It’s time for another week of DFS. If you want to be ready, you should probably be thinking about which players are likely to be popular picks. That way, you can either ride with them or bet against them. Lucky for you, FantasyPros has a handy projected ownership tool, which makes that information easy to access for you. I’ll even be going through that information to give you my start and sit advice each week. Let’s jump in!
Create Optimal DraftKings lineups using our DFS Lineup Optimizer tool 
Quarterback
Russel Wilson against Tampa Bay and Philip Rivers against Green Bay should be two of the most popular picks this week, as they both should be getting taken at clips above 15%. Russ tops the charts on Paul Ghiglieri’s QB1 Primer this week, so I’m not surprised that DFS users are high on him too. The Buccaneers’ defense creates a perfect storm for Seattle’s passing game — Tampa Bay can stop the run, but they cannot stop the pass. Meanwhile, Rivers squares up with the solid Green Bay passing defense. The Packers give up an eighth-lowest 16.3 DraftKings points per game to quarterbacks, but Rivers’ bargain-bin price might be driving his popularity. I’m cautiously optimistic that Ken Whisenhunt’s firing will help Rivers out, but I’d prefer to take a wait-and-see approach. His opponent, Aaron Rodgers, should also be a popular pick. The Chargers’ defense hasn’t been great this year, so I expect the Packers to take advantage of their banged-up front seven and run the ball this week. Derek Carr is an excellent choice if you’re looking for a cheap option at quarterback, as he takes on a Detriot secondary that’s without Quandre Diggs. They could even be missing Darius Slay come Sunday, and the Lions already give up the sixth-most DraftKings points per game to quarterbacks at 23.4. Brandon Allen rounds out the list, and while he makes sense as a tournament play flyer, I’m not sure there are enough weapons for him to work with in Denver.
It’s time for another week of DFS. If you want to be ready, you should probably be thinking about which players are likely to be popular picks. That way, you can either ride with them or bet against them. Lucky for you, FantasyPros has a handy projected ownership tool, which makes that information easy to access for you. I’ll even be going through that information to give you my start and sit advice each week. Let’s jump in!
Create Optimal DraftKings lineups using our DFS Lineup Optimizer tool
Quarterback
Russel Wilson against Tampa Bay and Philip Rivers against Green Bay should be two of the most popular picks this week, as they both should be getting taken at clips above 15%. Russ tops the charts on Paul Ghiglieri’s QB1 Primer this week, so I’m not surprised that DFS users are high on him too. The Buccaneers’ defense creates a perfect storm for Seattle’s passing game — Tampa Bay can stop the run, but they cannot stop the pass. Meanwhile, Rivers squares up with the solid Green Bay passing defense. The Packers give up an eighth-lowest 16.3 DraftKings points per game to quarterbacks, but Rivers’ bargain-bin price might be driving his popularity. I’m cautiously optimistic that Ken Whisenhunt’s firing will help Rivers out, but I’d prefer to take a wait-and-see approach. His opponent, Aaron Rodgers, should also be a popular pick. The Chargers’ defense hasn’t been great this year, so I expect the Packers to take advantage of their banged-up front seven and run the ball this week. Derek Carr is an excellent choice if you’re looking for a cheap option at quarterback, as he takes on a Detriot secondary that’s without Quandre Diggs. They could even be missing Darius Slay come Sunday, and the Lions already give up the sixth-most DraftKings points per game to quarterbacks at 23.4. Brandon Allen rounds out the list, and while he makes sense as a tournament play flyer, I’m not sure there are enough weapons for him to work with in Denver.
Running Back
With James Conner and Benny Snell unlikely to play on Sunday, it’s a no-brainer why Jaylen Samuels should be owned in over half of DraftKings lineups. He takes on the Colts, who have been decent against running backs. They give up just 21.3 DraftKings points per game to the position, seventh-fewest in the league. With a price of only $4,000, I think Samuels might have to be chalk this week. I love Aaron Jones against the Chargers, as they’ll be without three of their defensive linemen once again this week. They’ve given up monster games to Derrick Henry and David Montgomery without them, so look for Jones and Jamaal Williams ($5,900, 0.1% projected ownership) to capitalize. You can’t go wrong with Dalvin Cook this year, and his high ownership rate reflects that fact. Like the Chargers, the Chiefs could be without two key pieces of their defensive line, so look for the Vikings to exploit that matchup. Le’Veon Bell and Christian McCaffrey round out the list; while Bell is here because of his juicy matchup, McCaffrey might just be matchup-proof. Look for Bell to explode in Adam Gase’s revenge game, while McCaffrey should put up numbers similar to what he’s done all season.
Wide Receiver
Is it a Chris Godwin or a Mike Evans week? Most DraftKings players want Godwin, even though he’s $100 more than Evans. Godwin has been the more consistent of the two, but he showed that he, too, can bottom out when he caught just four passes for 43 yards last week. The Seahawks are a mid-pack defense against wide receivers, but Jameis Winston’s arm should carry at least one of Godwin or Evans to solid fantasy numbers. My take? Godwin for cash games, Evans for tournaments. Godwin’s your guy for floor because he has been targeted at least eight times in all but two games. Evans, meanwhile, carries ceiling without much floor. Curtis Samuel is questionable for Sunday’s game against the Titans, so you should make sure that he’s playing before committing to him on Sunday. Kenny Golladay is somehow our only representative from the Oakland/Detriot game, which is sure to be a high-scoring shootout. I’d expect Golladay, Marvin Jones ($6,000, 8.7% projected ownership), and Tyrell Williams ($5,900, 13% projected ownership) to be solid WR1 candidates this week. Both secondaries are roastable. Lastly, we’ve got Mike Williams against the Packers. Again, I’d like to wait and see with the Chargers’ offense post-Whisenhunt, but to each their own. That said, his cheap $4,600 salary does have some appeal.
Tight End
Ownership rates should be pretty evenly distributed at tight end this week. Without George Kittle on the slate, and with Travis Kelce’s upside limited by Patrick Mahomes’ injury, I guess it makes some sense. Darren Waller should be a candidate for a huge day against Detroit’s putrid secondary, while T.J. Hockenson could recapture his Week 1 magic against Oakland’s equally lousy unit. I’m a little surprised to see Zach Ertz here given the impending return of DeSean Jackson and Dallas Goedert’s emergence. I wouldn’t pick Ertz in any lineup, to be honest. Travis Kelce should be a reliable option with or without Patrick Mahomes to throw him the ball, and the Vikings’ defense hasn’t been anything special against tight ends. Cameron Brate rounds out the list as the obligatory dart throw, and I like his chances against the Seahawks’ defense that gives up a fourth-highest 16.5 DraftKings points per game to tight ends. Although he’s a bit more expensive, Jonnu Smith ($3,800, 7.5% projected ownership) is another strong play with Delanie Walker out once again.
Defense
Yeah, so the Redskins’ defense is super cheap this week. But do you want to take them? Washington will start Dwayne Haskins on Sunday, so I’d look for them to deal with some negative game script. That said, I guess there’s always a chance that one of Josh Allen’s passes gets intercepted. Jacob Herlin doesn’t hate Washington this week, either, so they’ve got that going for them. The other defenses should be more reasonably owned. Carolina’s got a rock-solid matchup against Ryan Tannehill and the Titans, and although they’ve looked better with him under center, they aren’t a particularly high-powered team. The Eagles have a date with Mitch Trubisky and the Bears, and they’ve finally gotten all of their cornerbacks healthy. We’ll see if they can start playing defense against the pass. The Bills and the Jets round out this week’s list, and both have juicy matchups (and appropriately high salaries). I’d take the Bills over the Jets this week just because rookie Dwayne Haskins seems more exploitable than the grizzled Ryan Fitzpatrick.
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Isaiah Sirois is a featured writer at FantasyPros. For more from Isaiah, check out his archive and follow him @is_sirois.
