QB: Tom Brady vs. Los Angeles (Rams) DraftKings Salary: 6,000
RB: Travis Etienne vs. Las Vegas DraftKings Salary: 6,300
RB: Rhamondre Stevenson vs. Indianapolis DraftKings Salary: 6,200
WR: Justin Jefferson at Washington DraftKings Salary: 8,600
WR: Terry McLaurin vs. Minnesota DraftKings Salary: 5,900
WR: Chris Godwin vs. Los Angeles (Rams) DraftKings Salary: 6,200
TE: Cade Otton vs. Los Angeles (Rams) DraftKings Salary: 3,100
FLEX: Allen Robinson at Tampa Bay DraftKings Salary: 5,000
DST: Seahawks Def at Arizona DraftKings Salary: 2,500
Reasoning: Don’t be alarmed looking at my primary stack, I’m sane and aware that it isn’t 2021 anymore. It hasn’t looked great for the Bucs recently but I think there are some elements at play here that could turn back the clock a bit. The Rams play predominately zone defense, have a great run D and a pass rush that has went from absolutely monstrous to above average. Despite injuries across the OL, the Bucs offensive line has a top 3 adjusted sack rate…now I know that has to be taken with at least a small grain of salt because we know TB12 ain’t here for getting hit, when things get thick that ball is coming out…but it’s still impressive on some level. If Brady isn’t getting moved off his spot a ton and he knows where the soft spots on the opposing are, I think you can still bet on him despite the struggles. I feel good about his odds at hitting the 300 yard bonus, can the TDs return?
I went with Godwin over Evans due to price and zone defense versus man defense splits and with Cameron Brate ruled out, Cade Otton gets another week as a full time player. He ran a healthy 34 routes last week and drew 3 red zone targets. The Allen Robinson run back doesn’t give me warm and fuzzy feelings but he has at least been functional the last 2 weeks. I like that even with Van Jefferson back he ran 80% of the routes last week and he has 2 red zone targets in each of the last 2. The Rams play at a sluggish pace but the Bucs speedy neutral pace should pull a few more plays out of them. There is also the chance that Cooper Kupp doesn’t play his normal compliment of snaps while dealing with an ankle injury.
The Justin Jefferson-Terry McLaurin skinny stack will be a one of my go to’s this week. Jefferson’s matchup is as good as you could ask for. McLaurin’s volume continues to grow to a level more appropriate to his talent level. Hopefully the former can push the latter even further.
The contrarian nature of my primary stack affords me the opportunity to ride the wave at RB and I’m doing so with young backs who have 3 down profiles at great prices. The Colts have a great run defense but seem to be imploding on offense. I like the Patriots chances of controlling this game, giving Stevenson chances to grind out the tough yards and be that goal line hammer. Travis Etienne is becoming the centerpiece of the Jags offense and his matchup versus Raiders is about as good as you could ask for.
As a fantasy manager of multiple Kyler Murray teams I hope he balls out this week but the I’ve been a bit surprised with how many times I’ve heard his name mentioned as a great play this week…and that’s not to say he isn’t – I’ll be running some Kyler stacks this week too but it’s also not lost on me that Kliff Kingsbury is his coach. Between that, the improvements the Seahawks have made on defense and the tendency that these divisional matchups have to underdeliver, I’ll take my chances at this cheap a price point.
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