DraftKings NFL Week 14 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 defense and tight ends. This will work to consolidate options for your lineups.

 

QUARTERBACKS

 

HIGH OWNERSHIP: This week is a little bit different than the ones we’ve seen in the past, as most of the high end quarterbacks are in poor matchups. This should lead someone like Jameis Winston ($6700) into having high ownership against New Orleans. The price is fine, but I think you can do better. Kirk Cousins ($6300) should see high ownership again, especially with the way he has been playing as of late. The Eagles are starting to struggle defensively, and he should be able to take advantage of that. Andy Dalton ($6100) gets to take on the Cleveland Browns this week, and I think he’s poised to have a pretty good outing. Dak Prescott ($5900) is dirt cheap at this point, and I think that will force people into buying into him this week. Finally, I think it will be tough to ignore Bryce Petty ($5000) as a minimum priced option in a good matchup this week against the Niners.

 

LOW OWNERSHIP: After a horrible game last week, I would expect Drew Brees ($7400) to be able to come back and, even on the road, put up a nice game at low ownership. Cam Newton ($7200) has been a disappointment for the most part this year, and his ownership will reflect it, but this will make him a nice tournament option this week. Aaron Rodgers ($6400) will carry low ownership as well I believe, due to his matchup with the Seahawks. This game is on their home turf, though, and the Packers will basically have no choice but to throw the ball, as it is the only thing that seems to work, at least sometimes. Marcus Mariota ($6200) should as well be low owned. He’s coming off a bye week and going against an excellent pass defense, but he has been excellent all year. Tyrod Taylor ($5400) is difficult to pass on at his price, as he has delivered a lot of the time this year and his price hasn’t moved.

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN CASH GAMES: Dalton/Cousins/Petty

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN TOURNAMENTS: Newton/Mariota/Petty

 

RUNNING BACKS

 

HIGH OWNERSHIP – If you haven’t gotten used to it by now, you should: David Johnson ($9800) and Le’Veon Bell ($9000) will be highly owned every week. How can you blame fantasy players? Both of these guys have been awesome, and should be a good bet to exceed 20 fantasy points each and every week. They are costly, but you are paying for the security they provide. If Doug Martin ($6200) plays, I would assume that he will be highly owned in his matchup against the New Orleans Saints that should be a shootout. Even though the matchup isn’t great, Thomas Rawls ($5700) price is and he should see consistent production through the end of the season, making him an excellent option this week and moving forward. Theo Riddick ($5500) is always a candidate for high ownership, especially at this price.

 

LOW OWNERSHIP – With him being priced so closely to the top options, I think we could end up seeing lower than normal ownership on LeSean McCoy ($8200). This is a good spot for him, as the Steelers haven’t exactly been great defending against the run this year. Devonta Freeman ($6100) is fairly priced and in a positive matchup, but I still wouldn’t be shocked to see his ownership to be a little lower than expected. Jeremy Hill ($5800) has been awful this year, with his one good game coming against the Browns, whom the Bengals play this week. He’s a tournament option this week. Jonathan Stewart ($5400) always seems to carry low ownership, but this is a fantastic matchup for him and I think it will work out for him. Last, Bilal Powell ($5000) will likely be lower owned than Matt Forte, but carries similar upside as the Jets seem to favor him if the game turns into more of a passing situation.

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN CASH GAMES: Johnson/Bell/Stewart

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN TOURNAMENTS: Hill/McCoy/Johnson

 

WIDE RECEIVERS

 

HIGH OWNERSHIP – It’s sometimes tough to read the top priced guys, but this week, I think matchups will go a long way. Mike Evans ($8900) comes in as the highest priced receiver on the slate, but also has a terrific matchup, so I fully expect him to come in highly owned. While Julio Jones has a nice matchup too, I think players may see his knee as a slight problem, and pivot down a few hundred dollars to Odell Beckham Jr. ($8000). He’s in a good position against Dallas in what should be a tightly contested game. Golden Tate ($6600) feels vastly underpriced here, and I fully expect his ownership to boom as a result. Jamison Crowder ($5600) has been a strong play and his price hasn’t really come up. I expect the ownership to be there this week. After several weeks of strong games, I think that Ted Ginn Jr. ($4000) could come him as a highly owned option this week.

 

LOW OWNERSHIP –Because of the options around him, I think we might see Antonio Brown ($8700) at lower ownership than usual. This could be a great opportunity to throw him into your tournament lineups. Brandon Marshall ($7000) will also be low owned, but has a tremendous matchup against the struggling [maybe that is putting it lightly] 49ers. I think Terrelle Pryor ($5900) is in a prime position this week in what should be another good opportunity for him against the Bengals. He’s priced lower than normal despite having played well, but I still think daily fantasy players will look elsewhere. I could see Brandon LaFell ($5000) being low owned this week despite going up against the Browns. He has a high probability of a touchdown here. Tyler Lockett ($3700) is very, very cheap, but also has extreme boom potential in this matchup. While he has been disappointing all year, he could end up with a big game this week.

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN CASH GAMES: Tate/Beckham/Crowder

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN TOURNAMENTS: Pryor/Lockett/Tate

 

TIGHT ENDS

 

HIGH OWNERSHIP – It’s entirely possible that Tyler Eifert ($6000) even as the highest priced option this week, will be the highest owned against a poor Browns defense. It definitely makes a lot of sense, as the Browns are awful. The Saints are another team that are horrible on defense, so I think we’ll see a lot of ownership on Cameron Brate ($4100) this week. He’s the only reliable option on Tampa Bay outside of Mike Evans, so that in itself makes him an interesting option. Finally, after his outburst last week, Ladarius Green ($3900) will see high ownership. His price is very flexible too.

 

LOW OWNERSHIP – Greg Olsen ($5000) is priced silly, but fair. He is definitely priced for how he has been playing and not so much his upside. It is only a matter of time, though, before he breaks out of his slump and puts up some monster numbers. This week could end up being where we see the breakout. Delanie Walker ($4400) seems like he’s been priced down all year, but there is a lot of reason to use him here even against a tough Broncos defense. If Jordan Reed isn’t able to go, Vernon Davis ($3500) will be low owned with upside.

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN CASH GAMES: Eifert/Brate/Walker

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN TOURNAMENTS: Olsen/Walker/Green

 

DEFENSES

 

HIGH OWNERSHIP – This is a week were I could see the highest owned defenses being the highest priced defenses. The Minnesota Vikings ($3900) are in a good position against a faltering Jacksonville Jaguars team. Blake Bortles is coughing up the ball left and right, meaning good fantasy days should be ahead. The Denver Broncos ($3800) take on Marcus Mariota and the Tennessee Titans in another good matchup. While Mariota has been very good, he’s turning the ball over [except in the red zone] and I could see both Mariota and the Broncos defense having good days. Last and certainly not least, the Detroit Lions ($3600) have a great matchup against the Chicago Bears in what should be a blowout.

 

LOW OWNERSHIP – The Tennessee Titans ($3300) make for an interesting play, as they take on the Broncos. The Titans have been able to put pressure on the quarterback, and with that situation uncertain this week, this could be an excellent spot. The Atlanta Falcons ($3100) are in a good spot too, as they take on Jared Goff and the Los Angeles Rams. This could certainly go one of two ways, but the Falcons could make for a nice tournament play. One of the more interesting tournament punts will be the San Francisco 49ers ($2600) taking on Bryce Petty and the New York Jets. If he makes mistakes, the Niners could capitalize and turn in a decent fantasy day.

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN CASH GAMES: Lions/Vikings/Broncos

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN TOURNAMENTS: Lions/Titans/Falcons

 

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.