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 15 Recap

There was a lot of good and some equally bad with our week 15 lineups, that ultimately amounted to some wins and some losses. Fpr the second week in a row we had some really nice sleepers who helped carry some lineups. The difference between week 14 and 15 was a couple of strikeouts with our high-priced talent. In particular with the Los Angeles Chargers, as we really like Justin Herbert in their matchup with Tennessee. We decided to stack him with our Star of the Week, wide receiver Mike Williams, who was mostly a non-factor in their game. Williams did grab a handful of passes in the second half which kept him from being a complete bust, however we were counting on 20+ fantasy points from the young receiver. Overall, if you were able to grab some of suggestions you probably at least fared decently. Let’s review what worked and what didn’t.

These Players Made Us Look Good:

Jalen Hurts – 315 Yards Passing, 61 Yards Rushing, 3 Total TDs
Travis Kelce – 105 Yards Receiving, 0 Total TD
Trevor Lawrence – 318 Yards Passing, 21 Yards Rushing, 4 Total TDs
Derrick Henry – 104 Yards Rushing, 59 Yards Receiving, 1 Total TD
Dak Prescott – 256 Yards Passing, 20 Yards Rushing, 3 Total TDs
Jerick McKinnon – 52 Yards Rushing, 70 Yards Receiving, 2 Total TDs
Zay Jones – 109 Yards Receiving, 3 Total TDs

These Players Made Us Look Foolish:

Miles Sanders – 42 Yards Rushing, -13 Yards Receiving, 0 Total TD
Greg Dulcich – 11 Yards Receiving, 0 Total TD
Hunter Henry – 9 Yards Receiving, 0 Total TD
Mac Jones – 112 Yards Passing, 12 Yards Rushing, 0 Total TD

NFL Week 16 Preview

Many season long fantasy leagues are into the playoffs this week, so you may notice a few less contests on DraftKings this weekend. The Christmas holiday actually has most of the league’s games on Saturday in week sixteen, so the big tourneys will be on Christmas Eve. We mentioned a week ago that injuries are piling up, and there are a ton of “Q”‘s across the board at all positions. Monitoring that, along with potential weather games is important, so you may need to adjust your lineups all the way up until kickoff on Saturday. There are a lot of really good mid-range options this week so expect some high-scoring teams. As usual, determining how much you want to spend at QB is going to be critical. Patrick Mahomes is definitely poised for a monster game, but save some money for a big running back or receiver.

Before we highlight our three levels of talent, let’s look at our projected star of the week:

STAR OF THE WEEK:

You may have noticed that we’ve had Jerick McKinnon listed as a sleeper the previous two weeks, and he more than came through in that role. This week he’s garnering a little more attention, but is still very undervalued with a salary of just $5,900. With Clyde Edwards-Helaire injured, it’s very apparent that both the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes trust the veteran running back in key situations. Isiah Pacheco will get plenty of opportunities in the Chiefs contest versus the Seahawks, but it’s McKinnon who they will lean on when they’ve got to have some plays. He unofficially has taken on the passing duties out of the backfield, and in PPR formats has some nice value there in itself. The last two weeks he’s snagged 15 passes and found the end zone a total of 4 times. His extreme value may not be there as a sleeper, but he still has some mid-range value at his current price point. In a weekend where it feels like a must to have Derrick Henry as your RB1, McKinnon can serve as your RB2 and potentially put up some big numbers.

Quarterbacks:

Patrick Mahomes – $8,400 vs. Seahawks
Joe Burrow – $7,000 vs. Patriots

Running Backs:

Derrick Henry – $8,600 vs. Texans
Dalvin Cook – $7,200 vs. Giants

Wide Receivers:

Justin Jefferson – $9,300 vs. Giants
D.K. Metcalf – $7,100 vs. Chiefs

Tight Ends:

Travis Kelce – $8,000 vs. Seahawks
Mark Andrews – $5,500 vs. Falcons

Defense / Special Teams:

San Francisco 49ers – $3,900 vs. Commanders

Quarterbacks:

Geno Smith – $5,800 vs. Chiefs
Daniel Jones – $5,600 vs. Vikings

Running Backs:

Jerick McKinnon – $5,900 vs. Seahawks
J.K. Dobbins – $5,800 vs. Falcons

Wide Receivers:

Devonta Smith – $6,600 vs. Cowboys
Amari Cooper – $5,900 vs. Saints

Tight Ends:

Chig Okonkwo – $3,500 vs. Texans
Daniel Bellinger – $3,300 vs. Vikings

Defense / Special Teams:

Baltimore Ravens – $3,200 vs. Falcons

Quarterbacks:

Sam Darnold – $5,100 vs. Lions
Gardner Minshew – $4,800 – vs. Cowboys

Running Backs:

Jamaal Williams – $5,200 vs. Panthers
Kareem Hunt – $4,900 vs. Saints

Wide Receivers:

Darius Slayton – $5,200 vs. Vikings
Marquise Goodwin – $4,300 vs. Chiefs

Tight Ends:

Jordan Akins – $2,900 vs. Titans
Will Dissly – $2,700 vs. Chiefs

Defense / Special Teams:

Philadelphia Eagles – $2,200 vs. Cowboys

If you play Daily Fantasy Football, 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!