Welcome back DFS grinders to another installment of my Thursday night Football Showdown Slate Breakdown. I hope you got in on the action last game where my cheap play of the night found his way into the endzone and hopefully win you guys a bunch of money. We have a great game tonight this game currently has a 51 O/U and a 3.5 spread in favor of the Steelers. If you guys have any questions tweet at me @dfs_joey and I’ll be around closer to lock to answer any questions you have.
Studs/MVP Candidates
This game is full of talent so it will be tough choosing between all of them. We can only try our best to try to sort through all this talent to find the best possible matchups to play tonight. Both teams aren’t the best defensively against the QB so this could be a very high scoring game. This game is currently at a 51 O/U and a 3.5 point spread in favor of Pittsburgh.
Both QBs: Both of these guys are in elite matchups. I will try to prioritize them in y lineups. The double QB strategy is one of my favorite ways to go in single game showdowns. This game features 2 of the best fantasy QBs in the league. It will be tough to fit them both into my lineup, so we will need to find the right salary to do it.
- Cam Newton: If you are only able to get one of these guys I would rather have Newton. The rushing floor he provides is amazing. He has a rushing TD in 3/8 games and has seen double digit rushing attempts in 4/8 games this season as well. He is number 1 in the league in rushing yards for all QBs. The Steelers allowed Tyrod Taylor to run all over them week 1, they have yet to face another QB with running ability like that since then. Cam should be able to get into open space if they aren’t careful. Steelers ranks 26th in points given up to QBs.
- Ben Roethlisberger: Even though I think Cam is the better play Big Ben is cheaper and can help you fit in more players. He also has the better receiving core so stacking with the Steelers provides more upside. Carolina ranks 24th in points given up to QB.
Both Running Backs: Both these guys are 2 of the top fantasy running backs in thleague and both are heaavily involved in the passing game. I will give you the stats on these guys before you dive right into them. The Steelers and the Panthers are 2 of the top teams defending the run. The thing is the Steelers haven’t faced many elite running backs. Kareem Hunt rushed for 75 yards on 18 carries. Joe Mixon rushed for 64 yds on 11 carries (5.8 YPC). So even though teams haven’t been rushing on them too much, good running backs have faired well against them. The Panthers have also been exposed by running backs and Conner has been tearing up defenses lately. I think both are viable options tonight.
Middle Tier
Juju Smith Schuster: Antonio Brown just got caught going 100+ mph this morning and we are waiting to see if he faces any consequences. Even if he doesn’t Juju will see a big target share tonight.
Greg Olsen: Since Olsen has come back he has been heavily involved in this offense. The Steelers have struggled this season against TEs so I see no problem loading up on Olsen tonight. He has seen 6 targets in 2 straight games and should easily reach that mark again tonight.
DJ Moore: He has definitely benefited since becoming the starter in this offense. Last game he struggled to get going but in this great matchup tonight against the Steelers he should have no problem reaching value.
Vance McDonald: The Panthers have given up more TDs to TE then they have to WRs. We just saw OJ Howard torch this team and I would expect the same form Vance here tonight. I prefer Vance over Jessie James. The snaps targets and receptions all go in favor to Vance but if you want a low owned punt James could get it done for you tonight.
Defenses/Kickers
Kickers: I love kickers in this game. Now that they took out kickers from DFS I haven’t been able to use my kicker strategy like I did last year. The way I usually pick kickers is from the highest game totals on the slate. The 51 point O/U is the currently the second highest game total on the slate, meaning there will be plently of opportunity for the kickers.
Defense: Im usually a big fan on defenses on Thursday night because they are historically low scoring but I love the over in this game I think it could be very high scoring.
Cheap Tier
I believe these slates are won and lost by the cheap plays. Picking the right guy for cheap could easily elevate you into first, especially if you are able to get that guy right in the cpt spot on DK.
Jarius Wright: He sees enough routes run to be able to pay off his $600 salary. Last week he ran 29 routes. At $600 he doesn’t need to produce much just a couple catches which is very easy to see against this poor Steeler secondary.
