This week’s Thur/Sun/Mon slate is stacked with a few extra games. There are two Saturday games, and that brings the total to five games’ worth of extra players in the player pool compared to the Sunday main slate.
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Quarterback
DeShone Kizer (CLE): $6,700 vs. Ravens
Kizer isn’t the most exciting option, but he provides some bang for your buck. In two games with Josh Gordon on the active roster, Kizer’s scored 14.2 FanDuel points and 19.26. Last week, he threw three touchdown passes — a new single-game high.
He’s eclipsed 14 FanDuel points in three straight games and five of his last six, and the Ravens aren’t as daunting a matchup without top corner Jimmy Smith. In their first full game without Smith, Ben Roethlisberger beat them like a drum to the tune of 506 yards passing and two touchdowns on 66 pass attempts. Kizer doesn’t sniff the same class of quarterback Big Ben is, but he doesn’t need to in order to hit value.
Furthermore, the rookie quarterback adds to both his floor and ceiling with his legs. Since Cleveland’s Week 9 bye, Kizer’s rushing totals from Week 10 through last week are 57, 22, 39, 46, and seven, and he’s scored a pair of rushing touchdowns.
I like his odds of besting 14 points for a fourth straight week, and 20-ish points aren’t out of the question. By spinning down to him from the expensive options, this roster can feature a trio of stud wideouts and a pair of emerging feature backs.
Running Back
Alex Collins (BAL): $6,600 @ Browns
One of the emerging feature backs is Collins. He and the Ravens are 7.5-point favorites, though, I think the Browns can cover the spread and keep it close. More importantly, however, I still expect the Ravens to work with a lead and win.
That scenario coming to fruition would create an ideal game script for Collins. The former Seahawk is coming off a monster showing against the Steelers in which he rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown and added 46 yards receiving on two receptions. Collins has scored at least one touchdown in four straight games, and he’s bested 55 yards from scrimmage in all four of those games.
Kenyan Drake (MIA): $6,500 @ Bills
Drake’s grossly underpriced. The sophomore runner put on a show on Monday Night Football last week rushing for 114 yards on 25 carries and adding 79 yards receiving on five receptions. He’s eclipsed 140 yards from scrimmage in back-to-back games, and now he has a cupcake matchup against the Bills.
Football Outsiders (FO) ranks the Bills 24th defending the run and 20th defending running backs in the passing game. According to Pro-Football-Reference, the Bills have yielded the most FanDuel points per game and touchdown rushes to running backs as well as the second most rushing yards.
Drake’s work as a receiver also makes him game-script proof in the event bad Jay Cutler puts the Dolphins in a hole. Invest in Drake with confidence.
Wide Receiver
Antonio Brown (PIT): $9,300 vs. Patriots
Brown is the class of the wide receiver position. He leads the NFL in targets (160), receptions (99), receiving yards (1,509), receptions per game (7.6), and receiving yards per game (116.1), and he’s tied for second in touchdown receptions (nine). Brown has a commanding 11 receptions and 21.3 receiving yards per game advantage over the next closest wideouts.
He and the Steelers host the Patriots, and the game’s over/under total of 53 points and small spread of three points favoring the Patriots, according to Pinnacle, both scream shootout. Brown’s my favorite piece of the action, and the Patriots are unlikely to have an answer for him.
FO ranks New England 24th defending the pass and 26th defending No. 1 receivers. The Patriots are tied for the third most FanDuel points allowed to receivers, per Pro-Football-Reference.
Julio Jones (ATL): $8,400 @ Buccaneers
Do you know what pass defense is even more generous to receivers than New England’s? You guessed it, Tampa Bay’s. They’ve allowed the most FanDuel points per game to the position.
Jones has had a big hand in the Bucs’ poor showing against wideouts this year. The explosive receiver spanked them for an 11-253-2 line in Week 12.
That game took place less than a month ago, and the daily fantasy community hasn’t forgotten it. I have a sinking suspicion Jones will be the highest owned player on this slate, and fading him would be foolish.
Josh Gordon (CLE): $7,500 vs. Ravens
Gordon has wasted no time demonstrating that he still has top-shelf skills. In two games back from suspension, he’s been targeted 17 times for seven receptions, 154 yards receiving, and one touchdown grab. AB roasted Baltimore’s Jimmy Smith-less secondary for 11 receptions and 213 yards.
Throw out Baltimore’s pre-Smith injury numbers against the pass and No. 1 receivers out the window. They look like a team to attack with top wideouts, and Gordon is Cleveland’s top wideout. He’s an obvious choice as Kizer’s stack partner, too.
Tight End
Hunter Henry (LAC): $5,900 @ Chiefs
Henry’s settled in as a nice Robin to Keenan Allen’s Batman of late. Over the last three games, Henry has totaled at least 50 yards receiving in each contest and caught a pair of touchdowns. A matchup with the Chiefs this week is unlikely to slow his roll.
FO ranks the Chiefs in the middle of the pack at 13th defending tight ends. Kansas City is tied for the fewest touchdown receptions allowed (two) to tight ends this year, but that hides the fact they’ve been beatable by them.
They’ve coughed up the eighth-most receiving yards (746) to tight ends, and they’ve done so at an eye-popping 15.22 yards per reception. Henry won’t be available on the main slate since he plays in one of the two Saturday contests, but I don’t think he’ll be one of the chalkier additions to this slate’s player pool.
Kicker
Robbie Gould (SF): $4,500 vs. Titans
Gould checking in at the minimum salary has to be an oversight. That’s the only possible explanation. He’s 30-for-32 on field-goal attempts and 18-for-19 on point-after attempts. He’s showcased plenty of leg strength with a season-long field goal of 52 yards and successfully converting all three of his 50-plus yard attempts this season.
The 49ers rank tied for fifth in field-goal attempts, and the Titans are tied for the second most field-goal attempts against them. As if this isn’t all enough to justify venturing all the way down into the minimum salary range for Gould, he’s scored 32 FanDuel points over the last two weeks with Jimmy Garoppolo leading the offense.
Defense/Special Teams
New Orleans Saints D/ST (NO): $4,600 vs. Jets
The Saints are the largest favorites of the week laying 16 points to the visiting Jets. The spread is huge, and it’s the largest by five points. I discussed them in depth as the top streaming option in season-long leagues here. In the linked piece, I noted that their ceiling is highest scoring D/ST this week.
Does that sound like something you’d like a piece of at any cost on your FanDuel roster? Does it sound like a must-have play at a $1,300 discount from the highest priced option while tying for just the ninth-highest D/ST salary?
I’ll answer that for you. Yes, it does.
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Josh Shepardson is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Josh, check out his archive and follow him @BChad50.
