Daily Fantasy Football Best Bargains 2021: Week 16 Top DFS Values on DraftKings and FanDuel
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 FanDuel and DraftKings that will let you splurge elsewhere. And remember, scoring is IMPORTANT. Here are Fanduel’s and DraftKings’ scoring systems.
Quarterbacks
Drew Lock, Broncos ($6,600/$5,100): Lock is certainly a shaky real-life QB, but with his arm and the Broncos’ surrounding weaponry he can totally be a solid performer for a week vs. the Raiders. Lock threw for 88 yards and a touchdown in relief of Teddy Bridgewater last week, who is very unlikely to be on the field after suffering a scary concussion. Lock also has a bit of scrambling ability, so a lucky rushing TD isn’t out of the question. The Raiders have the 25th-best pass defense in the NFL per Football Outsiders, and an offense that could force Denver to be in a pass-heavy game script.
Zach Wilson, Jets ($6,600/$5,300): Wilson is always a massive gamble, but he’s up against the second-worst pass defense in the league, and a team that is in even more turmoil than his own. Also, Wilson has sneakily scored a rushing touchdown in three of his last four games.
Trevor Lawrence, Jaguars ($6,500/$5,000): Lawrence has been as disappointing this year as Wilson, but in Week 16 he does get the actual worst pass defense in the NFL to feast on. Lawrence has some rushing upside, and he has good enough skill players to patch together a big day on a defense this bad. He’s likely the play if you’re looking to scrape the bottom of the barrel because he’ll have more attempts than Wilson, even if Jacksonville is in more disarray.
Running Backs
Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Chiefs ($6,500/$5,800): Edwards-Helaire had a massively disappointing showing vs. the Chargers in what appeared to be a smash matchup, and his price has dipped accordingly. Buy the dip! CEH remains Kansas City’s primary ball carrier, and the Steelers have the third-worst rush defense in the NFL. Kansas City looks to be the latest team to get mangled by COVID, and if they don’t have their pass catchers available, the Steelers will get a heavy dose of CEH.
Miles Sanders, Eagles ($6,400/$5,600): Sanders is proving that he should’ve been an RB1 all along. Now that the Eagles are committing to using him properly, as a workhorse, he’s turned in back-to-back games with 120 or more yards. It’s frustrating to see QB Jalen Hurts steal all his touchdowns, but Sanders has another weak defense (Giants) to go HAM on this week. Do not hesitate to fire him up/
Ronald Jones, Buccaneers ($5,400/$5,100): Carolina has a well-ranked Rush DVOA this year, but it’s fading. They’ve allowed more than 100 rushing yards in each of their last four games, and Jones might be in for a big, big workload with Tampa Bay possibly missing both Chris Godwin and Mike Evans. Jones is a borderline elite pure rusher, and while he won’t put up Fournette’s receiving numbers, he won’t need them to be a useful fantasy option.
Wide Receivers
Odell Beckham Jr., Rams ($6,600/$5,300): Beckham showed his downside on Tuesday, catching a single pass for seven yards vs. the Seahawks. On this team, Beckham is a clear secondary option, but one who can dominate one-on-one matchups. After such a down game, the Rams are likely to try and force feed him a bit more in a friendly matchup with the Vikings, and I like his chances of scoring a touchdown. He had scored one in three straight games prior to Tuesday night, after all.
DeVonta Smith, Eagles ($5,900/$6,000): Smith’s rookie campaign has been limited by Philadelphia’s poor QB play, but he has popped in good matchups, and the Giants are a great one. Big Blue is tied for the fourth-most points per game allowed to WR1s, and that’s Smith’s role here. The Eagles pass volume stinks, but at his best Smith is capable of efficiency. At this price, he looks like a solid gamble with WR1 upside.
Jamison Crowder, Jets ($5,600/$5,000): Crowder has seen six or more targets in three straight games, clearly benefitting from the absence of Corey Davis and Elijah Moore. Wilson is an obvious work in progress, but he has wild talent, and a huge target share vs. the second-worst pass defense in football is valuable. I love him as an option to round out a receiving corps that you’ve spent big money on.
Tight Ends
Zach Ertz, Cardinals ($5,800/$5,000): Ertz might be my favorite play on the entire slate. The Colts have the 23rd-ranked DVOA vs. TEs, allow a league-high 9.5 points per game to them (Seattle is second-worst at 8.3), and the most yards per game (71). With DeAndre Hopkins gone, Ertz saw a season-high 11 targets last week, and that should continue in this awesome matchup. Get Ertz in there.
C.J. Uzomah, Bengals ($5,000/$3,000): Uzomah is an extremely risky proposition, but if you need an extreme bargain he has a chance for a TE1 performance. The Ravens are among the worst defenses against TEs in the NFL, and Uzomah has spiked this year in such matchups. In fact, he torched these Ravens for 91 yards and two scores in Week 7. This could backfire, but ideally you used the rest of your budget on players who can mask a bad week.