I have just one question for all of you Kash Grab lovers on this, as always, “Happy Saturday” afternoon. Did you miss me? Because like a phoenix rising from the ashes, I am BACK this week after a short-lived break to provide all of my faithful DFS’ers the top-notch value plays once again. So I hope you were able to hold your own last week without me, and I have been able to help you in some capacity to navigate the DFS landscape to push us through with some winning lineups and onto the Week 11 slate.
I know my audience is smart because I have seen you in my direct messages week after week with the lineups you’ve already built before Kash Grabs even drops to let me know you’re waiting to see the article to make some adjustments. But a lot of you have been reading my mind! I think you know my picks even before I do. It’s freaking me out a little bit, actually, so maybe I’m going to have to change up my strategy and become a little less predictable. Nothing comes easy around here on Club Fantasy except for maybe this Sunday’s slate.
I mean, I’ve already said it, but you guys are smart, and there are a lot of value plays this week. I mean a freakin’ lot of them because it’s to the point where I can’t fit it all in, and that is going to mean a ton of variance in lineups this week and ways to win. So let’s just get the easy stuff out of the way by saying yes, A.J. Dillion is chalk, and go ahead and play all of the Chiefs and Cowboys that you possibly can shove into one lineup because of the expected fireworks to go off in that game. But the rebel in me is just dying to be different, so I tried to change the course here this week in my article and give you some guys that maybe not everyone is talking about or has been overlooked because you know it’s Tyreek Hill and Michael Gallup or bust.
Starting out with my new level of unpredictability, you will be seeing Jalen Hurts immediately plugged into my quarterback value play, so I don’t know who I’m kidding but let’s be real here — I had to stay on brand or it just wouldn’t be me. So enough of the jibber-jabber, and as much as we’ve missed each other and want to get caught up on what’s new and improved in our lives after the one-week absence, let’s just cut to the chase. It’s time to kash out!
Be sure to tune into DFS and Chill, Club Fantasy’s Weekly DFS show every Sunday at 11 AM EST. Kyra will be joined by Aaron Larson from The Fantasy Footballers and Team Rise or Fall!
QUARTERBACKS
Aaron Rodgers (Draftkings: $7,000 / Fanduel: $7,700)
I want to start off by saying I’m extremely high on Davante Adams this week, and because of that reasoning, I find myself liking and leaning toward an Aaron Rodgers stack. The Green Bay Packers are facing the Minnesota Vikings. With both of these teams being very familiar with each other, I have to believe somewhat that if anybody is going to crack the code on how to give the Packers defense a run for their money, I’d be willing to bet some familiarity will do the Vikings and this game total some good.
I think Rodgers is a good pivot off of guys like Prescott and Mahomes, who will wind up being super popular, and for good reason. But this game could also present itself with sneaky fantasy potential. I especially can get on board with this idea when the Minnesota Vikings give me 2020 defense vibes. Last year, facing off against each other, Aaron Rodgers boasted stat lines of 364 yards and four touchdowns, along with 291 yards and three touchdowns. So while all the hype this week has all eyes on A.J. Dillon, let’s zig while they zag and draw our attention to Rodgers. The Packers are rolling once again, and I see no reason why Rodgers wouldn’t want to get people talking about him for good reasons instead of all the negative publicity he’s been surrounded in lately.
Jalen Hurts (Draftkings: $6,800 / Fanduel: $7,700)
The king of consistency has returned. Another week and another article of Jalen Hurts continually at a value. Honestly, whenever his matchup is good, I think it’s actually worse for Hurts than when it is bad. Because when the Eagles are playing poorly, Jalen Hurts is weirdly playing well for fantasy football. So do we love the matchup here for Philly against the Saints? No. God, no. But they actually aren’t too shabby when it comes to fantasy matchups. They are allowing the 4th-most fantasy points per game to the quarterback position, and Hurts has found success against them before.
Last year, as a rookie, Jalen Hurts debuted against New Orleans, a team who was stout versus the run and boasted a tough defense that had him rushing for 106 yards and put up nearly 20 fantasy points. I’d like to believe Hurts has much improved since that point and has seemed to look better every week. The Eagles current game plan to run the hell out of the ball isn’t going to get the job done in this one seeing as the Saints have a tough run defense yet again this year, and Jalen is going to have to put a little more weight on his shoulders in this one to get it done. I think Hurts is a value yet again, and he provides us a pretty safe floor and high ceiling as usual. I know the low implied game total might draw some people away, but no matter the score, Jalen has got it done for us all year, and he’s another excellent pivot off the chalk plays at QB this week. He’s a staple in a lot of my lineups this week.
Honorable Mention: Jimmy Garoppolo (Draftkings: $5,600 / Fanduel: $7,100)
Deep Sea Dive: Cam Newton (Draftkings: $5,100 / Fanduel: $7,500)
RUNNING BACKS
Joe Mixon (Draftkings: $7,600 / Fanduel: $7,600)
Why is nobody talking about Joe Mixon this week in a cake matchup versus the Las Vegas Raiders? Perplexing to me because he’s been on absolute fire. He’s the real smokin’ Joe in this Bengals offense. In three of his last four games, Mixon has put up 25+ DraftKings points, and it’s like nobody even seems to care. I know we want to go heavy on our Christian McCaffery’s and Dalvin Cook’s of the world, but like, hey, don’t skip over Joe Mixon while you’re scrolling because the guy is a total value play worth plugging in.
The guy has scored in every game but two this season, and the success should easily continue here. He’s a safe play and the common theme of the week is pivot off the chalk, and I think that Joe Mixon is a great option. Not that it’s anything wild, but this matchup has a 50-point over/under, and yeah, that sounds nice and all, but given that it’s one of only three games with a 50+ implied total, I’d be looking to get some pieces in that.
James Conner (Draftkings: $6,100 / Fanduel: $7,200)
Death, taxes, and James Conner scoring touchdowns, am I right? It’s Week 11, and James Conner has 12 freaking touchdowns. He leads the NFL in rushing touchdowns and is about as automatic as it comes when we’re talking about value plays. It’s also another week without Chase Edmonds to challenge him for touches, and that just means another week of excellent scoring opportunity on a great offense. If Kyler Murray is suited up for this game, then I am even more of a full go in putting James Conner in my DFS lineups this week.
The Seattle Seahawks have been a very soft defense against the run, allowing the 3rd-most fantasy points per game to opposing running backs averaging about 24.5 points per game allotted to them. Eno Benjamin is not going to do much damage seeing as he only saw 32% of snaps last week and just doesn’t stand as much of a threat to Conner’s production. Conner was out there for 82% of the snaps, and if you think A.J. Dillon is the guy this week, then it’s probably because a lot of that had to do with how good he looked against this crumby Seattle defense last week. Fire up Conner with the utmost confidence to smash his value.
Honorable Mention: Myles Gaskin (Draftkings: $5,700 / Fanduel: $6,200)
Deep Sea Dive: David Montgomery (Draftkings: $5,500 / Fanduel: $6,800)
WIDE RECEIVERS
Brandin Cooks (Draftkings: $6,000 / Fanduel: $6,600)
Draftkings and FanDuel just dually refuse to respect what Brandin Cooks is doing and hardly ever changes his pricing. He has a damn near 30% target share, which is of an elite company in the NFL. Only Cooper Kupp, Deebo Samuel, and Davante Adams have a higher percentage. That is god damn crazy, and we’d be a bunch of fools not to plug him into our lineups at the every-week value but especially in A+ matchups. This week, that is precisely what we are getting, going up against the Tennessee Titans, who allow the 2nd most passing yards to quarterbacks and 3rd most fantasy points per game to opposing wide receivers. Let’s face it, people, Brandin Cooks is this whole offense. With the “upgrade” to Tyrod Taylor at quarterback, we should see Cooks’ value of touches increase as well. It could be an absolute smash spot for Cooks this week.
Jaylen Waddle (Draftkings: $5,600 / Fanduel: $6,700)
Why does Jaylen Waddle feel like the forgotten wide receiver of this rookie class? He’s played phenomenally, especially in the games he’s played with Tua Tagovailoa. He’s essentially operated as a low-end WR1 level receiver when paired up with Tua. He’s heavily targeted, and by heavily targeted, I mean he’s the highest targeted rookie in the NFL. So let’s not sleep on that, all you Ja’Marr Chase and Devonta Smith truthers (guilty) because in four of his last five games, he’s put up over 10+ Draftkings points and is averaging about 15.52 fantasy points per game in those previous five. He’s just way too cheap for what he is capable of, especially in this divisional matchup versus the New York Jets.
I actually like a lot of pieces in this game. Even if both the teams are bad, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s bad overall for fantasy because a lot of their strengths and weaknesses match up in areas we can exploit for fantasy. The New York Jets have allowed the most fantasy points per game to opposing wide receivers over these past five weeks, and the amount of volume Waddle is seeing is king when it comes to scoring points and smashing value. Jaylen Waddle and I go together like Lamb and Tua fish this week.
Honorable Mention: Tee Higgins (Draftkings: $5,400 / Fanduel: $6,500)
Deep Sea Dive: Quez Watkins (Draftkings: $3,700 / Fanduel: $5,300)
TIGHT ENDS
Mike Gesicki (Draftkings: $5,200 / Fanduel: $6,300)
Another Miami Dolphin? Couldn’t be me. But yet it is because that’s the Jets effect! Another great play this week at a value is our friend and foe (with a big fat zero last week), Mike Gesicki. Just what the hell was that? Dare we try this again? You betcha because I know many people don’t forget getting a zero, and he isn’t going to be the world’s most popular play, but the matchup is chef’s kiss. I mean, I know he didn’t record a single bloody reception last week, but he still saw seven targets if we want to find the silver lining. This is an excellent bounce-back spot for him against the Jets, who I just spoke about being absolutely terrible versus the pass. So with Waddle and Gesicki accounting for 44% of the Dolphins targets, I would have to say he is bound to make some noise this week. Scared money don’t make money, and I’m down to put Gesicki in some lineups.
Dalton Schultz (Draftkings: $4,600 / Fanduel: $6,000)
I think Dalton Schultz gets lost in the shuffle of this Kansas City vs. Dallas Cowboys matchup. Everyone will be running toward CeeDee Lamb and even Michael Gallup now without Amari Cooper in the lineup, but I think Schultz stands to benefit a ton in this one. He saw a dip in targets and snaps last week, likely due to the return of Michael Gallup but away goes a good amount of targets needing to be vacated in losing Amari Cooper to a positive COVID test. Other than Dak Prescott himself, Schultz has the more favorable matchup amongst all skill position players here, given the fact that the Kansas City Chiefs allow the 6th most fantasy points per game to opposing tight ends. Schultz is a great way to get exposure in the highest over/under of the slate while not being super chalky.
Honorable Mention: Cole Kmet (Draftkings: $3,400 / Fanduel: $5,100)
Deep Sea Dive: Adam Trautman (Draftkings: $3,300 / Fanduel: $4,800)
D/ST
Baltimore Ravens vs Chicago Bears (Draftkings: $3,300 / Fanduel: $4,500)
Cleveland Browns vs Detroit Lions (Draftkings: $3,100 / Fanduel: $5,000)
Honorable Mention: Philadelphia Eagles vs New Orleans Saints (Draftkings: $2,900 / Fanduel: $3,900)
Deep Sea Dive: Carolina Panthers vs Washington Football Team (Draftkings: $2,700 / Fanduel: $4,100)
