Good morning, afternoon, and evening. SuperDraft is one of the newer daily fantasy platforms. Their standard contest operates differently than the salary cap format we are used to. They use a multiplier format. You can choose whichever player you want, but you want to maximize your lineup’s scoring potential by taking advantage of the multiplier that the player gets. For example, Keenan Allen has a 1.3x multiple, this means that he will receive 30% more points than what his actual output is. If he gets ten fantasy points, he will receive 3 more points, thus making his score 13. It is an interesting format, and it forces you to make decisions even though salary cap is not involved.
Quarterbacks
Jake Luton (2x) is facing the sixth worse defense in the NFL. He has a matchup against the Houston Texans. I have not seen much of him so I don’t know what he can do. I do know that Houston cannot stop anything so even a decent performance should be made into a good one. Getting double points in this matchup is too enticing to pass up. He would have to put up an absolute stinker to not do well in your lineup.
Although my favorite play on any DFS site is Deshawn Watson (1.2x), It would be boring to just rattle off opposing quarterbacks. It would be especially boring when Watson is an obvious good play. Teddy Bridgewater (1.55x) should have to throw for much of the game against the high-powered Kansas City Chiefs. He will likely get a key piece of the offense back when Christian McCaffery returns. The Chiefs are heavily favored, so I anticipate a heavy dosage of Bridgewater in order to either keep pace or catch up. The Chiefs are bottom ten in pass rush, so there should be a decent amount of time allotted for Bridgewater to find his weapons. Receiving a 55% boost will lead him to a very good performance on SuperDraft.
Although Russell Wilson (1x) is the best quarterback in the league, I will be fading him. He will have to do incredibly too much in order to keep pace with some of these other quarterbacks. He gets no bonus, and because of that, he is a complete fade for me. Although I loved Phillip Rivers (1.55x) last week, I will be off him versus the Baltimore Ravens. I think people will be trapped by his performance last week. I will not be.
Running Backs
The game between the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars seems to be my favorite one. I am in love with James Robinson’s (1.4x) multiplier. He is the Jaguars’ workhorse back. Chris Thompson is likely to miss, so this can only enhance Robinson’s role in the passing game. I try to predict touchdowns, but unless Jake Luton has an epic game, I imagine a lot of the goal line work will be handled by Robinson. With each touchdown being worth 8.4 points, I smile when I think about the prospect of him scoring twice.
Justin Jackson (1.7x) seems to have emerged as the main running back with Austin Ekeler on the shelf. He is getting fed more and more. I am comfortable playing him because of his workload and his massive 1.7x multiplier. A simple 100-yard rushing day turns into 17 points just like that. Let’s not begin to factor in catches or if he gets in the box! He also has the luxury of playing against the NFL’s worst defense in the Las Vegas Raiders.
SuperDraft gave my favorite running back on the week a boost. Dalvin Cook (1.15x) should be only 1x based on his consistency and his matchup Sunday. He gets a Lions team that will either be without their starting quarterback or will have their starter with no practice reps for the week. Cook has not disappointed in any game this season and I see no reason why that won’t continue. His 1.15x should give him a big enough boost to remain ahead of most running backs on the leaderboard.
If you don’t want to feel like you are chasing points with Cook, you can go with arguably the best running play on this slate. Chase Edmonds (1.45x) has a multiplier as if he is not going to be the top running back for his Arizona Cardinals. With Kenyon Drake out, I believe this will be the game that changes him into the starting running back going forward. We have known for weeks that Edmonds is the better player. Now we will get a chance to find out. He will get over 85% of the running back carries and targets. I presume he will get most of the red zone work also. The 1.45x boost is an absolute treasure to have. I will have a heavy exposure here.
I don’t want to be boring and recommend a fade of the 1x multiplier player. I could easily just say fade Derrick Henry (1x) because he gets very minimal passing work and he has no bonus. Henry will need a touchdown and most cases multiple in order to stand a chance against most of the solid running back choices here. This would be too easy to give you. Johnathon Taylor (1.4x) will be my interesting fade. He is going against the Baltimore Ravens in what should be a hard-hitting contest. He has had less than 15 carries in each of his last 3 games. The Indianapolis Colts just aren’t feeding him as they should. I truly trust Taylor’s talent, but I don’t trust the workload. He has 100 carries on the entire season. That is less than David Johnson, and only four more than the timeless Frank Gore. I am not sure why the Colts refuse to feed him. Until they do, I won’t be there.
Wide Receivers
Keenan Allen (1.35x) continues to be one of the most disrespected receivers in fantasy sports. In every game that he is healthy, and Justin Herbert was the quarterback, he has had double digit targets. His quarterback, Justin Herbert loves to target him, and Allen secured most of his targets. Keenan Allen is fourth in the league in targets, with 75. I absolutely trust his workload and his quarterback. I also trust the fact that they are going against the worst defense in the league in a must-win game. I will have a heavy dose of Keenan Allen.
I could easily write up Stephon Diggs (1.3x) against the bad Seattle Seahawks defense. I won’t do that because we already know he is a very good play. I want to talk briefly about one of the most under-hyped receivers in the league. Terry McLaurin (1.55x) is in a fantastic spot. He will be facing the New York Giants. The Giants have a solid defense overall but are the sixth worst in covering receivers. In all but one game, McLaurin has had double digit average yards per reception. I trust McLaurin’s talent and his workload. Unfortunately for him, he has had subpar quarterbacks this year. His multiplier is too enticing for me to consider passing up. I also add the fact that he may go overlooked because of players like Julio Jones (1.1x) and the players mentioned above.
Unfortunately, there comes a time where I must identify a fade candidate. I don’t think there will be much need for the Pittsburgh Steelers to throw the ball much in this game. Despite the great matchup against the Dallas Cowboys and the very enticing multiple, I will want no part of Dionte Johnson (1.55x). I truly see the Steelers dominating this game in every facet. I don’t see a way Dallas puts up a fight offensively. Because of that, I don’t see any reason for Pittsburgh to have to deploy much of the passing game. I do not want to risk taking Johnson when I feel like he may only be useful for two and a half quarters.
Tight Ends
I have a feeling that my articles will get boring when it comes to the tight end position. SuperDraft continues to give Darren Waller (1.2x) bonus points. Darren Waller is pretty much the top wide receiver for the Las Vegas Raiders. He disappointed last week, but that was due to the wind. The key to Waller’s success is Henry Ruggs. When Ruggs is a viable threat, he forces safeties to player deeper to protect against the deep pass. This allows Waller to roam free in front of the safeties. He then matches up either with linebackers that he far outclasses athletically, or he just has open spaces in zone coverage. Ruggs was not a threat last week due to the wind, therefore the safeties were down and that limited Waller’s production. Waller will return to what he is capable of in this division matchup versus the Chargers that both teams must win. Waller is my favorite tight end on the slate.
Hayden Hurst (1.7x) has an extremely good multiplier. Without Calvin Ridley, Matt Ryan will have to throw elsewhere. I understand that Julio Jones will see an uptick in production. However, what people fail to realize is that the Denver Broncos will be able to focus more on him. Matt Ryan will have to find other players because he can’t throw the ball 30 times to Jones. Hurst will be one of these other players. 1.7x is a multiplier as if he is the 3rd option on the team. I feel like he will be the second option without Ridley. With each catch being worth 0.85 fantasy points, Hurst has a huge edge on the other tight ends.
I wonder when people will stop taking Irv Smith (2.0x). He is not good. He is the fourth option at best in the Minnesota Vikings passing attack. Since the Vikings are a run first team, Smith is the 5th option at best. The only way Smith gets you where you need is if he falls into the end zone twice. This would give him a monstrous 24 fantasy points. I don’t want to sit and wait for that to happen.
Good luck in all your week 9 contests!
