4 NFL FanDuel Studs to Target in Week 11
I am having an emotional rollercoaster as we start Week 11 in the NFL season. But, there's no time for sadness -- it's time to get those buckies in DFS play.
As is the case when playing any sport on FanDuel, it’s imperative to hit on the high-priced players in your lineup. They require a big chunk of your salary, and when paying up for a player, you shouldn’t have to worry about him letting down your lineup.
Here are four studs who should prove to be worth their high price tag.
Drew Brees, QB, New Orleans Saints
FanDuel Price: $8,300
Projected Points: 19.1
Following up an absolutely dreadful performance last week where the New Orleans Saints laid an egg, they hit the road, where Drew Brees has performed noticeably worse in his career. Fade city, right?
Naw fam, let's dive in. With this porous pass defense of Tampa Bay, which has allowed the most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks this season, our heat map showcases a juicy 27.50 implied team total for New Orleans.
That 11 point effort last week may scare folks off, but his 25.5 point effort in his first week back from injury. Still getting his feet under him, Brees has been efficient with a 0.20 Passing Net Expected Points (NEP) per drop back mark.
Don't expect back-to-back poor performances from Brees, who we project for the fifth-highest score in Week 11.
Ezekiel Elliott, RB, Dallas Cowboys
FanDuel Price: $8,400
Projected Points: 19.4
Recommending running backs at this point should really be labeled the non Christian McCaffrey division. The dude is a virtual LOCK, if you can afford his pricey salary, each week.
But outside of CMC, Ezekiel Elliott ain't a bad consolation prize. Admittedly, Zeke was brutal a week ago in Week 10, toting the rock for an abysmal 20 carries on 47 yards. But keep in context that he faced off against a very adept Minnesota Vikings run defense, which we rank fifth via our per-play metrics.
This week shapes up to be much better for the Dallas Cowboys bell cow. He takes on the Detroit Lions, who rank 23rd against the run -- they were smashed by Josh Jacobs two weeks ago for 120 rushing yards and two scores. The Cowboys are 4.0-point favorites, which would indicate a potential positive game script for Elliott.
This all adds up to a lot of positive reasons to roster Elliott.
Michael Thomas, WR, New Orleans Saints
FanDuel Price: $9,000
Projected Points: 19.3
How many words are too many words to sing the praises of Michael Thomas of the New Orleans Saints?
The dude is virtually unguardable -- he's averaged 18.8 FanDuel points per game this year. Averaged. He's gone for 20-plus FanDuel points in back-to-back games. Oh and against these same Tampa Bay Buccaneers a few weeks? Try 35.7 points.
While the Bucs have been outstanding against the run, ranking as our top-ranked defense, they rank 23rd against the pass so far this year. And while Drew Brees struggled last week, expect him to hook up with Thomas early and often.
Darren Waller, TE, Oakland Raiders
FanDuel Price: $6,700
Projected Points: 10.4
The team with the highest implied team total? It's not one of the heavyweights, but the Oakland Raiders, who take on the Cincinnati Bengals and their embarrassing pass defense in Week 11.
Nothing has gone right in Cincinnati this season, and certainly not the pass defense, which we have as the second-worst in the league. That leaves for some tasty room for fellas like Darren Waller to operate.
Waller leads the Raiders in target market share (22.9%), receptions (51), and receiving yards (588), and it stands to reason that he will do the same against this porous defense this week.
By virtue of being 10.5-point favorites, it could stand to reason that teammate Josh Jacobs could do some heavy lifting, but there seems plenty of work to go around for Waller this week.
Matt Kupferle is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Matt Kupferle also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username MKupferle. 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.
