Today is must-win territory for some of you, "would-be-nice-to-win, but-don't-absolutely-need-to" territory for others, and "who-cares" territory for those who simply find reading relaxing.
In the Premier League I'm 8-3 and #2 in scoring among the 84 teams across six 14-team divisions. If I can lock down a first-round bye today, then no stress until Week 15.
But wait, there's always stress. Because it's not just about me. The DFS 50/50 Lineup of the Week is a chance to win a cool $1 (or more). Last week's lineup paid off, lifting me to a middling 5-5-1 on the season. After hitting about two-thirds of my 50/50's the previous two years, there's plenty of room for improvement. With that in mind, here's today's 50/50, using FanDuel pricing as always. Why FanDuel? No good reason. Habit, really. That's the site I signed up on around six years ago. And hey, they had one of my favorite WR bargains last week, Tim Patrick (DraftKings reportedly did not).
So go with whatever you want. I won't over-complicate it: This lineup lines up squarely with FanDuel's $60 million salary cap. If you go over, swapping out Chris Godwin for the cheaper Jamison Crowder might work--or for Diontae Johnson if you need to bring it down more.
QB Matt Ryan ($7,900) -- No Austin Hooper. No Devonta Freeman. But two great aerial weapons and a beatable Bucs D. After extraordinarily impressive back-to-back road wins, expect a solid QB1 performance from Ryan.
RB Nick Chubb ($8,200) -- Many believe Baker Mayfield will bust out. Yes, he could. But Chubb has top-5 potential depending on goal-line usage. Hard to ignore him in DFS.
RB Kareem Hunt ($5,600) -- I'm confident in Chubb, but I know when to hedge. If this game gets out of hand in the second half, Hunt could dominate touches. Spending $2,000-$3,000 more on a potential 16-20 point bellcow doesn't make sense given Hunt's sizable floor.
WR Julio Jones ($8,400) -- A QB-WR DFS stack? Why not. Atlanta's #3 in passing yards per game. Brian Hill ain't playing the hero.
WR Calvin Ridley ($6,700) -- I'll put it this way: Julio and Ridley easily could combine for 30+. Investing about 25% of my cap space on that realistic upside makes sense.
WR Mike Evans ($8,000) -- The Bucs are fourth in the league in passing yards, and few receivers have his ceiling. Cameron Brate earned 14 targets last week, compared to only eight for Evans. Expect that to change today.
TE Jesper Horsted ($4,000) -- Who? Some chances are worth taking.
FLEX Chris Godwin ($7,800) -- My third straight week with the Evans/Godwin stack. Insanity? Possibly. But if you believe Atlanta's putting up big points, you gotta believe Tampa Bay will do whatever it can to counter, and that doesn't mean a heavy dose of four-yard runs.
DST Redskins ($3,000) -- The price works. They're the cheapest DST play, but they're facing a sub-par rushing attack and a sub-par QB. If they get me five points, I'll be happy I saved some money for high-upside players elsewhere.
Good luck today.
In the Premier League I'm 8-3 and #2 in scoring among the 84 teams across six 14-team divisions. If I can lock down a first-round bye today, then no stress until Week 15.
But wait, there's always stress. Because it's not just about me. The DFS 50/50 Lineup of the Week is a chance to win a cool $1 (or more). Last week's lineup paid off, lifting me to a middling 5-5-1 on the season. After hitting about two-thirds of my 50/50's the previous two years, there's plenty of room for improvement. With that in mind, here's today's 50/50, using FanDuel pricing as always. Why FanDuel? No good reason. Habit, really. That's the site I signed up on around six years ago. And hey, they had one of my favorite WR bargains last week, Tim Patrick (DraftKings reportedly did not).
So go with whatever you want. I won't over-complicate it: This lineup lines up squarely with FanDuel's $60 million salary cap. If you go over, swapping out Chris Godwin for the cheaper Jamison Crowder might work--or for Diontae Johnson if you need to bring it down more.
QB Matt Ryan ($7,900) -- No Austin Hooper. No Devonta Freeman. But two great aerial weapons and a beatable Bucs D. After extraordinarily impressive back-to-back road wins, expect a solid QB1 performance from Ryan.
RB Nick Chubb ($8,200) -- Many believe Baker Mayfield will bust out. Yes, he could. But Chubb has top-5 potential depending on goal-line usage. Hard to ignore him in DFS.
RB Kareem Hunt ($5,600) -- I'm confident in Chubb, but I know when to hedge. If this game gets out of hand in the second half, Hunt could dominate touches. Spending $2,000-$3,000 more on a potential 16-20 point bellcow doesn't make sense given Hunt's sizable floor.
WR Julio Jones ($8,400) -- A QB-WR DFS stack? Why not. Atlanta's #3 in passing yards per game. Brian Hill ain't playing the hero.
WR Calvin Ridley ($6,700) -- I'll put it this way: Julio and Ridley easily could combine for 30+. Investing about 25% of my cap space on that realistic upside makes sense.
WR Mike Evans ($8,000) -- The Bucs are fourth in the league in passing yards, and few receivers have his ceiling. Cameron Brate earned 14 targets last week, compared to only eight for Evans. Expect that to change today.
TE Jesper Horsted ($4,000) -- Who? Some chances are worth taking.
FLEX Chris Godwin ($7,800) -- My third straight week with the Evans/Godwin stack. Insanity? Possibly. But if you believe Atlanta's putting up big points, you gotta believe Tampa Bay will do whatever it can to counter, and that doesn't mean a heavy dose of four-yard runs.
DST Redskins ($3,000) -- The price works. They're the cheapest DST play, but they're facing a sub-par rushing attack and a sub-par QB. If they get me five points, I'll be happy I saved some money for high-upside players elsewhere.
Good luck today.