Yahoo NFL DFS – Daily Fantasy Football: Week Eighteen

Rizzla discusses his week week eighteen Yahoo NFL DFS Daily Fantasy Football: NFL Champion of Champions Daily Fantasy Football lineup.

Yahoo NFL DFS –  Daily Fantasy Football: Week Eighteen

Congratulations to those of you who won your fantasy leagues this season. As a nice treat for their fantasy owners Yahoo! is running a free champion of champions tournament for league winners. Unfortunately the large, buzz worthy guaranteed overlay million dollar Yahoo NFL DFS baller contests are over for the season but this is a nice opportunity all champions should avail themselves of.

As always I like to begin by reflecting on my lineup blunders from my previous weeks lineup and learning from my mistakes. My biggest miscues of week seventeen were Aaron Rodgers, Jamaal Williams and Robby Anderson.

Aaron Rodgers was a strong play against a Lions team he beat up for 442 yards and three touchdowns earlier in the season but the week sixteen hero was knocked out of this contest early with an injury and only managed to muster 26 passing yards beforehand. The main lesson learned here is that any given Sunday, any player can get hurt, reinforcing the notion that the more lineups you have a player in the higher your degree of potential exposure is in the case of an injury.

Jamaal Williams saw his fantasy prospects take a major hit when Aaron Rodgers went down with an injury as all the Lions had to do was focus on stopping Jamaal Williams. Williams can produce with high volume but is over matched as a starter for a team with a bad quarterback which is exactly what the Packers turned into with Deshone Kizer inserted for his first non kneel down or garbage time game as a Green Bay Packer. The main lesson learned here is while volume is royalty in fantasy sports, some semblance of above replacement level talent is desired to contend with possible injuries at key spots in the offense which may in turn affect the quality of said volume.

Robby Anderson was on fire for the New York Jets and while I did acknowledge he had a touch matchup against Stephen Gilmore I felt that based on what the less talented Robert Foster was able to do in terms of getting behind him for potential scores that Anderson had a chance at a big day. While Anderson did see a team high eight targets he hauled in only three for 28 yards leaving him with just 3.90 fantasy points. The main lesson learned here is that despite his obvious talent Anderson will remain inconsistent as a member of the New York Jets until a time that Sam Darnold takes the next step in his development.

For this week’s NFL Champion of Champions free roll I tinkered with my usual strategy of filling defense, tight end and quarterback first by identifying the best potential values and then doing the same for both running back and receiver. This week I followed this method but did not like some of the players I was planning to move ahead with, so I pivoted on defense, tight end and flex in order to field a more complete and potentially more competitive lineup.

Yahoo NFL DFS Daily Fantasy Football: Week Eighteen Picks

Andrew Luck ($35 Salary; 3rd salary rank; 1st personal rank)

Andrew Luck has a tasty matchup this weekend against a division rival Houston Texans defense surrendering the nineteenth most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks. While the Texans have held some opposing quarterbacks in check this season, that has not been the case with Andrew Luck however as he is averaging 30.11 fantasy points in their two meetings this year. Luck has had his way with the Texans defense this season to the tune of 431.5 passing yards and three touchdowns per game, making Luck the QB you want to own for this weekends contest.

Gus Edwards ($17 Salary; 9th salary rank; 4th personal rank)

Impressive running back Gus Edwards has a plus matchup against a Los Angeles Chargers defense allowing the tenth most fantasy points to opposing running backs. Edwards posted a solid outing against the Ravens in week sixteen with an eleven fantasy point outing that saw him rack up 92 rushing yards off of fourteen carries and 13 receiving yards off of one reception. An elite two down thumper, Edwards’ power game is the perfect complement to Lamar Jackson’s slashing style and the running backs fifth in the NFL 5.2 yards per carry is indicative of their synergy. Incredibly, Edwards is averaging 89.8 yards per game in his six contests as a starter, a number that would place him second in the NFL per game and a pace that would have made him the rushing champion this year with 1436 rushing yards (Zeke had 1434 in fifteen games).

Chris Carson  ($25 Salary; 3rd salary rank; 3rd personal rank)

Chris Carson looks like a solid play this weekend despite facing off against a Dallas Cowboys defense allowing the eighth fewest fantasy points to opposing running backs.  Fourth in the league with 82.8 rushing yards per game, Carson is one of only nine 1000 yard rushers this season and placed fifth in NFL with 1151 rushing yards despite missing two games. Carson has a plus matchup this weekend as he squares off versus a team he went off against for 102 rushing yards and a score off a season high 32 carries while chipping in 22 receiving yards off of two receptions in the Seahawks week three victory against the Cowboys.

Yahoo NFL DFS Daily Fantasy Football: Week Eighteen Picks

Amari Cooper ($27 Salary; 3rd salary rank; 2nd personal rank)

Amari Cooper has a tasty matchup on tap this weekend against a Seattle Seahawks defense giving up the sixteenth most fantasy points to enemy wideouts. The Seahawks have allowed 12.3 receptions, 156.3 receiving yards and 0.9 touchdowns to the wide receiver position on the season giving Cooper considerable upside for this weekends contest. Amari must be getting some great home cooking as he is averaging 86 yards a game at home this season versus 45.3 on the road,  a number that spikes to 110.2 yards per game at Jerry’s world. Cooper has a plus matchup this weekend against corner Shaquill Griffin who has allowed a solid 62.3 percent catch rate and a friendly 113.2 passer rating against. Roll with Cooper where possible.

DeAndre Hopkins ($34 Salary; 1st salary rank; 1st personal rank)

DeAndre Hopkins has a plus matchup this weekend against a tough on paper Indianapolis Colts defense surrendering the third fewest fantasy points to opposing wide receivers. Hopkins looks like a strong play against a team he posted 4-36-1 and 10-169-1 lines in their two previous meetings this season putting D-Hop at an average of seven receptions, 102.5 yards and a touchdown per game against the Colts on the campaign. Hopkins is expected to spend most of his time doing battle against Pierre Desir again, a cornerback who has allowed a 62.3 percent catch rate and a 93.8 passer rating against giving Deshaun Watson and the talented wide receiver a matchup to exploit.

Tyrell Williams ($11 Salary; 16th salary rank; 11th personal rank)

Tyrell Williams was plugged in as a high upside dart throw with a low cost and will do battle against a Baltimore Ravens defense relinquishing the fifth fewest fantasy points to opposing wide receivers. Allowing 11 receptions, 139.9 receiving yards and 0.8 touchdowns per game to the wide receiver position on the season, the Ravens have been more susceptible in recent weeks as they have allowed three 100 yard receiving performances over their last four games after not allowing one all season. Williams has actually been more effective on the road this season where he averages nine more yards per contest, and while he remains a boom or bust play, taking advantage of his $11 price tag is needed in order for me to field the rest of the players I want. With that said I will pivot to Keke Coutee if he is deemed active in pregame warmups on Saturday as Williams has a tough test doing battle with corner back Jimmy Smith who has held opponents to 57.3 catch rate (21st best in league) and a 82.8 passer rating against.

Yahoo NFL DFS Daily Fantasy Football: Week Eighteen Picks

Trey Burton ($14 Salary; 3rd salary rank; 3rd personal rank)

Trey Burton has what could be a solid matchup this weekend despite doing battle against a Philadelphia Eagles defense surrendering the fourth fewest fantasy points to opposing tight ends. The Eagles have given up a cool 4.2 receptions for 43.6 receiving yards per game to the tight end position but have held the position in check in terms of fantasy points against due to allowing only two touchdowns all season. With that said the Eagles have faced only four TE1 types this season which played a large part in keeping their numbers against down. While Burton is not expected to match O.J. Howard’s week two 96 yard and a touchdown magic, the tight end could see a solid target volume as well as some red zone work making Burton one of the preferred options in a slate that is without much in the way of selection. With Zach Ertz struggling and Eric Ebron becoming maddeningly inconsistent down the stretch at almost twice the price, Burton was selected a solid projected value based play. Roll with Burton where needed.

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Doug Baldwin  ($22 Salary; 5th salary rank; 4th personal rank)

Doug Baldwin has what looks like a plus matchup despite squaring off against a Dallas Cowboys defense allowing the sixth fewest fantasy points to opposing wide receivers. The ‘Boys have relinquished 11.1 receptions, 144.8 receiving yards and 0.8 touchdowns per game to the wide receiver position on the season giving Baldwin solid upside this weekend. While Dallas does have one of the better cornerbacks in the league in Byron Jones, Baldwin is expected to see more work in the slot against Jourdan Lewis with Byron Jones entrenched at right cornerback. Lewis has allowed a 68 percent catch rate and a 93.1 passer rating against on the season making Baldwin a strong play in a slate with limited high value options.

Los Angeles Chargers ($16 Salary)

The Los Angeles Chargers will do battle with a Baltimore Ravens offense who surrendered the sixth fewest fantasy points to opposing defensive/special teams units this season. The Chargers were still able to muster a six point fantasy outing against these same Ravens in week sixteen and their three sacks and a fumble recovery in that meeting make them enough of a threat to cause havoc to view the Ravens as a solid potential bargain for this weekends contest. With 2.25 sacks and a fumble recovery per game over their last four games in a matchup I have the Chargers pegged to come out victorious in the Chargers were my second choice on defense after I realized I could field a stronger lineup with the savings I would net from pivoting from the Seahawks.

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