Kansas City Chiefs - Fantasy News

Who to Start: Tyreek Hill or Amari Cooper?

by Mike Rose

10/18/17

NFL

Kansas City Chiefs

Tyreek Hill

The Kansas City Chiefs are coming off of their first defeat of the 2017 NFL season, while the Oakland Raiders are trying to play more like they did in the 2016 campaign after getting off to a rough start. Even with David Carr back under center in Week 6, though, Oakland failed to beat the lowly Los Angeles Chargers.

This week’s Thursday Night Football installment could wind up being an intriguing matchup with Tyreek Hill and Amari Cooper looking to put up big numbers for their respective teams.

Fantasy Matchup: Tyreek Hill (12.0 PFP) vs. Amari Cooper (8.0 PFP)

Hill has averaged 12.42 Dober Fantasy Points this season and enters this Dober Pick ‘Em matchup as four-point chalk over Cooper. This could be due to the fact that we aren’t quite sold yet on the health status of Carr and how much action Cooper will exactly see.

For the season, Hill has caught 30 passes for 390 yards and two touchdowns while being targeted 41 times through the air. He ranks as the No. 7 receiver in fantasy football. He’ll be facing a Raiders defense that ranks No. 8 against fantasy wideouts, so Week 7 could be a bad matchup for Hill against the Silver and Black secondary. Hill has also added 139 return yards and a touchdown, so the Raiders will have to contend with his dual-threat ability.

The one-time Oklahoma State Cowboy has been his best away from Arrowhead, tallying 24.3, 17.5 and 14.8 Dober Fantasy Points in games against New England, San Diego and Houston, respectively. This could be a bad sign for the Raiders. Hill accumulated only 5 DFP against Pittsburgh at home last week, so the young speedster will be looking to get back to his norm on the road.

Meanwhile, Cooper has really struggled out of the gate with only one touchdown, and he has failed to reach 200 total yards on the year. He’s averaged a miniscule 4.93 Dober Fantasy Points per week, which is just not cutting it. The Raiders offense has been spotty with the injury to Carr’s back, but that has nothing to do with dropping passes.

An advantage for Cooper, the No. 71 ranked fantasy receiver, is that he’ll be working against the No. 30 ranked fantasy pass defense of the Chiefs. Maybe that can get him on track. The Raiders passing offense has been poor, though, ranking No. 27 in the NFL through Week 6. Kansas City has allowed 170.2 yards per game to receivers and 226.1 total points (37.7 points per contest).

This AFC West matchup has been played 116 times with the Chiefs leading the all-time series 62-52-2. Oakland has won the last five games, however, dating back to 2014, two of which came at home. In those five victories, the Raiders averaged 27 points per game while conceding only 14.3 points per contest to the Chiefs.

Cooper’s inconsistencies and the health concerns of Carr are very unattractive in this matchup. And, oh yeah, the Chiefs have only lost one game. Take the four points and go with Hill for your Dober Play Cards in this one.

Week 7 Fantasy Projection: Tyreek Hill (-4) vs. Amari Cooper