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If you have not played on DraftKings yet, be sure to make your first deposit which will earn you a free spot in a paid tournament. Why play DraftKings? In addition to being one of the most aesthetically-pleasing websites on the internet, DraftKings offers user-friendly scoring and rules which can be found in full here. In addition, there is no kicker so any of those six field goal days will not ruin your weekend.
The details of this week’s contest:
-Turn $2 into $10,000
-$100,000 in Total Prizes
-$10,000 First Place prize
-Just $2 to enter
Without further ado, your NFL cheat sheet for Conference Championship Weekend in the NFL.
The players are ranked from top to bottom based on value, price and matchup.
Quarterback
Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks $8,000
Tom Brady, New England Patriots $8,500
Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers $7,800
Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts $8,200
Running Back
Dan Herron, Indianapolis Colts $5,900
Marshawn Lynch, Seattle Seahawks $7,600
LeGarrette Blount, New England Patriots $4,500
Eddie Lacy, Green Bay Packers $6,300
Wide Receiver
Randall Cobb, Green Bay Packers $7,700
Reggie Wayne, Indianapolis Colts $2,800
Doug Baldwin, Seattle Seahawks $5,000
Tight End
Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots $7,800
Dwayne Allen, Indianapolis Colts $3,800
Jack Doyle, Indianapolis Colts $2,000
Defense
New England Patriots $3,200
Seattle Seahawks $3,600
Analysis
With just two games, it’s more of a lottery than any other NFL slate this weekend. But, there is still strategy to win. This week, more so than ever, is the week to completely disregard the salaries. If you have a few hundred dollars of cap space left, don’t upgrade a player simply because of price. If you have $1,000 left and you like your team, stay with it. DraftKings lowered the minimum prices of skill players to $2,000 for this slate, so it’s expected to have some leftover cap space.
All four quarterbacks are priced at $7,800 or higher this weekend, and in a crazy turn of events Aaron Rodgers is the cheapest option at quarterback this weekend. Of course, he is on the road in Seattle which drops his value in addition to his nagging calf injury. This weekend, I’m going with Russell Wilson and Tom Brady as the two quarterbacks to build lineups around, for different reasons. For Wilson, he has the highest floor of any remaining quarterback, simply because of his rushing ability. Brady is my tournament play at quarterback, because he has the best available weapon left in Rob Gronkowski, who torched the Colts in their last meeting. Wilson is safer than Brady simply because the Patriots offense is unpredictable. Some weeks they run 40 times, then other times (like last week) they throw the ball 50 times per game.
At running back, I am paying up for Marshawn Lynch and Dan Herron this week. Lynch was underwhelming last week, but in a tough matchup against the Panthers. This weekend, he faces the Packers rush defense, who ranked near the bottom of the NFL in allowing fantasy points to opposing running backs this season. As for Herron, he has become a must-play on DraftKings because of his ability to catch the football. In two playoff games, Herron has 18 catches and has scored in each contest. He is the top play at his price among all running backs and will likely be owned by close to everyone on DraftKings this weekend.
Wide receiver is a weak position this week, simply because the best player (Jordy Nelson) will likely be covered by Richard Sherman, and the other top option (T.Y. Hilton) will be followed by Darrelle Revis. That would leave a Patriots’ outside wide receiver (Brandon LaFell) as a top option, but he will likely be followed by Vontae Davis. With the top three corners in the NFL on the field this weekend, wide receiver is a position to punt. Randall Cobb is the only receiver worth paying for, simply because he does not have as tough a matchup as the others. In addition, Cobb has been the third-down running back for the Packers, giving him more of an opportunity to catch the football. I’m going with Reggie Wayne this week, despite the fact that he caught zero passes last week. His price is theoretically free at under $3,000, and he will need to step up with Hilton being followed by Revis all day. The Colts aren’t ready to allow Donte Moncrief or Hakeem Nicks to take snaps from the veteran, so expect Wayne to be targeted a lot this weekend.
At tight end, you cannot afford not to take Rob Gronkowski in cash games this weekend, as he is the top weapon left and no one can seem to stop him, especially the Colts, who struggle against the tight end. In their last meeting, Gronkowski caught four passes for 71 yards and a touchdown. In tournaments, fading Gronkowski is a good strategy, simply because everyone will have him. Pivoting to Dwayne Allen or Luke Willson as a GPP play would suffice, and allow you to spend on Cobb at wide receiver.
Good luck this weekend.
Statistics found from numbers on ESPN.com, ProFootballFocus.com, and DraftKings.com. Good luck this weekend.
* Indicates possible inactive, check inactive reports an hour before kickoff.
