My season-long experiment of
entering the weekly millionaire contest on DraftKings ended with
a dud, as I chose the wrong wide receiver in Jacksonville as part
of my Blake Bortles stack against the Texans.
It wasn’t a smashing success, but I did walk away with
just under $200 of profit from 15 entries. I averaged 135 points
with a high score of 197.6, and I was able to cash nearly half
the time. I had fun this season chasing that life-altering win,
but I feel even stronger in my conviction that cash games and
multipliers are the way to go in the future.
Here is a review of my final GPP lineup, including a disappointing
one-catch performance by Devin Funchess in a favorable home game
against the Packers.
Bortles was my favorite sub-6k quarterback in all formats based
on his strong play over the past three games, with an average
of 24 points against the Cardinals, Colts, and Seahawks. I felt
if Bortles could score nearly 20 points at home against Seattle,
the probability of him scoring 20 or more against a poor Texans
pass defense seemed high. The former first-round pick was nearly
flawless on the day, completing 21 of 29 passes for 326 yards
and three scores. I paired Bortles with Dede Westbrook for what
I thought would be an excellent, inexpensive stack. I was correct
in my logic that this game would present one of the better stack
opportunities, but unfortunately, Keelan Cole, and not Westbrook,
came through with seven catches for 186 yards and a score.
Going with Bortles over more expensive quarterbacks gave me the
ability to spend the premium on Bell. I wanted as much action
in the Steelers/Patriots game as possible, and Bell was the surest
bet to score at least 20 points.
Burkhead scored an early rushing touchdown and appeared to be
on pace for a solid game, but a knee injury derailed what could
have been an “A” performance from my running back
tandem.
My wide receiving corps scored a combined total of what I was
hoping for from just Funchess in his choice matchup against the
Packers. Perhaps Funchess is still limited by a leg injury, and
the Panther staff felt that attacking the Packers with Olsen and
McCaffrey was the better strategy.
Smith-Schuster led the group with 114 yards on six catches, bolstered
by his long reception late in the fourth quarter. I believe the
injury to Antonio Brown hurt Smith-Schuster in that the defense
was able to shut him down without the threat of Brown running
free in the secondary.
There is not much to say about Westbrook. The big game I predicted
went to another Jags wide receiver. I will say that I am not shying
away from Westbrook next week against the 49ers, as I think he
might bounce back in a big way.
I will file this one away in the “overthought it” drawer, as
I put too much stock in the Redskins needing to rely on Davis
and Crowder over the middle instead of outside wide receivers
against Patrick Peterson. Not only did Davis disappoint with two
catches, but he also managed to fumble one of his receptions for
a turnover and negative points.
In a classic case of chasing points, I thought Stewart had one
more week of scoring a rushing touchdown against a team that allows
the 7th-most points to opposing RBs. Stewart scored a rushing
TD in each of his last three games, including a three-touchdown
game last week against the Vikings. I jumped off the Stewart train
one stop too late and got burned to the tune of 4.6 points on
11 carries.
Defense: Vikings Points: 17
Grade: A
The Vikings at home against a Bengals team that quit on their
fans and head coach seemed like a no-brainer. The floor appeared
to be seven to ten points, with the upside of closer to 20 with
a defensive score. Minnesota tormented Andy Dalton for three sacks,
two interceptions, and a defensive TD.
