Finding Paydirt: Week 15

by Joe Cistaro (joeycis) Last Updated 2019-12-13 16:36:59

Touchdowns, while extremely variant, make or break daily fantasy success and swing thousands of dollars every Sunday. Every weekend, players wait anxiously for the players on their roster to find paydirt. The purpose of the contest is to provide an opportunity for the RotoGrinders community to come together and have fun as we spend much of our time during the week stressing over the construction of our weekly lineups. Did I mention there will be prizes? Let’s have some fun!

Happy Friday, Grinders! Week 14 has come and gone leaving us with three main slates left in the NFL season. It feels like just yesterday I was transitioning from picking home runs to picking touchdowns. Now, we are left with three weeks to accumulate as many touchdowns as possible. Let’s do this!

First-time reader? Welcome! Read through Finding Paydirt: 2019 Contest Guidelines for information about the contest and prizes. Ready? Let’s play.

Let’s make some cuts.

The Cut List

Simply put, to compete in this contest you must pick a running back, wide receiver, and tight end to score a touchdown on Sunday. The player must be on the DraftKings Main Slate and cannot be any of the players below. These players are the top five at both RB and WR and the top three at TE — I nix them hoping to make the contest more interesting.

With more games on the main slate, the cut list truly hinges on which teams play in prime time. The Thursday night affair between the Ravens and Jets did not really eliminate any high-profile plays. The Sunday night game between the Steelers and Bills will not eliminate any studs either. Monday night’s contest between the Colts and Saints takes away Michael Thomas but otherwise, we will have plenty of options. We will likely see a ton of touchdowns this week. Who will score them?

It is time for the Week 15 picks.

Saquon Barkley – RB – $7,700

This time has come. DraftKings had no choice but to continue pricing down Saquon Barkley to a point where he is in play for our contest. The problem? He has been pretty bad.

That said, two factors are working in his favor. First, opportunities keep knocking on Saquon’s door despite the results. Barkley is north of 17 rushing attempts the last three weeks despite the Giants’ woes. He has four red zone attempts during that time frame and a scoring target. I don’t want to hear how the Giants might rest him. He played 96% of snaps last week.

Factor number two you ask? The matchup. The Dolphins are terrible. I am writing off the performance against the Jets because, well, the Jets are not a consistent offense. I know the Giants have not been consistent either. Yet, the Giants are getting weapons back even though Eli Manning will be pulling the trigger. At the minimum, Saquon should see his normal escape valve targets. The home crowd is thirsty for some excitement. I think Saquon score multiple times on Sunday.

Kenny Golladay – WR – $7,200

I don’t know about you but I think it is about that time for Kenny Golladay to Blough up. No, I know it’s not pronounced blow like blow a bubble. Shut up! It’s a joke. Okay, moving on.

The Buccaneers matchup is tasty. The Bucs represent the best matchup for fantasy wide receiver scoring (46.65 FPPG) per GridironIQ. Golladay will find ways to get open and has already displayed an ability to make plays regardless of his quarterback. Marvin Jones was just placed on the IR — leaving Golladay as the main feature in the red zone. Golladay’s 22.6% share of targets in the red zone this season is pretty strong. Jones had a 29.6% share. Golladay should see more calls his way against a pretty bad passing defense. Get your funnels out, ladies and gentlemen.

Dallas Goedert – TE – $4,300

As per usual, the tight end position is tricky. I am looking at an injury situation that might lead to some additional work.

The Eagles placed Alshon Jeffery on the IR as they continue to fight for a playoff spot in the NFC. With the NFC East up for grabs, we might see an emphasis on multiple-tight end sets in Philadelphia for the rest of the season. When Jeffery sat for two weeks in November, Dallas Goedert saw six and eight targets, converting seven for catches in the latter. Goedert saw a red zone target and picked up three red-zone targets a couple of weeks ago when the Eagles were without Nelson Agholor.

Goedert should be featured against a middling defense at best against the tight end position. We could do way worse at this position.

Thanks for checking out this week’s article. Leave your touchdown picks in the comments for a chance at winning monthly and seasonal prizes.

Image Credit: USA Today Sports Images