Geotico & JPiening's Week 14 DraftKings GPP Plays
This weekly article will focus on the top plays of the week as recommended by DraftKings Sunday $200,000 Winners, geotico and jpiening, and is focused on DraftKings GPP plays. While players such as Peyton Manning, Jamaal Charles, Calvin Johnson, and Jimmy Graham are always top plays at their respective positions, you won’t always find their names in this article. Our plays will focus mainly on the player’s potential scoring output while taking salary and matchup into account. Be sure to check the injury report on Sunday as this article is written on Saturday, to make sure all players listed are going to be active. Good luck!
Quarterbacks
Top Plays of the Week
Matthew Stafford – $10,100 – If you are going to pay up for a QB this weekend, Stafford is your guy. The Lions throw the ball as much as any team in the league so you know the volume is there, but it’s the matchup against the Eagles that makes this a great play. This game also has the highest over under of the week with a close spread so the potential is there for a 350 yard 4 TD game out of the 3rd highest scoring QB to date. Oh yeah, and he has Calvin Johnson … we’ll get to him later.
Josh McCown – $7400 – If this were Jay Cutler putting up these type of numbers, I would expect his salary to be over $8000. Instead you get a $7400 price tag on a guy that has put up over 48 points the last 2 weeks. The best part about McCown this week, however, is his matchup. He draws a Dallas secondary that has given up the 2nd most points to opposing QB’s on the year. Plug him into your lineup and watch your team rise up the rankings on Monday night.
Joe Flacco – $7000 – Let the picking on the Minnesota defense begin. I normally don’t even consider playing Flacco but this week is the exception. He’s only gone over 20 points 3 times all year, but Minnesota gives up the most points to opposing QB’s so he’ll have an opportunity to set a season high. With the possible return of Dennis Pitta to give him an extra weapon in the passing game, this Baltimore passing game could finally start living up to the expectations established during their Super Bowl run last season.
Matt Ryan – $6900 – Ryan has kind of been a forgotten man this season, outside of disappointing fantasy owners that spent a high draft pick on him in season long leagues. He finally has a healthy Roddy White and also draws a great matchup against a Green Bay secondary that has given up the 23rd most fantasy points per game to opposing QB’s on the year. Priced as the 20th most expensive QB, an over/under as the 4th highest of the weekend, and an offense that throws the ball the 3rd most coming into this week are just 3 reasons among many that Ryan is a great play this weekend.
Boom or Bust Play of the Week
Andy Dalton – $7400 – Dalton has been the definition of boom or bust the last 7 weeks with 3 games of 29+ points and 3 games of fewer than 15 points. I had him as a top play last week and he busted, but the boom factor is still there. He still has AJ Green to his disposal and this week has the Colts coming to town. The Colts have been allowing a lot of booms recently to opposing QB’s, so this might be the time to take advantage of Dalton’s lowest price tag in the past 4 weeks.
Salary Saver of the Week
Jason Campbell – $5500 – Brandon Weeden was in this spot last week and paid off. I like Campbell this week for many of the same reasons. Josh Gordon and Jordan Cameron are respectable weapons, and the Browns actually come into the weekend leading the league in pass attempts. While New England presents a greater challenge on the road than Jacksonville at home last week for the Browns, I expect the Browns to get down early and completely abandon the running game by the end of the 1st quarter. Look for Campbell to throw the ball 50+ times with the hopes of going over 300 yards and 2 TD’s.
Running Backs
Top Plays of the Week
Jamaal Charles – $8700 – No elaborate explanation needed here. Fantasy’s #1 RB draws a great matchup against a Redskins rush defense that has been getting shredded the past several weeks. He has been priced higher 5 times his year, so this is a great week to spend on Charles if you can afford it.
Demarco Murray – $7400 – It’s a shame Murray had to score 3 times last week to jump his price up $800. Murray has the best matchup of the weekend against a Bears team that gives up the most fantasy points to opposing running backs. Murray should see his workload increase even more with the injury suffered by Dunbar last week, and with Tony Romo ’s history in December, I expect the Cowboys to rely heavily on Murray this week.
Eddie Lacy – $7400 – Lacy may scare a lot of people off after his dud on Thanksgiving day, but I’m not one of those people. Atlanta has been towards the bottom of the league all season in points given up to running backs, and they have done nothing recently to change that. Lacy has been at his best at home, averaging nearly 30 yards per game more at Lambeau than on the road. Looks for the Packers to establish Lacy early and often, resulting in a big day for the rookie.
Marshawn Lynch – $7100 – Unfortunately DraftKings sets salaries for players that play on Monday night previous to the game or Lynch’s salary could be even lower after Monday night’s dud. This is his 3rd lowest salary of the season and it’s because he’s playing San Francisco. Don’t let that scare you off Lynch though. San Francisco is middle of the pack against running backs, and Lynch put up 34.5 when they played earlier this year. Get yourself a bag of Skittles and chow down with Lynch after every score.
Boom or Bust Play of the Week
Ray Rice – $5900 – Rice has been one of the biggest disappointments in all of fantasy this season, with way more busts than booms. He’s scored in single digits 5 times and has scored over 25 only 2 times. Those 2 times have come in great matchups, and this week Rice has another great matchup against a Minnesota D that gives up the 2nd most points to opposing RB’s. Rice is still getting plenty of opportunities, both in the receiving game and red zone, he has rarely cashed in. Rice has a good chance to go over 25 points for the 3rd time this year on Sunday
Salary Saver of the Week
Lamar Miller – $5000 – Miller is the cheapest running back of the week that will handle the lion’s share of the running back duties for his team. He has been stuck in a time share with Daniel Thomas all year, but with Thomas out, Miller has a chance to shine. In the 3 games this season where Miller has received 15+ carries, he’s averaged 14 points per game, while scoring 0 TD’s in those games. I expect him to get close to the 22 carries he got last week, and if he can get into the end zone, look for him to get close to 20 points against a Steelers D that is middle of the pack against opposing RB’s.
Wide Receivers
Top Plays of the Week
Calvin Johnson – $10,500 – Johnson is the highest priced receiver of the week and for good reason. He draws a matchup against the Eagles, who have given up the most points to opposing receivers on the year. Johnson has the highest ceiling of the week and I fully expect him to top the 38 point mark for the 4th time this season.
Keenan Allen – $6800 – Allen’s salary just can’t get high enough for me to stop playing him. This is his highest salary of the year, but I’m still paying up for the clear #1 option in San Diego. He’s gone over 20 points in 5 of his last 8 and the matchup against the Giants doesn’t scare me. With the game being in San Diego, you get the added bonus that you know weather won’t be a factor in this passing attack.
Torrey Smith – $6700 – Another position, another Raven listed. I hate to beat a dead drum but picking players going against Minnesota is a great strategy. Alshon Jeffrey put up 51.9 last week against this secondary. Smith has expanded his red zone play recently scoring TD’s in 3 of his last 4. The threat of the big play is also always there with Smith. If he can hit a big one, look for Smith to be a top play this week.
Vincent Jackson – $6500 – If Jackson were 100%, he would be my favorite play of the week. His targets have been down the past 2 weeks with just a total of 8 so that also makes me a little nervous. Bottom line is the Bills secondary is horrible, giving up the 2nd most points to opposing WRs, and Jackson is usually the focal point of the Tampa Bay passing attack, receiving close to 35% of the total targets on the year. I hope his injury and 18 total points the last 2 weeks scare people away. I’m going to take advantage.
Boom or Bust Play of the Week
Desean Jackson – $7000 – Jackson has just 1 game over 20 points in his past 6, but has the potential to get his 2nd game over 30 on Sunday against a Lions team that give up the 6th most points to opposing WR’s. He’s averaging just 5 targets per game the last 4 weeks, so that number will definitely need to be higher this week in order for him to truly boom. Even if it doesn’t, a player of Jackson’s caliber can turn those few opportunities into many fantasy points.
Salary Saver of the Week
Andre Holmes – $3600 – Holmes had 11 targets last week with Denarius Moore sidelined and Matt McGloin under center. He turned that into 23 points against a bad Dallas secondary. He draws a matchup this week against a Jets secondary that is even worse. They gave up a combined 51 points last week to Mike Wallace and Brian Harline. If you want to spend on the likes of Stafford, Charles, or Megatron, Holmes could be the ultimate salary saver of the week.
Tight Ends
Top Plays of the Week
Julius Thomas – $6200 – When healthy, Thomas has been an absolute stud. I was hoping his price tag would be a little lower after missing the past couple of games, but it’s still substantially lower than Gronk and Graham. Looks for Manning to lean on Thomas as the Titans have been the best team in the league at limiting opposing WR’s.
Jason Witten – $5300 – Witten has had a very up and down season, but still is seeing 7 targets per game and some good looks in the red zone. The Bears D has been pretty bad all around this season, but they especially struggle with opposing TE’s, giving up the 4th most points on the year. Witten presents great upside at the position as well, with 3 games over 27 on the year. There’s a good chance he makes that 4 games come Monday night.
Vernon Davis – $5200 – Davis continues to be a focal point in the San Francisco passing game. He’s averaged over 15 points the last 3 weeks, and has possibly the highest ceiling of any TE with his big play ability. Seattle’s D is one of the best in the league, but TE is the position they limit opponents the least. Davis likely won’t be highly owned, so he could be a player where you can make up a lot of points.
Martellus Bennett – $4200 – Bennett was the boom or bust play of the week last week and he certainly busted, but I’m going back to the well this week and listing his as a top play. His salary dropped by $300 but his matchup this week is just as good. Dallas really struggles against opposing TE and with all of the focus to likely be on Marshall and Jeffrey on the outside, look for Bennett to work the middle of the field and have a very nice week.
Boom or Bust Play of the Week
Jared Cook – $3800 – I fully expect for Cook to be the highest owned TE of the week, and for good reason. Arizona gets torched week after week by opposing TE’s, and Cook was one of those TE earlier in the year, when he put up 35 points in Week 1 against them. The upside is certainly there, and with a pricetag of just $3800, Cook is going to be hard to pass up this week.
Salary Saver of the Week
Dennis Pitta – $3400 – As of the time of writing this article, Pitta still hasn’t been cleared to play, although it sounds like he will be. If he does play, he draws a great matchup in his first game back against the Vikings. I couldn’t have a position listed without featuring a Raven, and fortunately Pitta fits the bill of a possible great salary saver this week. Pitta came on strong towards the end of last season and into the playoffs, and if he was healthy, I’d expect him to be him to be a top 5-10 TE on the season. They say they may limit his snaps, but this may be the one time to take advantage of his super low salary.