DraftKings NFL Week 7 Positional Breakdown

 

Hockey season is in full effect, and the hammer is going to be dropped on the start of the NBA season soon, but the main story is the 2016 NFL season! We’ve seen a lot of big games thus far, and we should see many more this weekend. The schedule sets up well, so make sure to run a bunch of lineups out there so you can be the next fantasy millionaire.

 

Without further adieu, let’s get this thing started!

 

QUARTERBACKS

 

HIGH OWNERSHIP: Because of his hot start to the season against a still suspect Pittsburgh secondary, I think it is safe to assume that Tom Brady ($7900) will see high ownership. Matt Ryan ($7200) has been locked in for the most part all year, so I could see his ownership being the highest at the position. Philip Rivers ($6500) will be Ryan’s opponent this week, and that game should very well be a shootout give two poor defenses. Marcus Mariota ($6000) has now put together back to back strong games, and he gets a pretty good matchup against a very bad Colts defense. Finally, I would expect for Brian Hoyer ($5900) to see higher ownership this week in Thursday night action against a depleted Packers secondary.

 

LOW OWNERSHIP: I think one strategy could be to use Drew Brees ($7400) in tournaments, due to the fact that he typically plays much worse on the road. He’s a good quarterback and just because he’s on the road doesn’t mean he can’t put together a good game. Matthew Stafford ($6400) should be another candidate for low ownership due to the perception that this is a tough matchup. The Lions are without running back, so he will have to air it out. Blake Bortles ($6200) has done nothing to make fantasy owners happy yet this year, but this game could be his first big one of the season. Andy Dalton ($6000) could go under owned even against an awful Browns defense. I think Colin Kaepernick ($5300) is actually in a pretty good spot, and should be able to hit value easily this weekend.

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN CASH GAMES: Kaepernick/Ryan/Brady

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN TOURNAMENTS: Kaepernick/Hoyer/Bortles

 

RUNNING BACKS

 

HIGH OWNERSHIP – Le’Veon Bell ($8000) is going to be an interesting case this week. How will players feel about him without Ben? My gut reaction is that he’ll still see double-digit ownership. After last week’s dominating performance, it is hard to believe that LeSean McCoy ($7600) won’t see ownership through the roof, especially against a bad Dolphins defense. DeMarco Murray ($7200) didn’t come through against Cleveland, but he should be able to get back on track against this poor Colts run defense. Melvin Gordon ($6400) is in a good spot for a bounce back game, and while I don’t think he’ll see the highest ownership at the position, he should be able to see ownership in the teens. Against a bad Chargers run defense, I could see both Devonta Freeman ($5900) and Tevin Coleman ($4900) seeing higher than normal ownership. Against Cleveland, and assuming more of a role in the offense, I could see Giovani Bernard ($4800) have higher ownership. Also, Jaquizz Rodgers ($4300) will likely see high ownership now that Doug Martin is out for the week.

 

LOW OWNERSHIP – Could this be the week we finally see low ownership from David Johnson ($7400)? Coming off a three touchdown monster of a game, it’s quite possible that he will see low ownership against a tough Seattle defense, making him an excellent tournament play. Conversely, Christine Michael ($6700) should see lower ownership against a stout Cardinals run defense. Todd Gurley ($6300) likely won’t see many fans this week, but a trip over the pond could help his stock out some. I think people still overhype Denver’s run defense, so I think Lamar Miller ($6000) makes for a nice tournament play here as well. Spencer Ware ($5800) could go overlooked against the Saints because of the return of Jamaal Charles, but I’m all in on him this week. James White ($4600) and Legarrette Blount ($4900) make for interesting targets, and I think I’d run with White. One of my top tournament plays will be Jeremy Hill ($4000) who is due for a breakout game, and this Browns defense looks like it will cure what ails him.

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN CASH GAMES: McCoy/Murray/Gordon/Ware/Coleman

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN TOURNAMENTS: Johnson/Miller/Hill/Ware/Michael

 

WIDE RECEIVERS

 

HIGH OWNERSHIP – At the upper tier of pricing, I would think that Julio Jones ($9200) and A.J. Green ($8600) will be the highest owned. Jones gets an excellent matchup against San Diego, while Green takes on the dumpster fire known as the Browns. I could see both of these guys doing pretty well for themselves this week. Amari Cooper ($7900) could see high ownership as well after producing two back-to-back weeks worth of high quality results. Jarvis Landry ($6800) will always see high ownership on DraftKings because of the targets he gets on a weekly basis. Cameron Meredith ($4700) has been a target monster, and is just way, way too cheap this week against a Packers defense missing basically their entire secondary. Michael Thomas ($4700) basically fills the same description as well, minus the lack of secondary. Brees clearly likes him. Lastly, Ty Montgomery ($3000) is probably a plug and play on the games including Thursday night’s game, as he is minimum price and will be working out of the backfield again.

 

LOW OWNERSHIP – This could be the lowest owned we see Antonio Brown ($9300) this year. He’s coming off a down game, will be without Ben and the matchup isn’t exactly great. This is a prime time to use him in tournaments if you think he’ll produce, but I just can’t bring myself to it. He didn’t do well last year without Ben. One guy I think that will have low ownership as a result of having a bye week last week, and most people wanting to jump on Jaquizz Rodgers is Mike Evans ($7800). This is an ideal tournament spot, and at the position, he is my top tournament play. I think most players will latch on to Rodgers, especially after getting 35 carries against Carolina before the bye, and use him instead of Evans. I have a feeling that Evans is going to blow up against this poor Niners defense, and he will end up being the one with the monster game. Another guy I am high on is Alshon Jeffery ($6900) and I am very frustrated that this game takes place on Thursday and not Sunday. Jeffery was finally putting in work Sunday before Jalen Ramsey shut him down for the most part, and a depleted Packers secondary doesn’t just bode well for Meredith – it bodes well for Jeffery as well. I have this feeling we’ll see his first big game of the year here, but I would caution that he is a tournament only option. When will it be Julian Edelman’s ($6500) turn for the big game? Something tells me that it won’t be this week, as I really think Gronk will dominate a clearly inferior Pittsburgh defense, but I think he’s worth a lock in one tournament lineup. Kenny Britt ($4300) will look to build off a big game last week, but is only available on select slates as he is playing in London. My last low owned tournament play will be Torrey Smith ($3800). He could have ended up with 3 scores last week with the attention Kaepernick gives him, but Kap isn’t a great QB. My bold prediction is that we’ll see Smith go over 100 yards with two touchdowns, and challenge for the highest score at the position.

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN CASH GAMES:  Montgomery/Cooper/Meredith/Smith/Evans

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN TOURNAMENTS: Smith/Evans/Jeffery/Britt/Green

 

TIGHT ENDS

 

HIGH OWNERSHIP – Rob Gronkowski ($7200) had his first big game of the year last week, and will be highly owned this week, and rightfully so. He is going to be playing catch-up, no matter how silly that sounds, and I am expecting some very big games out of him coming up. If Jordan Reed ($6000) is able to go, he’s a top option as well, against a Lions defense getting eaten alive by tight ends.  Even after a down week, Delanie Walker ($4900) should see high ownership at his price in this matchup. Hunter Henry ($3600) is basically free, and I really like the upside of pairing him with Gronkowski this week, because I think they could both end over 20, and Gronk, 30.

 

LOW OWNERSHIP – With Gronk, Reed and Henry in very good matchups, I’m expecting Jimmy Graham ($5800) to see lower ownership in a difficult matchup with the Cardinals. I think if anyone on the team can have success against the team, it will be Graham. Dennis Pitta ($4000) is seeing a large amount of targets and has yet to really convert on them, so I think he is worth a shot in tournaments this week. In a tough matchup against the Eagles, Kyle Rudolph ($3500) could go overlooked. He is Sam Bradfords favorite target and that is worth something.

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN CASH GAMES: Gronkowski/Henry/Walker

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN TOURNAMENTS: Gronkowski/Henry/Graham

 

DEFENSES

 

HIGH OWNERSHIP –  This breaks down pretty easily for me this week. With all the value that is appearing for this weekend, I’m going to bet that we see high ownership on the Denver Broncos ($3800), Minnesota Vikings ($3700) and Cincinnati Bengals ($3600). All of these teams are either in good matchups or have just been very good this year. I think that most players will likely settle here, which opens up a huge opportunity for us to differentiate.

 

LOW OWNERSHIP – There are three defenses I think we could use to differentiate a bit. The first is the New England Patriots ($2900). With Ben out and Landry Jones in, this seems like a great spot to use them. Next, the Baltimore Ravens ($2800) look to be in a good spot against Geno Smith and the Jets. Lastly, the Tennessee Titans ($2500) are in a good spot against the Colts who are allowing a ton of sacks, and should be a pretty decent option for cash games.

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN CASH GAMES: Vikings/Titans/Bengals

 

HOW I’M USING THEM IN TOURNAMENTS: Patriots/Ravens/Titans

 

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.