Week 10 DFS Optimal Lineup

Say “Tootles!” to Week 9 because its history and your Week 10 lineup for DraftKings is a mystery. This week, six teams are on their bye: Denver, Houston, Jacksonville, New England, Philadelphia, and Washington get the week off to chill in the Jacuzzi. Don’t fret though fantasy compatriots, many more players are available and wanting your selection as you are making your picks for the week. It should be mentioned that this week’s article is going to be directed towards the Sunday – Monday option on the DraftKings app. Without too much more fluff, let’s get after it.

Week 10 DFS Optimal Lineup

Quarterback

Jameis Winston vs Arizona Cardinals – $6,800

Last week on Thursday night football Jimmy Garoppolo slapped the Cardinal defense up and down the field. Jimmy finished the night with 32.1 points which was 3^rd overall among QBs for Week 9. Arizona gave a career-high game to a slightly above average QB. Additionally, the Cardinals are giving up a league-high 25.2 fantasy points a week to opposing QBs with a spotty 24-2 TD to Pick ratio.

Winston, on the other hand, hasn’t been average or close to it for most of the 2019-2020 NFL season. His interceptions haven’t exactly been a highlight of the year but even in his 5 interception game versus the Panthers, he still walked away with more than 20 fantasy points. After Winston’s slow beginning, he has been on fire for fantasy managers all across the board. After Week 2, Winston’s numbers look as such: 31.3, 35.2, 19.5, 24.1, 28.4, and 25.6. Pay some coin for yah boi Jameis and go to the next pick.

Alternative QBs: Drew Brees vs Atlanta Falcons, Aaron Rodgers vs Carolina Panthers

Running Back

David Montgomery vs Detroit Lions – $5,300

Montgomery has no doubt been one of the assets that the Chicago Bears have leaned on these past couple weeks. Sure, last week he wasn’t as rushing effective but he still fell into the endzone twice, rushing 14 for 40 and three receptions for 36 yards. Ultimately David Montgomery finished 7^th among RBs with 22.6 fantasy points against the stout rushing defense of the Philadelphia Eagles.

On the flip side, Detroit is the league’s lousiest run defense with 33.6 points averaged to opposing RBs. Not only that, Detroit has given up 135.8 rushing yards a game with a 4.7 yards per attempt. Josh Jacobs had himself a stat healthy day against the Lions last Sunday with 28 rushes for 120 yards and 2 TDs. With Montgomery’s stock trending toward high usage, you’re going to want to slap him on your team for his affordable price.

Alternative RBs: Jamaal Williams vs Carolina Panthers

Devin Singletary @ Cleveland Browns – $5,000

Another player trending up around the fantasy league is Devin Singletary. Finally, he had his breakout game with 20 rushes for 95 yards and a TD, tag along three receptions for 45 yards. Singletary had himself a 23 point game which ultimately forced Frank Gore out of the starting position.

Even with Phillip Lindsay’s paltry nine attempts last week, he still garnered to 92 rushing yards and a TD against the Browns defense. That’s literally 10 yards per attempt. This shouldn’t surprise anyone since Cleveland is allowing over 140 rushing yards a game with a 4.9 yard per attempt. To throw more gas on the flame, Cleveland has been forfeiting 25.9 fantasy points a week when it comes to the RB, so stash some Singletary in your RB slot.

Alternative RBs: Damien Williams @ Tennessee Titans

Wide Receiver

Mike Evans vs Arizona Cardinals – $7,600

Naturally we are pairing our QB with his star WR but in this case, you could switch out Mike Evans for Chris Godwin. Both receivers are actually on top of the NFL in fantasy points, Evans is 2^nd while Godwin is 5^th in overall WR fantasy points. The reason I favor Evans is because of his target count. Last week he had 16 targets for 12 receptions, 120 receiving yards, and one TD.

The Cardinals, as mentioned before, were slain by Jimmy G but I didn’t mention Emmanuel Sanders and his swell performance. Thursday he hauled in seven receptions for 112 yards and one TD, not too bad for a new player on a new team. The Cardinals have had a solid secondary for some time, but right now they aren’t shaping up too well against the pass. Currently, they are 4^th worse in receiving yards given up and 10^th in fantasy points to WRs. Play Evans for the complimentary QB/WR duo.

Alternative WRs: Chris Godwin vs Arizona Cardinals, Julio Jones vs New Orleans Saints

Michael Thomas vs Atlanta Falcons – $8,300

I’m going to do the Kirk Cousins “You Like That!” real quick since I managed to pair Evans and Thomas together in this week’s lineup. I thought it would be a good idea to try and push the boundaries for DFS so here we go. Thomas just got Brees back before their bye week and their connection was immediately rejoiced. 11 for 11 and 112 yards with one TD, call me Shirley do those fantasy points look swell. The last time we saw the pair together, they never succeeded in scoring but still had plenty of points to live off with 10 receptions per game.

When you look at the Falcons, they just scream juicy matchup for fantasy. They are ranked 11^th worst in receiving yards, 8^th in yards per completion, and 4^th in points given to WRs. The stats don’t look too good for the Atlanta defense and that means we have to flush out those flaws with our fantasy picks. The Falcons also have a favorable TD to INT ratio this season with 19-2. I shouldn’t have to convince you to play Thomas in this matchup, you should be salivating at the chance.

Alternative WRs: Devante Adams vs Carolina Panthers, Tyreek Hill @ Tennessee Titans

Robert Woods vs Pittsburgh Steelers – $5,600

With Brandin Cooks being ruled out again for the Rams, we need to take Woods for his low price. Right now he is a WR2 with a FLEX value. After Cooks’ first concussion in Week 5, Woods saw an increase in target share almost immediately. Not to mention the Rams currently have the 5^th most passing yards and receiving yards in the league. The receivers especially have been having their way with opposing defenses, right now they are averaging 12.4 yards per reception.

When it comes to the defense, Pittsburgh has had a fairly comparable hold on opposing offenses with their pass rush sacking QBs a bunch of times a game. This has more of an effect on the QB and defensive stats but in a sense, it kind of helps the WRs as well. Because of the dead play and loss of yards, teams usually have to throw the ball to get further down the field. This may be obvious but plays into our hands perfectly when it comes to our DFS team. Play Woods for his volume and favorable price.

Alternative WRs: Zach Pascal vs Miami Dolphins, DJ Moore @ Green Bay Packers

Tight End

Jason Witten vs Minnesota Vikings – $3,700

So we like Witten for a couple of reasons; his value and target share. Witten is sitting at a relatively low price because of his low fantasy production in a high powered offense but this high powered offense is why we like him. Dak Prescott obviously enjoys his company because last year without a dynamic TE he had nobody to dump off to. Now he has Witten and has been accumulating at least four targets a week. Four targets are alright but each game he goes over his four target average, he finishes in double digits.

When you look at the Vikings defense, it doesn’t seem like there are many holes to exploit. The TE position might be one of the regents where some kind of point juicing could be made for our fantasy roster. Currently, the Vikings are handing out 12.7 fantasy points a game to opposing TEs. That is 14^th among a relatively low TE point pool.

Alternative TEs: Delanie Walker (if healthy) vs Kansas City Chiefs, Cameron Brate vs Arizona Cardinals

FLEX

Jamison Crowder vs New York Giants – $5,000

This week our flexing the brain muscle flex pick is Jamison Crowder. Granted, our boy just got his first TD of the season last week against the Dolphins, Crowder has been a fairly reliable WR for Sam Darnold. His targets are unbelievable. The only problem might be the QB and his time to let plays develop while sitting in the pocket. Even so, Crowder has been averaging 7.4 targets a game and that was with the two other starting QBs during Darnold’s mono.

The Giants, on the other hand, have a sweet secondary that any WR or QB would just love to sink their teeth into. So far they are rank 3^rd in fantasy points against WRs, averaging 43.9 points to opposing WR corps. That is plenty of pie to go around to each and every valued receiver on the Jets. With Robby Anderson being a letdown, playing Jamison Crowder will be the more appealing option.

Alternative FLEXs: Sterling Shepard @ New York Jets, Devante Parker @ Indianapolis Colts

D/ST

Kansas City Defense @ Tennessee Titans – $2,700

There is no doubt that KC is being carried to victory because of their offense under Andy Reid. The defense has been okay but when being compared to a high powered offense it might be hard to stand out. Surprisingly the Chiefs are 7^th in the league in sacks, which means all those points they give up doesn’t mean squat to their actual point total. As long as those sacks are happening, real points are being tallied on your team instead of being taken away. To add some insult to injury, Tennessee has had some problems when it comes to sacks. They are the league leaders giving up 38 sacks on the season.

This week I decided to take a chance with 2 top WRs. If going heavy in one area gives you the willies, by all means, change up some aspects to fit your lineup style. I know Mark Ingram and Lamar Jackson are going to have a good rushing week against Cincinnati, so dial back some of the WRs cash and drop a little on an RB. Marlon Mack and Saquon Barkley have some favorable matchups as well.

With some of this cash going elsewhere, WRs and even your TE spot could use adjustments. Pairing some favorable matchups like Golden Tate, Larry Fitzgerald, Michael Gallup or Allen Robinson II could help free up some space. You could even roll the dice on JuJu Smith-Schuster, John Brown, and Zach Pascal, each WR is $6,000 or less right now.