DraftKings NFL picks, Week 16: Best bargains in DFS play
By Drew DeLuca
Tis the season to stuff your sacks full of bargains — and by “sacks,” we mean your DraftKings NFL lineups for DFS fantasy football play in Week 16.
Week 16 of the NFL Fantasy season is the most wonderful time of the year for some. Others are feeling frosty, watching league-mates square off in season-long championships. However, the DFS salary cap format on DraftKings offers weekly gifts for all fantasy football freaks in the form of exceptional values.
The ever-elusive perfect gift is the right combination of talent, opportunity, and price, and the name of the game in DFS is to find creative ways to stretch a budget in order to maximize production from gifts purchased.
It might be Golladay season for some in Week 16, but most who’ll celebrate will steer clear of the Lions’ den this weekend. Don’t deck the halls with Blough; it’s folly. Instead, read on for our overview of real fantasy quarterbacks who’ll offer a solid return on investment.
Quarterbacks
Even as the highest-priced quarterback, Lamar Jackson (BAL at CLE, $8,000) is a steal, given his expected level of production against the bumbling Cleveland Browns. Deshaun Watson (HOU at TB, $7,000) and Russell Wilson (SEA vs. ARI, $7,000) are likewise excellent plays against two of the league’s worst pass defenses.
All three of those quarterbacks are great starts, but getting Patrick Mahomes (KC at CHI, $6,800) for less makes me happier than Buddy the Elf at an all-you-can-eat candy breakfast pasta buffet. After watching the Kansas City Chiefs star quarterback throw for 340 yards last week while completing nearly 80 percent of his passes in a snowstorm, I’m all in on Mahomes.
Matt Ryan (ATL vs. JAX, $6,200) defeated the high-flying San Francisco 49ers in impressive fashion without the aid of talented young wide receiver Calvin Ridley; it was the third straight game in which Ryan threw multiple touchdown passes after throwing only one in his previous two contests. Ryan will once again pepper Julio Jones with targets and check down often to Devonta Freeman, so odds are high he’ll top 300 yards for the third time in four weeks.
Kyler Murray (ARI at SEA, $6,100) always brings a solid floor to the table, but he should rack up decent air yardage as well against a Seattle Seahawks defense ranked 29th in the league against the pass. His three-interception game against the Pittsburgh Steelers may still be fresh in the minds of some, but that was the only multi-turnover game for the talented rookie since Week 3, a rather impressive stretch for a rookie.
Ryan Fitzpatrick (MIA vs. CIN, $6,000) is a more tentative play, given the unfavorable weather forecast featuring heavy rain and wind. If conditions improve, he should light up the Cincinnati Bengals in a potential shootout in which Andy Dalton (CIN at MIA, $5,200) could likewise offer a significant return on investment.
Assuming the weather in Miami goes south as predicted, we’ll turn our focus north to Kirk Cousins (MIN vs. GB, $5,800), who’ll be asked to throw a lot more with Dalvin Cook on the shelf. In a year where Lamar Jackson, Deshaun Watson and Russell Wilson have turned heads with their spectacular play, Cousins has quietly put together a great season (featuring a 5:1 touchdown to interception ratio) despite inconsistent play Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen‘s injury-plagued campaign.
Phillip Rivers (LAC vs. OAK, $5,700) has stuffed stat sheets in recent weeks, throwing for over 300 yards in three of his last four games. Unfortunately, he’s also tossed three or more picks in three of his last six. Thankfully, Rivers’ prospects against an imploding Oakland Raiders team are quite favorable with a full complement of healthy passing game weapons at his disposal.