Greetings, Gamers! We have an excellent opportunity on Yahoo! this Division Weekend as they are running a $150,000 contest with a $15 entry fee and 11,400 entries. Let’s get into some NFL Yahoo Fantasy Football DFS Picks for Division Weekend including Patrick Mahomes, Derrick Henry and Damien Williams.
For Chris Spag’s Conference Championship Weekend Slant and Go article click here
If you haven’t signed up for Yahoo Fantasy DFS, click this link and use the promo code Awesemo when making your first deposit and you will be eligible for $30 of “free play” which Yahoo! will match through the first $30 of your deposit (this bonus will be received in Yahoo Sports Rewards Points, aka YSRP, which can be used to enter any paid contest immediately).
Check out today’s special Conference Championship NFL Live Before Lock at 2pm ET
Yahoo NFL DFS General Strategy
As with most sites, there are many viable strategies that can be successful in large-field tournaments and of course, we need the same amount of favor from Lady Luck as we do elsewhere.
The key thing to remember is that this is a half-PPR site, meaning receptions are worth half points and the minimum salary is $10 with an average salary per player of $22. This week, Derrick Henry is at the top of the pricing list at $41. The full scoring parameters can be found here.
If you are using an optimizer, it is important to remember that you will still need to input the lineups by hand (this lack of automation also helps keep away some of the mega-shark players). You will also want to closely look at the lineups because the automation will look to use the cheaper quarterbacks. It will also home in on players that may not be good plays on other sites and they will not be highlighted in the mainstream analysis that is available to the masses each week.
Awesemo NFL DFS Rankings
One of the most useful features of the Awesemo.com premium content is the personal player rankings from Alex Baker, aka Awesemo, for all of the main sports. The players grade out separately for each DFS site with ratings for both projected points and value receiving an A through E report card-style grade.
As a sneak preview, for this article I will be sharing the grades Full Rankings (Premium Content)
Quarterback
If you have played football this season on Yahoo, or if you played Yahoo fantasy baseball, you know that the strategy is to look for the cheapest quarterback or pitcher that is tolerable so you can look for more secure points and upside elsewhere. In the recommendations below, I will be highlighting several discount options at the other positions so you can build a framework that will allow lineup construction for a top-shelf quarterback along with his favorite target and still have enough salary cap to run it back with the top option on the opposing team.
Patrick Mahomes – Kansas City Chiefs vs. Tennessee Titans – $39 Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value A
Things really turned on a dime last week after Kansas City fell behind 24-0 four minutes into the second quarter. Reigning MVP Patrick Mahomes turned the wizardry up to 11 and rattled off four unanswered scoring drives to give his squad the lead 28-24 heading into halftime. The second half opened up with the Chiefs capping off two more scoring drives with Damien Williams getting the honors both times. So in summary, that is six unanswered touchdowns.
Tennessee has been decent against the run, but they are susceptible to the pass. With a top-10 rushing DVOA and a bottom-10 passing figure, we know that Mahomes will be looking to make magic again. Sunday’s player props for Mahomes are currently sitting at 302.0 passing yards and 2.5 touchdowns.
Jimmy Garoppolo – San Francisco 49ers vs. Green Bay Packers – $26 Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value A
Keep in mind that Jimmy Garoppolo’s 27 passing touchdowns were the fifth most this season. There was not a lot of underlying yardage though as the 49ers prefer to run. His 248.6 passing yards per game ranked 17th in the regular season. While the Packers were stingy against the pass with the 10th-best DVOA, they were 23rd against the run. This is all factored into Garoppolo’s price tag, but we still need him to throw a couple scoring strikes to pay off this figure.
Running Back
We want to keep in mind that while running backs are very important, Yahoo fantasy uses half-PPR, which will not penalize running backs that are not as active in the passing game.
Damien Williams – Kansas City Chiefs vs. Tennessee Titans – $18 Awesemo Grade: Points B, Value A
While we cannot count on even one touchdown, let alone two again, this is a stellar price point. It will be a shock to me if Damien Williams is on less than two-thirds of all rosters Sunday. Though he only converted two of his six targets, that was the second most he had seen this season and the dozen carries was right in line with his workload while healthy. At least we know he should be the main back, which is something that cannot be said similarly priced 49ers Raheem Mostert and Tevin Coleman.
Derrick Henry – Tennessee Titans at Kansas City Chiefs- $41 Awesemo Grade: Points B, Value C
Over his last eight games, Derrick Henry’s worst outing was 21 carries for 86 yards against Houston in Week 15. In that time frame, he has averaged 21.0 carries for 159.1 rushing yards and 6.33 yards per carry. Add in 11 touchdowns and he is arguably right there with Lamar Jackson as the most important player for his team during that stretch.
Kansas City only allowed 128.1 rushing yards and 4.9 yards per carry with the 29th-ranked rushing DVOA. This is a match made in heaven and it will be interesting to see Andy Reid and company try to slow down Henry.
Wide Receiver
More often than not, we should be able to find several nice options in the middle tier. The top-shelf Yahoo fantasy options are typically priced in the mid-$30 range. Often, they are best paired with their quarterbacks for tournament upside, rather than risking downside as solo plays. For this weekend, that can cut both ways.
Davante Adams – Green Bay Packers at San Francisco 49ers – $31 Awesemo Grade: Points B, Value C
Even though Seattle knew it was going to Davante Adams, they were unable to prevent the inevitable. In a closely fought battle, Adams turned 11 targets into eight catches, 160 yards and two touchdowns for his seventh top-notch performance in his last eight games. For the seventh time in the last nine games, the former Fresno State Bulldog had more targets than all of the other Packers’ receivers combined. We are at an apex price point, but this is doable if we don’t spend up for Derrick Henry.
Deebo Samuel – San Francisco 49ers vs. Green Bay Packers- $17 Awesemo Grade: Points C, Value C
Last week, San Francisco needed to pass only 18 times as their 47 rushes for 186 yards and two touchdowns carried the day. Deebo Samuel led the team with six targets and three catches for 42 yards. He also tacked on one carry for another six yards. The rookie was second on the team in targets, receptions and yards during the regular season, with another 159 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries.
Most gamers are likely to go all the way to the bottom of the pricing sheet for savings. That means most rosters that end up with Samuel will probably be stacks with Jimmy Garoppolo. It would be a shock to see Samuel on more than a quarter of all lineups this weekend.
Tight Ends
It is shaping up to be a spend weekend for tight ends.
George Kittle – San Francisco 49ers vs. Green Bay Packers- $24 Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value A
Yes, last week was a dud, but the 49ers did not need to pass. We know Kittle is the de facto WR1 and when considering that, this is a very favorable price if you compare him to the WR1s playing on Sunday.
Travis Kelce – Kansas City Chiefs vs. Tennessee Titans – $28 Awesemo Grade: Points A, Value B
Last week’s glory boy had three receiving touchdowns. Keep in mind that during the regular season, he led his team in targets, receptions, yards and was second in touchdowns. Travis Kelce was 11th in targets, eighth in receptions and fourth in receiving yards among all NFL players this season. Just like with Kittle, there is not much else to say.
Defense/Special Teams
As we have seen all season, this position is a crapshoot. Do not worry about the matchup, it is going to be the cost driving a lot of decisions for the savvy gamer.
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Tennessee Titans – $16 Awesemo Grade: Points B, Value C
San Francisco 49ers vs. Green Bay Packers – $18 Awesemo Grade: Points C, Value C
Green Bay Packers at San Francisco 49ers vs – $14 Awesemo Grade: Points D, Value C
Tennessee Titans at Kansas City Chiefs vs – $11 Awesemo Grade: Points D, Value B.
Hopefully these Yahoo NFL DFS Picks and recommendations get your lineup construction process jump started and on your way to a big showing in the Yahoo! $150k Dollar Baller NFL DFS contest!
As always, you can reach out to me in Awesemo.com Premium Slack or Twitter @EMacDFS if you have any questions.
Good Luck Gamers! ~ EMac
