Photo: USA Today Sports

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 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. If you have questions about any of the recommendations or the process that led to them, please email me at john.lee@footballguys.com.

CASH GAMES

Quarterbacks: There is not much to like at the quarterback position for cash game this week, as was debated on this week's edition of the PowerGrid. On my spreadsheet, Mitchell Trubisky tops the list of value candidates with a plus matchup against the Lions and priced at only $5.4K; however, it's tough to trust Trubisky especially if you want to consider rolling with David Montgomery in cash games because that would be nearly $11K invested in a shady Bears' offense. Instead, give consideration to Aaron Rodgers at Lambeau against the dysfunctional 3-7-1 Philadelphia Eagles. Green Bay has a top-five implied team total and Rodgers has 24+ DK points in 6 consecutive games, which is the type of consistency we seek in cash game formats. If salary is a concern, Jared Goff is offered at a $1K discount from ARod in a game against the Cardinals in a game that is quite likely to shoot out; he has his full arsenal of talented receivers for the first time in several weeks.

Running Backs: As 10-point home favorites against the one-win Jaguars, the Vikings should lean heavily on Dalvin Cook throughout this contest. Cook has compiled 8 consecutive games with 22 or touches and trails only Derrick Henry (270) in total touches this season (238). Cook could be the most highly rostered running back on the slate, so slot him into your lineups and move on from there. If you have excess salary, Austin Ekeler merits consideration in all formats. Ekeler returned with a vengeance last week after missing nearly two months with a hamstring injury--he compiled 25 touches, including 11 catches, last week against the Bills and played in 72% of the team's offensive snaps. Some will argue that Bill Belichick will try to take away Ekeler, but the Patriots no longer have the personnel to run this kind of scheme, especially with Keenan Allen lurking in the background. Elsewhere, Myles Gaskin and David Montogomery represent mid-priced options who are in plus matchups. Gaskin looks to gain the lion's share of touches out of the backfield with injuries pervading the Dolphins' secondary running backs; as the biggest favorites on the Vegas board, the Dolphins could lean heavily on Gaskin. Meanwhile, DMont gets a the matchup of the week agains the Lions, who have allowed more fantasy production to opposing running backs than any team in the league.

Wide Receivers: There are plenty of cash game options at wide receiver this week. Topping the list is Davante Adams at home against the Eagles. Adams is to 2020 as Michael Thomas was to 2019--the best wide receiver on the board. Every week. The caveat with Adams is that the opportunity cost is likely too high and you will probably have to skip over his hefty $9K salary and look to alternative receivers. A notch down from Adams is Allen Robinson, who is affordably priced at $6.7K; ARob has 31 targets over the Bears' past 3 games, including 13 last week in Mitchell Trubisky's return to a starting role. In the mid-$5K range, Robert Woods and his former teammate, Brandin Cooks, are squarely in play for cash game formats. Cooks may be the best play of the week in cash games with Will Fuller missing the rest of the season due a PED suspension; meanwhile, Woods has quietly collected 15 and 12 targets on back-to-back weeks and is evolving into Jared Goff's favorite target. At the lower end, Denzel Mims is a fantastic cash and GPP play against the Raiders. The second-round draft pick is playing excellent football despite shoddy quarterback play for most of the season and benefits from Sam Darnold's presence for the second consecutive week; Mims has eight target in three consecutive weeks and should benefit from a plus gamescript as 8.5-point underdogs against the visiting Raiders. Last up is another Texan, Keke Coutee, who also benefits from Will Fuller's suspension. Coutee's ceiling is likely limited as a short ADoT receiver, but he should enjoy ample opportunity moving the sticks at a meager $3.5K price point.

Tight Ends: We are all spending at other positions, so the move will be to punt at tight end in cash games this week. There are multiple options below $3.5K, including Jordan Akins who I touted on the PowerGrid, but Kyle Rudolph and Anthony Firkser have evolved into the optimal plays at the position (for cash game formats). Both players benefit from injuries to a teammate (Irv Smith and Jonnu Smith) and should have scoring floors in the neighborhood of ~ 10-DK points. Their opponents (Jacksonville and Cleveland) rank in the bottom-10 in defending the position and have allowed 8 touchdowns to tight ends in their previous 10 (combined) games. Choose the one that fits best in your lineup and focus on other positions.

Team Defenses: Akin to what was described with tight ends, punt the defense position for the n'th week in a row. DraftKings has certainly tightened up salaries on defenses this year, maxing out the best defenses in the mid-$4K range. This week, the Dolphins are $4.4K against the Brandon Allen-led Bengals and the Packers are priced at $3.8K against the dreadful Carson Wentz 2020 Tour; while both defenses are attractive, paying nearly double the cost of another defense is not merited in this format. Take the discount and roll with the Lions against Mitchell Trubisky or the Jets at home against Derek Carr. The Lions pop as the best value on the board with nearly 3x projected value, while the Jets have been hot of late with 9-DK points against the Dolphins last week and 8-DK points against the Chargers a week prior.

TOURNAMENTS

Quarterbacks: At $7.6K, Kyler Murray is going overlooked in a game with sneaky shootout potential against the Rams. Murray's receivers are all projected to be on too few rosters and the matchup-proof DeAndre Hopkins is priced as cheaply as he has been all season. Here, it's possible to pay up to be contrarian and there is no duo with higher upside on this somewhat lackluster slate. In Chicago, we already went through why Mitchell Trubisky could be a solid GPP play, so he appears in this space to make it official. Trubisky can be paired with any of three receivers (Allen Robinson, Darnell Mooney, and Anthony Miller) and the most any of those stacks will cost you is just north of $12K. At the low end of the salary spectrum, Mike Glennon started higher on my DFS radar this week, but a bit of value opened up and relegated him to tournament-only formats. Like Trubisky, Glennon can be had at low percent-rostered to differentiate your lineups and has an implied gamescript that merits serious consideration as 10-point underdogs. Add in several unnoticed receivers and the Jacksonville passing game represents a prime gamestack to go alongside the crowd favorite, Dalvin Cook.

• Sleeper: In the midst of a dreadful 2020 campaign that has been hampered by injury, Sam Darnold is a sneaky deep flyer for tournaments on Sunday. Coming off a year that saw Darnold hit 20+ DK points in one-third of his starts, Darnold has surpassed 20-DK points only once this season despite fielding a far superior set of receivers. He gets the nod here because all three of his primary receivers (Brashad Perriman, Jamison Crowder, and Denzel Mims) will be overlooked and merit consideration against the Raiders in their home stadium. Target about 6-9% of your tournament lineups with Darnold and run those stacks back with Devontae Booker or Darren Waller for the gamestack.
• Fade: It is always tough to recommend fading a player that you know will resonate with the masses, but that is the definition of a fade candidate. Simply put: All Seahawks players are too expensive this week. This game has a low (by 2020 standards) Vegas total and you can bet that the Giants will do everything possible to prevent a shootout scenario where they have no chance with Colt McCoy under center; they did exactly that last week against the Bengals in a 19-17 slog. Seeing Seattle divvy up significant opportunities to Carlos Hyde, David Moore, and Jacob Hollister on Monday night, there is bona fide reason to avoid many of the Seahawks' key players on a week where salary is limiting.