DraftKings Week 4 Showdown: Vikings vs. Rams Top Optimal Lineups

Optimal Lineup No. 2

– CAPTAIN: Kyle Rudolph ($8,400)
– Todd Gurley ($11,600)
– Jared Goff ($10,800)
– Kirk Cousins ($9,000)
– Dalvin Cook ($7,600)
– Tyler Higbee ($2,600)

**Lineup if Cook sits:

– CAPTAIN: Kyle Rudolph ($8,400)
– Todd Gurley ($11,600)
– Jared Goff ($10,800)
– Adam Thielen ($9,800)
– Cooper Kupp ($6,800)
– Tyler Higbee ($2,600)

Any casual fantasy football player is going to pull up Tyler Higbee's game log, look at his price of $2,600, think about it and then click off. That's fine because I'll take the risk they're going to opt against. It's not a safe play, or a sexy play or even one with a tremendous amount of upside, but Higbee absolutely has talent.

The young tight end found the end zone in Week 1 and has played at least 75 percent of the team's offensive snaps in each week, per Football Outsiders. Higbee didn't catch a single pass in a Week 3 blowout against the Oakland Raiders, but it's worth noting only one Rams player had more than 52 receiving yards (Brandin Cooks).

I'd use very little of Higbee, but if you want an intriguing red zone target and player who's going to be on the field often, roll him out a bit. The $2,600 price tag won't hurt you.

This is the captain Kyle Rudolph lineup, and after I've spent the entire breakdown talking about how great of an option is, there was no question I'd find a spot at the top for him. If we hit the lottery and Rudolph finds the end zone twice and he's in our captain spot, it differentiates this lineup quite a bit.

The top lineup here has the two-quarterback set with Jared Goff and Kirk Cousins. This offers up a unique stack of Goff with Higbee, and in lineup two – adds Cooper Kupp to the mix. But regardless of which lineup we use here, Todd Gurley is getting the nod in one of the top optimal lineups after tallying at least 26.7 DraftKings points in each of the first three weeks.

Now for the interesting topic of Dalvin Cook, who I'm expecting to at least attempt to play. If that is the case, the Vikings running back may garnish lower ownership than he would have if not returning from a hamstring injury. The matchup isn't ideal, but the Rams have given up 24 receptions to opposing running backs (for a brutal 106 yards), so at the very least we could rack up catches here and potentially a touchdown.

Cook isn't my favorite play on this showdown slate for a variety of reasons, but I'm locking him in largely based on ownership projections.

READ NEXT: Dalvin Cook Fantasy: Should You Start or Sit the Vikings RB in Week 4?

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