Daily fantasy football continues to climb in popularity as jackpots have risen consistently and more fans are joining sites every week. Our weekly article showcases players to target at three general levels of value: The big dollar talent (Heavy Hitters), the average-priced contributors (Average Athletes), and the guys very questionable players at the bottom of the cost charts (Sneaky Sleepers). Our selected players are based on DraftKings values as that is our daily fantasy site of choice, but the values should translate fairly well to any other sites you may use. We don’t share specific lineups or optimized computer rankings, but we will give you some great candidates for you to consider. We set this breakdown up that way because while winning is great, a big part of the fun draw of daily fantasy is mixing and matching your lineups to see how you can maximize your team. That and the fact that we are trying to win the same way that you are, and quite frankly, we don’t want our readers to all have the same exact lineups.
NFL Week 11 Recap
What a rebound for us after a disastrous week 10 as we bounced back in a big way in week 11 with some heavy profits. Most of this resulted from leaning on Jonathan Taylor in our lineups, which almost guaranteed some winnings. We can also celebrate a nice rebound with our Star of the Week as Jaylen Waddle came through with over 20 fantasy points, including his first career rushing touchdown. Our higher quarterbacks didn’t do enough, fortunately we structured our lineups with lesser priced options there which really helped out. At the end of the day it just felt great to make some profit again after what had been our worst week in memory.
Who Made Us Look Brilliant?
- Jonathan Taylor – 185 Yards Rushing, 19 Yards Receiving, 5 Total TDs
- Nick Chubb – 130 yards Rushing, 11 Yards Receiving, 1 Total TD
- Tua Tagovailoa – 273 Yards Passing, 3 Yards Rushing, 2 Total TDs
- James Conner – 62 Yards Rushing, 37 Yards Receiving, 1 Total TD
Who Made Us Look Foolish?
- Dak Prescott – 216 Yards Passing, 0 Total TD, 2 Ints
- Cole Beasley – 23 Yards Receiving, 0 Total TD
- Patrick Mahomes – 260 Yards Passing, 0 Total TD, 1 Int
- D.K. Metcalf – 31 Yards Receiving, 0 Total TD
NFL Week 12 Preview
The talent pool is a little thinned out with six teams having already played on Thursday. While you probably wouldn’t have had many Lions, Bears and Saints in your lineups, it still makes the positions a little more jumbled. As you’ll see below with our Star of the Week, we’re going cheap with quarterbacks this week and spending the money to stack some wide receivers instead. There’s a logjam at the top with the running backs as well, as the big question is whether or not Jonathan Taylor can continue his dominant stretch against an always tough Tampa Bay run defense? Running back is definitely the trickiest this week and could determine whether or not you win your contests.
STAR OF THE WEEK:
San Francisco 49er fans are going to have to wait just a bit longer to see Trey Lance at the helm for their offense. Just when you thought it was time to bury Jimmy Garoppolo, the incumbent quarterback is putting on some of the top performances of his career. In fact, you could argue that no QB in the league has been better over the last month of the season. Look for Jimmy G to continue his hot play against against the Minnesota Vikings in what is an important game in the NFC playoff race. We’re planning for a game total in the 50+ range as the Vikings offense is really rolling behind Kirk Cousins and their talented weapons. That means that Garoppolo is going to need to put some points on the board, and it can’t all be just through the running game. Garoppolo has the benefit of potentially having a clean pocket as the Vikings top two edge rushers won’t be playing in this game. Add in the fact that wide receiver Deebo Samuel has been as good as any receiver in the league thus far and things are lining up pretty well for the Niners offense. Finally, the return of George Kittle at tight end makes this team really difficult to defend. Spend your money at the other positions this week and build your lineup around Jimmy Garoppolo.
PLAYERS WE’RE TARGETING:
Quarterbacks:
Tom Brady – $7,600 vs. Colts
Jalen Hurts – $7,300 vs. Giants
Running Backs:
Christian McCaffrey – $9,000 vs. Dolphins
Najee Harris – $8,200 vs. Bengals
Wide Receivers:
Justin Jefferson – $8,300 vs. 49ers
Deebo Samuel – $7,900 vs. Vikings
Tight Ends:
Kyle Pitts – $6,100 vs. Jaguars
Noah Fant – $4,600 vs. Chargers
Defense / Special Teams:
New England Patriots – $3,900 vs. Titans
Quarterbacks:
Kirk Cousins – $6,300 vs. 49ers
Joe Burrow – $6,200 vs. Steelers
Running Backs:
James Robinson – $6,200 vs. Falcons
Melvin Gordon III – $5,300 vs. Chargers
Wide Receivers:
Diontae Johnson – $6,600 vs. Bengals
Michael Pittman, Jr. – $5,600 vs. Buccaneers
Tight Ends:
Dan Arnold – $4,000 vs. Falcons
Evan Engram – $3,800 vs. Eagles
Defense / Special Teams:
Miami Dolphins – $2,800 vs. Panthers
Quarterbacks:
Carson Wentz – $5,800 vs. Buccaneers
Tyrod Taylor – $5,300 vs. Jets
Running Backs:
Miles Sanders – $5,100 vs. Giants
Rex Burkhead – $4,200 vs. Jets
Wide Receivers:
Kendrick Bourne – $4,900 vs. Titans
Jamison Crowder – $4,700 vs. Texans
Tight Ends:
Jared Cook – $3,000 vs. Broncos
Johnnu Smith – $2,700 vs. Patriots
Defense / Special Teams:
Houston Texans – $2,300 vs. Jets
If you play Daily Fantasy Football we love talking sports and we’d love to hear your take and who you like each week, find us on Twitter @TheBetCrushers and let us know. Good luck and enjoy the weekend!
