Getty Gallery: 3/5
Optimal Lineup
– CAPTAIN: Chris Carson ($7,500)
– Russell Wilson ($12,200)
– Aaron Jones ($9,000)
– Marquez Valdes-Scantling ($7,800)
– Doug Baldwin ($7,200)
– Jimmy Graham ($5,600)
Chris Carson does come with some risk, but not enough for me to move off him. He was removed completely from the Seahawks' injury report and has seemingly improved since sitting out last game. Most importantly, Carson has been the team's workhorse back prior to Week 10, to the point that it's hard to ignore.
While Carson sat out the second half of the team's Week 9 game, he received eight carries in the first half and totaled 40 yards. In the four games prior to that, he topped 100 yards three times while scoring two touchdowns. My only concern with Carson is that the Seahawks opt to use a timeshare, but I think we'll wind up seeing quite a bit him.
Considering he's received 25, 14, 19, and 32 carries in the four games he played before injury, the arrow is still pointing up and he's the team's most talented running back.
As far as the pairing of Russell Wilson and Doug Baldwin goes, I think it'll be lower owned than you'd think on the surface. Baldwin's numbers have been mediocre, but he's finally healthy and the as Rotoworld's Evan Silva revealed, the Packers have struggled mightily against slot receivers.
Baldwin plays the bulk of his snaps out of the slot, the Packers secondary is dealing with injuries across the board. If there were a time to bet on the Seahawks wideout to have a monster game, I'm taking this week. And if there's any concern about Baldwin's health, we can look at the fact he played 99 percent of the team's offensive snaps in Week 10, per Football Outsiders.
I have to mention the Jimmy Graham play, as I'm really interested to see how his ownership on this slate looks. On one hand, the Seahawks have allowed just 324 yards and three scores to opposing tight ends. Along with that, Graham saw just one target (good for one catch, 14 yards) last game. Both of those things are less than ideal, but the big factor is the matchup.
Graham gets the opportunity for a revenge spot, which is always appealing in fantasy football. Beyond that, it's worth noting that Seattle is without linebacker K.J. Wright and struggled against a Rams team who hardly uses their tight ends as pass-catchers last week. I'm fine with Graham on this slate, especially considering his price.
Let's look at the 150-max lineup which has quite a few my favorite plays, but also one or two players with slightly more risk.