Getty Gallery: 2/5
Potential Chalk Lineup
CAPTAIN: Joe Mixon $14,700
– Andy Dalton $10,800
– A.J. Green $10,400
– Willie Snead $5,600
– Javorius Allen $5,400
– Nick Boyle $2,200
While this lineup leaves $900 in salary, the only name that likely won't jump out as a player heavily owned is Boyle. The other five names are going to have high ownership for good reason. I'm personally holding out hope that fantasy players flock to Alex Collins after the Ravens ruled Kenneth Dixon out for the game.
We'll start at the top with Joe Mixon, who's work-horse running back role and ability to catch passes make him a no-brainer choice in the captain spot. He'll almost certainly be the highest-owned player on the Thursday night slate coming off a Week 1 game in which he totaled 95 rushing yards, 54 receiving yards and scored one touchdown.
A.J. Green has posted solid numbers over his career against the Ravens. He's averaged 4.8 receptions and 81.7 receiving yards over 10 games while scoring six touchdowns, per StatMuse. The numbers aren't mind-blowing, but Green in a primetime matchup on national television has more than enough upside to get me excited about the potential for a huge game.
The numbers Andy Dalton has posted against the Ravens aren't great, but I expect this be a pretty low-scoring game. Dalton averages 245.6 yards per game against the Ravens in his career (13 games) and has thrown 15 touchdowns against 17 interceptions. If he tops 250 yards and tosses two scores then he'll likely be one of the highest-scoring players on this slate.
My choice on Willie Snead really came down to two things. The first was that he tied for a team-high in targets during Week 1 with six, and totaled four catches for 49 yards and one touchdown. Essentially, he's safe, reliable and seems to have built a rapport with Joe Flacco. The second is that he filled in the final spot on my lineup and covers me in terms of having a player who's pretty safe and has the potential to find the end zone.
I'm hoping a lot of people roll out Alex Collins over Javorius Allen. The reason I'm doing the opposite is pretty simple. While Collins only had seven rushing attempts last week, the fact he fumbled early and immediately got benched for a stint is somewhat concerning. Beyond that, Allen has an exceptional matchup as a pass-catching back, considering the Bengals gave up 10 receptions to running backs in Week 1. Allen also hauled in five passes last week (although it was only for 15 yards) and finished with more yards on fewer carries than his counterpart.
And finally, the incredibly cheap Nick Boyle, who's holding down the role of pass-catching tight end until rookie first-round pick Hayden Hurst returns. He's not a "sexy" pick, but at $2,200 in a game which will likely feature very little offense, I'll take a player who tied for the team-high in targets (six) and caught three passes for 40 yards in a Week 1 blowout. It's also worth noting that the Bengals were picked apart by tight ends last week, allowing 12 catches for 124 yards and one TD.
Boyle may have some competition for playing time from other tight ends, but as Football Outsiders shows, he played 68 percent of the team's offensive snaps, so I feel fine about it.
*All statistics for player vs. team courtesy of StatMuse.