Breakdowns
10/14/21
6 min read
Daily Fantasy Week 6: Love it, Need it, Hate it, Lottery Picks
Welcome back to the Daily Fantasy: Love it, Need it, Hate it, Lottery Picks article for Week 6 of the NFL season. Week 6 is an interesting one, as we have some spectacular primetime games. With the primetime games taking away a lot of our usual fantasy targets, we may be forced to dig a little bit deeper this week. Check out the website tomorrow to see our strategy analyzer article for this weekend's games.
Love It
Players in the “Love it” section are guys that we are excited to play in any format, regardless of the ownership that they may garner that week.
Lamar Jackson ($7,400 DraftKings, $8,200 FanDuel)
It feels like Lamar Jackson headlines this section every single week. With the season that he has had to this point, it is quite alright. Jackson is yet to post below 20 DraftKings points in any contest this year, as he is averaging 29.2 points per game. He is coming off of an impressive 45.88 point performance against Indianapolis in a come-from-behind win on Monday Night. It's a little surprising, as Jackson's impressive start to the season has been more due to his arm than his legs. The Ravens are 7th in passing DVOA, and 16th on the ground. Jackson's passing yardage has gone up with each week, and he also tossed four touchdowns last week.
This matchup with the Chargers looks exciting and should be one where Jackson can feast. The game boasts a total of over 50, and two high-powered offenses. Jackson's legs give him a ceiling that few can match, and this should be a week where he should flourish. A lot of high-priced quarterbacks are in less appealing situations, as Jalen Hurts is not on the main slate, Kyler Murray is banged up, and Patrick Mahomes is almost $1000 more expensive on both sites. Lamar Jackson is one of our favorite plays on the slate, and we love him in all formats.
Need It
This section will contain guys who we believe are necessary when you are constructing a lineup for cash games. They are still viable in tournaments, but they aren’t necessary. We still like them as plays, but these guys may come with higher ownership, which could provide merit to fading them and going another route.
Darrell Henderson Jr. ($6,000 DraftKings, $7,300 FanDuel)
We're excited about Darrell Henderson this week, but sadly, so is the rest of the field. Henderson has been leading the Rams' backfield while healthy, but rescinded a little bit of the work to Sony Michel last week. The snap counts are still around 2:1 for Henderson over Michel, and the touches are the same way. However, when fully healthy, it has been Henderson's backfield. Henderson has posted solid game logs, as he has been between 15.7-17.2 DraftKings points in all of his games. He is a staple of consistency, and now he gets the matchup.
The Giants rank 27th in fantasy points allowed to opposing running backs, as they've given up 29.4 per game so far this season. The Rams come into this game being favored by over a touchdown, which sets up in a positive game script for Henderson. McVay has no problem leaning on the run when it's working, and we think it should be working on Sunday. Henderson should see fairly high ownership on both sites, but we still like him in all formats. He could warrant a fade in tournaments at his ownership if you choose to go that way.
Hate it
Players in the “Hate it” section are guys that we do not want to roster that week in DFS for a number of reasons. They may have a bad matchup, they may be projecting to have too much ownership, they may be too expensive, or it could be a combination of the three.
Kyler Murray ($7,900 DraftKings, $8,400 FanDuel)
This may come off as a surprising one, but Kyler Murray is someone who we have no interest in for this upcoming week. As we noted in some earlier articles, Murray's splits last year when he was healthy vs. when he was banged up were notable. Murray was above 22 DraftKings points in each of his first four games and then posted a 13.66 point stinker against San Francisco once he got a little banged up. Kliff Kingsbury doesn't do anything spectacular on offense, and it seems like that offense is entirely reliant on Murray and his play.
With Murray banged up, there isn't much appeal to rostering him. Couple that with a matchup against one of the most run-happy reams in the league, and oh boy that isn't exciting. Cleveland is the number one rushing team in the league, and they seem content with taking their time on offense, keeping the ball out of Murray's hands. With how high Murray's price is, we'd rather go in a different direction at the quarterback position.
Lottery Picks
The Lottery Picks section contains players who we think have the upside to be in tournament-winning lineups. As well as having the ceiling to win tournaments, these players also won’t come with too much ownership
Brandin Cooks ($5,800 DraftKings, $6,500 FanDuel)
Despite playing on the atrociousness that is the Houston Texans, Brandin Cooks has had a nice start to the season fantasy-wise. He's had back-to-back single-digit DraftKings point performances, but he started the season with three games of 20+ DraftKings points. He leads Houston in all targets with a 35.61% market share of targets, and a 22.22% market share of red-zone targets. It's not an attractive play, but that usage at such a low price is hard to pass up.
The matchup is beatable, as Indianapolis has already allowed 10 touchdowns to opposing wide receivers through the first five games. Indianapolis' defense is banged up, as starters Xavier Rhodes and Andrew Sendejo are expected to miss this game. With the Colts being favored and expected to take a lead in this game, the Texans should be forced into catch-up mode. Cooks will also see minimal ownership most likely, and there are a few pieces on the Colts that you can correlate him with in tournaments. Brandin Cooks looks like a solid tournament option this weekend.
