Another Thursday Night Football, another vital divisional showdown as the Arizona Cardinals head to Seattle to face the Seahawks in a battle to lead the NFC West. These two teams are locked at 6-3 at the top of the standings with the hosts in freefall after three losses in four games, while the Cardinals are flying high following their last-gasp win over Buffalo.
With two top-10 ranked offenses on show, fireworks are expected at CenturyLink Field, especially after these two put up a combined 71 points when they met in Week 7. So, from a fantasy viewpoint, throw the defenses to one side as we weigh up whether we want to let Russell Wilson back in the kitchen or get out for a run with Kyler Murray.
Be sure to check out our thoughts on the side and total, but for now, let’s dive into our choice for the best daily fantasy lineup for Thursday’s big game.
Captain: Russell Wilson, QB, Seahawks ($17,700)
Rolling the dice slightly with our captaincy selection on Thursday but Russell Wilson is due a bounce-back game, and why can’t it be against the Cardinals? His performance against the L.A. Rams was easily his poorest of the season but he catches a break this week, coming up against a defense that gave up over 400 yards to the Buffalo Bills last week.
Wilson had more passing yards (388) and rushing yards (84) than Kyler Murray in the first meeting with the Cardinals in Week 7, throwing for three touchdowns. It hasn’t been Wilson’s finest run through the last four weeks but from a fantasy perspective no quarterback has thrown more touchdown passes than his 28, he’s second in average passing yards per game and has a total of 325 rushing yards, the most on the Seattle team. If he can catch fire again, he’s a bonafide match-winner.
Flex: Kyler Murray, QB, Cardinals ($13,000)
Having been unable to decide between the two quarterbacks on show, why not splash the cash and have both? The only reason Murray doesn’t get the captaincy is down to finance as he’s been playing lights out in the last five weeks. Murray is on track for over 4,000 passing yards and 1,000 rushing yards this season, with the potential to eclipse what Lamar Jackson did for the Ravens last season.
While his rushing skills remain excellent — he’s topped 60 yards on the ground in each of his last four games — it’s his passing ability that has really improved, achieving a passer rating of 109.6 the last six weeks.
Most importantly, Murray is averaging over 31 points per game in fantasy and should go above that number on Thursday, having already torched this awful Seattle defense once this year.
We will officially be calling this play the "Hail Murray" 🔥pic.twitter.com/ZfeGwtqRue
— Pickswise (@Pickswise) November 16, 2020
Flex: Carlos Hyde, RB, Seahawks ($5,200)
Predicting who will lead the Seattle backfield every week has been harder than picking lottery numbers this season, but heading into Week 11 a fit-again Carlos Hyde looks set to get the nod. Alex Collins, DeeJay Dallas, and Travis Homer have all had a go at being the lead back but none of them have grabbed the opportunity.
Hyde’s last game was against the Cardinals when he averaged a season-best 4.53 yards per carry, while also getting into the endzone.
Hyde playing a full role in Tuesday practice, having recently been sidelined with a hamstring injury, while his main rival for first-choice running-back, Chris Carson, was limited by a foot injury and is a major doubt. If Carson does suit up for Thursday Night Football then we may have to rethink this decision.
Flex: Chase Edmonds, RB, Cardinals ($5,600)
With Arizona’s first-choice back Kenyan Drake banged up, it is worth taking a chance on Chase Edmonds having a big night on Thursday. Despite having fewer touches than Drake in the Week 10 win over Buffalo, Edmonds still managed to put up 10.7 fantasy points and could see a bigger workload having performed very well the last time he faced Seattle.
Edmonds put up 21.5 points in that Week 7 win over the Seahawks and his versatility out of the backfield makes him a good fantasy option against a Seattle defense that has improved at stopping the run.
Flex: Larry Fitzgerald, WR, Cardinals ($4,400)
Despite being third in the pecking order when it comes to the Cardinals’ wide receivers, the legend that is Larry Fitzgerald still continues to log a consistent number of targets each week. He has had at least five targets in four of the last five weeks and enjoyed his best performance of the season the last time these two teams faced off.
The major drawback when it comes to the 37-year-old’s fantasy value this season is his failure to get in the endzone yet. However, he has scored touchdowns on his last two visits to CenturyLink Field and we are hopeful of that run being extended.
Flex: Greg Olsen, TE, Seahawks, ($3,600)
The Seahawks have doubts over the fitness of Tyler Lockett heading into Thursday’s game and should he not make it then those targets will be spread about the rest of the Seahawks offense. Greg Olsen has plenty of upside in that scenario, having firmly established himself as the #1 tight end by commanding a 72 percent snap share.
The veteran gets plenty of looks in the redzone too with over a quarter of his receptions this season coming in that area. Olsen could be the value pick to push our fantasy line-up over the top.
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