DraftKings NFL picks, Week 5: Best DFS bargains this week
By Drew DeLuca
Which NFL players should you be targeting in Week 5 in order to maximize your salary cap on DraftKings? Take a peek at the bargains and values we’ve highlighted to help you craft a winning DFS lineup.
Every weekend, be on the lookout for our positional breakdown of the best bargains available on DraftKings fantasy football. We reach beyond the obvious superstars to find value propositions that make payouts possible with your NFL DFS picks.
During bye weeks, we scroll past the ten highest priced quarterbacks, running backs, and wide receivers to find the players most likely to outperform their price points. This week, we tip our hats to high-end values such as Tom Brady NE (at WAS, $6,500), Julio Jones ATL (at HOU, $7,700), and Ezekiel Elliott DAL (vs. GB, $8,300).
Getting a few of these top-shelf studs in a winning DFS lineup requires some creative accounting. That’s where we come in. Pick your favorites from our weekly selections, and rake in the returns.
Quarterbacks
Matt Ryan ATL (at HOU, $5900): In a down week in which he threw no touchdown passes for the first time in over a year, “Matty Ice” compiled over 400 yds without tossing a single interception. That’s a bad day Brett Favre would’ve killed to have. Expect a bounce-back game featuring multiple touchdown passes against a beatable Houston Texans secondary.
Baker Mayfield CLE (at SF, $5,800): Most experts seem to be piling on Mayfield after his slow start, so this may seem like a questionable call against the San Francisco 49ers defense. However, don’t underestimate the impact of Antonio Callaway’s return. The field-stretching speedster should give Odell Beckham, Jr. and Jarvis Landry more room to operate. Expect plenty of open windows for a struggling Mayfield to attack as he gets back on track.
Andy Dalton CIN (vs. ARI, $5,700): The Arizona Cardinals are dead last in the league in opponent time of possession on the road. This creates incremental volume for opposing defenses. Expect Dalton to target the heck out of Tyler Boyd and Auden Tate, and a stack with Tyler Eifert is a savvy move given his price and how terrible the Cardinals have been at defending tight ends.
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Jacoby Brissett (at KC, $5,300): Brissett will throw more than usual due to a game script that should force the Indianapolis Colts to play catch-up from the jump. His rushing ability will also come into play as Marlon Mack’s injury lingers. Brissett won’t finish as the week’s QB1, but his floor is very high this week, and a Top 10 finish this week won’t be a surprise.
Teddy Bridgewater (vs. TB, $5,200): The Tampa Bay Buccaneers just gave up 517 passing yards to Jared Goff last week. Many of those yards were a result of game script, but the impending return of Tre’Quan Smith should help stretch the defense and allow Bridgewater to post his best game of the season. At this price, you can possibly stack him with both Alvin Kamara and Michael Thomas.
Joe Flacco (at LAC, $4,700): The risk involved here is obvious, but Flacco just threw for three touchdowns and 300 yards against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and almost threw for 300 against the vaunted Chicago Bears defense earlier this year. Given the state of the Los Angeles Chargers’ secondary, Flacco’s understandably low price seems too good to be true. There’s a tremendous opportunity here to stack Flacco with Courtland Sutton and free up a *ton* of cash.