Week 8: DraftKings Optimal Lineup
It was an extremely high scoring week in the NFL last week which led to the optimal lineup scoring over 300 fantasy points for the first time this season. The winner of the Millionaire Maker event wasn’t far behind the optimal lineup as leav11it’s lineup put up an impressive 293.46 fantasy points. Let’s take a look at this week’s optimal lineup and see if there is anything we can learn:
Week 8 DraftKings Optimal Lineup
| Player | Pos | FPs | Salary |
| Ben Roethlisberger | QB | 47.78 | $5,800 |
| Mark Ingram | RB | 27.0 | $4,300 |
| Arian Foster | RB | 40.3 | $8,400 |
| Antonio Brown | WR | 33.8 | $8,000 |
| Jeremy Maclin | WR | 39.7 | $5,500 |
| Larry Fitzgerald | WR | 28.5 | $4,400 |
| Rob Gronkowski | TE | 40.4 | $5,900 |
| Heath Miller | FLEX | 23.7 | $3,300 |
| Dolphins | DST | 28 | $3,300 |
| Total | 309.18 | $48,900 |
One of the common strategies among top tournament players is to build teams where every player in each lineup has the ability to put up at least 20 fantasy points. This week’s optimal lineup certainly fit that mold as every player scored at least 23.7 fantasy points. This was a well-rounded lineup that didn’t feature any players priced over $8,400 and there was only one position player priced under $4,300.
Another thing to note is the total salary spent. The optimal lineup left $1,100 in salary left on the table. While I’m never going to recommend leaving that much money on the table, you should never force yourself to have $0 remaining in your budget. One of the biggest mistakes new players make is that they constantly re-arrange their lineup until they get to that magical number of zero in the “Salary Remaining” section. If you like your lineup, don’t be afraid to leave a few hundred on the table. Never force yourself to change up your lineup when you don’t have to.
Noto’s Week 7 Lineup
| Player | Pos | FPs |
| Aaron Rodgers | QB | 29.82 |
| Le’Veon Bell | RB | 20.8 |
| Jerick McKinnon | RB | 9.2 |
| Jordy Nelson | WR | 5.5 |
| Dez Bryant | WR | 12.0 |
| Julian Edelman | WR | 2.4 |
| Zach Ertz | TE | 9.8 |
| Mark Ingram | FLEX | 27.5 |
| Chiefs | DST | 19 |
| Total | 144.22 |
Another week and another failed effort from my receivers. This week it was Jordy Nelson and Julian Edelman that kept my lineup from having any chance to cash in 50/50’s. They combined for 7.9 fantasy points on DraftKings. That’s just not going to cut it at a combined salary of $12,400. Using a 3x salary target, those two fell short by about 30 fantasy points. Without Rob Gronkowski and/or Jeremy Maclin, my team had little shot of cashing this week despite solid efforts from Aaron Rodgers, Mark Ingram, Le’Veon Bell, and the Chiefs D/ST.
Looking back, I can’t say that I can argue with any of my picks. I felt good about them heading into the week. The one change that I wish I would have made would have been to factor in Brandon LaFell’s recent production more. I based Edelman’s targets and expected production on his yearly numbers, when he has clearly become the third option in the Patriots passing attack. I’ll chalk Week 8 up to a lesson learned.