FanDuel Single-Game Daily Fantasy Football Helper: Week 11 Monday Night
Week 11 is just about the rearview mirror, but worry not because we still have a Monday Night Football game left to scratch that DFS itch. After some fairly underwhelming matchups the past few weeks, tonight we're treated to a potential Super Bowl preview featuring the Kansas City Chiefs and Los Angeles Rams. This one figures to be real doozy with a monstrous 62.5 total -- the highest in NFL history if it holds. The game was originally supposed to be played in Mexico City, but due to poor field conditions it will take place in Los Angeles instead.
For those unfamiliar with the single-game format, scoring is identical to its full roster cousin, except lineups consist of five flex spots, and kickers (remember them?) are an option in place of defense/special teams. The one twist? One of the five roster spots is your designated "MVP," who receives 1.5-times his total fantasy points. Naturally, it's crucial that you choose your MVP carefully if you want to be at the top of the leaderboards when it's all said and done.
Let's run through some of tonight's top plays, starting with the best options to consider for your MVP slot.
MVP Candidates
Todd Gurley ($17,000 on FanDuel): I'm going to go out on a limb and assume you don't need a lot of convincing to use Todd Gurley. He's averaging 26.5 FanDuel points per game, and is likely to be the most-popular MVP tonight. Kansas City's defense has been routinely shredded by opposing running backs -- allowing the second-most FanDuel points per game to opposing backfields -- and ranks dead last against the run by numberFire's schedule-adjusted metrics. Throw in that the Rams are a 3.5-point home favorite with a massive 33.00 implied total, and it's hard to see Gurley not have a stellar game. The only real question is whether his performance comes out as the top overall among some stiff competition.
Patrick Mahomes ($17,000): Another popular choice will be Patrick Mahomes, and his 27.1 FanDuel points per game tops even Gurley for the highest of the slate. Andrew Luck tossed another three scores on Sunday, but Mahomes still leads the league with 31 passing touchdowns, and he's thrown for 300 yards and/or multiple touchdowns in every game this season. The Rams' passing defense is more of a middle of the road matchup -- they rank 16th by numberFire's metrics -- but Mahomes has shown time and again that he can succeed regardless of the opponent. Given that Mahomes will undoubtedly see high ownership, if you're making multiple lineups, it can't hurt to consider Mahomes' weapons as potentially lower-owned MVPs as well. Kareem Hunt ($13,500), Tyreek Hill ($12,000), and Travis Kelce ($12,000) have all shown high ceilings this season, with Hunt and Hill both eclipsing 30 FanDuel points twice apiece, while Kelce has a season-high of 26.4 points. Of this trio, Hunt will likely be the most popular, but arguably draws the best matchup against numberFire's 29th-ranked rushing defense.
Jared Goff ($15,500): If this game lives up to its lofty total, chances are it will be with both quarterbacks having huge nights. Among passers with at least 300 pass attempts this year, Goff leads all passers with 9.4 yards per attempt, and that number jumps to 10.2 at home, where he's thrown 14 of his 22 touchdowns. Although Goff's weekly numbers haven't been nearly as consistent as Mahomes' marks, Goff has shown just as impressive a ceiling, including a fantastic 39.3-point outing at home against Minnesota in Week 4. Like Mahomes, the matchup doesn't necessarily stand out, but Kansas City's defense is far less formidable on the road, where they've allowed 30.4 real-life points per game.
Value Plays
Josh Reynolds ($9,000): Of course, to fit in some of these high-priced superstars, we're going to need to save some dough somewhere. Robert Woods ($11,000) and Brandin Cooks ($12,000) are Goff's obvious pairings at wide receiver, but we also now have Josh Reynolds in the mix after Cooper Kupp's season-ending injury in Week 10. Reynolds still has a shaky floor as he essentially remains the fourth option behind Woods, Cooks and Gurley, but he'll play a full complement of snaps after seeing over 83% of the snaps when Kupp was out in both Week 7 and 8. His results in those games give us a good idea of his floor and ceiling, with FanDuel scores of 2.4 and 17.5 points. The price is right to take a shot, and given the shootout we expect, a spike week is definitely in the realm of possibilities.
Harrison Butker ($8,000): Considering all the points we're hoping for in this game, we should see the kickers get in on the action as well. Harrison Butker may be the road kicker, but he comes at a nice discount compared to his counterpart Greg Zuerlein ($9,500), making him an ideal salary-saver. Riding shotgun with a high-flying offense sure has its perks, as Butker has averaged a solid 9.5 FanDuel points per game, and he put up a season-high 18 FanDuel points in Kansas City's shootout against the New England Patriots in Week 6.
Chris Conley ($5,500): With Sammy Watkins listed as questionable and looking unlikely to play, this puts Chris Conley on the radar as a low-floor punt. Even with Watkins out in Week 10, Conley still only saw two targets, and he's failed to reach double-digit FanDuel points in any game this year. And yet, Conley played nearly 92% of the snaps last week, and he also saw over 93% of the snaps when Watkins was injured mid-game in Week 4. While these circumstances haven't translated to fantasy points, we don't always find this sort of role in this price range, and if you're willing to take the plunge, you'll be able to do things like pair both Gurley and Mahomes together on the same lineup. That flexibility alone could be worth the risk.
Kenyatta Storin is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Kenyatta Storin also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username yatters. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.
