DFS Position Coaches: QB | RB | WR | TE | D/ST
It was Thanksgiving so we provided you with TWO different groupings - one for each slate!
On the Thanksgiving slate Darren Waller got injured which was tough at the elite level but that didn’t stop us from getting value out of Dalton Schultz (2.94X), Cole Kmet (3.92X), Jimmy Graham (4.07X), and even Nick Vannett (2.89). What a day!
On the main slate we had some rough ones with Kyle Pitts and Noah Fant underperforming despite decent matchups but Brevin Jordan bailed us out from the Dart Throw level as the 4th best TE on the slate at 4.52X. But, enough about that because it’s on to a new week with more money to be won!
As a reminder, we like to give you guys at each price point so that you can build the lineup you want at any level.
Top Tier: the safest and most expensive guys available if you want to pay up
Mid Tier: affordable players that offer the best bang for your buck
Value Tier: the bargain bin players that are risky by nature but can have the huge upside in terms of value created
Fades: The guys we feel are the worst value proposition that you should actively avoid
Top Tier
Mark Andrews - If you are going to go elite this week there are really only two options that make sense. And Mark Andrews is the one that makes the most sense. In fact, him only be $6,000 while a struggling guy like Kyle Pitts is $5,600 is what doesn’t make sense here. Mark Andrews has been the most reliable tight end besides the great Travis Kelce this year and, with Darren Waller out, your options are fairly limited if you want to spend up. No player has more end zone targets over the last three years and this year Andrews’s 9 is second only to Hunter Henry’s 10 (who still hasn’t had his bye). The Steelers aren’t a great matchup but there are worse ones out there so, if you want to lock in the safest possible TE, it’s right here. Andrews is 12% of your budget on DK and 11% on Yahoo so he’s cheaper to build around on Yahoo.
George Kittle - Some weeks there are a ton of options in this elite category that we like. And some weeks there are few. This week there are basically two that make sense - Andrews and Kittle. Folks are going to be off Kittle after a down week last week which is fine for us because we want contrarian plays with low ownership. Last week we can chalk up to a tough matchup against guys like Eric Kendricks and Harrison Smith who are two of the best in the business. This week he gets the Seahawks who are bottom third in the business vs. the tight end. They made it easy for us price-wise in the elite tier this week because Andrews is more expensive than Kittle on DraftKings but Kittle is more expensive than Andrews on Yahoo so Kittle is the elite DK play and Andrews is the play on the Y.
Mid Tier
Dallas Goedert - Another contrarian play that we are happy to make. The underlying numbers for Dallas Goedert suggest that his role didn’t change - he still played 64 of 67 snaps and ran 32 of 36 routes so his deployment was excellent. The game script didn’t go his way which is fine because now people will be off him for a great matchup with the Jets who are 24th vs. the tight end and an all around pretty bad team. I mean, Nick Siriani said himself that “when you put the ball in the air you definitely always want to start with 88 and 6”. So we expect a bounce back in a big way here. He’s 9% of the budget on DK and 8% on Yahoo so a bit cheaper on Yahoo.
Logan Thomas - This is our play of the week right here and you are probably only going to get a couple weeks of Logan Thomas at this price. Thomas came back from injury and played 78% of the snaps and ran 68% of the routes. On those he got six targets, two red zone targets, and in endzone target. You know what his snap share was in the first three weeks before he got hurt? 100%. Every snap. He also get Las Vegas who is the second worst team in the entire league vs. the tight end. Almost too easy. This is a player who is MUCH cheaper on DraftKings than Yahoo. If you play on DK he’s only 8% of your budget while he’s 9.5% on Yahoo. Big swing.
Value Tier
James O’Shaughnesy - This concept here actually feels too simply - feels like I should write more. But why use many word when few do trick? James O was playing a great role for fantasy. Then he got hurt. They traded for Dan Arnold who then played a great role for fantasy. Then HE got hurt. Now O’Shaughnessy is back in a great role for fantasy. And he’s pretty much the bare minimum price on both sites.
Brevin Jordan - Sometimes you have to just go right back to the well. There are four tight ends on this team. Antony Auclair and Pharaoh Brown are pass blockers. Jordan Akins and Brevin Jordan are pass catchers. This team isn’t winning much so it’s time to give the young guns a shot - Jordan Akins has been a healthy scratch. Brevin Jordan led the team in snaps last week and even scored a touchdown. Why is he still the very bare minimum price in DFS? We will make them pay until they correct this. Or Jordan Akins returns to the lineup.
Fades
Cole Kmet - Everyone knows I’m one of the biggest Kmet fans out there. No question. But I recognize a bad spot. Going up against Isaiah Simmons and the number 1 TE defense is a bad spot. Kmet’s price has increased because of recent targets but this is absolutely not the week to use him. Easy fade.
Jack Doyle - This is the biggest trap of all time. He was a popular waiver add becaus of surface stats. But the reality is he still splits snaps with Mo Allie-Cox. Sure he ran 26 routes but that’s because they ran 51 pass plays. What happens when that number is 35 again? He’s no different than starting Austin Hooper which you wouldn’t and shouldn’t do. Don’t be fooled.