If there was ever a time to pay up for running backs in DFS, Week 3 might be it.
Read MoreDaily Fantasy DraftKings Pickem Strategy Advice Week 17
*Chris Durell*
Daily Fantasy DraftKings Pickem Strategy Advice Week 17
Welcome to the craziness that is Week 17 in the NFL. There are teams that are locked into their playoff spots or have nothing to play for at all and could very well sit their starters. Even if some players don’t sit all together, they could be limited to a couple quarters at most. Be sure to check out all the information available on Twitter or by a simple Google search before locking in your lineups as this article is written mid-week. Let’s jump in and take a look at each Tier for the seven-game early slate on Sunday.
Tier 1
Ezekiel Elliott returned last week and rushed for 94 yards and picked up an additional 21 yards through the air but unfortunately, the Cowboys lost and were eliminated from the playoffs. This muddies the waters for Week 17 as it is unclear how much usage he will get and then add the tough matchup vs. the Eagles defense that ranks 4th in DVOA vs. the rush and 3rd in DraftKings points per game allowed to running backs.
DeAndre Hopkins received his second-lowest target share of the season(6) but still managed to make a ridiculous catch in the endzone to pick up 16.5 fantasy points. This week he gets an elite matchup vs. the Colts who have allowed the third-most passing yards per game(254.8) this season and rank 23rd in DK points per game allowed to wideouts. I am also less concerned with his usage as both teams have been out of the playoffs for some time now and it hasn’t stopped him at all.
The Patriots are locked into the playoffs and have wrapped up the division but still have one game left to lock down home-field advantage through the playoffs with a win so I am expecting another big game from Gronk. He has scored 15 or more DK points in four straight games with three of those performances exceeding 25 points and now faces a horrendous Jets defense that ranks 23rd in DVOA vs. the pass and 24th in DK points per game allowed to tight ends. He could be the highest owned player in this tier but also may have the biggest upside.
The Vikings have also locked up their division but have a big game on Sunday as the Rams, Saints, and Panthers are all breathing down their neck for that #2 seed and a first-round bye. Adam Thielen has been quiet over the last two weeks with just five catches for 54 yards but is having a big season overall with 1,215 yards and could be low owned this week considering he is facing a Bears team that has been pretty good against wideouts ranking 14th in DK points per game. Don’t overlook he and Case Keenum’s ability to produce big-time fantasy points as Thielen moves all over the field and can exploit matchups.
Top Targets in this Tier – Rob Gronkowski, Adam Thielen
Tier 2
Marvin Jones has not scored a touchdown or broke 100 yards since Thanksgiving vs. the Vikings and has seen some decline down the stretch as he has only been targeted 14 times over the last three games and tallied double-digit fantasy points just once. Despite neither team in this game having anything to play for, Jones does get a nice matchup vs. the Packers defense that has allowed the 11th most passing yards per game(232.3) and ranks 25th in DK points per game to wideouts.
It’s a similar situation for T.Y. Hilton as the Colts and Texans have been eliminated and on to next season. Hilton did breakout in a tough matchup last week vs. the Ravens catching six of his 12 targets for his first 100-yard game since week 9 against none other than these Houston Texans who rank 28th in DK points per game allowed to wideouts. Look for Hilton to finish the year off strong.
Speaking of the Texans, it was JuJu Smith Schuster getting to them late on Christmas day as he caught six of his seven targets for 75 yards and a touchdown. With Antonio Brown still sidelined with an injury both Martavis Bryant and Smith-Schuster should continue to see high usage in the Steelers defense. The other thing he has going is that the Steelers can still grab a first-round bye with a win and a New England loss. This week they get a winless Browns team that sits mid-pack in passing yards per game allowed (230.7) but rank 29th overall when looking at DVOA vs. the pass. Fire up JuJu with confidence this week.
Another safe play in this tier is Dion Lewis at the running back position. With James White and Rex Burkhead both out last week, Lewis saw the bulk of the action out of the backfield and crushed for fantasy rushing for 129 yards and a touchdown 35.3 fantasy points. Burkhead for sure won’t be back this week and White is still questionable early in the week meaning Lewis could once again be the feature back for the Pats who are huge 15.5 point favorites. The Jets have been pretty good against the run ranking 12th in DVOA and 15th in DK points per game allowed to running backs but the game script in fully in Lewis’s favor here and he should once again see 20+ carries which presents a high floor and ceiling.
Top Targets in this Tier – JuJu Smith-Schuster, Dion Lewis
Tier 3
Tom Brady has been a big disappointment for fantasy lately and a lot of it can be attributed to the run game that has averaged 121.5 yards per game over their last four games. In those four games, Brady has not topped 17 fantasy points once and may not again this week as the Patriots are currently huge 15.5 point home favorites vs. the Jets and will likely lean on Dion Lewis once again.
Kirk Cousins is coming off his best game in over a month throwing for 299 yards and three touchdowns against the Broncos and has topped 15 fantasy points in three of his last four weeks. He has also thrown for multiple touchdowns in five of his last six games. The running game in Washington has been hit hard with injuries which should once again force Cousins to throw it up 30+ times and he gets an elite matchup to do it against the Giants who rank 31st overall in DK points per game to quarterbacks.
Even without Antonio Brown, Big Ben threw two touchdowns on Christmas day making it seven straight games with multiple touchdown passes. Like I mentioned earlier, the Steelers are still playing for home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs but without Brown again this week and an elite running back in the backfield(Le’Veon Bell), we shouldn’t expect high volume from the passing game which will limit Big Ben’s upside.
Matthew Stafford hasn’t flashed much upside since having his throwing hand stepped on earlier in December against the Ravens. He has hit double-digit fantasy points in every single game this season but has only hit the 20-point threshold once in his last five games. There has been no word nor is it expected that the Lions will rest their starters against the Packers and that is good news as the matchup is favorable as the Packers rank 25thin DK points per game allowed to quarterbacks. Back in Week 9, Stafford completed 26 of 33 passes for 361 yards and two touchdowns vs. the Packers.
The Eagles snuck out a win on Christmas vs. a weak Raiders defense but it was almost all credited to the defense as Foles came back to Earth after a four-touchdown performance the week before. He completed just 50% of his passes for 163 yards and a touchdown. With the win, the Eagles locked up home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs so it is unclear how much run they will give Foles in a division game vs. the Cowboys. If word comes out that they will let him play the entire game to prepare for the playoffs, fire him up as the Cowboys rank 21st in DK points per game allowed to QB’s and Foles has a ton of weapons to help him hit value(Ertz, Jeffery, Agholor, Ajayi).
Top Targets in this Tier – Kirk Cousins, Matthew Stafford
Tier 4
The fourth tier is a very interesting one considering four of the five quarterbacks have nothing to play for as their teams have been eliminated from playoff contention. Only the Vikings and Case Keenum have something to play for as they look to lock up the #2 seed and a first-round bye. As of Wednesday, the four other quarterbacks are slated to start for their respective teams but Eli Manning seems to have the biggest question mark as to how much playing time he will see.
Dak Prescott gets a tough matchup on paper vs. the Eagles who rank 6th in DVOA vs. the pass and 12th in DK points per game allowed to the position. With the Eagles having already locked up the #1 seed there is a chance they could rest some starters in the second half which would open up Prescott’s upside if he was to play the entire game.
Brett Hundley will get the start and likely play the entire game but the knock on him this week is that two of his top receiving options are dealing with injuries. Devante Adams remains in the league’s concussion protocol while Jordy Nelson was injured in Saturday night’s game and has yet to practice this week. The matchup is also not high on the list as the Lions rank 16th in DVOA vs. the pass and 14th in DK points per game allowed to quarterbacks. Proceed with caution.
Jacoby Brissett easily gets the best matchup in the tier facing a Texans defense that ranks 24th in DVOA vs. the pass and dead last in DK points per game allowed to quarterbacks. The issue with him is that the upside really hasn’t been there as he has just three touchdowns over his last four games while averaging 11.9 DK points per game. If you are planning on using Brissett in this tier, be sure to pair him with his top target, T.Y. Hilton, in Tier 2.
Top Target in this Tier – Case Keenum, Jacoby Brissett
Tier 5
Tier 5, which consists of five wide receivers, start with Stefon Diggs who has not only scored in back to back games but has also been much better at home this season. He is averaging just over 85 yards per game(44 on the road) and has scored five touchdowns(2 on the road) while averaging 20.9 DK points per game(9.9 on the road). The matchup is not the greatest against the Bears who rank 14th in DVOA vs. the pass but the good news is that Diggs has also seen an uptick in targets over his last four games with 7.3 per game compared to his 5.9 season average.
As a mirror opposite, Brandin Cooks gets a great matchup this week against the Jets who rank 23rd in DVOA vs. the pass and 19th in DK points per game allowed to wideouts. The issue here is that he has trended down with his targets lately with an average of 5.5 over the last four games and the game script will most definitely not be in his favor as the Pats are huge 15.5 point favorites.
After scoring in back to back games, Alshon Jeffery recorded his worst game of the season catching zero balls on just two targets against the Raiders. He and Nick Foles have not shown the same chemistry as he and Carson Wentz did for most of the season. The Eagles have also locked up the #1 seed and although he will start the game, it is unclear how many snaps he and the rest of the starters will see against the Cowboys. Best to fade Jeffery here.
Jamison Crowder played with a hamstring injury last week and seen just 45% of the snaps but came through catching all four of his targets for 47 yards and a touchdown. He has been the most targeted player on the Redskins this season(6.8 per game) and with an extra week to get back to full health should be able to exploit an excellent matchup vs. the Giants who rank 24th in DVOA vs. the pass and 21st in DK points per game allowed to wideouts.
Martavis Bryant also gets an upside matchup in Week 17 against a Browns team that ranks 29th in DVOA vs. the pass. He should also see some added target share this week with Antonio Brown still sidelined with an injury while the Steelers are still fighting with the Patriots for the #1 seed in the AFC. This is one tier that I will be splitting a few a players in multi-lineup contests.
Top Targets in this Tier – Jamison Crowder, Stefon Diggs, Martavis Bryant
Tier 6
Zach Ertz has been the most reliable option in this tier averaging 7.2 targets and 15.5 DK points per game but will be hard to trust this week as the Eagles have wrapped up the #1 seed and it’s unclear how much the starters will play this week. The same sentiment holds true for Ertz’ teammate Nelson Agholor who could also see limited snaps. Another big question mark in this tier is the status of Sterling Shepard as he was not present at practice on Thursday and with the Giants having nothing to play for, it is unlikely he sees the field and if he does it will likely be limited snaps.
I talked about the Lions matchup this week with Marvin Jones and the same holds true for Golden Tate who has seen steady targets all season(7.5 per game) and sits with 899 yards and four touchdowns. I do prefer Jones slightly as he gets the better matchup vs. Damarious Randall while Tate, in the slot, will see quite a bit of Morgan Burnett who is rated quite a bit higher than Randall over at PFF. Both are definitely in play if Stafford is going to be playing the entire game.
Like I have mentioned, the Eagles will likely sit most of their starters, at least in the second half which presents an excellent matchup for the Cowboys this week and Vegas agrees as they have Dallas sitting as road favorites. Dak Prescott even mentioned he will be damned to finish the season after last week’s performance so I fully expect the offense to play the entire game and try and end 2017 on a high note. Roll out Dez with confidence.
Josh Gordon has continued to trend down since his return and posted his worst game of the season(4 games) last week in Chicago with just two catches on eight targets for 19 yards. He is getting the targets(9 per game) but gets an even tougher matchup this week facing a Steelers team that ranks 7th in DVOA vs. the pass and DK points per game allowed to wideouts. More bad news as the Steelers also have the #1 seed to play for so you can expect a strong performance against their division rivals.
With Aaron Jones not practicing this week and doubtful to play in Sunday’s finale, it opens up the workload for Jamaal Williams once again making him a nice target this week. He has flashed big upside since taking over as the Packers top back mid-season and posted one 100+ yard game and scored in three straight games from Week 12-14. He will likely see 20+ touches this week in a terrific matchup vs. the Lions who rank 28th in DVOA vs. the rush and 31st in DK points per game allowed to running backs.
Top Targets in this Tier – Golden Tate, Dez Bryant, Jamaal Williams
Tier 7
Jordan Howard has been a boom or bust play all season. He has flashed big upside as he has rushed for 100 or more yards five times and scored multiple touchdowns three times but also scored 10 or fewer DK points seven times. I have a strong feeling that the latter will be the case in Week 17 as he gets a terrible matchup against a Vikings defense that has allowed the second-fewest rushing yards per game(87.1) and fewest DK points per game to running backs. Probably best to fade him here. Robby Anderson is also on my fade list in this tier as he is not only questionable with an illness but has also done nothing since Josh McCown went down in Week 13. Lamar Miller has been a huge disappointment this season as he has not topped 75 yards once and comes in with three straight weeks without getting to 10 DK points and was out-touched and out-performed by Alfred Blue on Christmas day. Safe to say Miller is also a fade in Week 17.
After starting off the tier with three fades it doesn’t leave many options but there is some value with the Vikings players this week as they have the #2 seed in the NFC to play for and the starters will likely play the entire game unless it gets out of hand. The matchup for the running backs is a tough one as the Bears have allowed the ninth-fewest yards per game(105.5) and rank 9th in DK points per game allowed to the position. Because of this, I lean Jerick McKinnon who has been far and away the receiving back this season with 4.5 targets per game compared to Murray’s 1.1 per game. On the season, McKinnon has 51 receptions for 421 yards and a touchdown. As for Kyle Rudolph, he has been dealing with n ankle injury all December and was once again limited in practice this week. On top of that, he gets a tough matchup as the Bears rank 12th in DK points per game allowed to tight ends. For receiving options, I prefer Diggs and Thielen for the Vikings. SKOL!
I talked about Jacoby Brissett and T.Y. Hilton as a nice stack earlier and another option on the Colts this week is tight end, Jack Doyle. He is tied with Hilton for the team lead in targets(6.9) and gets a terrific matchup vs. the Texans who have allowed the seventh-most passing yards per game(246.3) and rank 26th in DK points per game to the tight end position.
Top Targets in this Tier – Jerick McKinnon, Jack Doyle
Tier 8
If Duke Johnson gets in a full practice this week after being limited Wednesday he makes an intriguing option as he has been a nice PPR back all season. He is fourth in receiving among running backs with 68 receptions for 618 yards and three touchdowns. Will Fuller cannot be trusted as he has fallen off a cliff since Deshaun Watson went down before Week 9. Bilal Powell is a nice option here in this tier as he is closing his season out on a high note with touchdowns in three of his last four games and coming off his second 100+ yard game last week vs. the Chargers.
The Colts may not have anything to play for in Week 17 but Frank Gore has a milestone to hit. Via Evan Silva on Twitter:
4 players have rushed for 1,000+ yards in 10 seasons:
Emmitt Smith
Barry Sanders
Walter Payton
Curtis MartinFrank Gore needs 139 yards vs HOU to become the 5th.
— Evan Silva (@evansilva) December 26, 2017
I fully expect the Colts to feed him the ball this week. Another option who is fully in play here is Randall Cobb of the Packers. With Jordy Nelson and Devante Adams very doubtful to play it will open up a ton of targets and Cobb could very well be the beneficiary giving him a high floor and ceiling vs. the Lions.
Top Targets in this Tier – Bilal Powell, Frank Gore, Randall Cobb
Thanks for reading and if you have any questions leading up to Sunday morning lineup lock, be sure to hit me up on Twitter(@Jager_Bombs9). Good luck everyone!
NFL Lineup Daily Fantasy Football: Week 5 Cash and GPP Plays
Week 5 brings us the first scheduled bye week (Tampa Bay and Miami week 1 bye week was obviously not scheduled). This leaves us incredibly thin at Quarterback if you are playing the main slate. *Note that Draftkings main slate does not include Thursday Night Football, Sunday Night Football, nor Monday Night Football* This week we’ll be without the Atlanta Falcons, Denver Broncos, New Orleans Saints, and Washington Redskins.
Let’s get to the position breakdown.
Quarterbacks
As I mentioned, QB is incredibly thin if you’re playing Draftkings main slate. With the teams on byes that leaves us without Brees, Ryan, Siemian, and Cousins. Each are quarterbacks who could warrant usage in a week with a solid matchup. The list of available quarterbacks becomes even shorter when you exclude the TNF, SNF, and MNF game. That removes Brady, Winston, A. Smith, and Watson from the slate. So as you can see we are missing quite a few relevant quarterbacks on the main slate. My best advice if you want to get exposure to any of these guys would be to play on the Thurs-Mon slate, but for the sake of consistency, I’ll only address players on the main slate.
Aaron Rodgers (DK $8,100, FD $9,500) – The highest priced QB on both sites and for a good reason. Rodgers comes into the game with the highest over/under at 52.5. The Packers are currently 2 point underdogs implied to score the second highest mark on the slate (25.25). Rodgers has played three of his first four games at home but was able to eclipse the 300-yard mark and throw two touchdowns against the Falcons in week 2. This week the Packers offense should look to rely more on Rodgers’ arm with Ty Montgomery expected to miss the game with a rib injury. Pay up for Rodgers if you can afford him in cash games.
Dak Prescott (DK $6,800, FD $7,700) – Staying in the same game, let’s go to the opposite side of the ball. Prescott and the Cowboys currently have the largest implied team total on the slate (27.25) and are at home against a Packers secondary that has yet to allow a 300-yard passer through the first four games. The Packers secondary has held opposing quarterbacks to an average of 210 yards and 1 touchdown. It is worth noting that three of those four games have been at home and against quarterbacks off to a slow start (Wilson, Dalton, and Glennon). The situation may not seem to be ideal for Prescott, but I expect the Packers secondary to regress a bit, especially with Rodgers needing to throw the ball more. Prescott does have some rushing equity, which could help him reach value. Currently, Dak is projected to score the fifth highest total according to Lineup Labs player pool.
Carson Palmer (DK $5,900, FD $7,200) – If you’re looking for value you may want to consider Carson Palmer, who is currently rated as our second highest points/dollar QB. Palmer is on the road facing the Eagles who have averaged 300 yards and 1.8 touchdowns to opposing quarterbacks per game. The Cardinals are about a touchdown underdog so the game script could favor Palmer if the Cards fall behind and he has to throw 40+ times. Consider Palmer a gpp only flyer.
Other options to consider
Matthew Stafford (DK $6,300, FD $7,600) – Stafford is one of the most talented QBs on the slate but has a difficult matchup against the Panthers at home. The Panthers have averaged 211 passing yards and 1.3 touchdowns this season. They have shown vulnerabilities against good QBs, allowing Brees and Brady to combine for 527 yards and five touchdowns the last two weeks.
Brian Hoyer (DK $4,700, FD $6,500) – Again a pure value play that allows you to allocate salary at other positions, but Hoyer is facing a Colts defense that has averaged a touchdown and over 240 in every game this season.
Running Backs
Le’Veon Bell (DK $9,500, FD $9,500) – Finally, the Le ‘Veon we all grew to know and respect made an impact this season. Bell is coming off of a 39 touch game, in which he totaled 186 yards and two touchdowns against a solid Ravens defense. The Steelers are the biggest favorite on the slate (8.5) and are at home so Le’Veon checks all the boxes you’d want for your number 1 running back. The issue is trying to get the salary to pay up for him.
Todd Gurley II (DK $8,000, FD $7,800) – Gurley makes his way on the list over Zeke simply because of the salary savings you get. On DK you save $800, and on FD you save $900 from Zeke. I expect Zeke to have higher ownership than Gurley and rightfully so as Like Bell, Zeke is a home favorite and coming off of a big game. But here’s the kicker, Gurley is too. Surprisingly the Rams are a slight favorite over the Seahawks at home (-1) and are implied to score 24.25 points. Gurley has been heavily involved in the passing game this year and should get plenty of work in a game I expect to be a slugfest. Gurley is second in our projected points behind Bell.
Jonathan Stewart (DK $3,900, FD $5,700) – Looking for a value you may want to drop all the way down to Jonathan Stewart. Yes, I know his role has diminished since McCaffrey has joined the Panthers backfield, but Stewart has continued to get the majority of the carries. Through the first four weeks, Stewart has received 63% of the rushing attempts out of the Carolina backfield. Stewart is only playing in 42% of the snaps, which trails McCaffrey, but at 3,900 on DK if Stewart finds the end zone he could very well hit 3x value. Stewart is currently ranked as our top-rated value play according to DFSR projections.
GPP Flyer
Joe Mixon (DK $5,500, FD $5,900) – His price actually dropped a couple of hundred dollars ($200) on DK, which is surprising. Coming into the season, it was only a matter of time before Mixon took over the Bengals backfield. Since firing Ken Zampese and appointing Bill Lazor as the OC, Mixon has received 52% of the snaps and 65 % of the rushing attempts out of the Bengals backfield. Last week Mixon had 17 rushes and four catches on four targets but was only able to muster 28 yards. He’s going up against a tough Bills defense, but as a 3 point home favorite, I can get around the idea of sprinkling in some Mixon on my GPP teams.
** It’s worth monitoring the Packers practice reports. Montgomery is expected to miss so that could lead to more opportunities for Aaron Jones. But at $5,100 on DK and $5,900 on FD, I’d rather take my chances with Mixon over Jones.
Other options to consider
Melvin Gordon, Jay Ajayi, Frank Gore, Ameer Abdullah, Duke Johnson, Bilal Powell, Wendell Smallwood.
Wide Receivers
Dez Bryant (DK $6,500, FD $7,800) – Dez is perhaps my favorite wide receiver to play this week for the sole reason that the game script may lead to more targets for Dez. Dez is currently 4th in the NFL in targets with 40, which is just over 42% of Dak Prescott’s targets. The Cowboys are implied to score over 27 points, and the game script could mean that the Dallas passing offense will need to be in full force, so I expect Bryant to get a lot of looks. Bryant only has a 40% catch rate on his targets, but that has a lot to do with the difficult matchups he’s had to deal with through the first four weeks of the season. I like a Dak and Dez stack to help differentiate lineups.
Jordy Nelson (DK $8,100, FD $8,600) – Jordy will be the most popular receiver in the slate. Nelson figures to get a lot of work considering that the Packers will abandon the run game and force Rodgers to throw 45+ times. Nelson is coming off of a week 3 where he caught 4 of his seven targets, which included two touchdowns against the Bears. Nelson has now caught over 60% of his targets and has scored four touchdowns in what really was only 3 full games on the field.
Randall Cobb (DK $6,700, FD $6,600) – If you have not noticed yet, I really like every aspect of this Green Bay vs. Dallas game. The Packers are going to be one dimensional, and I think the Cowboys are going to have to play catch up. But Cobb is my sneaky play here. With Ty out I can see a situation where Cobb gets some work out of the backfield, adding in 3-5 more touches for the game. Cobb does most of his damage in the slot, but if Adams and Montgomery are out, I see him playing the same role that Montgomery played last year where the Packers had backfield issues. This, of course, could make Geronimo Allison a play with Cobb getting less work in the slot. This entire Packers offense is a situation worth monitoring.
DeVante Parker (DK $6,600, FD $ 6,100) – It’s tough to trust any aspect of the Dolphins offense attack, especially when you consider that Jay Cutler hasn’t thrown for more than two touchdown passes in his last 16 starts. That being said, Parker is someone worth writing about. Parker is 18th in the league with 18 targets and has caught over 75% of those targets (14). The Titans rank 32nd in the league in aFPA to wide receivers, so this could be the breakout week for Parker.
Aldrick Robinson (DK $3,100, FD $4,600) – One of my favorite DFS writers, Adam Levitan love Aldrick for the sake of #Preseason. Aldrick has dominated preseason the past two years under Shanahan and now may get more of an opportunity with Marquise Goodwin in the concussion protocol. Last week Robinson had 12 targets in an 86% of the offensive snaps. If Goodwin is out, like I expect him to be, Robinson is likely to be a beneficiary. The 49ers are going up against the Colts secondary that has had a lot of trouble at WR this year.
Tight End
Austin Seferian-Jenkins (DK $3,500, FD $5,500) – I don’t know why I went away from playing tight ends against the Browns last week but lessoned learned and I’m not doing that again. The Browns rank 32nd against TE in aFPA, averaging just over 15 points per game. Jesse James lit up this defense in week 1 and so did Ben Watson, now after adding Tyler Kroft to the list, I can’t help but add ASJ to the list.
Delanie Walker (DK $4,700, FD $6,000) – Walker is 6th in the league in targets with 14 and now has to deal with a quarterback change with Mariota out. Matt Cassel will start this week and will likely be looking for a security blanket to dump the ball off to. Walker should be the most significant beneficiary of the Mariota injury. Walker is currently the third highest projected tight end according to our projections.
Tyler Kroft (DK $ 3,200, FD $5,500) – Kroft leads our projections as our top value play for the week. After a big performance against the Browns, Kroft figures to be an essential role in the Bengals red zone passing attack. Kroft caught six of his seven targets last week with Tyler Eifert out for the Bengals.
Defense
Pittsburgh Steelers (DK $3,900, FD $4,800) – The Steelers are the highest projected defense on both sites according to Lineup Labs and rightfully so. They are the biggest favorite on the slate, at home, and are going up against the Jags who are implied to score 17.5 points. The issue here is that they’re costly. They may be safe, but I’ll more than likely be looking elsewhere for defense.
San Francisco 49ers (DK $2,600, FD $4,200) – I think the 49ers are in a good spot to take advantage of a lousy offense. The Colts line gives up over 3 sacks per game, and the 49ers have a much improved defensive line. This 49er team has had a rough schedule to begin the season, but their defense has performed well even without their late first-round pick Reuben Foster.