In the late-afternoon window on Sunday of Week 4, we get quite the defensive duel when the Vikings travel to Chicago to take on the Bears. It's a fascinating matchup for those creating DraftKings Showdown lineups. On one side you have Minnesota RB Dalvin Cook, who can't stop running for 100 yards in every game, and on the other, you've got the ferocious Bears defense. Minnesota's defense has been good, too, and it gets to go after Mitchell Trubisky, who hadn't been good until the first half of last week's Monday Night Football game. How should NFL DFS single-game players approach things?
Matters are more complicated for the Bears by the potential absence of MNF hero Taylor Gabriel. He caught three TDs in the first half, a career day in every respect for the dimunitive receiver that Chicago calls 'Turbo.' But he's in concussion protocol and might not be ready. With all that in mind, we had to decide which way to lean, and in the end, we went for the Bears as the home team with the talented defense.
WEEK 4 NON-PPR RANKINGS:
Quarterback | Running back | Wide receiver | Tight end | D/ST | Kicker
The biggest shift from past Showdown lineups comes in how cheap a captain we go with. We'll try to take advantage of Gabriel's potential absence with second-year WR Anthony Miller. At the 1.5x points the captain slot gets us, even a decent game by Miller will more than return value out of that slot while giving us tons of freedom in our other five lineup spots.
WEEK 4 DFS LINEUPS:
DK cash | DK GPP | FD cash | FD GPP | Y! cash | Y! GPP
DraftKings Showdown Picks: Vikings vs. Bears
CAPTAIN (1.5x points, 1.5x price): WR Anthony Miller, Bears ($3,600)
Miller's price is dirt cheap, and he's looking at an increased role with Taylor Gabriel racing against time to clear concussion protocol in time. (Update: Gabriel has been ruled out.) I don't feel terrible about Miller even if Gabriel plays, but it looks like that won't happen. As the No. 2 receiver with Allen Robinson getting hounded by Xavier Rhodes, this could be the perfect game for Miller to break out.
FLEX RB David Montgomery, Bears ($8,200)
It feels like I keep writing Showdown lineups and including Montomgery. His price is still solid, and he keeps getting the most work in the Chicago backfield. He should get a few catches and double-digit carries, so he'll have a shot at returning value.
FLEX RB Dalvin Cook, Vikings ($11,600)
There's an argument to be made against Cook in this matchup. But after going with a cheap captain, the prices don't break down well enough on this slate to avoid him. Cook has topped 100 rushing yards in every game, so even if that declines to 80 and a score against a tough defense, we'll take that.
FLEX WR Adam Thielen, Vikings ($10,400)
Stefon Diggs isn't involved enough in what's become a run-heavy offense to warrant consideration over Thielen. The Vikings' top wideout even got a rushing touchdown last week. That probably won't happen again, but he should lead Minnesota in targets and have a great floor-ceiling combination.
FLEX QB Mitchell Trubisky, Bears ($9,400)
We gotta take a quarterback on this slate, and can't use Kirk Cousins against the Bears defense. That leaves us with Trubisky coming off his three-TD first half on Monday Night Football, so hopefully he links up with Miller a bunch.
FLEX D/ST Chicago Bears ($5,600)
Using the Vikings two best offensive players and then the defense facing them feels a bit weird, but this is more of a turnover bet. The Bears should turn Minnesota over multiple times while also racking up some sacks. That won't preclude Cook and Thielen from having good games, though.