Upside Plays

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.

Prescott has tossed ten Touchdown Passes (No. 3), seven of which have come in the two games. His 78-percent True Completion Percentage (No. 3) is quite impressive as well, especially at 33.25 Attempts Per Game. The Giants have allowed 7 Passing Touchdowns (No. 5) and 23.2 fantasy points per game to quarterbacks (No. 10). It’s time to go back to Dak.

Dalton Shultz is a nice pivot off the chalky Dallas receivers. The Prescott/Shultz stack is an interesting pairing considering Shultz’ low 6.3-percent projected ownership. Shultz is coming off back to back games seeing Target Shares of 28 and 37.5-percent.

After burning countless parlays in back to back weeks, the Chiefs look to get right this week with a visit to Philadelphia. Patrick Mahomes has yet to pay off his exorbitant price tag in recent weeks despite throwing for at least three passing touchdowns in each start. Mahomes’ 8.0-percent Touchdown Rate, 313 Passing Yards Per Game and nine passing touchdowns all rank top five at the position. Jalen Hurts should also do enough to keep the game competitive.

Alvin Kamara is always in play. His 77.6-percent (No. 6) Opportunity Share and 23.0-percent (No. 1) Target Share are elite. His opponent this week, the Giants, have allowed the second most receiving yards to running backs this season. You need some Kamara exposure.

Some good chalk I’m feeling this week includes rostering Kyler Murray at quarterback. It may seem like an obvious play because it is. He has been the QB2 and QB1 on back to back slates but projects as only the seventh-highest owned quarterback. Murray being the QB1 after two weeks isn’t as much a surprise as the way he’s put it together. It seems whether by matchup or game plan, the Cardinals have been willing to let Murray sling it.

The Podfather expects big things out of T.J. Hockenson this season and I’m expecting big things this week. Playing on a Lions team with fringe-NFL receiver talent has benefited Hockenson and given new teammate Jared Goff a reliable target. Goff has looked his his way often especially around the goal line, where Hockenson is tied for the second most Red Zone Targets among tight ends.

Going back to the well with Kyler Murray and DeAndre Hopkins should pay off in Week 2. Only Jameis Winston (legit shocker) threw for more Passing Touchdowns than Murray in Week 1. Priced up as the most expensive quarterback and wide receiver pairing, here’s a situation where paying up to be contrarian could be the separator needed to bink.

The Cowboys/Chargers game will be popular and for good reason. Dak Prescott and Justin Herbert ranked second and fourth in Attempts Per Game after one week of action (47 and 40 attempts respectively.) The games’ slate high 55 point implied game total tells a story that Vegas expects another shootout too. Keenan Allen and Amari Cooper lead their respective teams equally each with a 28-percent Target Share. This makes for a logical stacking combination.

While I’m high on Ryan Tannehill, Kyler Murray’s upside shouldn’t go overlooked in this potential shootout. Murray’s 67-percent Red Zone Completion Percentage and 24.4 Fantasy Points Per Game are good for third-best among qualified quarterbacks. The Titans low-key allowed the second-most touchdown passes (only the Lions allowed more) to opposing quarterbacks last season (36).  

The Falcons and Eagles allowed the most and ninth most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers last season. Devonta Smith’s 34.6-percent Target Share at Alabama last year gives us a clear run-back option on the Eagles side of the ball. The Matt Ryan/Calvin Ridley/Kyle Pitts/Devonta Smith stack is very intriguing.

One bust week and one boom week earned Quez Watkins his Weekly Volatility score of 8.3, which ranks No. 24 among qualified wide receivers. It’s a sign of things to come from the sixth-round pick out of Southern Miss. At the stone minimum of $3,000 on DraftKings, he offers gamers salary relief and flexible roster construction coupled with upside. And at low projected rostership, he’s also a leverage play in large-field GPPs.

Chase Claypool’s recent streak of bust games figures to end sooner than later given his volatile nature. While JuJu Smith-Schuster and Diontae Johnson dink and dunk with short passes from Ben Roethlisberger, Claypool leads the team with a 29.4-percent (No. 32 among qualified wide receivers) Air Yards Share and 25 (No. 5) Deep Targets. And priced at a salary of $5,900 with a fantasy ceiling of 40 points, he offers an intriguing play.

The Atlanta Falcons have allowed the fifth-most receptions to RBs on the season, giving a bonafide receiving back like Le’Veon Bell a high-floor. Given the spread of this game, Bell and the Chiefs should see nothing but positive Game Script. His price isn’t cheap, but at $5800, he projects as one of the week’s best values. Plus, there aren’t many exciting RB options without Alvin Kamara, Dalvin Cook, or Derrick Henry on the main slate. 

Melvin Gordon has now averaged over 5.0 yards per touch in three straight games while averaging 18.1 DK fantasy points. He should get a solid usage bump on top of his efficiency this week with both Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman not practicing with hip issues. If they don’t suit up against the Chargers or are limited in any capacity, Gordon’s 59.9-percent (No. 20 among qualified running backs) percent Opportunity Share would certainly rise to elite levels. 

T.Y. Hilton draws a matchup with a Texans team that has been awful in defending the pass all season. This contest is destined to shoot out, with the second-highest over/under on the main slate, providing plenty of room for another ceiling game. Even with his recent surge in performance, Hilton is still just $5,500 on DraftKings. Take advantage.

With Will Fuller suspended and Randall Cobb still out with a toe injury, Keke Coutee will continue to be on the field a lot. For what it’s worth, both of his career 100-yard games have come against the Colts. That includes two weeks ago when he torched Indianapolis for 141 yards on nine targets. This game has the second-highest over/under on the main slate and Coutee is an affordable $5,300 on DraftKings.

For all his fantasy scoring fluctuation – his 9.3 Weekly Volatility score ranks No. 15 among qualified wide receivers – Calvin Ridley has posted WR1 numbers in five different weeks this season, including three top-3 finishes. He’s earned a consistently high Target Share, seeing no fewer than nine targets across his past four games. Regardless of Julio Jones’ availability (hamstring), Ridley needs to be fired up.

D.K. Metcalf needs no narrative to smash a slate, and he won’t get one this week. Washington holds opposing receivers to a total of 19.8 Fantasy Points per Game, the third-fewest this season. Metcalf carries the third-highest salary ($8,600) on the main slate, which pushes the masses off him. And when that happens and his projected rostership falls below 10-percent, he deserves to be in GPP lineups.