Quarterback
Top Tier: Patrick Mahomes- The biggest question when talking DraftKings this week, he’s the most expensive QB on the slate, but is “only” $7,000. I don’t typically want to pay up at quarterback, but you’re only jumping up $600-$1,000 so is it really “spending up”? He’s averaging a whopping 30 DraftKings points per game thus far this season, and while the Broncos have been a clear run-funnel in recent weeks they are beatable in the secondary and nobody possesses the upside that Mahomes does as of right now.
Mid Tier: Aaron Rodgers- If you drop down from Mahomes, this is where I anticipate people to go especially with Rodgers coming off back-to-back 400 yard games. The Rams secondary is beatable with Marcus Peters hampered by injury and playing terribly, and Aqib Talib on IR. It’s a massive 56.5 O/U in Vegas and the Packers are going to need to put up points against this high-powered Rams offense.
Low Tier: Jared Goff- As the week has gone on, I’ve come onto this play more and more but I do think he is neck-and-neck with Ben Roethlisberger at the same exact price. Goff has had “down” games in his past two, but these were games in which the Rams were absolutely smashing and cruising to victory, that’s tough to predict this week with Aaron Rodgers on the opposite sideline. Goff has smashed in games where the opponent has been able to keep pace with them (remember that Thursday night game?) and the Rams are implied for 33 points…Rams onslaught FTW?
Running Back
Top Tier: Todd Gurley- Not much needs to be said about Todd Gurley, he’s been the best player in the league through eight weeks, and his red-zone usage is absolutely insane. He is pretty much an auto-lock in cash games, but as the week has wore on I actually think people may considering fading him to get three mid-priced running backs. You can comfortably fit him in with one of the next tier running backs, and that will be the route I’m going this week. I like playing him with Goff, because then we can soak up literally 100% of the Rams points barring a special teams or defensive touchdown.
Mid Tier: James Conner/Kareem Hunt- This is one of the things I’ve debated all week long and will continue to do so into the weekend. As of now, I’m leaning Conner but I will ultimately update this article with my final decision. The Browns have given up some massive games on the ground recently, yet they have only allowed more than two passing touchdowns in a game once this season. Conner is locked into a heavy workload and I see the Steelers winning this game, so positive game script should ensue in the second half. The Broncos have been gashed on the ground in recent weeks, and Hunt would make sense if you don’t play Mahomes to ensure you have some Chiefs exposure.
Low Tier: Kerryon Johnson- My man Kerryon finally got the work in Week 7 with Theo Riddick out, and Riddick has already been ruled out for this weeks game as well. The Lions want to be a running team under Matt Patricia (for whatever reason) and I expect another 18+ carried for Johnson this week. He’s still under-priced in the low $5,000 range on DraftKings and I think he makes for a strong play in all formats.
Wide Receiver
Top Tier: Odell Beckham Jr- I wanted to slot Antonio Brown/JuJu Smith-Schuster in this spot, but I can’t get past OBJ’s price of just $7,500. A lot as been made about Beckham’s season, yet he is averaging over 21 DK points per game and has double-digit targets in all but one game. I’m not scared of the Redskins secondary with a matchup-proof WR like Beckham, and he will be in consideration for me leading up to lock on Sunday.
Mid Tier: Robert Woods- As I noted above, the Rams onslaught makes a ton of sense to me this week and that continues with Robert Woods who is just $6,800 on DraftKings. He’s gone over 70 receiving yards in his last six games and has 7+ targets in all but one of those games. He will see more time in the slot with Cooper Kupp doubtful again this week, and could look to absorb some of his red zone usage as well.
Low Tier: A Few Options- As far as cheap receivers go, there are a ton of options again this week. I don’t love the game, but Michael Crabtree has been locked into volume and I overlooked that he is top-ten in the NFL in air yards. Jermaine Kearse has to be considered again this week, even after a big zero in the last game Robby Anderson is looking out for this game…who are the Jets going to throw to? Jordy Nelson will undoubtedly be owned with Amari Cooper now in Dallas and he should benefit from the extra time spent in the slot. As I said, I’ll update my thoughts this weekend but those are three I’m considering right now.
Tight End
Tight End is the typical mess that it is most weeks, I would love to play Travis Kelce, but I don’t see how that will be possible on this slate. I’ll upadate this section as the weekend progresses and I finish the final stages of my research, but for now I have my potential tight end list narrowed down to David Njoku, Jordan Reed and OJ Howard.
D/ST Options: Bears, Chiefs, Bengals, Steelers
Written by Ben Hossler (Follow @BenHossler on Twitter)
