DraftKings NFL Week 16 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: I think the best place to start with ownership will be none other than Drew Brees ($7400) who is coming off a huge game last week, is back at home and is taking on a beatable defense in Tampa Bay. He should see a ton of ownership. Matt Ryan ($7200) will be visiting Carolina this week, and I think that the Panthers are good enough at stopping the run that the Falcons will have to pass it more this week. He’s got huge upside and I think he’ll have a big game. Finally, I think we’ll see a scramble for low priced quarterbacks this week. I think after a pretty decent showing this past week, Tom Savage ($5000) will see high ownership as a minimum priced option.

 

LOW OWNERSHIP: Tom Brady ($7700) didn’t look very Tom Brady like this past weekend, and the high price and options in better situations around him will go a long way to drop his ownership. It makes a great tournament look though. Again, with players spending above and below, I could see Cam Newton ($6600) who is in a good matchup, go underowned as a result. The upside is huge on him, so I don’t know if it is the best option. Finally, I know he has been all kinds of bad, but is it that far off to think that Blake Bortles ($5000) can’t have a good game against the Titans and their awful pass defense? I know it can happen, and if it does, it will be at a low, low ownership.

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN CASH GAMES: Brees/Newton/Ryan

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN TOURNAMENTS: Newton/Bortles/Brady

 

RUNNING BACKS

 

HIGH OWNERSHIP – LeSean McCoy ($9000) is coming off a monster game last weekend, and I think due to Buffalo’s running tendencies, will probably see high ownership this weekend. Miami’s defense is improving, so I do find this to be a trap game. Jordan Howard ($6300) has been very good all year, and comes in pretty under priced this week. The matchup is excellent against a porous Redskins run defense. Minnesota’s defense has been breaking down, and after what he did last week, you have to assume high ownership on Ty Montgomery ($5900). The Falcons run defense has been pretty bad, and Jonathan Stewart ($52000 is another guy coming off some nice games. I like this spot for him here. I know he is old and we all continue to write him off, but Frank Gore ($4800) is highly underpriced and is in a great matchup against the Raiders.

 

LOW OWNERSHIP – David Johnson ($9200) didn’t have a monster game last week. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t his usual. On top of that, he’s traveling to Seattle to take on the Seahawks. This is an excellent tournament spot, but carries a ton of risk. Todd Gurley ($6500) is priced to the matchup and not what he has done this year, so his ownership should be really low, despite being in a terrific matchup. Still, I think there is enough upside to warrant using him. Thomas Rawls ($5100) will likely go completely overlooked in this game, despite playing for a team that loves to run the ball. He might be my top tournament play this week. Dion Lewis ($4100) hasn’t put up eye popping numbers yet, but he’s now carrying the ball more, and I suspect this week may be the first week we get to use him with low ownership and have it pay off. Finally, Ronnie Hillman ($3400) should have invisible ownership, and carries a great deal of risk as a result of being a backup to a backup on a team that is playing a bad run defense. Kenneth Farrow didn’t look great, so I could see Hillman getting more of the work this week.

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN CASH GAMES: Howard/Stewart/Rawls

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN TOURNAMENTS: Lewis/Hillman/Gurley

 

WIDE RECEIVERS

 

HIGH OWNERSHIP – Even though his targets have been going down as of late, I think we will see high ownership on Mike Evans ($8500). I don’t disagree with it, and I think he could end up with a really nice game here. T.Y. Hilton ($7800) is in a dream situation, and I could certainly see him having a massive outing this week. I’m talking about the kind of outing that allows for you to win tournaments. Oh, how the mighty have fallen! Doug Baldwin ($6000) is in a prime position to have a big game here against a Cardinals secondary that is rapidly breaking down. Pierre Garcon ($4900) now appears to be Kirk Cousins’ security blanket with Jordan Reed still banged up. His price will definitely pull people into his direction. With the team likely playing from behind, I could certainly see J.J. Nelson ($4400) having low ownership with his price being laughably low.

 

LOW OWNERSHIP –Julian Edelman ($6900) is seeing double digit targets and basically doing nothing with them. He’ll carry low ownership, but I think he could end up turning things around this week. He’s a good tournament option. Alshon Jeffery ($6300) should be the target of choice in Chicago this weekend, and I think he’s likely to benefit from a team that could very well be playing from behind. Amari Cooper ($6500) has been insanely frustrating, but news has come out this week that he will be used more. I cannot believe that it’s news that the team figured out they need to use him more. At any rate, I think players will be apprehensive of him, which should lead to low ownership. Davante Adams ($5400) dropped at least half a dozen touchdowns last weekend, but I think this is a great price and an ownership level to try to go back to the well with this week. Robby Anderson ($4800) is cheap and has been Bryce Petty’s favorite target, and people will likely stay away due to it being the Patriots defense. I think he’s a nice tournament option.

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN CASH GAMES: Hilton/Garcon/Jeffery

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN TOURNAMENTS: Cooper/Hilton/Nelson

 

TIGHT ENDS

 

HIGH OWNERSHIP – After coming out of hibernation last week, I would expect Greg Olsen ($5200) to see a considerable ownership potential this week. This is an actual good spot for Olsen, so I would take advantage of it. Kyle Rudolph ($4900) has been Sam Bradford’s top option in recent weeks, and Green Bay will definitely have a tough time defending him. Lastly, Cameron Brate ($3900) has been the default number two option for the Buccaneers in the second half of the season, and there is very little reason for that to stop now. The matchup is excellent for him this week against the Saints.

 

LOW OWNERSHIP – Perhaps the most difficult decision any DFS player will have to make this week is which San Diego tight end to use. On one hand, Antonio Gates ($4400) has been the apple of Philip Rivers eye for some time and is always a reliable and consistent option. On the other hand, Hunter Henry ($3500) has been coming around again, and offers a cheaper, and younger, option to Philip Rivers. The Browns have been awful at defending opposing tight ends, so I think these two will actually cannibalize the other’s ownership percentage. Dion Sims ($2600) has been catching touchdowns a lot lately, and even though I don’t think there is too much above that, I think at the price he makes for a reasonable option that will almost certainly be low owned.

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN CASH GAMES: Rudolph/Olsen/Brate

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN TOURNAMENTS: Henry/Gates/Olsen

 

DEFENSES

 

HIGH OWNERSHIP – Between how well the defense has played, and how poorly the Jets have played, the New England Patriots ($3600) will be one of the highest owned defenses on the board. Right behind them, I could see the Tennessee Titans ($3400) achieving a high level of ownership as they are going up against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The upside here is pretty good and I think that they will come through. Even though it hasn’t worked a ton throughout the year, the San Diego Chargers ($3400) could be considered this week against the Browns.

 

LOW OWNERSHIP – The Seattle Seahawks ($3700) are the highest priced defense on the board, and get a good matchup against the Cardinals this week, but the fear is that the Cardinals actually play well. The Green Bay Packers ($3300) could end up being a low owned, high upside defense against the Vikings who are just not right at the moment. Finally, the San Francisco 49ers ($2800) could end up paying off against a bad offense in the Los Angeles Rams.

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN CASH GAMES: Patriots/Titans/Packers

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN TOURNAMENTS: Patriots/Seahawks/Packers

 

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.