Going into the eighth week of the regular season, the Chargers are ranked second in the NFL in total points. On Sunday they will face a Denver defense that held them to a season low 21 points when the teams met just over two weeks ago. Here is what notable fantasy football experts are saying going into the game vs. the Broncos:
Melvin Gordon: After a three touchdown performance in Atlanta in which he led standard scoring leagues in fantasy scoring for Week 7, Gordon now leads the league in touchdowns with ten (eight rushing, two receiving). The previous game vs. the Broncos was the only game this year Gordon did not reach pay dirt, although he did rack up 94-yards on the ground. He is ranked as a top ten option by most experts and ESPN's Matthew Berry lists him as a "love." Per Berry, "In case you were thinking about getting cute because it's Denver, stop. The Broncos are on a short week and for as great as the Broncos are, you can run on them somewhat (18th versus the run the past four weeks).Don't overthink this. You're starting Melvin Gordon." He is on average going for $6,450 in daily fantasy leagues.
Philip Rivers:The Broncos held Rivers to his lowest fantasy scoring total of the year two weeks ago and on average have allowed just over 11 points per game to opposing quarterbacks. Rivers did not get a lot of love this week by the experts and is ranked outside the top 15 by most experts. Rivers is on average going for $6,700 in daily fantasy leagues.
Antonio Gates:Steadily increasing his snap count since coming back from injury, Gates was tied for a team high ten targets last week. He is ranked as a top ten option at TE by both Matthew Berry and Field Yates of ESPN and is listed as an undervalued option by fantasypros.com saying "He is still the preferred possession receiver in San Diego and will have more weekly upside going forward. Even in a difficult matchup, I believe that Gates will get his against Denver and finish the week as a borderline TE1." He is on average going for $4,000 in daily fantasy leagues.
Hunter Henry: After not finding the end zone for the first time in four games Henry is listed as questionable after suffering a concussion last week. He is on average going for $4,750 in daily fantasy leagues.
Tyrell Williams: Coming off a game in which he had a career high in yards (140), receptions (seven) and targets (ten), Williams has rewarded fantasy owners who picked him up at the beginning of the season. Williams currently leads the Chargers in receiving yards and 20+ yard gains. He was relatively quiet two weeks ago vs. the Broncos (3 catches for 28 yards), but the last time the Chargers were in Denver he went for 90 yards and a touchdown. Williams is on average going for $5,250 in daily fantasy leagues.
San Diego Chargers Defense: Following a stellar performance in the second half (and OT) last week, the Chargers defense is getting noticed by a number of fantasy experts. The last time they played the Broncos, the defense finished with 12 points via two sacks, recovering two fumbles, forcing a safety and allowing just 13 points. ESPN's Mike Clay has ranked them inside the top ten and SI.com's Michael Beller lists them as a top streaming option saying "The Chargers have looked like a completely different defense since Joey Bosa made his career debut. Even though they go on the road for the rematch, Bosa makes the Chargers a viable stream play almost every week." They are currently valued as one of the bottom five options in daily fantasy leagues and could be a great bang-for-the-buck option.
Josh Lambo:Currently one of top scoring kickers, Lambo has been on fire as of late with back-to-back double digit performances the past two weeks. The last time he face the Broncos, Lambo went 4-for-4 with an extra point. Lambo is listed as a start by NFL.com's Michael Fabiano who says "He's scored 10-plus fantasy points in four of his last five games, including a 13-point performance against this week's opponent, the Broncos. Lambo is still a free agent in 80-plus percent of NFL.com leagues."
