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For the uninitiated, playing daily games on DraftKings can be an enjoyable experience, but equally sobering is the fact that season-long knowledge does not always translate to success in the daily space. Footballguys will bring you a series of value- and strategic-based selections from a number of seasoned daily veterans throughout the NFL season. Herein is another edition of “Tipandpick’s Tips and Picks,” where we will examine the salaries of players at each position on DraftKings and make value-based recommendations for both your cash games and tournaments.

Below you will find a list of recommended players for both formats. GPP players generally have high-upside, but are too risky for cash games; cash game players are consistent with high fantasy floors. In some instances, the value for a player is so strong, he may fall into both categories…let’s have a look.

TIPS...

In order to help you build winning rosters, let's walk through some of the observations that I have made while doing my research for DraftKings this week. As you build out your lineups on DraftKings, try to consider the following commentary, which revolves around game strategy and how we will want to take advantage of what the masses are doing when they construct their own lineups.

LIMIT YOUR CASH GAME PLAY: [Adapted from "Tips and Picks' from 2019 Wild-Card Weekend] Over the past few seasons, cash games have gotten increasingly difficult to beat over the long-term. That trend can be blamed squarely on the availability of good information that was previously not readily available. Today, however, there are an abundance of data, tools, and articles on various websites that make constructing cash game lineups a straightforward endeavor. Like last year around this time, I am urging you to limit the amount of cash game action that you put into play because the overlap that occurs on smaller game sets, like Wild-Card Weekend, is absurd; Drew Brees, Devin Singletary, and Michael Thomas are all going to be extremely highly-owned on this four game slate. As a result of this massive ownership overlap, the difference between winning and losing will often distill down to one or two players’ performance(s), which is less than optimal because of the variance associated with NFL scoring. The edge associated with playing DFS is far less defined on a shorter slate because there are less mistakes that can be made. With this in mind, I would encourage you to play less volume than you typically play on an NFL slate and also direct you to play a bit more of your cash game action in head-to-head contests, where you are not likely facing an all-or-nothing outcome.

GAMESCRIPTING: Because there are only four games from which to choose, my best advice this (and next) week is to mentally determine how you envision the games playing out and building your rosters accordingly. For example, I like the Bills to go on the road and upset the Texans on Saturday because of how their key personnel match up against one another. The Bills secondary, featuring shutdown cornerback TreDavious White, is one of the best in the league; teams that have performed well against Buffalo have primarily bested them via the run, which will be difficult for the Texans, whose feature running back (Carlos Hyde) has surpassed 75 rushing yards only once since their Week #10 bye. With the All-World DeAndre Hopkins dealing with shadow coverage from the aforementioned White, I don't trust Watson to get the job done with Kenny Stills while Will Fuller (groin) is expected to miss yet another game. Of all of which is to say that I will be overweight on Bills' offensive players and fading many of the Texans' skill players, particularly in the passing game. When the smoke clears, that gamescript may or may not be realized, but to win a GPP this Wild-Card Weekend, you will need to be correct on those gamescripts more often than not due to the extreme overlap in ownership on a limited slate.

...AND PICKS

Let's take a deeper look into some of the players who I will be targeting for my cash game and tournament rosters this weekend. A short summary follows each respective table to fill in the gaps that led to the respective recommendations; that text represents only an overview of the methodology and rationale that goes into each recommendation.

QUARTERBACKS

QB OVERVIEW: In cash games, the safest play is probably paying the premium for Drew Brees and building around him at other positions. Brees has thrown for multiple touchdowns in all-but-one home game this season, a reality that has led to an average of 27.7 DK points per game, nearly 4x this week's salary. The matchup against the Vikings is as soft as they come this time of the year; Minnesota's defense has allowed nearly 3/4 of their touchdowns via the pass, which is worst in the NFL. If you cannot afford Brees' salary, Tom Brady is the discounted cash game (and GPP) option against a Titans secondary that is without its best cornerback (Malcolm Butler) and has allowed 18+ DK points to 10 consecutive quarterbacks not named Nick Foles or Kyle Allen. Brady has been far from his former self this season, but we should trust that Bill Belichick will be prepared to outclass Mike Vrabel in Foxborough in January. For tournament purposes, Carson Wentz tops the list for the second consecutive week, primarily because of how cheaply his receivers are priced. Since Thanksgiving, Wentz has chucked the ball 40+ times in every game and is averaging 300+ yards over that span, volume that could potentially continue with Miles Sanders and Boston Scott performing so well as receivers. The knock on Wentz is that the Eagles could be without two key linemen, Brandon Brooks and Lane Johnson, but Friday's injury report lists the latter as questionable, which should mean that he will be on the field on Sunday. For their part, the Seahawks get virtually zero pressure on opposing quarterbacks, which should lessen fear about the Birds' offensive line injuries. Elsewhere, Josh Allen is an intriguing GPP option against the Texans that could go overlooked by the masses. Allen has not thrown for 300+ yards all season, but he brings upside to your rosters via his wheels--he has scored a rushing touchdown in 8 out of 15 *starts this season (*not counting Week #16 where he played only 7 snaps). Lastly, Russell Wilson is in play, despite his slate-high pricetag, because Travis Homer and an aged Marshawn Lynch are not going to be able to be productive against the Eagles' 4th-ranked (DVOA) rush defense; instead, the rush-happy Pete Carroll should be forced to throw the ball against their susceptible secondary.

RUNNING BACKS

RB OVERVIEW: For reasons that we will discuss in the next section, you will want to get as much Michael Thomas as you can reasonably fit into your rosters this weekend. At $9.3K, however, Thomas necessitates saving salary at other positions, which dictates that you may have to get away from Derrick Henry ($8.1K) and/or Dalvin Cook ($7.8K) at the running back position. The good news is that Henry could be scripted out of the game if the Patriots jump to an early lead because the big back is rarely involved as a receiver (only 18 receptions in the regular season) and Dalvin Cook would be more attractive as a 9-point favorite than a 9-point underdog against the Saints. That leaves Alvin Kamara and Devin Singletary as volume-based running back options with reasonable salaries. Kamara is heating up heading into the playoffs, having scored four touchdowns over the Saints' final pair of regular-season games. He gave way to Latavius Murray last week after the game against Carolina was out of hand, but we should expect to see Kamara field ~ 70% of New Orleans' offensive snaps and garner 18+ touches against a Vikings' defensive front that has sprung leaks to Aaron Jones (23/154/2) and David Montgomery (23/113/1) over their previous two games. In Houston, Devin Singletary will bring fresh legs to NRG Stadium after sitting out a meaningless Week #17 game against the Jets. Prior to that game, Singletary accrued 16 or more touches in 6 consecutive games and out-touched stablemate, Frank Gore, 117 to 51; that said, Singletary will need to score from a distance, as Sean McDermott appears to be convinced the Gore has a better nose for the endzone, as evidenced by his commitment to the veteran in those situations. Nonetheless, Singletary is one of the safer cash game plays on this limited slate at the running back position. In tournaments, feel free to saddle up with any of the Patriots' running backs, as each brings something different to your lineups. Sony Michel will probably go underowned (again) despite averaging 20 touches over his previous 3 games; meanwhile, James White has demonstrated upside in the past against teams that cannot defend pass-catching running backs well, which is a weakness for the Titans (third-most receptions per game allowed to the running back position). Lastly, Rex Burkhead cannot be ignored given his sub-5% ownership and recent Swiss-Army-Knife usage; he could easily collect 80+ all-purpose yards and a score against the Titans at a fair $4.5K salary to deliver GPP value.

WIDE RECEIVERS