NFL Matchups: Green Bay Packers at Los Angeles Chargers Fantasy Football Preview

This a snippet of Adam Pfeifer’s NFL matchups column, previewing the Packers vs. the Chargers for Fantasy Football Lineups. Fantasy rosters needed protective spray because key players continue to miss extended time due to injury. We are expecting a handful of quarterbacks returning to health, which of course will impact receivers and backs around the league. As a result, we have plenty to parse through and discuss this week. With that in mind, let’s dig into some NFL DFS matchups and NFL game breakdowns for your Week 9 Fantasy Football Lineups on DraftKings, FanDuel, Yahoo and FantasyDraft.

To read the FULL column, click HERE.


Be sure to check out today’s NFL Strategy Show with Dave Loughran and Sal Vetri!


Green Bay Packers @ Los Angeles Chargers

Total: 48.5

Line: GB -3.5

Packers passing game

The demise of Aaron Rodgers has been greatly exaggerated. Rodgers has been incredible over the last three weeks, passing for 1,017 yards, 10 touchdowns and scoring 90.2 fantasy points, all the most among signal callers during that span. He is also sporting an 82.1 adjusted completion percentage and has just made some flat out stupid-good throws. Only Lamar Jackson is averaging more fantasy points per dropback during that span (0.78) and Rodgers has been doing all of this without his top wideout, and one of the best in the game. His recent play has helped him get back to that top-five quarterback status, especially against a depleted and struggling Chargers defense. The only concern is that the Packers will run the ball down their throats.

Hello, Davante Adams. After missing the last four games with a toe injury, Adams has returned to practice and was in pads on Thursday, giving him a terrific chance at returning this week. If he plays for the Packers, he plays for my fantasy lineups, despite the long absence and the fact that he will likely see shadow coverage from Casey Hayward. Rodgers has played great but he still clearly misses his trustworthy receiver, so I’d expect him to be plenty involved right away, especially in the red zone.

If Adams sits, I think you can go back to Allen Lazard, who is suddenly emerging into Green Bay’s number-two or three receiver. He led all Packers wideouts in snaps last Sunday night with 46, while Geronimo Allison played 44 and Marquez Valdes-Scantling played 43. Lazard was in the slot 65.6 percent of the time, while Allison lined up there nearly 80 percent of the time, which is perhaps the worst spot to be against the Chargers and nickel corner Desmond King, who has allowed just 18 catches and on touchdown in slot coverage this season.

Meanwhile, tight end Jimmy Graham will remain inconsistent but the tight end position is so bad and this guy still leads all tight ends with six end zone targets, seeing 19 percent of Green Bay’s end zone looks. Of course, that number will go down if Adams returns to the lineup, but the Chargers continue to miss their top two safeties, altering how well they can defend opposing tight ends.

Packers running game

Aaron Jones has been ridiculous this season. He is coming off a huge game against the Chiefs where he recorded 226 scrimmage yards, a career high, and the most by a Green Bay player since 2003. Jones has already scored 11 touchdowns this season and remains super efficient, averaging nearly six yards per touch and 10.4 yards per reception. He has been used more in the passing game with Adams sidelined, as Rodgers trusts Jones. Since Week 5, Jones is averaging a gaudy 6.7 targets per game, while still carrying the ball a healthy 14 times per game.

Of course, the presence of Jamaal Williams is keeping Jones from being an every-down back. Since Week 6, Jones has played 56 percent of the snaps, while Williams is at 47 percent. And during that same span, Jones is touching the ball on 44.7 percent of his snaps, with Williams at 37 percent. Jones is still the preferred play and is fourth in the league with eight carries from inside the five-yard line since Williams returned. The matchup is great, too, as the Chargers just allowed a career day to David Montgomery last week and are now coughing up the 10th-most fantasy points per game to opposing backfields. They also lead the NFL in missed tackles with 63, while Jones had avoided a healthy 30 total tackles on the year. He’s a low-end RB1, while Williams can be viewed as a flex.

Chargers passing game

Philip Rivers should have had a better fantasy day than the numbers show last week, but he had two touchdowns dropped. However, it was still another week where the Chargers offense had you scratching your head with their play-calling and decision-making. However, because this team cannot run the ball right now, Rivers is suddenly fourth in the league with 305 pass attempts, averaging just over 38 per game. And over the last three weeks, only the Bengals are calling pass at a higher rate than the Chargers (70.8 percent). Now this is a spot where they could be able to run the football but they could also be playing from behind, while Green Bay’s pass defense has taken a step back as of late.

Keenan Allen looked like he was going to miss last week’s game but he suited up and caught seven of 10 targets for 53 yards. He dropped one of the touchdowns and despite reports that he might be limited, Allen still played around 69 percent of the snaps, so while he was, it wasn’t as much as I thought. The hamstring is apparently still bothering him, while the All-Pro receiver hasn’t reached 70 yards or scored a touchdown since Week 3. The Packers could shadow him with Jaire Alexander here, especially with the size of Kevin King matching up well with the size of Mike Williams on the other side. Allen is more of a high-end WR2 this week with some added risk involved with that hamstring.

Williams, meanwhile, still hasn’t scored a touchdown this season, despite ranking seventh in the league in end zone targets. He is as due as anyone in the league right now and was dangerously close to scoring last week. Again, King has the size to combat him but he’s also the weaker of the top two corners for the Packers, coughing up the most yards in coverage this season (567). He is also allowing 2.21 yards per coverage snap, the second-most among qualified cornerbacks in the league. Once again, I like him in tournaments this week. A big game is coming.

Finally, you are using Hunter Henry as a top-seven tight end every single week. Since he returned to the lineup back in Week 6, only Austin Hooper has run more routes than Henry’s 96, while averaging a healthy 2.54 yards per pass route. During that same span, he leads all tight ends in fantasy points per snap (0.39), targets (23) and yards (244). He is running a route on around 80 percent of Rivers’ dropbacks too.

Chargers running game

Yuck.

Melvin Gordon may have scored another touchdown last week but he continues to look bad, averaging just 2.7 yards per touch, 53rd among all running backs in the league. The Chargers rushing attack has looked awful as of late, as they’ve been under 40 total rushing yards in four consecutive games. Now they are facing a Packers run defense that is stuffing just 13% of carries at or behind the line of scrimmage this year, the third-lowest rate in football, so perhaps they can get it going. Gordon is still getting the goal line work so it wouldn’t surprise me to see him breakout this week with multiple touchdowns.

Meanwhile, Austin Ekeler is the opposite. He’s super efficient but isn’t getting enough work. If the Chargers are trailing in games, Ekeler will be an RB2 in fantasy, as he’s being targeted on 17 percent of his snaps on the year, the fifth-highest rate among all running backs. If the Chargers keep this game close, Gordon will likely be the better fantasy asset, especially against a Green Bay defense allowing 43 percent of all touchdowns to come via the run, the 10th-highest rate in football.

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