Fansided

DraftKings NFL Week 1 DFS Ownership Projections

By Alex McKinnon

DENVER, CO - OCTOBER 1: Quarterback Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs smiles at tight end Travis Kelce #87 during player warm ups before a game against the Denver Broncos at Broncos Stadium at Mile High on October 1, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images)
DENVER, CO - OCTOBER 1: Quarterback Patrick Mahomes #15 of the Kansas City Chiefs smiles at tight end Travis Kelce #87 during player warm ups before a game against the Denver Broncos at Broncos Stadium at Mile High on October 1, 2018 in Denver, Colorado. (Photo by Dustin Bradford/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
8 of 9
Next
DraftKings NFL Week 1
LOS ANGELES, CA – NOVEMBER 19: Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce (87) catches the ball and scores a touch down during a NFL game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Rams on November 19, 2018, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, CA. (Photo by Jordon Kelly/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Week 1 TEs – DraftKings NFL week 1 highest projected ownership

Travis Kelce ($7100) is the most expensive and has the highest ownership projection on the slate for tight ends. The Jaguars boast a middle-of-the-road defense against TEs and allowed 11.6 DK points per game last season. Kelce has three straight seasons with 1,000 or more yards including a career high 1,336 yards and 10 TDs last season. With plenty of offensive weapons for the Chiefs in play, Jalen Ramsey and AJ Bouye can only cover so much ground.

Similar to Kelce, George Kittle ($6600) is coming off of a 1,300+ yard performance but only managed to bring in 5 TDs. With Jimmy Garappolo back in the fold, Kittle should be able to be an ever more dangerous threat in the red-zone. More importantly, the 49ers get to face the Chiefs who were the worst against TE’s last season allowing 16.5 DK points per game. Being $500 less than Kelce, it’s hard to ignore Kittle’s value this weekend.

Evan Engram ($4800) now becomes 1A or 1B in the Giants passing attack with the loss of Odell Beckham Jr in the off season. Engram battled injury most of last season but should be prime and ready to start the season against the Cowboys who were below average to average against TEs last season. At a fraction of the price compared to Kittle and Kelce, it’s hard not to imagine Engram competing for 10-15% ownership on Sunday.

Hunter Henry ($3900) returns to the Chargers after being sidelined for all of 2018 from an ACL tear. It’s hard to gauge what his output will be after being dormant for so long but he was rather efficient in his first two seasons with 1,057 yards on 81 catches with 12 TDs despite battling for playing time. Despite the Colts having a strong pass defense, they struggled mightily against TEs last season. They allowed the third most DK points per game last season at 16.2 per game. With his cost, his expected role in the offense and his match up, I am predicting a strong showing for Hunter Henry in Week 1.

Another Tampa Bay Buccaneer with high ownership expectations? No way! OJ Howard ($5000) arrives to his third season with much higher expectations now that Cameron Brate has departed. The 49ers actually ranked among the top-10 against TEs last season but with a high game total and a new role in the offense, Howard should get plenty of run. IF Mike Evans were to be sidelined, Howard’s stock (and ownership) will go up alongside Chris Godwin.

Other players with high ownership: David Njoku, Eric Ebron, Kyle Rudolph (rises if Diggs misses)

Who Should I Play Out Of The Chalk?

With such a high price discrepancy between the top end (Kelce and Kittle) and the likes of Engram and Henry, I will be playing a lot of Evan Engram and Hunter Henry as well as OJ Howard depending on Mike Evans status. I also will include David Njoku in some stack plays with Baker Mayfield.