DraftKings NFL Week 15 Positional Breakdown

 

The NFL season is definitely on the down swing at this point, but there are still plenty of opportunities to win some cash. These picks should give you an idea of how ownership in these tournaments could go, and help you gain an edge on the competition. I’m going to keep things shorter this week, focusing on five players from each position, aside from the quarterbacks, tight ends and defenses. This will work to consolidate options for your lineups.

 

QUARTERBACKS

 

HIGH OWNERSHIP: When scanning the matchups, I think it’s clear that the top option of Matt Ryan ($7300) is likely to sit atop of the ownership mountain. He’s got an excellent matchup against the Niners at home, and should be able to take advantage of it. After that, there are a lot of question marks. The vast majority of top priced options are in poor matchups or tough situations. Marcus Mariota ($6500) could be the next highest owned option as a result of his fantastic play prior to last weekend. If players are going strictly by matchups with talented weighed in, I could certainly see Jameis Winston ($6100) achieving higher ownership. It doesn’t hurt that he’s in the late game, and that is a strategy that I think players like to use sometime to make the late game worth watching, and also to watch their lineups move up throughout the night.

 

LOW OWNERSHIP: I think the cost mixed with options at other positions being expensive and a calf injury will limit Aaron Rodgers ($7100) ownership this week. I think this is the type of situation that I have no issue buying into in tournaments, as I think he could eviscerate the Bears defense. At his price, I don’t see how you can’t at least take a few shots with Colin Kaepernick ($5800) in tournaments this week. He’s had two bad games in a row, but he’s got upside that few others at the position have. Additionally, he’s in a fantastic matchup against the Falcons on the road. How many quarterbacks could eclipse 30 fantasy points and still be at this price. Tyrod Taylor ($5700) is the Rodney Dangerfield of the NFL world, as he gets no respect despite putting up pretty consistent performances. This week, he gets the Browns in what is one of the best matchups for quarterbacks this year.

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN CASH GAMES: Ryan/Taylor/Rodgers

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN TOURNAMENTS: Kaepernick/Taylor/Rodgers

 

RUNNING BACKS

 

HIGH OWNERSHIP – One of the reasons I think this week could see folks spending down at quarterback is how the running back position pans out. Let’s go one by one. David Johnson ($10100)(!) has a dream matchup against the New Orleans Saints on his home turf. The Saints defense will have no hope of dealing with him, and he very well could end up being the top player on the slate. Le’Veon Bell ($9800) will see high ownership just based off his last outing, not to mention being in another game that could be cold and snowy against division rival Cincinnati. The upside is definitely there for another big game. LeSean McCoy ($8900) gets the Cleveland Browns who most likely won’t have an answer for him, again in a cold, snowy game. Devonta Freeman ($6700) has the best matchup, and price, of the weekend, going against the Niners at home. He could be used a lot to run down the clock this week, and will make a ton of lineups, for sure. Finally, if Melvin Gordon is out, Kenneth Farrow ($4000) is likely to see a spike in ownership, if for no other reason than his price helps you fit more studs in your lineup.

 

LOW OWNERSHIP – After a pretty good down night, I could see Ezekiel Elliott ($8200) having lower ownership than he should. For me, this is a great spot to roll him out at what could end up being lower ownership. Carlos Hyde ($5900) could really go either way, but I could see him being a lost in the shuffle option this week, making him a great target. Coming into the year, we all worried about a timeshare in the Oakland backfield, and we were right until recently. Latavius Murray ($5800) has averaged 20 carries a game over the last three, and gets a pretty good matchup against the Chargers. He makes an excellent play in either format this week. Legarrette Blount ($5000) has been nothing but good and is priced pretty silly here. I think many people will look past him, but T.J. Yeldon ($4100) makes for an interesting option this week if Chris Ivory is out again.

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN CASH GAMES: Johnson/McCoy/Murray

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN TOURNAMENTS: Elliott/Murray/Yeldon

 

WIDE RECEIVERS

 

HIGH OWNERSHIP – Antonio Brown ($8400) has spent much of the season over $9k, and with his price where it is at, I could certainly see him having a high level of ownership this weekend. As long as Aaron Rodgers is playing, I can’t imagine how Jordy Nelson ($7300) won’t have high ownership this weekend. He’s been very consistent, and is Rodgers’ first target in the red zone. Tyreek Hill ($5700) has been absolutely amazing over the last several weeks, and I don’t see that changing this week against the Titans and their awful pass defense. He should be a good bet for another 20 point day here. Taylor Gabriel ($5600) saw his price come up some, but if Julio Jones and Mohamed Sanu are forced to miss again this week, Gabriel should have a ton of opportunity. Jordan Matthews ($5400) has seen double digit targets in five out of his last six games, and I think that is likely to continue here and his ownership will reflect that.

 

LOW OWNERSHIP –He has been struggling a lot lately, but I think this is a nice spot to roll out Amari Cooper ($7100) in tournaments. My assumption is that his less than stellar performances will keep the ownership low tonight. Speaking of guys who are coming off of a bad game, Dez Bryant ($6800) fits that mold perfectly. He’s in a prime bounce back spot against a mediocre at best Buccaneers defensive backfield. Brandin Cooks ($6200) can’t seem to put it together lately, but he’s a big time threat still, and I think he’s a good tournament option at this price against the Cardinals. Alshon Jeffery ($6000) is coming off suspension, and is also in a contract year, so I could see him trying to kick it up a notch over these next three games to try to get himself some extra money in the offseason. DeAndre Hopkins ($5000) is way too cheap, and even though he is, I still don’t see him having high ownership here. I think he could end up with a nice enough game to not kill your lineup.

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN CASH GAMES: Hill/Matthews/Brown

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN TOURNAMENTS: Bryant/Cooper/Hill

 

TIGHT ENDS

 

HIGH OWNERSHIP – I think it’s going to be interesting to see how things pan out, because at first glance, I would assume that the top three options should be the highest owned. Travis Kelce ($5900) is working toward is fifth straight hundred yard game, which sets a tremendous floor for him. Tyler Eifert ($5600) gets to take on a Pittsburgh defense that certainly can be beat. I would prefer Kelce of the two, but I think either should be fine. Lastly, Zach Ertz ($4900) should be a good bet to keep his strong play going, and you get a little bit of a cost savings with him.

 

LOW OWNERSHIP – After the “big three”, I think there are a variety of options that can be used tonight. Kyle Rudolph ($4300) continues to provide strong returns and is priced really nicely for this matchup. Cameron Brate ($3800) is heavily involved in the Tampa Bay offense, and I think he could be a little lower owned for one reason or another on Sunday night. Finally, Charles Clay ($2800) is taking on a defense in the Browns that seems lost when it comes to defending the position. The only issue here is that he is a guy on a run first offense that doesn’t see a ton of targets.

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN CASH GAMES: Kelce/Ertz/Eifert

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN TOURNAMENTS: Kelce/Ertz/Clay

 

DEFENSES

 

HIGH OWNERSHIP – After their outburst last week, it’s hard to not imagine the Atlanta Falcons ($3900) seeing high ownership this week. Yes, it was a huge score, but they haven’t done anything like that the rest of the year. The Buffalo Bills ($3700) are playing the Cleveland Browns, which means they’ll see high ownership as well. Normally, I don’t go that route, but I don’t mind it this week. People still want to target the Bears, so I could see the Green Bay Packers ($3200) finding their way into high ownership this week as well.

 

LOW OWNERSHIP – This is certainly going to be the interesting part of the weekend. I could see a number of things happening here. The Minnesota Vikings ($3500) at home against an Indianapolis Colts team that has been up and down this year. I like them in tournaments for sure. The Arizona Cardinals ($3000) haven’t been very good as of late, but I do think that the matchup here with the Saints on the road is interesting. Drew Brees doesn’t not look the same outside of New Orleans. On a similar not, if you really want to play risky, the Cincinnati Bengals ($2800) are dirt cheap at home against the Steelers. Big Ben isn’t great outside of Pittsburgh either, and this is the type of division game that could get messy, and if Ben isn’t on and the defense is, you’re in for a nice afternoon at low ownership.

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN CASH GAMES: Bills/Vikings/Cardinals

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN TOURNAMENTS: Bengals/Bills/Vikings

 

I hope you enjoyed this article, and I will be back next week. I hope to see you on the leaderboards!

 

Nicholas Volinchak is a correspondent at FF Nation. To read more from Nicholas, follow him @researchandwin. You can find more of Nicholas’ football work at Research Fantasy.