I’m very sorry you ran into Lamar Jackson in your fantasy football playoffs, and now you sit on the outside, looking in. It’s not your fault, it’s not like you could have had him on your roster all season long. It’s not like he was just out there for the taking to start the year or anything. Well, the good news is that you can sop up your tears with your winnings from jamming Lamar Jackson into your daily fantasy football lineups this weekend. He’s a pricy guy, which means you’ll need some value plays to fit him in there. Or maybe you want to play on hard mode and fit the extremely expensive Christian McCaffrey into your daily fantasy football lineups. Here is the week sixteen daily fantasy football value plays for what should have been your fantasy football championship week…
Disclaimer: this covers the main slate only, which is why you won’t see Mike Boone on this list
Value Fan Duel Quarterback:
Gardner Minshew at Atlanta ($6,800)
Gardner Minshew put it together in the fourth quarter last weekend, throwing two touchdowns as the Jaguars shut down the Oakland Coliseum. He found Chris Conley twice (more on him later), but grew more comfortable as the game progressed. Now, the specter of Tom Coughlin is gone, and the Jaguars players already say they are more relaxed and ready to play. Kick in his 58 rushing yards over the last couple of games, and Minshew provides you with a high floor. The Falcons slowed Jimmy Garoppolo last weekend, but they gave up 20 fantasy points to Kyle Allen two weeks ago. They’re a true enigma, but they skew towards bad more often than not.
Value Draft Kings Quarterback:
Dwayne Haskins versus N.Y. Giants ($4,700)
Yeah, I said it. I’m riding high on Haskins and his QB10 performance last weekend. Ultimately, he is so cheap as to be a punt play. That is, without resorting to a true punt play with Will Grier. The Giants are truly awful against opposing QBs and just ditched Janoris Jenkins for off-field reasons. They’ve given up at least 19.9 fantasy points in four-point passing TD leagues in seven-straight games.
Value Fan Duel Running Back:
Devonta Freeman versus Jacksonville ($6,200)
Freeman is only $600 more than running back du jour DeAndre Washington, and he has a better matchup. Freeman’s struggled lately, but playing the Saints twice and the 49ers in three of your last four games will do that to a man. He smashed in his last smash matchup (Carolina, where he went for 94 yards and a touchdown). Now, he gets another smash matchup. Nobody’s allowed more fantasy points to RBs in the last five weeks than the Jags. Freeman has struggled on the ground, but his passing game chops keep him in daily fantasy football lineups on the cheap.
Value Draft Kings Running Back:
DeAndre Washington at L.A. Chargers ($4,000)
No Josh Jacobs this weekend for the Raiders. That it’s DeAndre Washington time once again. The last time he came in as a starter, he had about 63% of snaps en route to fourteen rushes and seven targets. That’s a great volume play to put in your pocket for just $4,000. Of course, his value stems from Jacobs’ sudden absence, but that’s where we find our advantages. The Chargers allow the eleventh-most fantasy points to running backs this year, including blowup games from LeSean McCoy, Darrell Williams, and Mike Boone over the last four games. The Chargers are circling the drain, so I don’t expect much of a fight. Washington’s pass-catching ability makes him a great play at just $4,000 on Draft Kings.
Value Fan Duel Wide Receiver:
Marquise Brown at Cleveland ($5,700)
It’s hard to rely on Marquise Brown as anything but a home run play. He scored 12.5 fantasy points last week, 18.7 in week twelve, and 16 in week ten. That’s good! In the other three games, he combined for just 5.2 fantasy points. That’s not good. The Browns allow the fourteenth-fewest fantasy points to wide receivers, but speedsters crush them. John Brown, James Washington, Damiere Byrd, Jaron Brown, and Tyler Lockett have all given them fits since week six. It’s a home run play and one that might set you apart in a GPP.
Value Draft Kings Wide Receiver:
Chris Conley at Atlanta ($4,300)
This goes hand-in-hand with Gardner Minshew’s recommendation above. Chris Conley benefited from Minshew sending the Raiders home in style last weekend. The Jaguars expect D.J. Chark back from his ankle injury this weekend, but Conley still gets the start. Even with Chark around, Conley’s received plenty of opportunities to produce. Conley has at least seven targets in six-of-eight games and cashed in some of that last weekend. The Falcons stopped the 49ers wide receivers last weekend because the Niners threw almost half their targets to George Kittle. Outside of that, WRs stomp the Falcons. Give him a whirl.
Value Fan Duel Tight End:
Cameron Brate versus Houston ($5,000)
What happens when you take Bruce Arians, whose offense shies away from passing to tight ends, and then you remove everyone but the tight ends? You get the Buccaneers offense this weekend against the Texans. Losing Mike Evans and Chris Godwin kneecaps their receiving corps but provides Cameron Brate with upside. He gets a Houston squad that can’t stop tight ends to save their lives, giving up the eighth-most fantasy points to the position, including 39 fantasy points to Noah Fant and Jonnu Smith in the last two weeks.
Value Draft Kings Tight End:
Austin Hooper versus Jacksonville ($4,400)
Hooper’s not the cheapest option here, but I can’t make heads or tails of his price point on Draft Kings. He’s been a smash top-five tight end play week in and week out this season, yet he’s TE9 on the week. Hooper’s massive value comes from getting a lot of targets, which means lots of PPR points. Draft Kings is full PPR, so it doubly makes no sense. The Jags aren’t even a bad matchup, either. Darren Waller brutalized them last week, and Hunter Henry the week before. It almost seems… too easy.
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