Welcome everyone to my NFL DFS Week 7 cash game building blocks. The goal of this article is to build off my analysis in my game-by-game breakdown, also available at dfskarma.com, and narrow down the exact players I will be targeting for my main team on DraftKings each week. This is a weird 10 game slate, so let’s get right into it!
Quarterback
Top Tier: Jared Goff- I think it’s clear that you won’t be able to get this high in cash this weekend, but if for some reason you were being contrarian I think you have to go with Jared Goff. Goff was finally affected by Gurley in the last game, he scored under 17 fantasy points for the first time this season while Gurley rushed for 200+ yards on the ground. The way to attack this 49ers defense is through the air, they’ve allowed 2 or more passing touchdowns five times this season, with the outlier game coming against Josh Rosen. They have the highest implied total on the slate for a reason, and I’m expecting a massive offensive showing once again from McVay and the Rams.
Mid Tier: Joe Flacco- I was on Flacco a ton early on in the week, but it unfortunately looks like I’ll be dropping down to the low tier for my cash games this weekend. I still love the spot for Flacco as a home favorite against a terrible Saints secondary. As Matt Berry would say, we are wacko for Flacco this week and I’m looking for him to top 350 passing yards for the third time this season. The Saints rank bottom-five against the pass, and while they will get Marshon Lattimore back they’ve allowed over 400 yards passing a few times this season. Since I most likely won’t have him in cash, my main tourney team will most likely be a Ravens stack with Flacco + Smokey Brown.
Low Tier: CJ Beathard- It’s a great week for my brand, as anyone who has read my content the last two years knows I was all over Beathard last season before Garoppolo took over the offense. He has clearly taken the first to second year QB step, and has ripped off three straight 18+ point fantasy games. This is the most attractive game environment of the weekend with the Rams coming into San Francisco, and even if they get down big early Beathard will have the ability to rack up some of those sweet, sweet garbage time stats while the Rams run prevent defense. He’s too cheap for what he’s actually been doing on the field, and this is the first week I desperately need to spend down at Quarterback.
Running Back
Top Tier: Todd Gurley/Ezekiel Elliott- This is the entire slate right here, as the mission in Week 7 is to jam in Todd Gurley and one of Zeke/Thielen, and possibly both with all if the value that has opened up. Gurley is on another level right now, and somehow saw a $200 price decrease after his 208 yard performance in Week 6. Zeke had a solid game against the Jaguars at home last week, and while I’m not in love with the matchup I want the ability to lock in 50+ touches from the top two players in my roster.
Mid Tier: Kerryon Johnson- Some very clear value opened up on Friday afternoon when Theo Riddick was ruled out for the Lions, and Carlos Hyde was traded away by the Browns. Johnson and Riddick have played the same number of snaps this season, so it’s not a stretch to think that the promising rookie will finally get a stable workload despite clearly being the best back here all season. The risk is that they involve Ameer Abdullah in Riddick’s role, and Johnson’s remains relatively the same. I don’t think I’m buying Abdullah stealing that much work, and I love this matchup for Johnson, but maybe more for tournaments now considering our next option…
Low Tier: Nick Chubb- I wanted to include Duke Johnson in this tier as well, but he is more expensive than Chubb and even without Carlos Hyde there I don’t have confidence in the Browns coaching staff to get him the ball correctly. As for Chubb, he is priced at under $4,000 on DraftKings and should step into a much larger role after looking extremely good in limited snaps this season. The Bucs have one of the best run-defenses in the NFL, and I want to attack them through the air, but. There’s always a but. Gerald McCoy is out for this game, which should soften the matchup for the rookie set top make his first NFL start. It’s hard for me to pass up the value on a week we need it, and let’s not forget the total on this game is over 50 points.
Wide Receiver
Top Tier: Adam Thielen- As I mentioned above, the key to this slate in my opinion is jamming in two of the stud running backs, and potentially them and Thielen. Not much needs to be said about Thielen, his lowest target total this season is 10 and he is on pace to shatter the single-season target record. The Jets will be without their top three corners as well in this game, with a late-round rookie stepping into the slot attempting to cove him, it could end very poorly.
Mid Tier: Robert Woods- This is a play I really like this week, as Woods has done over 90 yards in four straight games and he should step into the slot with Cooper Kupp sidelined. The Rams have by far the highest implied team total on the slate (31 points) so it’s completely fine using Gurley/Woods together in cash games. If I can’t fit in Thielen, this is 100% where I’m going, over someone like Jarvis Landry.
Low Tier: Willie Snead/Jermaine Kearse- My preferred value plays at wide receiver. I love John Brown this week, but I don’t think I can get up to $5,700 with how roster construction is playing out so I’ll take the savings and nab Snead in a fantastic matchup in the slot against the Saints. The Ravens have the third-highest team total on the slate, and I expect them to play well at home in this spot. Snead has quietly seen 7+ targets in three straight games, and the Saints are still without slot corner Patrick Robinson (IR).
Kearse is set to step into the Quiny Enunwa role for the Jets with Enunwa and Terrelle Pryor sidelined, a role that Darnold fed totals of 9, 11, 8, 8 and 5 targets to. Kearse saw 10 after Enunwa left the game last week, and the Vikings are attackable in the slot where Kearse will be able to avoid stud corner Xavier Rhodes.
Note: I haven’t included Josh Reynolds here, who I figure to be one of the chalkier value plays on the slate. The Rams play the most 11 personnel in the NFL by a wide-margin, so he should step into a full-time role on a high-powered offense for under $4,000. I don’t think you need him, however, with some of this injury news and I think the Snead/Kearse duo have higher floors. That’s not to say I don’t like Reynolds though, and it only takes one chalk TD to send me into full-tilt.
Tight End
Tight End for me is very straightforward on this slate, with you clearly needing to spend down to jam in two of Todd Gurley, Ezekiel Elliott, and Adam Thielen…or all three. The far and away top two options to me are David Njoku and OJ Howard, both happening to come in the CLE/TB game that has now seen the O/U rise to 51. If I had to choose, it would be Njoku but I’m completely fine dropping down if I need the salary.
D/ST Options: Vikings, Colts, Eagles
Written by Ben Hossler (Follow @BenHossler on Twitter)
