The NFL season won't slow down, and crunch time is quickly approaching as the playoff picture is starting to develop week after week. At this point in the season, it's not hard to tell which teams are contenders, and which teams are pretenders. From a fantasy standpoint though, there's plenty of value everywhere. Now that we are more than halfway through the season, we can figure out who can consistently produce in terms of fantasy football.
Just because select players let you down all season, doesn't mean that they can't have a good week here and there. We're going to dive into Week 14 and find the find the best value plays that will give you a bang for your buck. After all, you don't want to just pay for a name. So, while you're setting your early game slated for Sunday, keep in mind that everybody is playing. You want to be different and find the guy who will go off on your team, but not anybody else's.
That's what we're going to break down here. We will go over some of the best bargain plays, that issue high-upside for cheap. And I will also throw in some obvious cash plays for you grinders out there that need to know who is undoubtedly going to go off this weekend.
So, for those of you who are new to DraftKings, or maybe you even need a refresher, let's go over the rules real quick.
The Rules of The Game
DraftKings is pretty simple and straightforward. Although there are many different games, you can play, and slates you can get involved in, we are going to stick with the classic slate for Sunday, December 9th, 2018. Here is the full outlook of the 13 game slate that we will be going over this week.
- New York Jets @ Buffalo Bills
- Carolina Panthers @ Cleveland Browns
- Atlanta Falcons @ Green Bay Packers
- Baltimore Ravens @ Kansas City Chiefs
- New England Patriots @ Miami Dolphins
- New Orleans Saints @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- New York Giants @ Washington Redskins
- Indianapolis Colts @ Houston Texans
- Cincinnati Bengals @ Los Angeles Chargers
- Denver Broncos @ San Francisco 49ers
- Philadelphia Eagles @ Dallas Cowboys
- Pittsburgh Steelers @ Oakland Raiders
- Detroit Lions @ Arizona Cardinals
Just like any Daily Fantasy platform, you are issued a salary for each individual contest. Each lineup will have $50k available. Every player will have a price tag on them based on their value each week. For this slate, Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey is the most expensive, while the Oakland Raiders defense is the cheapest. You cannot exceed the $50k salary, but you also don't have to use it all up.
While I suggest using up the majority of the $50k salary, you don't have to if it isn't necessary. In GPP games, the idea is to find the cheapest players with low ownership percentage and high ceilings. If you figure that out, then you most likely won't go over the limit. Don't make that second-guess your picks. Just because you still have money available, doesn't mean it needs to be spent. If you love your lineup, roll with it.
Okay, enough chit-chat, let's get into this.
Quarterbacks
As always, there's a ton of value with quarterbacks during the Sunday slate. With so many games throughout the afternoon, there will be more than a few quarterbacks who have the opportunity to score well over 20 points. When it comes to the QB, it's probably best to not pay up for the most prominent name. There's value elsewhere that's much more important.
This week, Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes is the most expensive. Playing against a weak Baltimore Ravens defense makes him an intriguing play, but there is much better value elsewhere on the slate. Here are our top two rated quarterbacks for Week 14, along with an optimal lineup containing our top play for the week.
Drew Brees - $6,600
So Drew Brees had an off week against the Dallas Cowboys last Thursday night. Big deal. It doesn't mean that he's going to go on a cold streak or anything. In fact, his struggles from last week may have the opposite effect. For the first time all season, Brees was under a heavy amount of pressure against Dallas. That shouldn't be the case against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. As Tampa is ranked 29th in giving up fantasy points to quarterbacks, Brees will offer a lot more value for what he costs this week despite being a top-five quarterback available.
Matt Ryan - $5,600
If you don't want to pay up for Brees, Matt Ryan is a much cheaper option. Although he doesn't have as much upside as Brees heading into the week, Matt Ryan has been sneaky productive this season. Forget all of the social media jokes that surround his name. Ryan has been one of the better quarterback options at daily fantasy all season long. And this week, he's got a great matchup against the depleted Green Bay Packers defense.
The Lineup
QB - Drew Brees $6.6K
RB - Adrian Peterson $4.8K
RB - Austin Ekeler $6.2K
WR - Michael Thomas $8.6K
WR - Jarvis Landry $5.8K
WR - Chris Godwin $4.9K
TE - Rob Gronkowski $4.8K
FLEX - Lamar Miller $5.1K
D/ST - Detroit Lions $2.9K
Running Backs
How tough is it to predict running backs for fantasy in this day and age? With all of the running back committee's forming, it's difficult to figure who is going to be the runner that finds the end zone on a consistent basis. Sometimes, you have to decide if you want the guy with all of the yards and touches with no scores. Or if you want the guy with hardly any touches and yards, with one or potentially two scores.
For Week 14, I'd say go with the guy who is going to get a significant workload in both areas of the game. On the ground, and through the air. You seriously cannot go wrong with that. The more opportunity for points, the better off you'll be. There are some really great, sure thing backs on the early slate this week. Alvin Kamara, Christian McCaffery, Saquon Barkley. All of those guys look like they are worth playing. But then again, you see the price tag and realize it may not be worth it in the end, because you'll lack scoring elsewhere. Let me help you out.
Jaylen Samuels - $3,700
The Pittsburgh Steelers are down to their third-string running back, Jaylen Samuels. It's unfortunate, but it will be a big win for those who decide to play him in daily fantasy. This isn't a knock on Le'Veon Bell or James Conner, but it looks like any serviceable running back can be somewhat productive out of the Pittsburgh backfield. This week, the sleeper back is definitely Samuels, who comes with a dirt cheap price tag playing against one of the worst teams in the league, the Oakland Raiders.
Ezekiel Elliott - $8,600
This is one is a little out of the budget, but we can make it work. Typically, I wouldn't suggest paying up for an obvious running back like Elliott, but the matchup against the Philadelphia Eagles is just too good. For one, the last time Elliott played against the Eagles, he went off for 187 total yards and two touchdowns. Last week, the Eagles did well against the Redskins rushing attack so many fantasy players may shy away from Zeke. However, we're not going to do that. The first Cowboys-Eagles matchup was no fluke for Elliott. He went off for a reason. That Philly defense is broken down, and Dallas is going to put the game on Elliott's back once again.
The Lineup
QB - Matt Ryan $5.6K
RB - Ezekiel Elliott $8.6K
RB - Jaylen Samuels $3.7K
WR - Golden Tate 4.8K
WR - Antonio Brown $9.0K
WR - Courtland Sutton $4.5K
TE - Eric Ebron $5.7K
FLEX - Marlon Mack $4.6K
D/ST - New Orleans Saints $2.7K
Wide Receivers
Similar to the backfield situation, this week has a lot of favorable matchups between wideouts and defense's, but it's not going to come cheap. If you want to pay up for one big name and utilize two under the radar guys, then go for it. Some of these matchups for the big names are almost too good to pass up anyway.
Courtland Sutton - $4,500
When the Denver Broncos traded their veteran wideout Demaryius Thomas, it had a lot to do with the fact that Courtland Sutton was trending in the right direction. The rookie hasn't hit his stride yet like we all thought he would, but he has no other option but to produce this week. Along with Thomas being out of the picture, the other veteran wideout Emmanuel Sanders is also injured and out for the year. That leaves Sutton as the No. 1 target on the team. It's quite rare when a primary target costs well under five thousand.
Sterling Shepard - $4,400
Kind of similar to Sutton's situation, Shepard is going to be looked at as the primary target for the New York Giants this week. It was announced on Saturday afternoon that Odell Beckham Jr. is going to miss Sunday's game against the Washington Redskins. Also, with Evan Engram still dealing with some injuries of his own, Eli Manning is going to lean on two targets throughout the game. One being the obvious, Saquon Barkley. The other? Sterling Shepard.
Kenny Golladay - $6,400
Again, we have to take advantage of the injuries that teams are dealing with. When a primary receiver is out, there's always going to be a guy on the roster that's going to have an explosive first week without the usual suspect playing on the field. For the Detroit Lions, that's going to be Kenny Golladay. Now, Golladay isn't exactly a secret here, hence why his price is significantly higher than the other two. But I can't imagine too many people trying to pay up for a Lions receiver. With Detroit taking on a bad Arizona Cardinals team, Detroit is due for somebody to have a big day. My money is on Golladay.
The Lineup
QB - Matt Ryan $5.6K
RB - Ezekiel Elliott $8.6K
RB - Jaylen Samuels $3.7K
WR - Kenny Golladay $6.4K
WR - Sterling Shepard $4.4K
WR - Courtland Sutton $4.5K
TE - George Kittle $5.5K
FLEX - Davante Adams $8.4K
D/ST - Detroit Lions $2.9K
Tight Ends
Tight Ends are becoming like kickers nowadays. While the good ones can get you 10-15 points on a consistent basis, the rest of them are like a dime-a-dozen that can get you 8-10 points. Don't go crazy for tight ends not named Travis Kelce, George Kittle, or even Zach Ertz.
Find someone who is reliable, and is likely to get some red zone targets. Like I said, unless you want to pay up for a tight end, who happens to be just another wide receiver, then you shouldn't expect too much out of these guys on a weekly basis. Find somebody cheap, who can get over ten points and you're solid.
Eric Ebron - $5,700
At this point, it's puzzling to see Eric Ebron still fairly cheap in the tight end market. Obviously, he's not going to go off every week, but it is always interesting to see the Indianapolis Colts get creative with their tight end. Last week's slate had some bizarre results with a handful of upsets. Therefore, the Colts were not very effective on offense. This week won't be the same case though. The Colts will have to get very aggressive and creative to keep up with Houston, and Frank Reich knows that he has a great weapon in Ebron.
Rob Gronkowski - $4,800
We don't see the same Rob Gronkowski from previous years, no thanks to his injury-filled year. But for the first time in a very long time, Gronkowski continues to have a long streak of being a cheap tight end. It's always difficult to figure out which Patriots playmaker to pay up for. There's always somebody new going off each week, and Gronkowski no longer produces like he is old reliable for Tom Brady. Since the last time the Patriots matched up with the Dolphins, Miami has been very giving to tight ends in the NFL. Gronkowski needs a breakout week, and it feels like Gronk will normalize his production during Week 14.
The Lineup
QB - Drew Brees $6.6K
RB - Gus Edwards $4.5K
RB - Ezekiel Elliott $8.6K
WR - Kenny Golladay $6.4K
WR - Courtland Sutton $4.5K
WR - Sterling Shepard $4.4K
TE - Eric Ebron $5.7K
FLEX - Amari Cooper $6.6K
D/ST - New Orleans Saints $2.7K
DraftKings NFL: Optimal Lineups & Top Picks for Week 14