DraftKings Sleepers & Lineup Advice: NFL Wildcard Weekend

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DraftKings Sleepers & Lineup Advice

All season long, Gridiron Experts has talked about the ability to maximize value by finding 3 times a players DraftKings salary. In cash games, where it’s safe to assume that 150 daily fantasy points scored will win you money, simple math tells us that we need to triple (3X) the DraftKings given salary of $50K to get there (3X $50,000/1000= 150 Points).

As we are not publishing fantasy projections for the NFL playoffs with fantasy football season being over, I thought this week as a helpful guide I would talk about the potential of some of this weekends players chances of reaching that 3X goal in Draftkings. I’ve gone ahead and done the math for you to make life easier.

Quarterbacks

DraftKings Quarterbacks
Team	Name	Salary	3X Goal	Avg	Game
	Aaron Rodgers	7900	23.7	25.564	NYG@GB
	Ben Roethlisberger	7600	22.8	19.94	Mia@Pit
	Russell Wilson	7000	21	18.254	Det@Sea
	Eli Manning	6100	18.3	16.011	NYG@GB
	Matthew Stafford	5700	17.1	18.986	Det@Sea
	Brock Osweiler	5100	15.3	12.399	Oak@Hou
	Matt Moore	5100	15.3	9.623	Mia@Pit
	Connor Cook	5000	15	2.667	Oak@Hou

The salary and overall budgeting of daily fantasy costs can make it hard for the average DFS player to figure out true value. Aaron Rodgers 3X goal of gaining 23.7 DraftKings points seems very obtainable. Yet, spending that much on your QB will make life difficult to build a lineup that doesn’t involve a high-risk player in your flex spot. There are just four games this weekend, and with a high probability that Rodgers is the top owned quarterback I think I would rather build my team with a cheaper gunslinger and have money to spend on better options at wide receiver and in the Flex spot.

Eli Manning’s price point makes him the middle ground QB this week, but considering how the Giants offense can be so hot and cold from week to week, he’s also a difficult start in my opinion.

As much as Twitter has been making a laughing stock out of the Connor Cook vs. Brock Osweiler battle this Saturday, I’m tempted to take the contrarian approach and pick one of them as my QB. With reasonable 3X goals of just 15 points (15.3 for Brock) I feel I could get lucky and make it work. You may think I’m crazy, but 280 yards and a touchdown is all it’ll take for each of these two QB’s to reach their 3X goal, and you’ll save $2,800 in the process to spend on other positions.

No matter who you decide to go with this week, I think it’s fair to assume that stacking your QB with the teams top WR is a smart strategy. Yet to go one step further, I would also say you should throw in the stacking of the Tight End as well. Outside of Jimmy Graham, this playoff round doesn’t feature too many big name Tight Ends. If I were to pick a guy like Brock Osweiler, I think I would add not just Nuk but C.J. Fiedorowicz for safe measures.

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DraftKings Running Backs
Team	Name	Salary	3X Goal	Avg	Game
	Le’Veon Bell	10300	30.9	28.033	Mia@Pit
	Jay Ajayi	6800	20.4	15.22	Mia@Pit
	Lamar Miller	6100	18.3	14.579	Oak@Hou
	Thomas Rawls	5700	17.1	8.722	Det@Sea
	DeAngelo Williams	5600	16.8	10.31	Mia@Pit
	Ty Montgomery	5500	16.5	9.633	NYG@GB
	Latavius Murray	5000	15	15.371	Oak@Hou
	C.J. Prosise	4600	13.8	10.167	Det@Sea
	Zach Zenner	4500	13.5	6.714	Det@Sea
	Alex Collins	4500	13.5	3.355	Det@Sea
	Alfred Blue	4300	12.9	4.5	Oak@Hou
	Rashad Jennings	4200	12.6	10.646	NYG@GB
	Aaron Ripkowski	4100	12.3	2.913	NYG@GB
	Paul Perkins	4100	12.3	5.7	NYG@GB
	Fitzgerald Toussaint	4000	12	0.756	Mia@Pit
	Damien Williams	3600	10.8	6.293	Mia@Pit
	Jalen Richard	3400	10.2	7.219	Oak@Hou
	Dwayne Washington	3400	10.2	4.058	Det@Sea
	Christine Michael	3400	10.2	9.4	NYG@GB
	DeAndre Washington	3300	9.9	5.747	Oak@Hou
	Akeem Hunt	3300	9.9	2.1	Oak@Hou
	Taiwan Jones	3000	9	0.577	Oak@Hou
	Jonathan Grimes	3000	9	3.29	Oak@Hou
	Jay Prosch	3000	9	0.167	Oak@Hou
	Jamize Olawale	3000	9	3.588	Oak@Hou
	Tyler Ervin	3000	9	0.258	Oak@Hou
	Marcel Reece	3000	9	3.55	Det@Sea
	Joique Bell	3000	9	0.2	Det@Sea

Running Backs

[the_ad id=”63198″]Thomas Rawls has the perfect matchup, but I feel we’ve been in this situation before. The Seahawks are happy the second year RB is active, but I think deep down they’re concerned about how much they can rely on him. Rawls has had a tough season dealing with nagging injuries, but if there was ever a time to get hot, now would be that time.

Zach Zenner’s DraftKings salary has adjusted immensely in just one week (40% increase from week 17). The football world has clearly taken notice of this kids bruising running style and been impressed with his soft hands. I love watching Zenner run with the ball, but feel his 3X goal of 13.5 points might be tough to achieve against a very stout Seahawks run Defense. With limited sleeper choices, he did find his way on to a handful of Multiplier lineups for me.

DraftKings Wide Receivers
Team	Name	Salary	3X Goal	Avg	Game
	Antonio Brown	9400	28.2	21.287	Mia@Pit
	Odell Beckham Jr.	9100	27.3	19.35	NYG@GB
	Jordy Nelson	8000	24	20.044	NYG@GB
	Doug Baldwin	7000	21	16.413	Det@Sea
	DeAndre Hopkins	6700	20.1	12.713	Oak@Hou
	Golden Tate	6300	18.9	14.569	Det@Sea
	Davante Adams	5600	16.8	16.231	NYG@GB
	Michael Crabtree	5300	15.9	15.519	Oak@Hou
	Amari Cooper	5200	15.6	15.269	Oak@Hou
	Jarvis Landry	5100	15.3	15.331	Mia@Pit
	Sterling Shepard	4800	14.4	11.713	NYG@GB
	Will Fuller V	4400	13.2	9.586	Oak@Hou
	DeVante Parker	4200	12.6	10.693	Mia@Pit
	Marvin Jones Jr.	4100	12.3	11.887	Det@Sea
	Anquan Boldin	4000	12	10.838	Det@Sea
	Jermaine Kearse	4000	12	6.131	Det@Sea
	Eli Rogers	4000	12	9.923	Mia@Pit
	Randall Cobb	4000	12	11.638	NYG@GB
	Kenny Stills	3800	11.4	10.725	Mia@Pit
	Victor Cruz	3800	11.4	6.84	NYG@GB
	Paul Richardson	3400	10.2	3.753	Det@Sea
	Geronimo Allison	3300	9.9	4.42	NYG@GB
	Keith Mumphery	3000	9	1.536	Oak@Hou
	Andre Holmes	3000	9	2.788	Oak@Hou
	Seth Roberts	3000	9	6.981	Oak@Hou
	Johnny Holton	3000	9	0.58	Oak@Hou
	Wendall Williams	3000	9	3.833	Oak@Hou
	Andre Roberts	3000	9	3.113	Det@Sea
	TJ Jones	3000	9	4.767	Det@Sea
	Tanner McEvoy	3000	9	2.623	Det@Sea
	Kasen Williams	3000	9	0	Det@Sea
	Jace Billingsley	3000	9	0	Det@Sea
	Darrius Heyward-Bey	3000	9	3.764	Mia@Pit
	Cobi Hamilton	3000	9	4.764	Mia@Pit
	Sammie Coates	3000	9	5.779	Mia@Pit
	Rashawn Scott	3000	9	0	Mia@Pit
	Jakeem Grant	3000	9	0.319	Mia@Pit
	Leonte Carroo	3000	9	0.85	Mia@Pit
	Demarcus Ayers	3000	9	8.05	Mia@Pit
	Dwayne Harris	3000	9	0.456	NYG@GB
	Tavarres King	3000	9	1	NYG@GB
	Trevor Davis	3000	9	0.945	NYG@GB
	Jeff Janis	3000	9	2.256	NYG@GB
	Roger Lewis	3000	9	2.208	NYG@GB

[the_ad id=”66786″]Seems like every wide receiver in this group over $4,000 could easily reach their 3X goal in my opinion. Road Dogs like the Dolphins, Raiders and Lions will need to take to the air at some point. Kenny Stills 3X goal of 11.3 points could be achieved with just one big catch. Some would say he’s risky, but over the last four weeks Stills has had at least 12.2 DraftKings points.

Guys like Anquan Boldin always seem to step up when needed. If I could pick only one WR to score for the Lions this week I would probably pick him. He’s a redzone beast and a trusted veteran target for Matthew Stafford. The Lions will need to keep drives alive and hope Stafford’s injured finger doesn’t affect too many passes. The Lions have lost three in a row, all to NFC playoff teams including a tough one to the Packers last Sunday Night.

The Giants at Packers game is going to be a lot of fun. This NFC showdown should be the highest scoring game of the week despite the Steelers and Dolphins having the higher over/under. I really like Davante Adams to shine in this contest. He had 5 receptions for 85 and a score against the Giants in week 5 and considering his 3X goal is a modest 16.8 points I believe he could easily get there as long as he finds the endzone.

No surprise that the Raiders at Texans game has one of the lowest over/under totals in decades for a playoff game, but both teams could surprise us with taking some deep shots off play action pass. The more conservative team will likely lose this contest. It’s the playoffs, time to step up or get lost. I like DeAndre Hopkins 3X goal of 20.1 despite his season average. The Texans will feed him the ball and I wouldn’t be surprised if he had 7+ catches. The Raiders will also need to find ways of getting their top two receivers more targets. I’m optimistic this game is better than most people are predicting. Don’t overlook the value.

DraftKings Tight Ends
Team	Name	Salary	3X Goal	Avg	Game
	Jimmy Graham	5300	15.9	12.519	Det@Sea
	Ladarius Green	4500	13.5	9.567	Mia@Pit
	C.J. Fiedorowicz	4200	12.6	8.927	Oak@Hou
	Eric Ebron	3900	11.7	11.092	Det@Sea
	Jared Cook	3600	10.8	7.57	NYG@GB
	Jesse James	3000	9	5.675	Mia@Pit
	Ryan Griffin	2900	8.7	6.575	Oak@Hou
	Will Tye	2800	8.4	5.844	NYG@GB
	Mychal Rivera	2500	7.5	3.323	Oak@Hou
	Clive Walford	2500	7.5	5.793	Oak@Hou
	Stephen Anderson	2500	7.5	2.023	Oak@Hou
	Clay Harbor	2500	7.5	0.327	Det@Sea
	Matthew Mulligan	2500	7.5	0.225	Det@Sea
	Luke Willson	2500	7.5	3.627	Det@Sea
	Brandon Williams	2500	7.5	0.35	Det@Sea
	Nick Vannett	2500	7.5	0.689	Det@Sea
	David Johnson	2500	7.5	1.063	Mia@Pit
	MarQueis Gray	2500	7.5	1.963	Mia@Pit
	Dion Sims	2500	7.5	5.4	Mia@Pit
	Xavier Grimble	2500	7.5	2.9	Mia@Pit
	Dominique Jones	2500	7.5	2.122	Mia@Pit
	Thomas Duarte	2500	7.5	0	Mia@Pit
	Larry Donnell	2500	7.5	2.086	NYG@GB
	Richard Rodgers	2500	7.5	4.319	NYG@GB
	Jerell Adams	2500	7.5	2.631	NYG@GB

Jimmy Graham might end the week with the highest ownership percentage for a Tight End of the year. There aren’t too many sexy choices here although I do like Ladarius Green if he’s healthy. My bold prediction of the week will be that a Tight End in the $3,000 price range will reach 4 maybe even 5X his goal. A guy like Mychal Rivera or Will Tye could ruin a league if they get lucky in the redzone.

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