
- LB Jonathon Cooper is dealing with a hamstring injury, he’s OUT.
- DT DJ Jones has a hand issue but should play.
- S PJ Locke, who has a concussion, is OUT
- G Quinn Meinerz has a hamstring injury and is OUT.
- G Billy Turner is QUESTIONABLE with a knee issue but has a chance to play.
- Russell Wilson is dealing with a right shoulder problem but should play.
An Interesting Signing
After just playing in London this past Sunday for the Saints and scoring a touchdown, Latavius Murray has been signed by the Broncos following the Javante Williams injury. In fantasy circles, there is much speculation around who the beneficiary will be in the Denver backfield. Maybe it’s Melvin Gordon, or maybe it’s Mike Boone, or maybe the Denver coaching staff doesn’t have faith in MG3 after this latest fumble. Latavius Murray may or may not play for the Broncos on Thursday, but for those of you in seasonal, this backfield has suddenly become even more worrisome.
Colts Broncos DFS Player Pool
QBs
Russel Wilson and Matt Ryan can both be played, but I am not expecting a shootout in this one, so it’s likely just one for me. Even though RW3 has a shoulder injury, he will still likely suit up. Russ should carry more ownership than Ryan especially considering that the Broncos are one of the best teams against opposing QBs, though injuries could change that. Since you asked, the Colts are right in the middle.
RBs
Jonathan Taylor is OUT, so naturally many are flocking to Naheem Hines. The Colts will likely use a combination of Hines, Deon Jackson, and potentially even Philip Lindsay to attack the injured Broncos. Philip Lindsay used to play for Denver and was a fantasy darling circa 2018 and 2019. There is a revenge narrative here. With Taylor out, the Colts may elect to keep Hines in his role and use veteran Lindsay who should be highly motivated here. If he suits up, I will be playing Lindsay a good amount. Keep in mind that the Colts still have one of the better offensive lines in football despite their offense not really looking like it through four weeks. Going into last weekend, the Broncos were top five vs RBs. Then Josh Jacobs ran all over them, so injuries are taking their tole.
On the other side, the Broncos are also doing some patchwork. I doubt Latavius Murray makes much of in impact after a short week in which he is covering seven time zone changes and joining a new team. In that case it will Mr. Fumbles Melvin Gordon or Mike Boone. Not sure I’d play both in the same lineup, but I am interested in both in what is projected to be a low scoring game, and the Colts are middle of the pack in the NFL vs RBs.
WRs
Be careful here, both the Colts and Broncos are two of the best teams in the league at defending WRs, but then again, injuries are definitely a thing.
Courtland Sutton has been getting a steady diet of WR1 targets. Jerry Jeudy has been the WR2 who is capable of making explosive plays. KJ Hamler is a one-off deep threat, so there’s a chance he could take a deep for a long TD. Kendall Hinton is only on the field for about half of the team’s offensive snaps and has only seen five targets this year.
Michael Pittman might have a tough time as the Broncos key in and attempt to make his life difficult, but he is the clear target leader in this offense. Alec Pierce has been slowly increasing his role in the offense despite only playing about half the snaps. Ashton Dulin is third on the team in targets but this offense has really begun spreading it around.
TE
Both teams are integrating three or four TEs into their offenses, so identifying one of them to catch a TD is a challenge. Mo Alie-Cox and Kyle Granson have basically been splitting time with rookie Jelani Woods occasionally mixing in. Albert Okwuegbunam has seen his snap counts reduced dramatically since week one; he probably should not be the highest priced Denver TE. Eric Saubert and Eric Tomlinson have been seeing much more run of late with both getting nearly 50% of the snaps until Saubert’s jumped to 77% last game.
Couple Reminders
Only play one of the defenses, and only play one of the kickers.
Enjoy Thursday Night Football!
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