DraftKings NFL Picks & Optimal Lineups: Vikings vs. Seahawks Showdown

Optimal Lineup

– CAPTAIN: Chris Carson ($11,400)
– Russell Wilson ($11,200)
– Kirk Cousins ($10,200)
– Dalvin Cook ($8,800)
– Kyle Rudolph ($4,800)
– Sebastian Janikowski ($3,400)

The two-quarterback lineup with Russell Wilson and Kirk Cousins in DraftKings showdowns tonight has a lot of appeal for me, but it is a bit tough to make due to some question marks about inexpensive players. One thing I will say is that if Doug Baldwin gets ruled out, you could get creative with David Moore ($5,200) and Jaron Brown ($1,400).

Most players are going to jump to Brown due to his price tag and his performance last week. But what's interesting about Moore is the fact that he's emerged as the team's third wideout without much question. His snaps have been trending down dating back to the middle of the season due to the emergence of other players (per Football Outsiders), but there's one big positive.

Moore hasn't had the chance to hold down the fort for an entire game with Baldwin sidelined. We could see that happen here, and it'd make for a potentially big spot for the Seahawks wideout against a banged-up Vikings secondary.

Alright, enough about non-optimal lineup players, but that's something to keep in mind. Keeping with the Seahawks trend, Chris Carson is an interesting spot. His matchup is less than ideal, as the Vikings have allowed just 947 rushing yards and five touchdowns to the position this year. However, it's worth noting that they've also given up 66 receptions for 665 yards and three additional scores to opposing running backs.

I'm high on Carson for a few reasons outside of the matchup, and it's largely due to his own production and usage. While the Seahawks did a fun experiment of riding the hot hand, it seems they quickly found out Carson is always the hot hand. Even in the 43-16 Week 13 blowout against the San Francisco 49ers, Carson received 13 carries and four targets (three receptions).

Rashaad Penny looked good on his seven carries, actually out-producing Carson, but four of them came with the team holding a 20-3 lead after halftime. The starting running back job is locked up for the Seahawks and his workload appears to be safe.

I'm going to break down the bulk of these names as we roll on, but Kyle Rudolph is a player to mention. Just to be brutally honest, I'm not a huge fan of Rudolph and would be fine if you chose to tweak things a little (possibly with other players I'll cover) and upgrade to David Moore.

With all that said, the Seahawks are going to do their all to shut down Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs here. Targets are going to get funneled other directions, and we've seen Rudolph receive 15 over the past three games. Although Cousins doesn't seem to go his way a ton, the two have built a rapport, considering Rudolph has caught all 10 of the targets he saw the last two weeks.

Based on the fact that I think the Vikings may play from behind a bit late in the game, I think he provides somewhat of a safe floor and also has touchdown upside. There's some risk and the matchup isn't great, but I don't hate Rudolph on this slate at his price.

The 150-max lineup is next up and features a focus on upside with a bit more calculated risk involved.

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