If you give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day. If you teach a man to fish, he’ll eat for a lifetime.

We take this adage to heart when it comes to playing NFL DFS. The Fantasy Alarm Playbook isn’t just about handing you a list of players and a lineup to use each week. It is designed to help you learn to be a better DFS player. It’s about teaching you the process used in selecting which players to scout and, eventually, which ones to use.

Therefore, we will begin each week with the Weekly NFL DFS Watch List which is designed to keep tabs on marquee names, chalk plays and, of course, the weekly bargains who may not see the same coverage and exposure. This piece will be continuously updated throughout the week, based on the most recent news and injuries which means you may see a name or two removed as we get closer to kick-off. You may also see a few late-week additions who pique our interest for some reason too, and by the end of the week, this Watch List will eventually become your Playbook. Again, it’s about teaching you the process.

PLAYERS ADDED (12/5):

Aaron Rodgers , QB, Ryan Fitzpatrick , QB, Christian McCaffrey , RB, Nick Chubb , RB, Davante Adams , WR, Jeremy Sprinkle , TE

THURSDAY NIGHT GAME UPDATE:

Dallas Cowboys at Chicago Bears

As a reminder, check out the Game Preview of tonight’s game from Ryan Hallam.

Injury Notes:

Dallas Cowboys:

Tony Pollard, RB -- knee/ankle (questionable - game-time decision)

Michael Bennett , DL -- foot (questionable - likely to play)

Chidobe Awuzie , DB -- thigh (questionable - likely to play)

Jeff Heath , SS -- shoulder (out)

Chicago Bears:

Taylor Gabriel , WR -- concussion (out)

Ben Braunecker , TE -- concussion (out)

Danny Trevathan , LB -- elbow (out)

Prince Amukamara , DB -- hamstring (unlikely to play)

Spread: Cowboys -3

O/U: 43.5

Weather:

Mostly cloudy with temperatures in the low 40s, winds blowing SSW at 8-10 mph

Match-Up History:

These teams haven't faced each other since September, 2016 when Dallas beat Chicago 31-17 in Dallas. Historical match-ups have no bearing on Thursday's game.

If you are playing the Showdown Slate, here is who I like:

Mitchell Trubisky , QB -- Truth be told, I don't particularly like either quarterback in this match-up, but you usually need one in your lineup. For the Cowboys to truly be effective, they need to lean heavily on the running game. Not to mention, the Bears have yet to allow a fantasy QB to post more than 20 points on them, so I'll pull back on road-Dak in the cold. That pivots to Trubisky who could be more inclined to air it out should the Bears fall behind at all. The problem is that Trubisky is afraid to scramble and take a hit with his shoulder still ailing. It's not that he's picking up rushing yards as much as it is just extending plays and finding open receivers downfield. If he can do that without too much fear of getting hurt, he should find some holes downfield.

Ezekiel Elliott , RB -- There was a report from ESPN's Ed Werder that cited Zeke is curently sitting on the lowest touch-average of his career and that Jerry Jones has "taken notice." Obviously Jerry's influence is going to put pressure on the coaching staff to make improvements and if Jason Garrett doesn't want to get fired (which he will be anyway), he'll lead this game off with a lot of Zeke. It makes sense anyway as the Bears run defense has not been the same since Akiem Hicks went down and have now allowed an average of 108 rushing yards per game over the last three weeks.

David Montgomery , RB -- Sometimes you just want to throw your hands up and say, "screw it," while trying to figure out how Matt Nagy is going to ruin Montgomery's value for fantasy owners this time. He's averaged 15 carries and two targets per game over the Bears' last fourand save for catching a TD pass last week, he hasn't done much for us. The Cowboys have been dealing with injuries on their defensive line and have allowed an average of 115.5 rushing yards per game over the last three weeks, so maybe we see a few extra touches go his way.

Tarik Cohen , RB -- Is it weird that expletives immediately want to come out of my mouth when I discuss Cohen and the Bears' offensive game-plans? He's seeing roughly six targets per game over his last four and is seeing close to five carries per as well in that span. With Dallas ranking 19th against RB-pass plays and allowing almost 48 yards per game to them, you can probably expect more of Nagy's nonsense.

Michael Gallup , WR -- We'll probably see a lot of Kyle Fuller on Amari Cooper which pivots me back to Gallup who is likely to see a lot of Kevin Toliver with Prince Amukamara doubtful for the game. As it stood, the Bears ranked 15th against the opposing WR2, accoring to DVOA, and now should should struggle even more.

Allen Robinson , WR -- He'll spend most of his time in coverage with Chidobe Awuzie who has been struggling with a thigh injury lately. He's seen 22 targets over his last two games and has produced 14 catches for 217 yards and two touchdowns for his fantasy owners. Granted, that was against the Lions and Giants, but again, a hobbled Awuzie could struggle if he doesn't get safety help over the top. 

Anthony Miller , WR -- There will be heavy ownership on Miller after posting a nine-catch, 140-yard effort on Thanksgiving and many will point to his 11-taregt average over his last three games. I don't mind using him, especially given the five red zone targets over the last two games, but you're not gaining any kind of an edge over your opponents in this contests with him. If you want to use him to keep pace, that's one thing, but he's not winning you any GPP contests.

Javon Wims , WR -- Believe it or not, I would rather use Wims than Miller if playing the showdown slate. He saw an 89% snap count last week while filling in for the injured Taylor Gabriel and caught five of six targets for 56 yards. He may open up opposite Byron Jones in ccoverage, but once ARob snags a few catches and beats Awuzie, you could see Jones start to shadow Robinson a little more. If that happens, Wims could open up for some bigger plays downfield.

Jason Witten , TE -- The Bears allow the eighth-most fantasy points to the tight end position, so you can expect Witten to get some work in this one, especially if you think the coverage on Amari Cooper will be tight and the Cowboys go with a run-heavy scheme. If you wanted to try and pay down from Witten, Blake Jarwin will certainly be viable, but he won't see as many targets and will need to get into the end zone to really offer you up true value.

Jesper Horsted, TE -- While J.P. Holtz sees the majority of snaps at the position, Horsted is the guy who gets the targets when he is on the field. Dallas ranks 23rd in coverage against the position, but this is still more of a dart-throw than anything else, simply because the Bears don't often utilize the tight end in the passing attack.

Stacks

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