Getty Browns WR Odell Beckham Jr.
DraftKings NFL $888K Sunday Night Showdown is open for entry now, as the undefeated Los Angeles Rams travel to Cleveland to face off with the 1-1 Browns. The first-place winner of DK’s SNF showdown will receive a generous gift of $200K.
The Cleveland Browns’ offensive struggles have been the talk of the NFL world over two weeks of play. Will Baker Mayfield’s turnover issues continue against the Rams and their fifth-ranked total defense? If so, what might that mean for Mayfield and his fellow Browns skill players’ DFS values for tonight’s game? Let’s find out.
Rules & Scoring:
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- Six total players (one captain, five flex players)
- Captain selection cost 1.5x standard salary
- Captain scores 1.5x fantasy point values
- Can choose from any position (QB, RB, WR, TE, K, DST)
- You can use as many players at the same position as you’d like
- $50,000 salary cap
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Roster Construction
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- Captain: Nick Chubb $14,700
- FLEX: Todd Gurley II $9,600
- FLEX: Cooper Kupp $9,000
- FLEX: Robert Woods $8,400
- FLEX: Malcolm Brown $4,200
- FLEX: Greg Zuerlein $3,400
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Why this Lineup?
While there may be bigger games taking the field on Sunday night, Nick Chubb is the most relied upon playmaker for either team. Chubb has averaged 21 touches per game, and all indications point to that number rising. Head Coach Freddie Kitchens stated he “would love” to get Chubb more touches going forward.
For all the chatter of Todd Gurley‘s usage dropping, the stats clearly point towards that statement being overblown. While it’s true Gurley may not be seeing the absurd number of touches he’s seen in years past, he’s still highly used within the Rams offense. Gurley has averaged 18 touches through two weeks of play. Gurley faces off with a Cleveland defense that surrendered 20+ fantasy points to Le’Veon Bell one week ago.
Cooper Kupp is back and healthy, and it’s shown. Kupp has averaged 83 yards on six receptions per game this season. He is coming off a monster Week 2 where he racked up 120 receiving yards. Kupp has quickly regained the role of favorite target to QB Jared Goff. Kupp leads the Rams with 19 targets.
Close behind Kupp’s 19 targets is Robert Woods‘ 15. Woods has been relatively quiet by his standard this year. However, that is likely to change this week. The Browns have linebacker and safety question marks heading into tonight’s game, as six total defensive starters could be out of the Browns lineup with injury. Expect Woods to do damage from the slot.
We spoke about Gurley’s usage being better than it’s perceived, however, it is clear that Malcolm Brown has a role in the Rams offense. A $4,200 salary for a running back who touches the ball around 10 times a game and has scored two touchdowns through two weeks is a steal.
Yes, we picked a kicker, and you should too. Greg Zuerlein is not your regular run-of-the-mill kicker. Greg Z has 19 games with double-digit fantasy points since 2017, including 15 points in Week 1 of this season. Cleveland surrendered the fifth-most fantasy points to opposing kickers on a per-game basis in 2018.
Final Thoughts & Obvious Omissions
We opted to omit both QB’s and Odell Beckham Jr. from our optimal lineup. While this is certainly a headscratcher on the surface, it makes sense if you dig deeper into the stats.
Jared Goff’s road struggles throughout his career are highly publicized. More publicized than Goff’s struggles have been the struggles of Baker Mayfield this season. Mayfield has tossed four interceptions to just two touchdowns in 2019.
If you eliminate Odell Beckham Jr.’s quick slant turned 89-yard scamper in last Monday’s game from his stats, the wideout has averaged just 71.5 yards through two weeks.
Overall it was best to avoid these struggling, yet high-price tagged players in our lineup to build out a deeper, more well-rounded overall roster.
Reminder, the game kicks off at 8:20 pm ET tonight. Be sure to set your lineups, and good luck!
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