DFS

On the heels of a straight-up embarrassing romp of the Washington Football Team, Dak Prescott and the Cowboys host the Cardinals. Over the past four games, Arizona has allowed the No. 7 most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks. Pair Prescott up with Amari Cooper, who led the team in Week 16 with a season-high 27.5-percent Target Share.

Projecting at only 1.2-percent ownership, Dalton Schultz looks like the most overlooked piece from the Cowboys side of the ball. Schultz gets a great game environment in a weather-controlled dome in a game ranked No. 1 in Pace of Play. Schultz has shown tournament-winning upside while surpassing 20 DKPt in back-to-back games. The Cardinals have been suspect within 10 yards of the LOS allowing a 55-percent Pass Rate in that area where Shultz mostly operates.

The Terry McLaurin contrarian play narrative continues after an underwhelming 7 fantasy point performance last week in a blow out against the Cowboys. McLaurin has still seen at least 65 Air Yards the past four games despite averaging 4.8 fantasy points per game during this time span. Something has to give. Perhaps it does this week against the Eagles.

Marvin Jones and the Jaguars have an implied team point total of 13 points against a stout Patriots defense this week. He is perhaps a bit too contrarian of a play despite finishing as the WR20 last week seeing 157 Air Yards. However, at only $4,400 he makes for a low cost tournament dart though that has the peripheral stats to greatly outperform that price.

The High Value Touch DFS Index is here to help you find the best plays for the dollar in DFS. This is done by looking at leaders in Carries Inside The 10-Yard Line Per Game and Targets Inside The 10-Yard Line Per Game and comparing their prices on DraftKings and FanDuel to create a rating. We look at these touches close to the end zone because touchdowns lead to fantasy points, and fantasy points lead to cashing our lineups in DFS!

David Montgomery is the top value play at running back this week and would use in both cash games and tournaments. The remaining players in the index are in shared backfields. If they come up in a lineup generator for MME entries into tournaments, that is fine, but they are too risky for cash games, single entry, and three-max tournaments.
 

The best way to cut through the field like a hot knife through butter is by unlocking a unique player with sky-high upside. When assessing your last selections, in particular from teams such as the Chiefs, Buccaneers, or Packers, of which the entrenched skill players are selected early, prioritize contingent value. Essentially, if a player at their position gets COVID, who is most likely to benefit, and how great is that benefit?

Trey Lance gets his second start Sunday, and what if he wins the last two games to secure the 49ers into the playoffs? Would Kyle Shanahan really turn away from the man he mortgaged his future for? The highest ceiling version of this team is with Lance unlocking a newfound ceiling, and providing elite fantasy production on the ground as San Francisco challenges for a title.

Veteran wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders is set for big opportunity in pivotal division matchup today against the Patriots. The Bills will be without both Cole Beasley and Gabriel Davis, resulting in a target void that Sanders will have to fill on team that runs 38.4 (No. 4) Team Pass Plays Per Game. And the icing on the cake for this line is that Sanders has a 16.2 (No. 3 among qualified wide receivers) Average Target Distance, demonstrating that he will hit this line in the first half with his presumed spike in volume.

The theme of the picks thus far has been COVID-19/injury induced opportunity. Another prime example of this is the Damien Harris rushing line on Underdog Fantasy. The Patriots will be without Rhamondre Stevenson and potentially Brandon Bolden, leaving Harris with the lion’s share of carries against a Buffalo team that has allowed 170 rushing yards per game in the last three games. Harris torched the Bills in Week 13 with 111 yards on 10 carries and while his efficiency will certainly regress, his opportunity will boom on a team with 28.4 (No. 8) Team Run Plays Per Game.

Ladies and gentleman, through 15 weeks of the NFL season I present to you your Air Yards leader, Justin Jefferson. He also leads the league in Air Yards Share as he has been THE Vikings passing game sans Adam Thielen. He is also only 79 Unrealized Air Yards away from leading the league in this category. Jefferson is an elite triple crown contender in all things Air Yards. Even with Thielen looking like he will return this week, the Jefferson airplane is already at Mach 5 and gaining speed.

Emmanuel Sanders appears to be the last man standing after both Cole Beasley and the intriguing Gabriel Davis were ruled out of this week’s game against the Patriots with COVID-19. Assuming Sanders is back at full health, he should have no issue seeing boom-or-bust downfield targets from Josh Allen. He should be someone you want exposure to in tournaments.

Two weeks of rest (a missed week due to injury and a bye week) seemed to be all that was needed for Jalen Hurts to return from an ankle sprain unscathed. With more opportunities on offense and another week removed from injury, he should be deployed even more as a rusher. Despite ranking dead last in aFPA to opposing quarterbacks, the Giants have also had trouble on the ground. Hurts’ 2.3 Red Zone Carries Per Game has led to his league leading 10 Rushing Touchdowns. Giddyup!

Dallas Goedert provides a nice value/ceiling combo at $5,100. The versatile tight end has eclipsed 100 receiving yards in back to back games for the Eagles. In Weeks 13 and 15, Goedert saw Target Shares of 27-percent and 35-percent (Week 14 was a bye). While you can run Hurts naked (without a pairing), Goedert looks to be the preferred stacking option with Hurts.

A savvy way to attack this slate for daily fantasy football tournaments is stacking Joe Burrow with Ja’Marr Chase against the burnable Ravens secondary. With recent inconsistencies and big days from his teammates, Chase should go underplayed this week which presents an appealing leverage opportunity for DFS tournaments. Another tactic involves playing the less popular side of the biggest shooutout. This week that’s Kirk Cousins and Justin Jefferson who is simply seeing too much volume to be worried about CB matchups.

The High Value Touch DFS Index is here to help you find the best plays for the dollar in DFS. This is done by looking at leaders in Carries Inside The 10-Yard Line Per Game and Targets Inside The 10-Yard Line Per Game and comparing their prices on DraftKings and FanDuel to create a rating. We look at these touches close to the end zone because touchdowns lead to fantasy points, and fantasy points lead to cashing our lineups in DFS!

Similar to last week, this is a tough week to find good reliable values in the index. Najee Harris is a good tournament play, Josh Jacobs is one of the better overall plays too. In cash games, many are going to look for the fill-ins for inactive running backs such as Alexander Mattison, Ronald Jones, and Justin Jackson as well..
 

Offseason best ball debates raged on about whether maximizing advancement or ‘super-teams’ was a stronger strategy. While this divide played out on the margins, it is front and centre in playoff best ball. The inclusion of two first round byes adds a layer complication to the strategy. If you stack both bye-teams you are virtually drawing dead to advance past round one, with even one bye-stack hurting your odds.

In general, I think 1QB or 2QB builds are viable. If your quarterback’s team is unlikely to receive a bye, you are likely reliant on them playing four games to win the tournament anyhow. Given you likely drafted three of his skill players, I think it is reasonable to say your team is so reliant on him having strong fantasy production each game anyhow, pairing him is redundant. However, it comes down to a cost, benefit analysis.