The NFL season is here, and there are NFL DFS: Week 2 DraftKings, FanDuel and Yahoo contests to get right into. Greg Ehrenberg breaks down some of the key news in his Slant and Go article.
The Slant and Go NFL DFS Thoughts for DraftKings + FanDuel
Miles Sanders, Boston Scott and the Eagles’ Offensive Line
Offensive really is the best way to describe the Eagles’ line. After they lost two starters and moved Jason Peters position prior to the start of the season, red flags were aplenty. Even so, I went heavy on Scott with Sanders out in Week 1 as the chalkiest play on the slate, and he busted in a big way. Pretty much everything that could have went wrong with Scott came to fruition. He split work with Corey Clement, and the game script was not as favorable as expected since Washington ended up winning. Luckily, we probably won’t have to make the decision to roster Scott not in Week 2 since since Sanders is day-to-day and seems likely to debut on Sunday against the Rams. Even if playing, there is a good chance that Sanders is limited, making him a risky play against Los Angeles.
After what we saw from the Eagles’ line play against Washington, the Rams’ defense is strong play in DFS this weekend. Washington constantly pressured Carson Wentz, leading to eight sacks. Aaron Donald should cause havoc, and the Rams’ price tag is modest on DraftKings. On FanDuel they are a bit more expensive relative to other DST options, but the unit is still in play.
Editors Note
Miles Sanders’ Vegas rushing totals are not quite as high as the Awesemo Player Prop Projected Stats have them. A great opportunity to use the OddsShopper tool to find some value on this Sanders’ prop bet, despite the fact that the books have very similar lines.
*Betting odds as of Friday, September 18th at 4:30 ET
Not Just a Runner
From an NFL DFS standpoint, one of the most promising signs for the rest of the season was the new role for Josh Jacobs. After rarely getting involvement in the passing game during his rookie season, Jacobs hauled in four of five targets on Sunday and put up a monster fantasy game. We knew Jacobs was a great fantasy asset this season, but the question about his receiving work lingered from last year. Last season, he only had a total of 20 receptions on 27 targets. Jacobs’ four catches in Week 1 are already a career high, and since Jalen Richard only saw one target on Sunday, it stands to reason that Jacobs will play a significant role in the passing game going forward.
The Toughness of George Kittle
On Sunday, Kittle suffered what looked like a potentially devastating leg injury at the end of the first half. With his leg planted, he took an awkward hit and his leg bent at a bad angle. He went into the locker room early, leaving me to assume all NFL DFS lineups with him were dead. I was shocked to see him come out to play in the second half, but he didn’t catch a single pass in the final two quarters. The 49ers since diagnosed him with a sprained knee, making his status for Week 2 uncertain.
Given how Kittle toughed out the injury and came back on Sunday, I think he’s more likely to play than sit. With that said, I will temper expectations if he’s active because of his lack of production after getting hurt. If Kittle isn’t able to play, we have a perfect value play in Jordan Reed. Once one of the top fantasy players at tight end, Reed’s career was derailed after he sustained more concussions than I (or he) can remember. Even so, this is the one time of year we can expect decent health from Reed, and he’s one of the top value plays on the slate if Kittle is ruled out.
Steelers Will “Leave The Light On” For James Conner
The only thing stopping Conner from becoming a bell cow back in 2020 is … James Conner. After Mike Tomlin made it seem like Conner was in line for the same workload he got a couple of years ago, Conner got injured in the first half of the Steelers’ Monday Night Football win over the Giants. It didn’t take long for me to regret my exposure to Conner in Best Ball. Like the Motel 6 commercial, Tomlin said today that the team will “leave the light on” for Conner. I have no clue what to make of this or what it means for his status. Interpreting coach speak, I assume Conner has a chance to play this week and regain the lion’s share of the touches in the backfield.
Here’s the issue: I have no confidence that Conner can stay healthy, and Benny Snell looked solid as the lead back. He finished with 19 carries for 113 yards against the Giants. Not only was his 5.9 yards per carry efficient, he looked fine handling a heavy workload. For our purposes, the best value situation is for Conner to sit, and then we can plug in Snell as the value play of the week at running back. His price tag is extremely affordable everywhere.
Related NFL DFS Content
- Awesemo YouTube Channel — NFL DFS Picks & Strategy
- Working the Waiver Wire: Top Week 2 Pickups including Benny Snell and Nyheim Hines
- NFL Data Deep-Dive: Recapping All The Week 1 Data (FREE This Week Only)
- Awesemo’s NFL DFS Projections (PREMIUM)
- Alex ‘Awesemo’ Baker’s Top Stack Tool (PREMIUM)
Marlon Mack Done: Get Jonathan Taylor in your Week 2 NFL DFS DraftKings + FanDuel Lineups
Nyheim Hines or Jonathan Taylor is an interesting discussion this week and going forward. After Mack tore his Achilles on Sunday, the crowded Colts backfield suddenly has some value. Both the backs crushed against the Jaguars on Sunday. With that said, it was the Jaguars. In most situations, we can assume only one back will play well form this situation per week.
In general, it looks like Hines will play more in pass-catching situations with Taylor serving the role as a more traditional running back. With that said, Taylor still saw six targets in the passing game, so it’s not like he has not role as pass catcher. On passing play, Taylor played 13 snaps compared to 29 for Hines. On running plays, Taylor played 11 snaps and Hines played seven. Who we want to roster is game script dependent. Since the Colts are 3-point favorites against the Vikings in Week 2, I side with Taylor for now.
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