DraftKings Bargains: Week 16
Week 16 is championship week in most fantasy leagues, but every week is championship week in DFS where we get the opportunity to take home the gold and cold hard throughout the entire NFL season including the playoffs.
We have to be frugal in order to build the right DraftKings lineup. Sometimes we have to pay down for less attractive players in order to maximize the potential output of our rosters. Finding the values in the salary listings is crucial to getting an edge amongst the field.
With that being said, let’s take a look at this week’s bargains for DraftKings:
QUARTERBACK
Dwayne Haskins, WAS ($4,700)
Last week against the Philadelphia Eagles, Haskins completed 19 of his 28 passes for 261 yards and two touchdowns. He will get the chance to show off his skills against a deteriorating New York Giants secondary which is allowing 261.79 passing yards per game. The Redskins and the Giants both have six wins combined and are not even in spitting distance from reaching the playoffs. The over/under is set at 42 points. However, with both teams out of the hunt, we could see a chaotic game script.
It’s easy to make correlation stacks with Haskins. We know that Terry McLaurin is his prime target. McLaurin has the potential to blow up on any given week, making him always a great play for GPP tournaments. He is priced at a palatable $6,200 and has a lot of upside baked into his price point.
If you want to be sneakier than the Wet Bandits trying to Deebo some Christmas gifts from Kevin McCallister’s house, then you might want to slide some Steven Sims Jr. into your lineups along with Haskins. His salary is listed at $4,000 and he has led the team with 18 targets and 172 air yards in the last two weeks. Don’t be afraid to submit the trifecta-box by rostering Haskins, McLaurin, and Sims into your lineup.
Of course, with Haskins being priced at just $4,700 we are going to be able to jam in other higher-priced players into our lineups. This could allow us to get the running backs we want or allow us to pay up for Michael Thomas who is priced at $9,300. The world is your oyster, and Haskins’ pricing provides more options.
Other options: Andy Dalton $5,200, Gardner Minshew $5,500, Drew Lock $5,600
RUNNING BACK
DeAndre Washington, OAK ($4,000)
Josh Jacobs won’t be suiting up this week to play the Los Angeles Chargers. DeAndre Washington, who has played 63 percent of the snaps in Jones’ absence, is expected to be the next man up. He leads all Oakland running backs with 13 targets in the last three weeks. His usage in the passing game could make him an under-the-radar gem in Week 16.
There aren’t many running backs who are expected to see a full workload at Washington’s price point. We are buying his touches here and using his salary relief to fill the void at other positions. Naturally, since he’s a cheap option seeing a rise in workload, he will be a chalky play for this week’s slate.
We should use him as a bridge to make our lineups work. I recommend limiting your exposure to him just in case he doesn’t hit. You don’t want to be left holding the bag if he busts. Plus, it’s a good way to protect yourself from variance.
Other options: Miles Sanders $4,900, Kerryon Johnson $6,400, Joe Mixon $6,600
WIDE RECEIVER
John Ross, CIN ($4,200)
Start all players against the Miami Dolphins. After catching just four passes for just 52 yards in his last two games, Ross is looking to finish the season strong. The over/under is set at 46.5 points for this game. Since these are two bad teams with just four wins combined, this game could get messy quick. We could see a shootout or we could see a tight low-scoring game that’s a comedy of errors.
Ross caught 16 passes for 328 yards and three touchdowns while owning a 35 percent share of the Bengals air yards during the first four weeks of the season. He has speed for days and he should be regularly testing the Dolphins’ secondary who is allowing 257.86 passing yards per game.
He is a cheap contrarian option for your lineups. There are other players you could roll with at his price point. However, since he hasn’t been fantasy relevant since week two, he should see a rather low ownership rate since the field won’t be keying on him.
Don’t press the lock button on Ross. He is used best as a bridge that allows you to roster higher-priced players. If you want to get a little frisky, you can stack him with Andy Dalton who is priced at $5,200. I don’t recommend building the majority of your lineups around him, but I believe he is used best sparingly sprinkled in a few lineups.
Other options: Christian Kirk $5,600, DK Metcalf $5,900, Courtland Sutton $6,200
TIGHT END
Austin Hooper, ATL ($4,400)
Hooper hasn’t produced since coming back from a knee injury in week 14. In those two games, he faced tough matchups against the Carolina Panthers and the San Francisco 49ers, but he still saw 12 targets and 77 air yards in those contests.
He is looking to make things right against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Hooper should see an increased target share with Calvin Ridley now on the IR with an abdomen injury. As long as Julio Jones doesn’t erupt for 20 targets like he did last week against the 49ers, Hooper should see enough volume to make an impact in fantasy.
This is our chance to get Hooper at a discount while playing in a favorable matchup. He has the potential to post a TE1 week and will more than likely finish in the top five in scoring at his position. There aren’t many safe options in the $4,000 range at tight end, but Hooper is a guy you want to have in a large portion of your lineups.
Other options: Ian Thomas $3,100, Mike Gesicki $3,600, Noah Fant $3,700
