Time to take a look at some Monday-Thursday short-slate DFS. As always, I encourage you to check out Justin Mason’s Weekly Previews to get a deeper look into tonight’s action. In the meantime, here’s a snapshot of each game. Take a read and go build some lineups – remember, I only play GPP tournaments for short slates – then come back and compare to the ones I am leaving here as examples. As always, these are meant to serve as a comparison tool for your own lineups. These aren’t to be taken and submitted into contests as your own.

Washington Redskins at New Orleans Saints

Redskins: Run D – 31st Pass D – 3rd

Saints: Run D – 1st Pass D – 32nd

Passing:

The question that’s likely on everyone’s mind right now is just how much the return of Mark Ingram will affect the number of times Drew Brees throws. Given the struggles we’ve seen with the Redskins run defense, it seems logical that the Saints would opt to continue the run-first changes employed last season when Brees threw fewer than 600 passes for the first time since 2009. He is currently on-pace to throw 644 times this season. This change could very well knock ownership rates down and be a big help. People will steer clear and maybe look to Carson Wentz of even Eli Manning Thursday as both are likely to be in more of a pass-first mentality than Brees this week. He doesn’t have to dazzle us with 350 yards and three touchdowns in order to out-produce the other options at the position.

As for Alex Smith , in terms of pass attempts, you can probably expect something like his Week 2 totals where he threw the ball 46 times but still came away with fewer than 300 yards. Maybe facing the Saints will inspire him to take deeper shots downfield, but that’s not his choice, now is it?

Rushing:

For the Saints, obviously Alvin Kamara is 100-percent in-play. He’ll see a strong share of the carries, but his main function will be to test the Skins’ ranking of 11th against running back pass plays. It’s not the ideal match-up and there’s a chance people fade Kamara due to Ingram’s presence, but then again, how do you fade him on a short slate? As for Ingram, I like him for this week. I don’t think there’s a concern about overloading him as it’s not like he’s coming back from an injury. He’ll be ready to roll and I think the Saints let the big dog eat.

For the Redskins, I feel like this is going to be more of a Chris Thompson game than an Adrian Peterson game. I expect the Skins to be playing from behind at some point and just abandon their usual ground game. I’m sure you’ll want him in one lineup for the “revenge game” narrative, but if not building a few, he seems like a very reasonable fade.

Receiving:

Michael Thomas is always in-play, though he may be dealing with a lot of Josh Norman who was back at full practice Saturday. While Thomas might be heavily guarded, check out Tre'Quan Smith who is expected to serve as the outside receiver, replacing the injured Ted Ginn . Cameron Meredith will work out of the slot still which does seem to be a troubled spot for Washington’s defense. Tight end Ben Watson might be in-play, but the Skins do rank ninth against the position.

For the Redskins I’m all-in on Paul Richardson and may actually look at Josh Doctson if he’s healthy and if I’m feeling a bit contrarian. The Saints have struggled in coverage against the opposing WR1 and WR2, but seem to handle the slot receiver fairly well. Doctson or maybe it will be Maurice Harris will see more of Marshon Lattimore based on where these guys have typically lined up, so I may be on Richardson more. We’ll have to wait until the inactives if we really want to get one of them in. As for Jordan Reed , he’s always in play based on his red zone targets, but do keep in mind the Saints rank sixth in coverage against the position.

Philadelphia Eagles at New York Giants**

Eagles: Run D – 3rd Pass D – 12th

Giants: Run D – 29th Pass D – 22nd

**reminder that these rankings are pre-Week 5

There is going to be an air of desperation for this game as both teams are coming off big losses. The Eagles tried desperately to come back against the Vikings but fell just short in the end while the Giants took a devastating loss thanks to a 63-yarder from Graham Gano . Both teams are in dire need of a win just to keep remote playoff hopes alive.

Passing:

I very much doubt I’m alone in thinking that everyone has much more confidence in Carson Wentz here than they do Eli Manning . Considering the strength of the Eagles pass defense, I’d be worried about using Manning even if you think he’s just going to chuck it all over the field in catch-up mode. I think they play each other tighter than that which makes the upside a little lower for Eli, in my opinion. Wentz, on the other hand, likes having so many weapons and as the Giants coverage struggles, he’s going to really push forward.

Rushing:

Saquon Barkley versus the Eagles run defense which allows an average of just 66.4 yards per game, is going to be a tough battle. Expect him to see a strong workload, but figure they might focus on attacking with him through the air as Philly ranks 14th against RB pass plays and allow just over 43 yards per game. He makes for a more interesting option on DK as a result.

For the Eagles, you have to love Jay Ajayi and Wendell Smallwood . I don’t expect Darren Sproles or Corey Clement back on the short turnaround, so both will be used to try and pound the rock early against a team that is allowing 124.4 rushing yards per game and four ruishing touchdowns on the year. The G-Men do rank eighth against RB pass plays, so I wouldn’t go hog-wild on using Smallwood.

Receiving:

You can expect to see Alshon Jeffery covered by Janoris Jenkins which only opens the door further for Jordan Matthews and Nelson Agholor . I think I’d still lean on Jeffery and Agholor more, but with the Giants ranking 22nd in coverage against the tight end, Zach Ertz is probably going to be your best bet from this game. Maybe even a little Dallas Goedert if you’re feeling sneaky.

On the Giants side, will Odell Beckham be spoon-fed like he was in his Week 5 match-up? The Eagles rank 10th against the opposing WR1, but they’re also giving up almost 125 yards per game to the position, so he’s going to be a highly-used option, especially if you think the Giants keep catering to his selfishness. Sterling Shepard looks like a nice option as well since the Eagles coverage numbers against the WR2 are pretty bad. Rhett Ellison ? Meh. Not so much.

Example GPP Lineups will be posted around 7:30pm ET!

Good luck!