Getty Gallery: 4/5
150-Max Entry Lineup
– CAPTAIN: Tom Brady ($17,100)
– Aaron Rodgers ($11,600)
– Josh Gordon ($7,400)
– Marquez Valdes-Scantling ($5,800)
– Aaron Jones ($5,400)
– Jamaal Williams ($2,000)
As you can see, I plan on having a lot of ownership in Aaron Jones this week. I do expect most to go mid-range at captain, so for the 150-max game, I'm opting to pay up for Tom Brady in an attempt to be somewhat different. Obviously, Brady's upside is tremendous and as previously stated, he's crushed at home this season, so I think it's a safe floor and high ceiling situation.
The same can be said about Jones unless Mike McCarthy just decides he hates fantasy football and opts to create one big headache. But the real differentiator here is choosing to roll out Jones with Jamaal Williams. While Williams did see a decline in workload last week, he stole a touchdown from Jones and there are going to be enough points in this game to go around.
I'm not incredibly high on Williams, but at $2,000 and with Ty Montgomery no longer in the mix, he's not going to just completely disappear. There's also a good chance he takes at least a bit of the passing work with Ty Mont now long gone. Williams has 17 targets this season and while he's yet to find the end zone, we know the Patriots struggle mightily against pass-catching backs.
While the Packers No. 2 running back in the same lineup with his backfield mate is a hot-button topic by itself, Josh Gordon is in an interesting spot. The Packers have allowed just 76 receptions for 1,066 yards to opposing wideouts, but have given up 12 touchdowns. That bodes well for Gordon who could see a few red zone targets and obviously has big-play ability. I think we're going to see a true breakout game from the former Cleveland Browns receiver this week.
I opted to go with Marquez Valdes-Scantling over Randall Cobb and I believe he'll be the lesser-owned player of the two. Although Valdes-Scantling has out-produced Cobb as of late and topped 12.5 DraftKings points in each of the last three games, Cobb is the more popular name. With Geronimo Allison ruled out, the rookie fifth-round pick should be able to take advantage of a Patriots secondary which has struggled at times this season.
If Adams does wind up seeing the full Gilmore treatment, he's still going to get targets, but it'll also open MVS up for more work. It's worth noting that even in Week 8 with Allison, Cobb and Adams all active, Valdes-Scantling still played the second-most offensive snaps of any wideout. Per Football Outsiders, his 31 snaps trailed only the 40 of Adams.
Next up is somewhat of a "safer" lineup which is good for single entry tournaments and cash games.