Draft Kings Week 12: Best Bargains At Each Position
The best way to cash on weekly fantasy football sites is to load up on as many stars with good matchups as possible. Due to budget restraints, however, fantasy players must sacrifice other positions to nab the stars they want.
Here, you'll find the top bargains at each position on Draft Kings that will let you splurge elsewhere. And remember, scoring is IMPORTANT. Here is Draft Kings’ scoring system.
The bargains are listed in the order I like them.
Quarterbacks
Jacoby Brissett, Colts ($5,400): Make sure he’s playing before you lock him in, but if so, Brissett is a very nice option. Brissett has thrown two touchdown passes in each of his last three games, and done that vs. three solid to very good defenses (Cincinnati, Houston and Pittsburgh). This time he has the Titans, and their 26th-ranked pass defense per FootballOutsiders.com. Even if his rushing attempts have dropped, he still has the potential for ground yards and rushing scores too.
Derek Carr, Raiders ($5,600): Carr has been a fairly big disappointment this season, as have the Raiders on the whole, but fantasy-wise Carr’s still been okay. Before last week’s so-so performance against the Patriots, he put up yardage totals of 417, 313, and 300 in the previous three weeks. He’s averaging 243 yards per game, and more importantly, 35 pass attempts. Despite a matchup with the Broncos this week, Carr’s a nice play. The Broncos rank just 19th against the pass in 2017, and eighth in getting to the passer. Eighth is nothing to sneeze at, but they are no longer a force to flee at all costs.
Paxton Lynch, Broncos ($4,400): Lynch is the starter, and although his short career has shown nothing beyond him being an awful NFL quarterback, he’s a starter with a matchup against the actual worst pass defense in the NFL. Don’t sleep on Lynch’s ability to make plays with his legs either. He scored 13 rushing touchdowns as a Memphis sophomore, and put up 687 yards on the ground in his three-year college career.
Running Backs
Alfred Morris, Cowboys ($4,800): Through two weeks of Ezekiel Elliott’s absence, Alfred Morris has proved one good thing and one bad thing. First, the bad; Morris has shown he is nothing remotely close to Elliott as a real running back, nor a fantasy option. The good? He’s clearly the top dog in this backfield while Zeke is gone, and it looks like star LT Tyron Smith could come back for Thanksgiving, and resume paving holes against the Chargers’ 27th-ranked run defense. The volume will be there for Morris, and this week he’s going to score.
Jamaal Williams, Packers ($4,600): Williams is a rookie who might not be a very good running back, and he’s got a terrible matchup vs. the Steelers, with a QB who scares exactly no one. But it’s Week 12, and you know by now talent is not the most important – or even a very important – factor in choosing players for your DraftKings lineup. Williams may be a mediocre back with a bad matchup, but the Packers need to feed him the rock over and over again because QB Brett Hundley is a disaster, and because all their other RBs are injured. The backfield belongs to Williams, and he’s likely to see 20+ carries in the process with the chance for a TD.
Doug Martin, Buccaneers ($4,400): Martin’s last two weeks have been terrible in terms of production. He’s put up 51 and 38 yards in his last two games, and hasn’t scored a touchdown since Week 6. Still, Martin continues to see a ton of volume, and this week faces the 28th-ranked run defense in the NFL (Falcons). Martin has really not been good this season, but against the Falcons – and with Jameis Winston still on the mend – the Bucs will rely on him, and he has an opportunity to feast.
Wide Receivers
Emmanuel Sanders, Broncos ($5,200): Sanders is the type of receiver with a good baseline, and very high upside. Sanders has a way of getting open against just about anyone, and his targets reflect that. Last week was no exception; he was targeted a healthy eight times, but only caught two passes for 15 yards. That’s because Brock Osweiler was the QB, and he’s likely to be a healthy scratch this week. A week prior, Sanders caught six balls for 137 yards with Osweiler. I don’t know how Lynch will be, but the odds are good he’s an upgrade. A Sanders/Lynch stack could be sneaky good.
Josh Doctson, Redskins ($4,700): Doctson’s breakout is coming. He’s healthy, and Kirk Cousins is targeting him regularly. Beyond that, the targets are deep shots in which Doctson’s athleticism can shine. This week, he gets a Giants’ defense that has often looked like it’s given up on life. If CB Janoris Jenkins is on him and motivated, then that’s a problem. Otherwise, I like Doctson’s chances of racking up some chunk plays.
Marquise Goodwin, 49ers ($3,900): Goodwin is scary because his QB is the truly horrific C.J. Beathard. Goodwin is also an Olympic-caliber sprinter with real football skills. He’s so fast, he caught one pass in his most recent game and finished with 83 yards and a touchdown. Seattle has been surprisingly soft in 2017 against No. 1 and No. 2 receivers, and without Richard Sherman the Legion of Boom is unrecognizable.
Tight Ends
Vernon Davis, Redskins ($5,500): Jordan Reed has been ruled out, so Davis gets a cake matchup against the Giants who love giving up points to tight ends. Davis has been gobbling up targets since Reed’s been out, and been reliable for 65+ yards. He hasn’t been spectacular, but reliability is plenty from this volatile position.
Kyle Rudolph, Vikings ($4,400): Rudolph has been targeted seven times exactly in each of the Vikings’ last four games, and he has been thrown to at least seven times in his last six games. Rudolph is a regular in Case Keenum’s reads, and this week he gets the Lions, who rank fourth from the bottom vs. TEs. Suit him up with confidence.
Tyler Kroft, Bengals ($3,900): Kroft rounds out a trio of options facing dreadful defenses vs. TEs. Monitor his healthy, but if he is in the lineup, he will torture the Browns, who rank L-A-S-T aganst the position.