Greetings, friends, and welcome to Week 16 of our Main Slate GPP Advice series. As always, we’ll be focused on GPP contests and players you can use to fill out your lineups while saving some of your budget. Let’s take a look at some of my favorite GPP targets for this week.
The current NFL COVID outbreak has the fantasy world in shambles, and DFS is along for that ride, too. Many important skill position players are going to miss Week 16, and we’ll identify some of the affordable (felt to mean to call them “cheap”) replacements who are worth using as lineup builders.
GPP means we are going to look for value and take big swings. You shouldn’t have every player below in your DFS lineups. These are players with upside to target so that you can save money to use on higher-priced studs. We are going to identify value. We are going to monitor injury situations. We are going to take some risks. And most importantly, we are going to make some money.
As a general reminder, these are how most FanDuel and DraftKings contests are formatted:
- FanDuel $60,000 salary cap, 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 Flex, 1 DEF ($6,667 average price per position)
- DraftKings: $50,000 salary cap, 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 Flex, 1 DEF ($5,555 average price per position)
Have questions or just want to talk football or DFS? Feel free to reach out on Twitter @mikeMaher with questions or feedback anytime.
Create Optimal lineups using our DFS Lineup Optimizer tool 
Greetings, friends, and welcome to Week 16 of our Main Slate GPP Advice series. As always, we’ll be focused on GPP contests and players you can use to fill out your lineups while saving some of your budget. Let’s take a look at some of my favorite GPP targets for this week.
The current NFL COVID outbreak has the fantasy world in shambles, and DFS is along for that ride, too. Many important skill position players are going to miss Week 16, and we’ll identify some of the affordable (felt to mean to call them “cheap”) replacements who are worth using as lineup builders.
GPP means we are going to look for value and take big swings. You shouldn’t have every player below in your DFS lineups. These are players with upside to target so that you can save money to use on higher-priced studs. We are going to identify value. We are going to monitor injury situations. We are going to take some risks. And most importantly, we are going to make some money.
As a general reminder, these are how most FanDuel and DraftKings contests are formatted:
- FanDuel $60,000 salary cap, 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 Flex, 1 DEF ($6,667 average price per position)
- DraftKings: $50,000 salary cap, 1 QB, 2 RB, 3 WR, 1 TE, 1 Flex, 1 DEF ($5,555 average price per position)
Have questions or just want to talk football or DFS? Feel free to reach out on Twitter @mikeMaher with questions or feedback anytime.
Create Optimal lineups using our DFS Lineup Optimizer tool
The players below are ones I’m looking at for large-field tournament considerations for Week 16 main slates:
Quarterbacks
FanDuel
Matt Ryan (ATL - QB): $6,800 vs. DET
Matt Ryan still doesn't have Calvin Ridley, but he has Russell Gage, Kyle Pitts, and a matchup against the Detroit Lions. Ryan is QB18 on the FanDuel main slate but is projected to put up QB1 numbers. The Lions shocked the world by beating the Arizona Cardinals last week. I'm not expecting a repeat performance against the Falcons in Week 16.
Ben Roethlisberger (PIT - QB): $6,800 vs. KC
We've targeted Big Ben a few different times in our Pricing Exploitation and GPP series this season. He looks old out there, but he has finished as a QB1 in three of his last five games and two of his last three. The Chiefs are dealing with a COVID break but may get some of their players back ahead of game time. As long as Patrick Mahomes is healthy, they're probably going to score some points, and the Pittsburgh offense is going to have to keep up while facing a beatable Kansas City defense. I'm banking on another QB1 performance from Roethlisberger at a QB2 price.
DraftKings
Nick Foles (CHI - QB): $4,000 vs. SEA
I originally had Justin Fields in this spot because he was priced so low on DraftKings, and I'm pivoting to Nick Foles since he's essentially a free square at $4,000 on DraftKings. This one is a big swing, and Foles does not have the mobility that Fields possesses (quite the opposite, in fact). But Foles is a veteran who knows what to expect from this difference and will be auditioning for his next job (or perhaps just to stay in the league) after this season. At this price, you can surround Foles with studs in GPP contests and hope that he sneaks in a QB1 performance.
Trevor Lawrence (JAC - QB): $5,000 vs. NYJ
You can make some money in DFS just by targeting players facing the New York Jets that week. Enter Trevor Lawrence, who is 1. Facing the Jets and 2. Priced as QB31 on the DraftKings main slate. Lawrence's rookie season hasn't been pretty at times, and Jacksonville is still picking up the pieces after firing Urban Meyer with a handful of games left in his first season as head coach of the Jaguars. He has just one QB1 finish since the Week 7 bye week, but I'm willing the role the dice on this matchup because of the price.
Running Backs
FanDuel
Ronald Jones II (TB - RB): $5,400 vs. CAR
With Leonard Fournette dealing with a hamstring injury, Ronald Jones is getting another shot as the top running back in Tampa. Here's where it gets good. He's priced as RB60 on FanDuel, presumably because the early expectation was that Fournette was going to be able to play. Now, the RB60 price is locked in, but the projections move Jones up to RB8 overall on the FanDuel full slate. Oh, and the Bucs will be without Chris Godwin and most likely Mike Evans, meaning there could be more touches to go around for Jones. Giddy up.
Alexander Mattison (MIN - RB): $5,500 vs. LAR
Dalvin Cook was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list Thursday, and that means Alexander Mattison will start and handle most of the workload for the Vikings against the Rams. He is priced as RB34 on FanDuel because their price didn't project Cook to miss the game, but we project him as a clear RB1. The price vs. projection difference is massive here, so Mattison is a perfect GPP target on FanDuel this week.
DraftKings
James Robinson (JAC - RB): $5,900 vs. NYJ
James Robinson's price on DraftKings this week looks like a typo. Our model has him projected as RB5 overall, but he's priced as RB20 on the full slate and RB12 on the main slate. Last week, in his first game without Urban Meyer holding him back, he was RB6 and received 21 touches. The Jets have one of the worst defenses in football, and Robinson should once again receive 20+ touches. 20+ touches at RB20 prices is, as Bart Simpson would say, ain't not bad.
David Montgomery (CHI - RB): $5,700 vs. SEA
With Justin Fields out, the Bears will likely lean more on the running game and David Montgomery. Montgomery received 23 touches (18 carries, five receptions) last week and should be in line for a similar workload this week. He is priced as the RB15 on DraftKings this week, but we have him projected as a top-five producer at the running back position.
Wide Receivers
FanDuel
Tee Higgins (CIN - WR): $6,500 vs. BAL
Tee Higgins was shut down by a tough Denver defense last week, and his WR29 price tag on the FanDuel full slate reflects that. But he was WR4 and WR3 overall in Week 12 and 13, respectively, and our model has him projected for WR1 numbers against a Baltimore defense that struggles against opposing wideouts. The production has been inconsistent this season, but this is an ideal low price/high ceiling combination to target.
Mike Williams (LAC - WR): $6,600 vs. HOU
Mike Williams only caught three passes last week, but he was targeted nine times against the Chiefs. His overall production has been up and down, but that's why we're getting a value with him priced as the WR19 on FanDuel's main slate. With a matchup against the Texans, I'm targeting Williams because of his anticipated target volume and touchdown upside in a favorable matchup.
Update: Mike Williams was placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list on Saturday and will not play Sunday vs. the Texans
DraftKings
Antonio Brown (TB - WR): $4,900 vs. CAR
With Chris Godwin out and Mike Evans likely about, Antonio Brown is returning at just the right time for Tom Brady and the Bucs, who were shut out last week in an upset loss to the New Orleans Saints. They aren't going to get shut out again, and Brown received 32 targets over his three games before missing time with an ankle injury and a suspension for a fake vaccination card. He may be a bit of a wild card on a personal level, but he and Brady have proven to have excellent chemistry on the football field. Brown is priced as WR49 on the DraftKings full slate but is projected for borderline WR1 production.
Amon-Ra St. Brown (DET - WR): $5,600 vs. ATL
The quarterback situation in Detroit is a bit of a concern, but the Lions are going to have to throw the ball regardless of who is under center against the Falcons. I had been targeting Gabriel Davis on both sites this week, but I had to make other plans with Davis testing positive for COVID. That gave me some space to talk about St. Brown, who has really been picking up his production over the last three weeks. At $5,600, he's an affordable lineup builder who offers solid production with upside.
Tight Ends
FanDuel
Kyle Pitts (ATL - TE): $5,900 vs. DET
Few tight ends offer the same kind of consistent target share that Pitts does. He has finished as a TE1 in two consecutive weeks and has received at least six targets in 10 of his last 11 games (he received five targets in the other). At TE9, he doesn't offer the biggest discount, but his $5,900 price tag is $1,400 less than the $7,500 it would cost to start George Kittle.
DraftKings
C.J. Uzomah (CIN - TE): $3,000 vs. BAL
The last time the Bengals played the Ravens, Uzomah caught three passes for 91 yards and two touchdowns and finished as the TE1 overall for the week. He has been in a bit of a slump over the last month or so but did finish as TE13 two weeks ago, and a divisional rematch with the Ravens could be just what he needs to finish as a TE1 again. And with a TE28 price tag on the DraftKings full slate, he's a cheap lineup builder at the tight end position.
Defense/Special Teams
FanDuel
Cincinnati Bengals (CIN - DST): $3,500 vs. BAL
We may not know until closer to game time who the Ravens are starting at quarterback, but the Bengals are an attractive D/ST this week regardless. Both Lamar Jackson (ankle) and Tyler Huntley (illness) are listed as questionable, but it's reportedly looking like Huntley will get the start after Jackson was unable to practice all week. The Bengals are priced as D/ST17 on the FanDuel main slate this week and won't have the same roster% as some of the more expensive options.
DraftKings
Seattle Seahawks (SEA - DST): $3,000 vs. CHI
As we mentioned above, the Chicago Bears are starting Nick Foles at quarterback this week. While we identified Foles as a GPP target on the main slate, that is a big swing that could certainly go in the other direction. The Seahawks are D/ST9 on the DraftKings main slate this week and come with serious potential.
Want to keep the conversation going or just have a question? Feel free to reach out on Twitter @mikeMaher with questions or feedback anytime.
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Mike Maher is an editor and featured writer at FantasyPros and BettingPros. For more from Mike, check out his archive, follow him on Twitter @MikeMaher, and visit his Philadelphia Eagles blog, The Birds Blitz.
