DraftKings Lineup Walkthrough: Week 17
SBK gives a detailed walkthrough of how he built his main cash-game lineup on DraftKings for NFL Week 17. He’ll offer his entire lineup and explain the thought process behind each pick.
Week 17 NFL DraftKings Lineup
With RotoGrinders already having solidified a playoff berth, the RG brass decided it was best to rest Notorious in Week 17 to prep for the playoffs. I’m filling in as the spot starter, and will of course be looking to put up some big numbers in hopes of a huge offseason contract extension. Best of luck to everyone in the regular season finale!
Teddy Bridgewater – I’m not sure why, but whenever I think about Teddy Bridgewater, I do it in Jon Gruden’s voice and I’ll tell ya what, I love it man (in case you’re curious, here’s the cause). Teddy B and the Vikings haven’t been in the playoff race recently, but they’ve continued to play hard and should want to put the final nail in the Bears coffin this week. Chicago has allowed the 2nd most fantasy points to opposing QBs this year and they haven’t shown any real signs of improvement lately, while Bridgewater is starting to mature late in the season. At $5,900, Bridgewater looks like a very solid $/point play.
C.J. Anderson – The Broncos need a win and face an Oakland defense that has been absolutely ravaged by the run this year. Anderson is getting all the work he can handle and as an above average contributor both on the ground and through the air, he’s an elite Week 17 option. While I’d rank him as the #3 back overall this week, he’s not priced as such. His touchdown upside is just another bonus.
Arian Foster – Foster’s player props helped make the decision between he and Le’Veon Bell, who I couldn’t quite find the cap room for. Houston is still playing for something and with a 1PM start, they’ll be going all out since they won’t know if they got the help they need to pick up a playoff spot. I’m expecting another heavy workload from Foster, and he’s one of the best bets of the day to find the end-zone.
Julio Jones – Atlanta/Carolina will be one of the more popular games to target today with the winner clinching a playoff berth. The game is played indoors on the fast track and Julio appears to be healthy enough to do serious damage to the Panthers secondary. Carolina’s defense has improved some as the season has progressed, but they should be no match for Jones in this spot. The only concern with Julio is the lack of red-zone targets, but he does rank 2nd in the league in total targets. Not having any Odell Beckham in cash games on DK is terrifying, but Jones is capable of matching his production, from a salary standpoint at least.
Kelvin Benjamin – I’m admittedly a little nervous about this one because I do believe in Desmond Trufant, but Benjamin’s size should give Atlanta’s shutdown corner problems and he’s already put forth an excellent stat line against this team earlier in 2014. There aren’t really any options in the passing game for Cam Newton outside of Benjamin and Greg Olsen, so with the Panthers coming in as underdogs, I’d expect each to end with around 10 targets. If Benjamin can turn one of those into a TD, he should meet value at his bargain price on DK.
Charles Johnson – In cash games, I’m not usually a big fan of pairing up my QB with one of his WRs, but the price here made it work for me. I really like Johnson’s athletic ability and now that he’s playing basically all of the offensive snaps, his floor has risen to a point where I’m comfortable with him in a cash lineup. I may be doomed if Bridgewater and Johnson both struggle, but that’s hard to imagine with the Bears on the schedule.
Mychal Rivera – Here’s where things get a little messy. I like Rivera as a player and he’s playing a fairly significant role in the Raiders offense, but he carries a fair amount of risk. At $3,300, I felt that he was safer than Tim Wright with very similar upside, so I pulled the trigger on Rivera thanks to the Broncos inability to stop TEs. Rivera posted a healthy line against Denver earlier this year, although a nice chunk of his production came late in garbage time. He’s likely to get another shot at a quarters worth of garbage time with Denver needing a win.
Devonta Freeman – With Steven Jackson out of the lineup, Freeman and Jacquizz Rodgers are both expected to see a bump in usage. While Rodgers will draw the start, Freeman is the better player and if Atlanta gets out to a lead, they are more likely to lean on him as the better between the tackles runner. There is obviously considerable risk playing a RB who isn’t even expected to start, but the game script should play in Freeman’s favor. This isn’t a play I feel particularly good about in a cash game, but I was okay with it as the last piece of the puzzle.
Texans D/ST – $3,200 seemed like a bargain for the Texans defense at home against the Jags. Blake Bortles is very turnover prone and the Jags lack any noteworthy talent at RB or WR, so this is a safe play with considerable upside. I wouldn’t be at all surprised to see Houston end up as the highest scoring unit of the day.