The Week 16 NFL DFS main slate robs us of Chiefs and Chargers, but it otherwise produces a decent player pool for cash floors. I bet this 12-game Sunday featured slate sees a higher cash line on DraftKings than that last weekend of often ugly football. That makes finding high-floor picks with considerable ceiling all the more important when attacking cash games in daily fantasy.
If JuJu Smith-Schuster secures that tough catch at the end against New England, my lineup climbs above the cash line on last week's main slate. Alas, I burned myself too many times and the lineup landed at 117.02 DK points to drop our season average to a still-nice 147.97, via the cash game log.
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Didn't get enough reassurance about JuJu's on Sunday morning, so we've made Sunday morning updates below and on Twitter.
Week 16 Rankings:
Quarterback | Running Back | Wide Receiver | Tight End | D/ST | Kicker
NFL Week 16 DraftKings Cash Lineup
QB Drew Brees, Saints vs. Steelers ($6,500). Brees has topped 30 DK points in three of his past four at the Superdome while passing 20 DK points in each. The Saints-Steelers late-afternoon hammer gets the highest Vegas total on slate, and I'll snag the favored squad's QB at his lowest cost in New Orleans since he went HAM hosting the Rams back in early November.
SUNDAY MORNING UPDATE: RB Ezekiel Elliott, Cowboys vs. Bucs ($9,000): Major reshuffling in our lineup Sunday morning left us in position to move up from the range of of elite-volume backs with questionable spots, to the singular elite-volume RB on slate with health, spread and matchup in his favor.
PREVIOUS: RB Saquon Barkley, Giants @ Colts ($7,900). Barkley sees a $1,500 reduction after Eli Manning attempted the second-most passes of any QB on the main slate despite that game having the worst weather conditions last Sunday. That approach takes New York's offense to outlier depths for a day, creating value on Saquon the following week.
WEEK 16 DFS GPP LINEUPS: Yahoo | FanDuel | DraftKings
SUNDAY MORNING UPDATE: RB Nick Chubb, Browns vs. Bengals ($7,300): Only five running backs have more touches since Week 13 than Nick Chubb, and we'll snag him at $1,700 off the slate ceiling for RBs. Chubb doesn't see elite target volume, but projects for good floor here with the Browns two-score home favs.
PREVIOUS RB David Johnson, Cardinals vs. Rams ($6,200): Grabbing another huge discount at running back, as DJ gets priced down $900 after Josh Rosen cratered in Atlanta. Johnson still managed 19.1 DK points and his target volume places him fourth among RBs over past the two weeks, jolly good with the Cards multi-score dogs yet again.
SUNDAY MORNING UPDATE: WR Demaryius Thomas, Texans @ Eagles ($4,700): Pivoted off JuJu due to uncertainty over his injury that was not totally cleared up Sunday morning, even if Smith-Schuster himself is projecting confidence on Twitter. De's target volume has risen the past two weeks and he's seen a decent 14 for that span, as the third-friendliest DK defense for WRs awaits.
PREVIOUS WR JuJu Smith-Schuster, Steelers @ Saints ($8,000). It was strange that JuJu only managed 3-for-39 on eight targets in the coverage of someone called JC Jackson. Per Pro Football Focus, he also tacked on one yard against Jason McCourty. Smith-Schuster ran bad that day, but still ties for the league target lead over the past five weeks.
WR Alshon Jeffery, Eagles vs. Texans ($5,300). Jeffery's seen five or more targets and 60-plus receiving yards in each of past four games with Nick Foles. This comes out to a low of 10.1 DK points and an average over that span (15.3) that would hit 2.9X value.
WEEK 16 DFS CASH LINEUPS: Yahoo | FanDuel
WR Robby Anderson, Jets vs. Packers ($4,500). Anderson in cash — or any Jet really — feels strange until you consider Anderson's floor of seven targets over the past three weeks, landing him 13th among receivers in total targets over that span. He's also averaged 20 DK points since Sam Darnold returned.
SUNDAY MORNING UPDATE: TE Evan Engram, Giants @ Colts ($4,600): The Odell absence fed Engam last year and has done so again the past two weeks, during which Engram ranks one target behind Travis Kelce for the lead at his position.
PREVIOUS TE Ian Thomas, Panthers vs. Falcons ($3,500). Thomas assumed Greg Olsen's role with nine snags on 11 targets in Week 14. Thomas followed with an MNF clunker against a suddenly stingy Saints D, but recent weeks have shown that only Travis Kelce remains a safe premium TE play, and he's not on the slate. Even with Cam Newton out, Thomas should see involvement with fellow second-teamer Taylor Heinicke, who targeted Thomas in three of four outings this preseason.
MORE WEEK 16 DFS: Values | Stacks | Lineup Builder
FLEX Marlon Mack, Colts vs. Giants ($5,500). Mack gets mid-tier cost due to struggles in road games against good run defenses. This one qualifies as neither. We like the 15-30 touches he's locked into when Indy at least keeps pace, and they project to do just that as multi-score faves.
D/ST Patriots vs. Bills ($2,500). The Pats go $300 cheaper at home hosting a rookie quarterback than they did two weeks ago on their annual disappointing trip to Miami. "Bill Belichick After a Loss" didn't quite hit at Pittsburgh, though home for Buffalo is a much better spot and I'll gladly spend down in the $2Ks at D/ST.