By Kyra Wiaterowski
Happy Saturday to everyone except Jimmy Graham and Jimmy Garoppolo! If you can remember all the way back to last Sunday, which feels like a year ago now, where both the Jimmy G’s totally let us down in foolproof, no brainer, easy matchups. Luckily, I did not bet the house on them, but man was it a letdown to see them both just implode on the great value they presented at their respectful positions. Anyhow, with that being said I just want to let it be known that I will be filing a lawsuit against myself to stop the count of busts in my last week’s article. Sadly, I could not suggest Dalvin Cook or Davante Adams to you guys at any kind of value that we look for here on a budget in a week where they had an absolute slate takeover. Regardless, last week was an outlier for me resulting in more misses than hits. So, we are just going to scrap it and never look back on it again as we move forward and do better this week! I hope you are ready to get back on the horse and ride it all the way to the bank with these great value picks here in Week 9! Let’s kash out!
Looking for more help building DFS lineups? We’ve put together our DFS Matchup Report for Week 9, showing who has the best (and worst) matchups.
Quarterbacks
Justin Herbert (DraftKings: $6,800 / FanDuel: $7,900)
Ok, so this might be considered cheating to some seeing as Justin Herbert is not particularly “cheap”. But as the 7th highest priced quarterback in DraftKings and FanDuel, I am still seeing Justin Herbert coming off as a value. He has proven to be matchup proof and is still being priced in the midrange for someone who is finishing as a top fantasy quarterback in all formats. I love me some consistency and boy does this kid provide it. Yes, it is true that he might be my fantasy man-crush but that comes with good reason. He is averaging 27 DK points per game and I don’t know about you, but I sense a shootout in this one versus the Las Vegas Raiders with an over/under sitting at 51.5. The Las Vegas Raiders are allowing the 9th most fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks and with Ekeler still sidelined I think we will continue to see Herbert move the ball through the air, which is perfect seeing as the Raiders have allowed an average of nearly 270 passing yards per game. I’m sure he doesn’t take much convincing — oh wait, one more… he’s also the second-highest scoring quarterback on a points-per-game basis since week 4 — so get Herbert into your lineups while the price is still at a discount.
Derek Carr (DraftKings: $5,700 / FanDuel: $7,000)
I mean what good is a suggested shoot out without the opposing quarterback also being listed as a value play? Last week, you probably thought the same of Carr in being a value play when he fell short, only throwing for 112 yards and a touchdown against the Cleveland Browns. But I need you to just forget that performance because it was mostly affected due to terrible windy weather conditions. This is a new Derek Carr this week that we want to get into our lineups. The previous five games that everyone easily forgets about after a bad performance is where Carr has provided us with over 20 fantasy points four times and thrown for multiple touchdowns. There will be no weather issues this week at an indoor stadium when Carr takes on the Los Angeles Chargers, who have allowed the 4th most fantasy points per game to opposing quarterbacks. Also, over the last six games, the Los Angeles Chargers have given up 14 passing touchdowns. So my thoughts here are that with Henry Ruggs getting back to full health and the Chargers trading away Desmond King, I think Carr can really get it going with Ruggs out of the slot and redeem both mine and his terrible last week performances by putting him in your DFS lineups this week.
Honorable Mention: Drew Lock (DraftKings: $5,200 / FanDuel: $7,200)
Deep Sea Dive: Jake Luton (DraftKings: $4,900 / FanDuel: $6,500)
Running Backs
Antonio Gibson (DraftKings: $5,800 / FanDuel: $6,200)
Fresh off the bye week, I like Antonio Gibson to continue building upon his increased role and become a real fantasy asset. Two weeks ago, he scored 18.8 fantasy points against the Dallas Cowboys and this week he gets the New York Giants, who are no threat to running backs either, giving up at least 16.7 points to five different players this season. He was already leading the backfield in snaps and touches, so I only expect this trend to continue upward as Gibson continues to produce. Gibson has scored four times in the last six games while also gathering 16 receptions from Weeks 3-6. He is averaging more than 13 fantasy points per game and provides a decent floor for his price this week as an RB2.
David Montgomery (DraftKings: $5,700 / FanDuel: $5,900)
Oh, David Montgomery, why can I not just quit you? I am a glutton for punishment when it comes to David Montgomery and with the number of opportunities he gets in that backfield, it’s hard not to keep picking him as a valued price at the position. Every week, he is provided the chance with little to no competition for him to finally reach the potential we all believed him to have when he first entered the league. Tennessee looked like hot garbage against the Bengals last week and I know Chicago is not an offensive juggernaut, but their defense is enough to keep them in every game. Montgomery is always able to maintain his workhorse role in games and for this price, it seems smart to grab the discounted bell cow. He has struggled to find the end zone, but with the amount of volume and opportunities that he receives, it’s bound to break on any given Sunday.
Honorable Mention: Justin Jackson (DraftKings: $4,900 / FanDuel: $5,900)
Deep Sea Dive: J.D. McKissic (DraftKings: $4,300 / FanDuel: $5,200)
Wide Receivers
Jerry Jeudy (DraftKings: $4,700 / FanDuel: $5,700)
Here’s a name people were over the moon about coming out of the NFL draft that hasn’t warranted much hype since. So, I get it if you are a bit hesitant about getting him into one of your DFS lineups, but this could be the week we see Jerry Jeudy break out onto the scene. I know we have been spoiled with rookie wide receivers producing right out the gate, but that is not typical or the norm. Last week, with Tim Patrick out of the lineup, we saw Jeudy receive a career-high 10 targets. This is super encouraging heading into a matchup versus the Atlanta Falcons, who allow an absurd 10.15 yards per target to wide receivers on the year. Those are WR1 numbers they’re handing out to any given team. The Atlanta Falcons are a defense I have targeted in DFS all season and we are not stopping now. Even if Patrick were to play in this one, Jeudy still has the upside to breakout against this Falcons defense seeing as they have allowed nine different wide receivers touchdowns and allow an average of 211.9 receiving yards to wide receivers per game. Teddy B and company were another group to fall victim to a bad weather game so do not let the Falcons fool you with their lack of ability to stop opposing wide receivers.
John Brown (DraftKings: $4,600 / FanDuel: $5,500)
I know what you’re thinking. What in the actual hell am I doing accepting these players as my recommendations? I have been extremely solid at suggesting the wide receiver position in DFS and I look to continue the trend this week as well. You need a little risk to reap the benefits of the reward when it comes to these DFS slates and I’m loving John Brown in this matchup. Of course, we will have to follow injury reports to make sure he stays healthy enough to play but this is a beautiful matchup just waiting for him to come back to. The Seattle Seahawks are just absolutely bleeding points to the wide receiver position more than any other team in the league. The Seahawks are giving up 57.7 PPR points a game to the wide receiver position. That’s a lot to divide up in a passing unit enough for everyone on it and enough for everyone on it to have a decent fantasy game. With this game having the highest over/under of the week sitting at 55, there is just too much to like in this one. He is a great stacking option with Josh Allen if you want to save money pivoting off Stefon Diggs.
Honorable Mention: Laviska Shenault (DraftKings: $4,200 / FanDuel: $5,400)
Deep Sea Dive: Darnell Mooney (DraftKings: $3,900 / FanDuel: $5,500)
Tight Ends
Noah Fant (DraftKings: $4,600 / FanDuel: $5,800)
The Atlanta Falcons give up the most points week in and week out to the tight end position, enough said. Just kidding, I always have more to say. But it is still the main idea here considering the Atlanta Falcons have given up at least 55 yards or a touchdown to every single tight end they’ve faced, with the exception of Ian Thomas. I don’t know if you’ve followed my other articles but let’s just say I think Ian Thomas is an absolute bum and it makes total sense that he is the only player not to of accomplished anything against a defense so weak at defending the position. Noah Fant is seeing a 20% target share from Drew Lock, which is second on his team, and at that rate, he is an absolute no-brainer pick going up against the Falcons this week and he comes at a great price for the upside he has in this contest.
Evan Engram (DraftKings: $4,300 / FanDuel: $5,500)
Do I really do this again? Do I let Evan Engram hurt me? Well yeah, of course I’m going to because I clearly love pain, seeing as I threw David Montgomery out there so let’s keep pouring salt into the wounds. But really, Evan Engram is talented and I think he’s finally getting used more in the offense and getting the dust knocked off of him to set him up for a game such as this one against the Washington Football Team. I understand this isn’t going to seem encouraging seeing as the last time these two teams met, Engram only recorded 2 receptions for 30 yards. But we’ve seen a different Evan Engram of late and I have a lot more confidence getting him into a lineup. He ranks 3rd among tight ends in targets and in the last two weeks, he has seen a total of 19 targets. That’s super encouraging, and seeing as he’s yet to find the end zone this season, I think Engram can find his way in this one. I mean, he can’t possibly go touchdown-less the whole season with all these opportunities, can he?
Honorable Mention: Hunter Henry (DraftKings: $4,000/ FanDuel: $5,600)
Deep Sea Dive: Jordan Akins (DraftKings: $3,300 / FanDuel: $4,800)
D/ST
Houston Texans vs Jacksonville Jaguars (DraftKings: $3,100 / FanDuel: $3,700)
Arizona Cardinals vs Miami Dolphins (DraftKings: $2,900 / FanDuel: $4,300)
Honorable Mention: New York Giants vs Washington Football Team (DraftKings: $2,700 / FanDuel: $4,100)
Deep Sea Dive: Atlanta Falcons vs Denver Broncos (DraftKings: $2,500 / FanDuel: $3,300)
Looking for more great Week 9 content? Check out Josh’s Confidence Plays and Ryan’s Streams of the Week!