Week 11 of the NFL season proved to be a wild set of games in which
place kickers set an NFL record for missing 12 extra points, three
defense/special teams units scored touchdowns, and Russell Wilson
scored more receiving fantasy points than most of his wide receivers.
McCoy is likely to return to action this week after undergoing
a minor procedure to fix a dislocated thumb, while the other players
will either miss multiple weeks of the remainder of the season.
DFS owners who invested heavily in high priced running backs
like David Johnson and Le’Veon Bell reaped the rewards of
monster games, while marquee wide receivers like Mike Evans, Odell Beckham Jr., and Antonio Brown failed to live up to their lofty
salaries despite advantageous matchups.
For this DFS writer, Week 11 proved to be rewarding as Rob Kelley’s
three-touchdown game against the Packers helped me secure a come-from-behind
victory over my brother in my season-long league of record, while
Kirk Cousins’ monster game on Sunday night carried my DFS
team to a $50 payday in a DraftKings10x booster.
With this week’s lineup review, I thought it would be helpful
to take a closer look at my winning ticket to see where I hit
pay dirt, and where I nearly cost myself a chance at cashing.
Quarterback: Kirk
Cousins DraftKings Points: 30.4
Grade: A
Cousins delivered his fifth 300-yard game this season to set
the Redskins career mark (an indictment to the overall change
in the NFL’s passing philosophy over the past three years
and the lack of quality Redskins QBs over the years).
It was his third 25-point performance in his last four games,
making him a solid value play at his surprisingly low $5,800 salary
on DK.
With an injury depleted Green Bay secondary, and the likelihood
of a positive game script against a Packers offense that would
likely score against the Washington defense, Cousins seemed like
a no-brainer pick in a tournament game.
Luckily for me only 14% of owners felt this way, opening the
door for me to gain a significant advantage over those who went
with more heavily owned QBs like Luck and Mariota.
Game flow and injuries proved to be negative contributors to
my running back plays this week as the Patriots did not pull away
early from the 49ers to allow Blount to dominate the second half,
and Prosise left his game early with a significant shoulder injury
after rushing for a 76-yard touchdown against the Eagles.
Blount did manage to salvage the day with 124 yards on 19 carries,
but his five-game streak of scoring a rushing touchdown came to
an end despite the fact that the 49ers had allowed the most rushing
touchdowns to opposing RB’s.
Prosise looked like a strong $4,200 play and was clearly on pace
for a second consecutive 20-point game, but he left early with
a broken shoulder and Thomas Rawls carried the load for Seattle.
You can’t predict injuries, and sometimes game flow doesn’t
always work out. At least I received some positive points from
my players that allowed me to keep pace with the other top scorers
in the tourney.
After splurging on my Tight End and Flex play, I decided to focus
my wide receiver budget on mid-level WRs who would likely receive
a sizable amount of targets.
This strategy proved to backfire, as Adams and Baldwin both saw
their fewest target totals over the past five weeks, with Adams
a volume victim due to Jared Cook garnering a surprising 12 targets
from Aaron Rodgers, while Baldwin received only five looks as
the Seahawks spread the ball around.
A fluky touchdown pass to Wilson on a trick play bailed me out,
otherwise Baldwin would have been a bust.
My play of Thielen was predicted on the fact that I correctly
assumed that the Cardinals would make it a point of emphasis to
shut down Stefon Diggs. I also needed a sub-$4,000 WR to round
out my ticket and Thielen appeared to be a nice home run play.
Perhaps my most surprising and disappointing pick of the weekend,
Delanie Walker managed a meager four catches for 36 yards in what
had the makings of being a big game.
With 20 combined targets in his last two games, including 11
Week 10 against Green Bay, I assumed that Walker would continue
to be a focal point of the offense.
The Colts made a point to shut down Walker while other options
like Tajae Sharpe continue to become threats in the passing game.
Perhaps Walker jumped the shark with his 30-point game last week,
and fantasy owners may want to look elsewhere for tight end targets.
Tight End: Le’Veon
Bell DraftKings Points: 37.1
Grade: A+
The poor weather conditions, a quarterback still nursing a sore
knee, and a terrible Cleveland defense where three big reasons
to consider forking out $8,800 on Bell this week.
Bell’s volume in the running game is enough of a reason
to pay a hefty price, but when you add in the fact that he is
the recipient of double-digit targets every week in the passing
game and Big Ben’s clear-cut number to option, and he becomes
nearly two players for the price of one.
Defense: Miami DraftKings Points: 7
Grade: C-
There are two things that I learned this week with my choice
of Miami against Los Angeles. First, it is important to target
games where you anticipate a defensive score over ones that you
think may just be low scoring.
And second, my logic of targeting a defense playing a rookie
QB was flawed, as I should have anticipated a dumbed-down offensive
scheme that would not be conducive to creating turnovers.
