Last week's DFS Lineup of the Week was 3-to-4 points away from a win. Close isn't good enough, and I fell to 3-4-1 on the season. I'm not close to throwing in the towel after two solid seasons doing this. So for what it's worth, I'm feeling good about this week's lineup. As always, this is based on Fan Duel pricing. If you use another service and are slightly over-budget, maybe swap out D.J. Moore for Demaryius Thomas, or downgrade CMC to Dalvin Cook.
QB Matthew Stafford ($7,900) -- The most challenging part of today's lineup was at quarterback. Started writing this piece with Josh Allen starting. Cycled through at least eight guys ranging from $7 million to $8.6 million the past few days. Ryan Fitzpatrick is ultra cheap with nice upside, but could get pulled by halftime. Russell Wilson has a fantastic matchup, but he's been pedestrian the past two weeks. I'm going with the fourth most expensive QB against the fourth worst pass defense. As a bonus, Tra Carson is now out for the year, further weakening Detroit's backfield and putting more pressure on Stafford to pull out a victory.
RB Christian McCaffrey ($9,700) -- I traded CMC a couple days ago, a week after acquiring him. In his last 15 games (not counting last year's brief Week 17 appearance), he's averaging 30.5 fantasy points per game. Over a 16-game season, that would come to 487 points. No one has ever had 487 fantasy points in a season. So from a fantasy perspective, CMC arguably is on pace for the greatest 16-game production in NFL history. He has to be started this week, and as a side note, I'd sell high with the understanding that Carolina might not want him to handle a full workload in Week 16.
RB Le'Veon Bell ($7,000) -- The Jets shopped him heavily before the trade deadline. Then Bell declared the Steelers wanted him back. He's coming off a measly 11-touch outing, and is gearing up to face the sympathy-inducing Dolphins. The Jets will give Bell what he wants, and Bell will finally deliver: 145+ total yards and 2+ scores.
WR Chris Godwin ($8,200) -- Hit-or-miss. But he's facing a sub-par Seattle pass D and is, on the season, an elite fantasy scorer.
WR Mike Evans ($8,100) -- I've paired receivers before, and it often works. 25+ combined points between Evans and Godwin is a reasonable expectation. 35+ is realistic for a team where two-thirds of all offensive touchdowns have come through the air.
WR D.J. Moore ($5,400) -- Love his targets. Like his matchup. Capitalizing on a slight hedge in case CMC disappoints.
TE Noah Fant ($4,600) -- Inexperienced QB. A gaping hole at wideout. Fant enjoyed eight targets last week and is one of my favorite uber-bargains this week.
FLEX Jaylen Samuels ($5,000) -- While writing this, it appears James Conner will sit, meaning Samuels should start. Assuming everything goes as expected, he's a superb bargain.
DST Steelers ($3,900) -- Wanted to roll with the Bills ($5,000), but couldn't get the numbers to work. With T.Y. Hilton out for Indy, Pittsburgh gets enough of a bump to warrant the start at this competitive price.
Good luck today.
QB Matthew Stafford ($7,900) -- The most challenging part of today's lineup was at quarterback. Started writing this piece with Josh Allen starting. Cycled through at least eight guys ranging from $7 million to $8.6 million the past few days. Ryan Fitzpatrick is ultra cheap with nice upside, but could get pulled by halftime. Russell Wilson has a fantastic matchup, but he's been pedestrian the past two weeks. I'm going with the fourth most expensive QB against the fourth worst pass defense. As a bonus, Tra Carson is now out for the year, further weakening Detroit's backfield and putting more pressure on Stafford to pull out a victory.
RB Christian McCaffrey ($9,700) -- I traded CMC a couple days ago, a week after acquiring him. In his last 15 games (not counting last year's brief Week 17 appearance), he's averaging 30.5 fantasy points per game. Over a 16-game season, that would come to 487 points. No one has ever had 487 fantasy points in a season. So from a fantasy perspective, CMC arguably is on pace for the greatest 16-game production in NFL history. He has to be started this week, and as a side note, I'd sell high with the understanding that Carolina might not want him to handle a full workload in Week 16.
RB Le'Veon Bell ($7,000) -- The Jets shopped him heavily before the trade deadline. Then Bell declared the Steelers wanted him back. He's coming off a measly 11-touch outing, and is gearing up to face the sympathy-inducing Dolphins. The Jets will give Bell what he wants, and Bell will finally deliver: 145+ total yards and 2+ scores.
WR Chris Godwin ($8,200) -- Hit-or-miss. But he's facing a sub-par Seattle pass D and is, on the season, an elite fantasy scorer.
WR Mike Evans ($8,100) -- I've paired receivers before, and it often works. 25+ combined points between Evans and Godwin is a reasonable expectation. 35+ is realistic for a team where two-thirds of all offensive touchdowns have come through the air.
WR D.J. Moore ($5,400) -- Love his targets. Like his matchup. Capitalizing on a slight hedge in case CMC disappoints.
TE Noah Fant ($4,600) -- Inexperienced QB. A gaping hole at wideout. Fant enjoyed eight targets last week and is one of my favorite uber-bargains this week.
FLEX Jaylen Samuels ($5,000) -- While writing this, it appears James Conner will sit, meaning Samuels should start. Assuming everything goes as expected, he's a superb bargain.
DST Steelers ($3,900) -- Wanted to roll with the Bills ($5,000), but couldn't get the numbers to work. With T.Y. Hilton out for Indy, Pittsburgh gets enough of a bump to warrant the start at this competitive price.
Good luck today.