NFL DFS Showdown Lineup Optimizer Values: Seahawks-Cowboys DraftKings Picks
NFL Showdown season continues with the Seahawks at Cowboys on Thursday Night Football. Our expert analysts are breaking down DraftKings Showdown picks with our in-house NFL DFS lineup optimizer. Sign up for RotoGrinders Premium for full access to our NFL lineup optimizer and fantasy football projections all season long.
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The 8-3 Cowboys and the 6-5 Seahawks are both second in their divisions and two games back from first place, so tonight’s matchup is huge for either team’s chances of catching the Eagles or 49ers, respectively. Dallas should have at least a Wild Card spot locked up, while Seattle can’t afford many more losses with so many teams still in the mix behind them. Kenneth Walker is almost certainly still out with his oblique injury while Eskridge and Dissly are questionable, and the Cowboys come in to this game fully healthy on offense besides Peyton Hendershot who wasn’t activated.
NFL DFS Showdown Picks: Seahawks at Cowboys Week 13
Currently, this game is sitting at a 47.5 total, with the Cowboys favored by 9 points. Dallas is on a three-game win streak and have won five of their last six, all while scoring over 35 PPG in that stretch. Seattle has lost three of their last four and have scored over 20 points just twice in their last seven games, so this big of a spread is definitely justified. Using anyone against this Dallas defense hasn’t worked out great this year, but we’re going to have to use at least one or two on most builds so let’s check out some guys I’m liking for the right price.
Quarterback
Dak Prescott ($11,000) will be the highest-owned player tonight and likely the most captained player, and for good reason, as he’s gone for 31+ FP in four of his last five games. He has a 17 TD : 2INT ratio during that stretch, and his stats would be even better if four of those five games weren’t 23+ point blowouts. He will almost certainly have 2+ total TDs tonight against a Seahawks defense allowing 348.5 total yards/game and 22.6 PPG, so lock him in your cash game lineup in the captain spot or a flex spot at minimum.
Geno Smith ($9,200) has put up over 17 FP just once in his last nine games, and this matchup will almost certainly produce another game under 17 FP. Dallas ranks second in pass yards/game allowed at just 167.2, and is top five in PPG allowed at 16.8. If you’re doing MME (mass multi-entry) I would definitely have some exposure to Geno in GPPs, but for cash games, I will be using that salary on other guys.
Running Back
Tony Pollard ($9,800) is starting to turn it around with back-to-back games of 22.3 and 18 FP, and he has a good shot of another strong game against a Seahawks defense allowing 117.7 rush yards/game. It’s going to be hard to fit him with Dak and Lamb especially with one of those three in the captain spot, but I would absolutely use Pollard on any lineup that omits Lamb, and for cash games I’m leaning towards the Dak/Pollard stack to cover pretty much all offensive TDs along with the $1,600 salary savings of Pollard over Lamb. Rico Dowdle ($4,200) is only in play if you have a ton of lineups and want to hedge your Pollard shares.
Zach Charbonnet ($6,800) is the safest Seattle player from a volume standpoint, and is easily my favorite cash game play under $7k for either team. Even in a brutal matchup with SF last week, he had 18 touches and almost 10 FP, and his work in the passing game should be very safe, likely playing from behind all game. If he finds the endzone, he will be a must-have in any format, and I don’t mind using only him as your Seattle exposure for cash games.
Wide Receiver
CeeDee Lamb ($11,400) is the most expensive player but is the clear highest upside skill player in this game, so getting him in any lineup in any format can’t really be argued against. He should be in plenty of captain spots in GPPs in stacks with Dak, and if you don’t go with Pollard in your main build, then I’d absolutely get Lamb instead. Brandin Cooks ($8,000) has been up and down with just one game over five targets in his last eight games, and for the price, I will just be targeting him in GPPs. Gallup ($3,800), Tolbert ($3,000), Turpin ($2,600), and Brooks ($600) are pure GPP fliers who will need a long catch or TD to be worth it.
DK Metcalf ($9,600) is a bit too pricey for cash games but should be covered in GPP teams, while Tyler Lockett ($7,200) comes at a huge price discount and is my preferred cash game target if you want any Seattle passing game exposure. Smith-Njigba ($5,200) is a decent tournament play but has too low of a floor for my main build.
Tight End
I’m not looking to use any TEs in my main build, as Jake Ferguson ($6,200) has been way too volatile, and there are just so many mouths to feed from Dallas to trust him to have a big game. The Seattle TEs are all seeing three or less targets/game and just have way too low floors to use outside of GPPs.
Defense / Special Teams
The Dallas DST ($5,600) has gone for 15+ FP in three of their last five and is a strong cash game flex play, while the Seattle DST ($3,400) is super cheap but is only a GPP flier at best.
Similarly, I’m much more interested in Brandon Aubrey ($4,800) than Jason Myers ($4,400), as the Cowboys should have a much higher time of possession and will almost certainly be in the opposing team’s half more often than Seattle.
Thursday Night Football NFL DFS Strategy
I think a 5-1 or 4-2 Dallas heavy build is the way to go, with Lockett ($7,200) and Charbonnet ($6,800) easily being the best p/$ ways to get your Seattle exposure on most lineups. Aubrey and the Dallas DST are a nice cheap correlation play to go with Pollard on lineups that don’t go heavy on the Cowboys passing attack, but most lineups should absolutely have Dak and at least one of Lamb and Pollard.
DraftKings DFS Showdown Rankings
1. Dak Prescott – No one’s playing better than him at the moment, and he should be locked into your cash game lineup at captain or a flex spot.
2. Tony Pollard – I prefer his price discount to Lamb if you only use one, and stacking him with Dak should get you exposure to pretty much all the Dallas TDs.
3. Zach Charbonnet / Tyler Lockett – Great price on Charbonnet at $6.8k, and will see another big workload with Walker out. Safest Seattle skill play for cash games on pure volume, while Lockett is similarly priced and is a much better p/$ play than Metcalf for cash games.
4. Dallas DST – Best cash game flex play under $6k, and I would make sure to captain them on plenty of GPP teams.
5. Brandon Aubrey – Favorite cash game play under $5k, and he should get plenty of opportunities along with extra points.
NFL DFS Lineup Optimizer for Thursday Night Football
Check out LineupHQ for this Showdown slate! It’s your one-stop shop for all of the tools you need to build and edit multiple lineups with one click, such as excluding certain players, adjusting your ownership and stack preferences, and doing any mass late-swap edits.
Also, check out RG’s brand new SimLabs tool for creating lineups based on game simulations and your custom settings!