As some of you know, I thought yesterday was Sunday. Well, reality finally caught up with my fantasy. Sunday has arrived. Life is good.
Remember that there's once again a London game, so set your lineups before 9:30am Eastern, particularly if you have Buffalo and/or Jacksonville players. And if you're like me and still need to add a kicker (or DST), remember to bid on more than one player. Don't throw all your eggs in the Daniel Carlson basket. I'm bidding on four kickers. The goal is to fill that slot, not go for broke with an all-or-nothing bid.
My recommended DraftKings DFS 50/50 slate for the 1:00pm games is Tua Tagovailoa, De'Von Achane, David Montgomery, Tyreek Hill, Nico Collins, Tank Dell, Connor Heyward, Adam Thielen, and the Colts DST. Leaning heavily into a blowout Miami victory, and also hedging on the Nico-Tank battle, with the expectation that they'll combine for 25+ points. Thielen is merely point-chasing, and Montgomery is a great bet with Jahmyr Gibbs (and Amon-Ra St. Brown, for that matter) doubtful. I expect Detroit to lean heavily on their veteran RB.
And why Heyward? Well, Pat Freiermuth's out, and among all current starting QBs (e.g. not spot-starters like Aidan O'Connell), Kenny Pickett is averaging the fifth-fewest average completed air yards, despite averaging the sixth-most time to throw. It's a telling combination. RBs and TEs account for 39 of the Steelers' 80 catches. I expect Heyward (and perhaps rookie Darnell Washington) to play meaningful roles, with Heyward offering some TD appeal for deep-league streamer-desperate managers.
If I knew for sure that Jameson Williams (questionable) and Josh Reynolds (questionable) would be out or significantly limited, then I'd probably revise this lineup to include Sam LaPorta and the ultra-cheap Kalif Raymond. But it's Saturday night, and I don't have the luxury of waiting until an hour before kickoff. But again, deep-leaguers should at least consider adding Raymond if you need a short-term flex fix.
The 4:00pm slate is crushing me. I keep second-guessing, and it's time to commit and move on. A big part of me wants to go all in on the Rams. But despite all of their talent, there are also plenty of unknowns. So I'm going with Matthew Stafford, Kyren Williams, Breece Hall, Justin Jefferson, A.J. Brown, Rashee Rice, Dallas Goedert, Michael Wilson, and the Broncos DST.
There are so many compelling reasons to go in different directions -- more than usual. The Hall decision is actually pretty simple: the Jets are 1-3 and are facing one of the league's worst run D's. Zach Wilson has been somewhere between sub-adequate and abysmal. Hall has been largely preserved in the early going, yet is averaging a blistering 6.6 YPC. He can do so much more in the passing game than what we've seen. There's the potential for a perfect storm of dominance today.
I'm also bullish about Goedert finally getting more love as Philly's #4 offensive option (or #5 if we include Jalen Hurts). As I wrote earlier this week, Goedert is too talented to be a non-top-16 fantasy TE. He's pretty cheap in DFS, and the timing makes sense.
Finally, Rice and Wilson are dart throws, but not longshots. Rice has as good a chance as any Chief of leading his WR corps in targets, and Wilson is an ascending talent in a reasonably positive matchup.
I'll give my two cents on any comments/questions you send my way. Thanks to those who weigh in with your own thoughtful comments. And good luck today.