5 Daily Fantasy Football Matchups to Exploit in Week 3
Pittsburgh Steelers' Rushing Offense
Why do we love Ajayi this week? He's a bell-cow running back who will get tons of touches on a team that is favored. Le'Veon Bell checks all of the same boxes, but he's not going to carry the same ownership as Ajayi. That presents an opportunity to buy.
It was understandable if you were peeved at Bell following his Week 1 usage. The team clearly eased him back in following his training-camp holdout, and he wasn't close to being worth his salary. But from a usage perspective, last week was much better.
| Bell in 2017 | Snap Rate | Carries | Targets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | 71.7% | 10 | 6 |
| Week 2 | 91.9% | 27 | 4 |
The targets are certainly lower for Bell than they were last year. And you could have expected that with Martavis Bryant rejoining the team after a season-long suspension. But they're still solid for the position.
Even when you include the Week 1 issues, Bell ranks fifth in overall market share of opportunities among running backs. He had the second-largest overall market share at the position in Week 2. There's a dip, but we shouldn't act as if Bell is suddenly no longer a top-tier back from a usage perspective.
Bell will be putting his increased workload up against a banged-up Chicago Bears defense in Week 3. Back in Week 1, they lost linebacker Jerrell Freeman to injured reserve with a pectoral injury. Then his replacement, Nick Kwiatkoski, went down in Week 2 and may be done for the season. They've got talent up front, but it's hard to thrive when you keep losing that many bodies.
Injuries are likely a big part of the reason the Bears enter Week 3 ranked 20th against the rush, according to numberFire's metrics. They were 32nd last year when they also were forced to play without Freeman due to a suspension. They simply cannot catch a break.
As you may be painfully aware, Bell is yet to find the end zone in this season. That's another trend that will likely end soon. He leads all running backs in red-zone market share with 52.94% of the Pittsburgh Steelers' total red-zone opportunities going to Bell. From a usage perspective, it's hard to find a reason not to love Bell going forward.
Bell's just $8,700 this week, tying his lowest price since November 13th of last year. He costs just $500 more than Ajayi and $400 more than stud rookie Kareem Hunt. With all of the signs saying that Bell is in for a big rebound, his appeal for tournaments this week is gigantic.
