DraftKings NFL Week 6: Picks, Sleepers and Strategies

The Houston Texans are in a prime spot right now. How many of them do we like?
Per usual, these follow standard Draftkings prices. ***Stephen A. Smith Voice*** HOWEVER! With DraftKings deciding to remove the Sunday night games from the millionaire slate, I’ve decided to include every game during the week to fit different tournaments/slates.

For audio-based listeners, hear our Week 6 DFS preview here: 

Quarterbacks

  • Top Shelf
    • Drew Brees ($7,200) – Fresh off a bye week, Brees returns to a game against the Lions at home in the Superdome. Detroit had serious problems slowing down Cam Newton and the Panthers passing game in Week 5 and Brees has been averaging 20 a game.
  • Retail Price
    • ***Deshaun Watson ($6,700)*** – Watson is firing on all cylinders at the moment after back to back 30+ point performances. He’s shown off a very nice deep ball and the ability to escape and pick up chunks of rushing yards. A date with the Cleveland Browns is a match made in heaven for Watson to continue his dominance at home.
    • Carson Palmer ($6,100) – Despite an underwhelming performance, Palmer still had 16 points in a blow out loss. He should have a much better line at home against the Bucs and get back up into the 300 yard range and a score or two.
  • Bang For Your Buck
    • Jacoby Brissett ($5,800) – The Titans have become a defense that you want to target in the passing game. Brissett’s time is running out with the Andrew Luck chatter intensifying. He’s shown his ability to move the ball through the air and on the ground as well which is a huge plus, especially when he scrambles down in the red zone. I like Brissett if you’re looking to spend down at the QB spot.
    • Case Keenum ($5,000) – Really reaching for the stars here, but the Vikings offense finally began to click when Keenum was put in on Monday Night. Luckily for Keenum, he’s facing a struggling Packers secondary in a game where he’s going up against Aaron Rodgers. One would expect Keenum to have to throw the ball, while Diggs and Thielen appear to be healthy for this week.

Running Backs

  • Top Shelf
    • Kareem Hunt ($8,200) – Hunt continues to sit around the $8k mark while being a cornerstone of the Chiefs offense. Against the Steelers at home, Pittsburgh has shown their problems with run defense most notably last week being unable to stop Fournette. Hunt has gone two straight games without a score, a trend I don’t think keeps up for this week.
    • Leonard Fournette ($8,000) – Another struggling defense here, as Fournette is likely to be one of the popular plays after Week 5’s explosion. He’s scored in every game this year and has been as consistent as they come at the RB position. Jacksonville clearly wants to run the offense through him, and keep it out of Blake Bortles’ hands.
    • Todd Gurley ($7,700) – A nice bounce back game is waiting for Gurley after being shut down by Seattle. The Jags have an elite secondary, so Goff and the passing game should be very limited. The Rams should be running the ball frequently in this game.
    • Devonta Freeman ($7,400) – I really like Freeman in this spot especially at home. The Falcons should obliterate the Dolphins, and Freeman has been pulling away from the timeshare with Tevin Coleman. Freeman is another guy who has scored in every game this season.
  • Retail Price
    • CJ Anderson ($6,600) – A fresh Anderson with a strong hold on the Broncos running game looks ideal against the struggling Giants. New York shouldn’t be scoring much in this game, so Denver can focus on just running the ball and beating up the opposition with ease.
    • Mike Gillislee ($5,500) – Gillislee has been quiet since his Week 1 three touchdown explosion. We figure the Patriots to be down at the goal line and in the red zone often against the Jets. News has come out that Brady is dealing with a shoulder injury. Perhaps they look to run the ball more and alleviate some of the hits Tom has taken pretty frequently.
    • Lamar Miller ($5,400) – If there’s a blow up spot for Miller, it’s here. Cleveland so bad where Houston could just run all over them as Miller has separated himself from a timeshare with D’Onta Foreman. Miller had that one blow up game earlier this year, maybe he cashes in once again versus this terrible team.
    • Andre Ellington ($5,300) – Don’t fear the addition of Adrian Peterson, Ellington has secured his spot as the receiving back in Arizona. Double digit targets in back to back games, Ellington has been good for double digit points since taking over this specific role.
  • Bang For Your Buck
    • ***Alvin Kamara ($4,500)*** – I loved Kamara heading into this week with a low price, and then the Saints traded away Adrian Peterson. It just shows how much they trust Kamara and Ingram to carry the load. Kamara has looked like what Darren Sproles was to the Saints offense in the past and he’s been a HUGE PPR presence. His role is only expanding going forward, and you won’t find him cheaper for the rest of the year.
    • Jerick McKinnon ($4,100) – McKinnon came in and snatched the lead back role from Latavius Murray after Dalvin Cook went down. Murray couldn’t get much going, and McKinnon was making plays left and right showing he’s clearly the guy to have in Minnesota. His speed and receiving abilities make him so versatile. He had 20 touches last week and that amount with this price is mouth-watering.
    • Wayne Gallman ($3,900) – Where the Broncos have a weak spot on defense it’s the run defense. Gallman has surprised through two games so far and Paul Perkins has been out with a rib injury. Since the Giants have no receivers left on their roster, Gallman should see a handful of carries along with a decent number of routes run in the passing game. Surprising to see his price not rise at all.

 

Wide Receivers

  • Top Shelf
    • Antonio Brown ($9,300) – Despite Jacksonville’s elite secondary, Brown did what Brown does and put up eye popping numbers without even scoring a touchdown. As good as Kansas City has been, they have struggled with receivers and given up a handful of points. Brown is as good as it gets.
    • DeAndre Hopkins ($8,100) – Hopkins target numbers are still through the roof and Watson is only getting better. Houston’s offense should have no problem here and you know the looks for Hopkins are going to be there.
    • Michael Thomas ($7,300) – Thomas has found his groove with the Saints and Brees and looks primed for a home game versus Detroit. The Lions couldn’t slow down Kelvin Benjamin or Devin Funchess Sunday, and Thomas is a whole other breed of receiver.
  • Retail Price
    • Mike Evans ($6,900) – Evans is a guy that’s generally priced in the high $7k or mid $8k range so anytime you can get him for under $7k you have to seriously consider. He’s likely to see low ownership due to a potential matchup with Patrick Peterson, but Evans’ size has allowed him to have past success.
    • Golden Tate ($6,800) – Anytime you can go into New Orleans for a game, the opposing offense looks real nice. Tate is the best weapon in Detroit’s offense and has been quiet for a few weeks now. A nice comeback spot here for Tate against a bad defense.
    • Adam Thielen ($6,000) – Thielen against poor Packers cornerbacks is a potential matchup to pick on. Keenum isn’t the QB that a healthy Sam Bradford is, and with Diggs kinda banged up with a groin injury last week Thielen’s value looks much better.
    • ***Terrelle Pryor ($5,700)*** – While Pryor hasn’t produced at the level we all expected, I like this spot coming for him against the 49ers. A struggling secondary that allowed Hilton to burn them, Pryor has the size and deep ball abilities for a big time game.
  • Bang For Your Buck
    • Taylor Gabriel ($4,600) – With Mohammed Sanu out this week, Gabriel slides into that #2 spot in Atlanta. Julio Jones has been banged up recently and could very well have a quiet week as he hasn’t been dominating yet. Gabriel’s speed could result in a big time play for the receiver.
    • John Brown ($4,500) – A healthy Brown is a solid Brown for fantasy purposes. His absence allowed Jaron Brown and JJ Nelson to have a presence in the Cardinals passing game, but when John Brown is healthy he puts up numbers for the Cardinals. Tampa’s secondary has struggled so far which helps Brown’s case here.
    • JuJu Smith-Schuster ($3,600) – JuJu has been quietly climbing towards that #2 receiving spot in Pittsburgh as his snap count just continues to rise. Martavis Bryant has been struggling for Pittsburgh so JuJu could end up sliding into a very productive slot in a high octane offense.

Tight Ends

  • Top Plays
    • Zach Ertz ($6,300) – An automatic plug and matchup free tight end that is arguably the most consistent at his position. He’s the top weapon in the Eagles offense that is extremely pass heavy. As safe a play as you’ll find.
  • Bargain Plays
    • Austin Seferian-Jenkins ($4,300) – ASJ burst through as we expected last week, and could very well keep it going against a struggling Patriots defense that is allowing a high number of touchdown passes. He’s one of the few weapons the Jets offense has.
    • Ryan Griffin ($4,000) – *Checks Cleveland Browns opponent. Inserts opposing team’s tight end*
    • Cameron Brate ($3,900) – Brate has separated himself from OJ Howard and has serious chemistry with Winston at the moment. Scoring in three straight games, Brate could see more looks with outside receivers being covered by blanket man Patrick Peterson.
    • Ed Dickson ($3,000) – Dickson is starting to fill the void that was left by Greg Olsen after injury. He’s developing trust and chemistry with Cam Newton and it’s showing as his targets and yardage are starting to climb.

Defense

  • Top Plays
    • Denver Broncos ($4,000) – This matchup is almost too good. The elite Broncos secondary at home against a Giants team that has practically seen it’s entire receiving core die in Week 5. Eli Manning and the Giants have struggled all season, and I have no idea what they do for offense after losing this many receivers.
    • Baltimore Ravens ($3,700) – Welcoming rookie Mitchell Trubisky into Baltimore is a good sign for the Ravens D. The Bears don’t really have real receivers for Trubisky to work with and the team’s best pass last week came from a fake punt.
    • Atlanta Falcons ($3,500) – Atlanta comes home fresh off a bye against the awful QB Jay Cutler and a Miami offense that has been so atrocious in 2017.
  • Bargain Plays
    • Green Bay Packers ($2,800) – I don’t like any defenses under $3k, so if I had to choose somebody it would be Green Bay. I’ll still be using a defense from above.

Be sure to let me know how much money I won you, @theJMcGuinness.

Also, last week’s picks can be referenced here.

Author

  • THE Inaugural 2016 RSJ Fantasy Football League Champion. Owner of a #bigbrain, and lover of football, baseball and college hoops. When not grinding for the RSJ, can be found captaining his beer league softball team.

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