Week 7 of the NFL season proved
to be a surprising slate of games, as seven of 30 teams playing
failed to score an offensive touchdown, while the Broncos, Cardinals,
and Colts were shut out in their respective matchups.
Perhaps the most disappointing performance of the weekend was
the Titans barely beating the Browns in an overtime win in a field
goal game between Ryan Succup and Zane Gonzalez. In what appeared
to be an excellent matchup for the Titans and a game in which
many DFS players stacked Marcus Mariota and Derrick Henry, Tennessee
managed just 269 yards of total offense against arguably the league’s
worst team.
The Cowboys lived up to expectations by taking care of business
in a 40-10 shellacking of the lowly 49ers in Santa Clara. Ezekiel
Elliott, Dak
Prescott, and Dez
Bryant all delivered solid performances for DFS owners, with
Elliott scoring 43.9 points in his highest-scoring game of the
season.
Elliott was the centerpiece of my $100 winning ticket on DraftKings,
along with a Bills stack at home against the Buccaneers. Below
is a breakdown of the entire lineup, including a few misses on
players like Pierre Garcon and Bennie Fowler.
Quarterback: Tyrod
Taylor Fantasy Points: 20.02
Grade: B+
My lineup construction for this week started with Ezekiel Elliott
and his hefty $9,000 salary, which meant that I would not be able
to fork out for a premium quarterback if I planned on having any
money left over for wide receivers and running backs. The Bills
at home against a Bucs defense that entered Sunday allowing the
third-most points to opposing quarterbacks seemed like a great
value, even though Taylor had yet to score more than 17 fantasy
points in a game this year.
At 20.02 points Taylor provided enough points to help me cash,
but I was disappointed with the fact that he did not score a rushing
touchdown and he did not throw a touchdown to Nick O’Leary,
my tight end stack play.
If there were ever a week for Shady to break out of his touchdown
scoring drought, a home contest against the Bucs seemed like a
logical time. His threat as a pass catching weapon and the possibility
of a double-dip touchdown with my quarterback looked like an excellent
play in this GPP. With 122 total yards and two touchdowns, the
assumption on McCoy paid off as he posted his best game of the
season.
My play of Alvin Kamara did not work out exactly as I planned,
as the rookie from Tennessee failed to score a touchdown in his
second consecutive week. I love Kamara, and the fact that he is
a weapon in the passing game makes him an excellent play in a
full point PPR like DK. But after logging 10 catches three weeks
ago against Miami, Kamara now has eight catches combined in his
last two games, while Mark Ingram’s work in the passing game continues
to grow.
Going with expensive running backs like McCoy and Elliott left
me with slim pickings at wide receiver. I chose this route primarily
because Elliott’s matchup was too lucrative to pass up,
regardless of price, and there were very few elite level wide
receiver plays Week 7 that seemed worth the cost.
So I targeted two reasonably inexpensive possession receivers
in Garcon and Landry, mixed in with a bottom barrel-priced wide
receiver in Fowler who looked primed for a big game as a starting
WR opposite of Demaryius Thomas.
Landry proved to be an excellent choice as he and Matt Moore
connected for 93 yards and a touchdown for 22.3 fantasy points.
The other two turned out to be busts and cost me a chance at a
high payday.
Despite having a perfect game script for garbage catches and
yards, Garcon managed just five catches for 49 yards, as rookie
C.J. Beathard struggled to find his No.1 wide receiver in the
second half. I plan on avoiding Garcon on future tickets due to
the fact that he and Beathard do not have the same rapport as
what he had with Bryan Hoyer.
Tight End: Nick
O’Leary Fantasy Points: 7.8
Grade: D
I fell into the trap that can hurt fantasy owners, assuming that
an injury replacement will step up and provide a similar level
of production as their injured incumbent. With Charles Clay established
as Taylor’s favorite non-running back target in the offense, it
seemed logical that O’Leary would continue to see a high level
of activity. But what I didn’t consider is the fact that Clay
and Taylor have a connection built on multiple seasons of working
together in practice and games. O’Leary and Taylor are not there
yet, and my assumption cost me to the tune of 7.8 fantasy points
on 58 yards receiving.
As I mentioned earlier, Elliott was my must-start play of the
week and the centerpiece of this winning ticket. The second-year
tailback came through with a three-touchdown game and his best
performance year to date. There are certain matchups each week
in which you need to pay up, regardless of the cost, and Zeke
against my lowly 49ers was undoubtedly one of those times.
DST: Jacksonville Fantasy Points: 20
Grade: A+
My second-best selection of the week was the Jacksonville defense
against the Colts. The logic here was simple: The Jags lead the
league in quarterback sacks, and they have an excellent secondary.
The Colts cannot protect Jacoby Brissett, and the second-year
quarterback has struggled with pressure. It was a simple equation
that paid off handsomely for me.
