DFS

DeAndre Hopkins certainly deserves a mention given his team’s massive team total (32.25) against his former team. Hopkins has yet to put up a 100-yard game with a touchdown but that is well within his range of outcomes. Kyler Murray’s proclivity to spread the ball around has rightfully scared off some fantasy gamers from paying up for Hopkins. However, he edges out his teammates with a 20.8-percent Target Share and also separates himself with his touchdown production.

Patrick Mahomes posted his highest yardage total in Week 6 and looks to pick up where he left off for Week 7. Of the highest-totaled Week 7 games, the Chiefs/Titans game has the closest Vegas point spread (5.5). The game itself has the highest game total (57.5) and seems the likeliest for a shootout (or whatever it’s called when you’re having to keep up with Derrick Henry).

Brandin Cooks remains the top value play of the week, a title he has held since week four. Cooks bounced back last week finishing as the WR18 on the week posting nine receptions for 89  yards on 13 targets. He saw 147 Air Yards last week and regained the league lead in Air Yards Share. At $6,000 on DraftKings, Cooks remains a value and is a recommended play in all formats.

Devonta Smith disappointed in an island game last week, posting only 5.1 fantasy points in what was perceived to be a smash spot against Tampa Bay. Regardless, he still led the Eagles in Air Yards on the week and is the only Eagles receiver to post over 100 Air Yards in a week on the season. Recency bias and matchup makes Smith a great contrarian play this week against a Raiders secondary that has limited fantasy points for receivers. He is the top value play on the week and a must-start in tournament lineups.

With the Bills, Cowboys, Jaguars, Chargers, Vikings, Steelers, Broncos, Browns, Colts, 49ers, Saints, and Seahawks all off the main slate, most would think it creates opportunity. However, for this week, in particular, I believe it establishes chalk. A combination of matchups and injuries limits the opportunities. 

Patrick Mahomes stacked with combinations of Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce will be popular, and I’m not suggesting to fade them. However, lineups with Mahomes, Darrel Williams, and Mecole Hardman could make for an exciting turnout. Hill has hit on a 50-percent ROI thus far. If the Chiefs go up early, we could see a week where we could have pivoted to another player and seen variance from Mahomes builds. 

The High Value Touch DFS Index is here to help you find the best plays for the dollar in DFS. This is done by looking at leaders in Carries Inside The 10-Yard Line Per Game and Targets Inside The 10-Yard Line Per Game and comparing their prices on DraftKings and FanDuel to create a rating. We look at these touches close to the end zone because touchdowns lead to fantasy points, and fantasy points lead to cashing our lineups in DFS!

In the index, Swift and Jones are the two I am most willing to roster in both cash and tournaments. Mike Davis and Leonard Fournette make for interesting players to have in your tournament player pool, that have the potential for multiple touchdowns in a given week. Derrick Henry is a stud that should be rostered if you can afford it but is outside of the index because he is cost-prohibitive, especially on FanDuel.

Lamar Jackson let down many DFS players last week as the Ravens running backs rushed for three touchdowns. Going back to him this week with his highest upside wide receiver will be an opportunity to leverage his more popular teammates. Also, see why playing the Titans passing game is a great contrarian angle to take in the highest scoring game of the week.

The final stack features Derek Carr and Henry Ruggs. Carr is playing some of the best ball of his career this year and doing so in a way ideal for fantasy owners. The main beneficiary of this play has been Ruggs. He’s turned the No. 2-ranked Average Target Distance (18.8 yards) into 350 (No. 9) Completed Air Yards and 445 (No. 14) receiving yards. He’s looking like the un-guardable deep threat promised out of Alabama last year.

Patrick Mahomes’ league-high 16 Passing Touchdowns matches up well against the Washington defense. Washington and Kansas City rank No. 4 and No. 5 respectively in Pace of Play this season, so this should be an up-pace game as well. The alluring stacking option here is the Mahomes double stack with Tyreek Hill/Travis Kelce, who combine for a whopping 50.7-percent Target Share. The field probably won’t want to pay all the way up at these positions, so that should help drive down ownership. The Chiefs have a slate-high 31 Vegas implied team total.

Mark Andrews is a shocking value play after eviscerating the Colts in Week 5. His $5,200 salary doesn’t seem to match up with his elite usage. His 23.0-percent (No. 3 among qualified tight ends) Air Yards Share, 24.51-percent (No. 2) Target Share, and 86.82-percent (No. 2) Route Participation is top-notch. The opposing Chargers’ elevated situation neutral Pace of Play (No. 5) and offensive success has forced teams to pass the ball more. The Chargers are No. 10 in aFPA and tied for the most touchdowns allowed to tight ends (4). If you fade Andrews, you’re just kooky.

Mac Jones and the Patriots will look to move the ball through the air against a Cowboys defense that has allowed the second-most passing yards through Week 5. And throwing the ball isn’t out of the ordinary for Mac Jones, exhibited by a 38.4 (No. 9) Team Pass Plays Per Game average. Jones has also been fairly productive, with 742 (No. 12 among qualified quarterbacks) Completed Air Yards and an excellent 8.2 (No. 1) Accuracy Rating. I expect this to be a sneaky shootout.

Take the over on a wide receiver who is masked as a tight end. Mike Gesicki’s position-leading 133 Slot Snaps and 140 (No. 6) Routes Run are metrics indicative of a wide receiver, not a tight end. Additionally, his 17.0-percent (No. 2) Hog Rate means that he is receiving a high Target Rate in relation to his Snap Share. Therefore, when this “TE” is on the field, he is being utilized in the passing game more often than not.

In the long run, avoiding the chalk to find unique roster builds and leverage points increases your likelihood of spiking a tournament and getting in on the top heavy prizes. It doesn’t mean it will work every week though. Week 5 showed that sometimes the chalk hits and fantasy gamers who faded them don’t have much of a chance. We won’t adjust our process; we continue to zoom out and focus on the strategies that work best over the long term.

Kyler Murray is always in play for GPP tournaments regardless of price. Beat the market by pairing him with Rondale Moore whose role has expanded each of the last three weeks before his price catches up. Meanwhile we explore stacks for both teams in an under the radar potential shootout.

Injuries have ravaged the running backs position for a second straight week, allowing several backups to find feature roles. The super-charged ‘handcuff’ Kareem Hunt leads the pack, who is a viable play every week without injury, and now becomes the top play on the slate at $6200. My attitude with Hunt is similar to Mattison last week. He’s a game script proof option in an elite environment. There’s no path to a comfortable fade.

It is going to be extra imperative to find structural ways to reduce your ownership this week with so much consolidation around the top games. Chiefs-Football Team and Ravens-Chargers are the clear-cut top games and injuries in both leave very few paths to differentiation within your stacks. Especially when playing those lineups, you need to implement structural leverage points to stay unique.

Brandin Cooks continues to occupy the top spot in the paying up section. Despite his season-low output in Air Yards last week, and his first instance of not leading the Texans in Air Yards on the week, Cooks remains a focal point of the offense. Squaring off against a Colts secondary that just got toasted by the similarly statured Marquise Brown, look for Cooks to bounce back big. He remains a preferred play in all formats.

Henry Ruggs is quietly progressing in his second season. He averages 11.7 (No. 42) Fantasy Points Per Game and has been efficient on his opportunities, posting a +8.5 (No. 46) Production Premium. He remains the Raiders’ field-stretcher, evidenced by his 18.3 (No. 3) Average Target Distance. Ruggs is THE preferred contrarian play this week in the hopes that he can get behind the Broncos secondary like he did in Week 2, where he finished as the WR9 on the week.