Getty Carson Wentz of the Philadelphia Eagles is pursued by Kenny Clark of the Green Bay Packers
DraftKings NFL $1.5M Thursday Night Showdown is open for entry now, as the 1-2 Philadelphia Eagles travel to Lambeau Field to battle the undefeated Green Bay Packers.
The Packers offense has been extremely underwhelming to kickoff the 2019 season, while the Eagles continue to have their struggles on the backend of their defense. Which will give on Thursday night? Let us help you figure it out, and in return better your chances of locking down that $300k first-place price in DK’s TNF Showdown.
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: Aaron Rodgers $16,200
- FLEX: Carson Wentz $10,000
- FLEX: Alshon Jeffery $8,200
- FLEX: Miles Sanders $6,200
- FLEX: Jamaal Williams $5,000
- FLEX: Jimmy Graham $4,400
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Why this Lineup?
Aaron Rodgers has yet to deliver us a quintessential AROD fantasy performance thus far this season. Thanks to his newfound defense, Rodgers has had to do very little to help his team to a 3-0 record. Rodgers has averaged just 215 passing yards in 2019. However, if Rodgers were ever to light up the scoreboard, it would be vs. the Eagles on Thursday night. The birds have allowed the fourth-most passing yards per game this season, along with the eighth-most fantasy points to QBs.
Oh, the sweet, sweet benefits of playing a showdown. We double-down on quarterbacks here snatching Carson Wentz for our first flex spot. Green Bay has been extremely good at defending the QB position this season. However, we’re looking for consistent play from our highest priced flex, and that’s what Wentz brings to the table. Wentz is the seventh-highest scoring player in fantasy at his position this season. The Eagles QB has averaged nearly 270 passing yards and two touchdowns per game through the air over the first three games. He also happens to get the next guy on our list back into the lineup on Thursday.
Alshon Jeffery will play tonight after missing the past two games with a calf injury. Jeffery automatically becomes Wentz’s favorite target at wideout. The Eagles will likely lean heavily on the receiver after having to put up with Nelson Agholor’s Jekyll and Hyde play the past few weeks. Agholor has scored the seventh-most receiving TDs since 2017. The Packers, on the other hand, have allowed the third-most during that same time span.
Miles Sanders enjoyed the finest outing of his young pro career in Week 3. The rookie running back totaled 126 yards from scrimmage vs. the Detroit Lions. Sanders faces off against a Green Bay Packers defense that has been extremely generous to fantasy running backs this season. Green Bay has allowed nearly 29 fantasy points per game to running backs, the third most in all the NFL.
Head Coach Matt LaFleur stated he wanted to “even up” touches between starting running back and backup Jamaal Williams prior to their Week 3 contest. LaFleur wasn’t lying. Williams out-touched the incumbent Jones 14-11 vs. the Denver Broncos. Williams was by far the more productive of the two backs in that game. He outpaced Jones by 63 total yards. Williams should see plenty of usage tonight, including through the air, where the Packers seem to like him more than Jones. The Eagles surrendered an average of six receptions per game to running backs this season, the sixth-most in the NFL.
We close out our lineup with Jimmy Graham. Graham has done very little since his 12 point outing in the opening game of the NFL season, and by very little, we mean nothing. Graham has put up back to back goose eggs. However, quarterback Aaron Rodgers would like to see that streak come to an end. Rodgers banged the table for Graham to get more looks this coming week, and coach LaFleur seems to agree. LaFleur believes the Packers have “to do a better job of putting (Graham) in a position to make plays.” No better place to start than vs. an Eagles team that has allowed seven passing touchdowns through three weeks, tied for fifth-most in the league.
Final Thoughts & Obvious Omissions
We opted for a two-quarterback system for DraftKings Thursday Night Football Showdown. Because we rolled with Rodgers and Wentz, it left our pockets a little thin to add some of the more prominent names available to our lineup, like Zach Ertz, Davante Adams, and Aaron Jones.
We already touched on the birth of a possible timeshare in the Packers backfield above. Zach Ertz has been a bit of a fantasy disappointment through the first three weeks of the season. Plus, Green Bay has allowed an absurdly low average of just slightly over three points per game to opposing tight ends. Lastly, we’d like to have Adams, but his $11,000 salary would have extremely handicapped the rest of our 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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