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Andrew Swanson | Archive | Email |
Staff Writer


Daily: Week 14 Walkthrough
12/12/17

A bounce-back week in DFS helped me overcome the frustration of losing in the opening round of two of my season-long leagues. I cashed in two of my three matchups, including a $100 GPP ticket fueled by a decent performance from a DeShone Kizer/Josh Gordon stack and a cash game lineup boosted by DeAndre Hopkins and Adam Theilen.

The winning cash game ticket proved to be a surprise in that I was still able to come out on top with a goose egg from Amari Cooper vs. the Chiefs.

Here is the full lineup, including some insight on why I chose each player and how they performed.

Quarterback: Philip Rivers
Fantasy Points: 23.76
Grade: A

Rivers was No.1 on my list of cash game quarterbacks based on his recent success of 20-plus point performances against Dallas and Cleveland. The offense of the Chargers is clicking on all cylinders, and the probability of a Redskins team traveling cross country derailing the momentum of Rivers and Keenan Allen seemed small. My hope was for a floor of 20 points, with the upside of a monster 30-point game. Although the former proved to be correct, Rivers gave me exactly what I needed to help secure the win.

Running Backs: Alfred Morris & Giovani Bernard
Combined Fantasy Points: 30.5
Grade: C+

Investing in expensive wide receivers Adam Thielen and DeAndre Hopkins left with the only option of looking for high volume, inexpensive running backs. Although the outcome of the Bengals game was a shock, Bernard did give me the type of volume I expected in both the ground and passing game.

Morris’ production was disappointing, especially when you consider what Rod Smith was able to do against the Giants. Morris managed just 85 total yards on 22 touches and failed to score a touchdown. At $5500, he was an inexpensive way to get 20 touches out of the backfield, but he did not put up similar numbers to his 127/1 line that he dropped on his former team Week 13.

Wide Receivers: DeAndre Hopkins, Marquise Goodwin and Amari Cooper
Combined Fantasy Points: 59.5
Grade: C+

My wide receiver strategy in cash games is to pair at least one high floor/high ceiling guy like Hopkins with a home run play. The logic is a player like Hopkins will give an excellent foundation of production that could be enough to win the matchup, while the high-risk player like Cooper provides the ability for a big game that could be the difference-making player in the lineup.

I like to think of it as a mutual fund with a mixed allocation of grown and blue-chip stocks intended on providing a solid return, while not losing too much principle for the investor. In this case, Amari Cooper coming back from an ankle and head injury to play against a Chiefs team that he destroyed Week 7 was my risking growth (tech) stock, with the range of outcomes stretching between a goose egg and another 40-point game.

Cooper left the game early with another leg injury, leaving me with the low end of the range of outcomes. But as planned, Hopkins scored 39 points at home against the 49ers, providing the floor along with Goodwin to overcome Cooper’s zero.


Tight End: Cameron Brate
Fantasy Points: 2.1
Grade: F

After a 2/39/2 game on the road against Green Bay - one of the most challenging teams in 2017 for tight ends - Cameron Brate returned home against the Lions to get only one target from Jameis Winston. Brate had been one of Winston’s favorite targets over the past two seasons and ranks in the top 10 in fantasy points scored this season, yet for some reason, Winston gave rookie O.J. Howard six targets for 4/54/1.

Flex: Adam Thielen
Fantasy Points: 25.5
Grade: A

Thielen looked primed for a bounce-back game after a disappointing performance against the Falcons Week 13. The matchup against a Panthers defense that allowed the 10th most points to opposing wide receivers looked promising, and Thielen responded with six catches for 105 and a score on a team-high 13 targets.

D/ST: Colts vs. Bills
Fantasy Points: 8
Grade: C

Initially, I planned on going with the Jags against the Seahawks, but the blizzard conditions in Orchard Park were too good to pass up. There are times in which snow can increase scoring, but blizzard conditions in which teams forgo the pass typically results in low scoring games. My hope was that the Colts would force a few fumbles by rookie Nate Peterman and a possible defensive score.