NFL DFS Thursday Night Football: FanDuel Single Game Contest Preview

The NFL presents a divisional matchup of longtime rivals  this Thursday evening. Let’s take a look at the Steelers and Browns matchup from a Fanduel/DFS perspective!

Before I dive into my FanDuel player selections, let’s briefly discuss the rules for the FanDuel’s single game contest and my DFS strategy for this week’s Thursday night game.

In my opinion, the rules for the FanDuel single game contest are rather simple. You have $60,000  to utilize on five players from the single NFL game. However, one of those five football players will be designated as your MVP.

The MVP’s FanDuel points accumulated in the game will have 1.5 times the standard value than your other remaining four players. Having said that, it is of high importance that you select the correct player for your MVP position if you hope to take down a FanDuel single game contest.

If you have additional questions regarding the rules for this FanDuel contest I recommend that you check out the FanDuel site for more details.

Now let’s shift our focus to my DFS strategy for this AFC East matchup on Thursday Night.

As I began to assess this football game from a fantasy perspective, a few things immediately became quite clear to me. First of all, I don’t see a high scoring game on Thursday night. What I do expect you may ask? Well, I expect the Steelers and Browns to present the DFS community with a low scoring defensive battle that does not result in massive fantasy point totals for either team.

How do I attack this expected low scoring game for this FanDuel single game contest? Well, I will do my best to answer that question with my FanDuel player picks for the Steelers vs. Browns.

MVP

Jarvis Landry $12,000

For me, I want a MVP in this likely low scoring game that has demonstrated on a consistent basis over the course of the NFL season that he is a major part of the team’s offense. I also want that player to have high upside.

I think I have found the man that fits that narrative best and his name is Jarvis Landry. Let’s review Landry’s last three football games and look at the relevant data from those games. Over his last three games, Landry has been targeted by Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield 33 times.

In that three game span, Landry has 20 receptions, 213 receiving yards and two touchdown receptions. Clearly, Landry should continue to be a focus of the Browns offense versus the Steelers.

Contrarian MVP Candidates

If you wanted to compile a few lineups with a contrarian MVP to pivot away from what other DFS players may do, here are some possible candidates.

Kareem Hunt $9,000

Obviously, going with Hunt at MVP is a risky play. However, it could pay large dividends for your FanDuel lineup. Last week, Hunt returned from suspension and accumulated 10.9 FanDuel points. You never know, he could be a sneaky play here.

Kickers

Another contrarian strategy would be to go with either team’s kicker at MVP. I stated earlier in this article that I fully expect a low scoring game. In my opinion, it’s entirely possible that you have a kicker in this football game that has four or five field goals on Thursday night.

My Flex Plays

James Conner $14,500

The Steelers running back is major part of the Steelers offense. His involvement has seen a substantial increase due to the season ending injury to Ben Roethlisberger.

How much he is involved? Let’s take a look at Conner’s last two games from a fantasy standpoint. In his last two Conner has averaged 25 FanDuel points a game. For me, Conner has to be in all FanDuel single game contests. Fade him at your own risk.

Odell Beckham Jr. 11,500

Last week, it was crystal clear that the Browns were doing all they could to get Beckham going in the team’s offense. An indicator of that fact was the 12 targets Beckham Jr. received from Baker Mayfield.

I firmly believe that Baker Mayfield will be targeting Odell early and often on Thursday. A must start for me.

James Washington $9,500

With my final flex pick, I am going to take a chance on wide receiver James Washington. Steelers quarterback Mason Randolph has been looking Washington’s way lately.

Over his last two games, Washington has 10 receptions on 11 targets. He also added a receiving touchdown in that two game span. I like this man’s chances to maybe surprise some people on Thursday!

If you have any player questions feel free to contact me on Twitter at @geeversgolf.

Good luck!