There are a few familiar faces from the Thur/Sat/Sun/Mon lineup (four to be exact), but there are some key changes with the salary that’s freed up due to the absence of Julio Jones (and to a lesser extent, Hunter Henry) on the main slate. The result is a pair of fresh faces from this week’s premier contest — the one with the highest over/under total at 54 points, per Pinnacle.
The QB/RB/WR stack that is the backbone of this lineup will be chalky, but as they demonstrated last week and had demonstrated plenty of other times in their playing time together, the upside warrants the chalk eating. There is one member of the opposition from that contest on this roster, and while he torched them last year in the AFC Championship game, I suspect his ownership rate won’t be quite as high as it should be. All in all, there’s a lot of scoring upside on this team, and an unusually high floor to boot.
The secret to winning college bowl pick’ems 
Quarterback
Ben Roethlisberger (PIT): $8,000 vs. Patriots
Without the need to save cap space for Julio Jones, this roster spins up to Big Ben from DeShone Kizer (the QB on the Thur/Sat/Sun/Mon lineup). Roethlisberger and the Steelers have an implied team over/under total of 25.5 points.
The veteran quarterback is on a heater, too. Last week, he spanked the Ravens for 506 yards passing and a couple of TD tosses on 66 pass attempts. Hopefully, he iced up, because he’ll likely make it five straight games with 40 or more pass attempts in a back-and-forth shootout with the G.O.A.T. and Co.
Roethlisberger is riding a five-game streak of multiple touchdown passes and a four-game streak of 290 passing yards or more. Since his five-interception disaster in Week 5 against the Jaguars, he’s tossed 18 touchdowns versus six interceptions in eight games and reached or exceeded 290 yards passing four times. New England has allowed the fifth most FanDuel points per game to quarterbacks this year, according to Pro-Football-Reference. Football Outsiders (FO) isn’t particularly impressed with their pass defense, either, ranking them 24th.
They’re going to have their hands full with Big Ben, and they’re ill-equipped to cool his heater. Oh, and let’s not forget this is a home start for Roethlisberger, and his stark home/road splits in recent years that favor playing at home are one more reason to fire up FanDuel’s sixth most expensive QB on the main slate.
Running Back
Le’Veon Bell (PIT): $9,400 vs. Patriots
If Pittsburgh’s offense is cooking like I’m projecting, then Bell’s likely having a huge hand in that being the case. He’s the most expensive player in the player pool, but that’s for good reason. Bell has an almost unfathomable 71 touch lead over Todd Gurley and LeSean McCoy for leader this season, and he has a 47-yard lead in yards from scrimmage over Gurley, too.
Bell’s nine rushing plus receiving touchdowns this year are tied for the fifth most, and he has a cushy matchup with the Patriots this week. FO ranks the Patriots dead last defending the run and 21st defending running backs as pass catchers. You don’t need me to twist your arm to roster Bell, and there’s plenty of value to be mined at other positions to accommodate his massive salary commitment.
Kenyan Drake (MIA): $6,500 @ Bills
I already wrote about Drake in my Thur/Sat/Sun/Mon lineup that you can find here. However, to quickly update the weather in Orchard Park for Drake’s game against the Bills, Weather.com no longer calls for snow showers with just a 20% chance of precipitation. It will be a cold one, though, and the Bills’ shortcomings stopping the run should still result in Drake being force fed the ball.
Wide Receiver
Antonio Brown (PIT): $9,300 vs. Patriots
Brown is also a carryover from the Thur/Sat/Sun/Mon lineup that you can find here. The only note I have to add to his linked write-up is that he’s a no-brainer stack partner with Big Ben. Double-dipping on scoring by stacking is a great way to shoot to the top of a GPP.
Chris Hogan (NE): $7,100 @ Steelers
Hogan clowned the Steelers last year in the AFC Championship game dropping a 9-180-2 line on them. That said, he caught just one of five targets for one yard last week in his return from a four-game absence. New England’s offense as a whole sputtered with Rob Gronkowski suspended.
The return of Gronk will add another mouth for Tom Brady to feed, but it should also make life easier for the big-play wideouts — Brandin Cooks and Hogan — on the outside. FO ranks the Steelers 16th defending No. 2 receivers, so the matchup looks neutral. The other variables look good, though, namely the small spread of three points and New England’s implied team over/under total of 28.5 points.
Also, lost in Hogan’s clunker last week is that he was targeted once in the red zone, per Lineups.com. The look hints that Hogan will retain a prominent role in scoring territory. This year, he’s been targeted 12 times in the red zone, caught six of those targets, and scored four touchdowns on them. Take advantage of Hogan possibly having slightly depressed ownership as a result of the need-to-see-it crowd waiting for a good game from Hogan before going back to him.
Dede Westbrook (JAC): $5,700 vs. Texans
Westbrook’s season didn’t start until Week 11, but he’s seamlessly settled in as an integral part of the offense. He had a ho-hum debut in his first game with three grabs for 35 yards, but in his last three, he’s been targeted 27 times and reeled in 17 receptions for 200 yards and a score.
Last week, he set new highs in receiving yards (81) and caught his first touchdown pass. This week, he has a plus matchup against the Texans. Houston is tied for the seventh most FanDuel points per game allowed to receivers. FO ranks the Texans 23rd defending No. 1 receivers, 27th defending No. 2 receivers, and 20th defending “other” receivers, so no matter how you classify Westbrook in Jacksonville’s receiver pecking order, it’s a plus matchup.
Leonard Fournette was absent from practice on Wednesday and Thursday, but he plans on playing this weekend. If the injury limits his ability, it could create more pass-catching opportunities for Westbrook, thus, enhancing his ceiling.
Tight End
Benjamin Watson (BAL): $4,900 @ Browns
Watson rounds out the fresh faces on this squad since the kicker and defense below are carryovers. Watson posted a bagel on just one target last week, but he’s in a prime bounce-back spot. The 36-year-old tight end doesn’t have the highest ceiling and has bested 50 yards receiving just one time this year.
Having said that, he set his single-game highs this year in catches and receiving yards with eight and 91, respectively, in Week 2 against this week’s opponent, the Browns. Cleveland has been spanked by tight ends this year and ceded the second most FanDuel points per game to the position. The Browns managed to keep Watson out of the end zone in Week 2, but they’ve allowed the second most touchdown grabs (nine) to tight ends this season.
The veteran tight end has hauled in three touchdowns this year, and while I don’t expect him to match his receptions and receiving yardage output from back in Week 2, I do like his odds of scoring a touchdown in this one. Finding pay dirt would be good enough at his sub-$5,000 salary.
Kicker
Robbie Gould (SF): $4,500 vs. Titans
There isn’t anything more I have to say about Gould outside of what is written here. He is a cheaper kicker with a high ceiling.
Defense/Special Teams
New Orleans Saints D/ST (NO): $4,600 vs. Jets
I have nothing to add to the previous analysis of the Saints D/ST. They are a bargain play with massive upside.
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Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.
