DraftKings Values for Week 12: Wide Receivers
Premium Tier ($7,000 and up): DeAndre Hopkins (ARI at NE, $8,100) faces a New England Patriots defense that ranks dead last in yards per target allowed to wide receivers (9.7) this season. He’ll draw coverage from Stephon Gilmore, who has yet to allow a touchdown to Hopkins in three prior meetings; we like the odds of Hopkins snapping that streak in Gilmore’s first game back from injury.
Keenan Allen (LAC at BUF, $8,000) saw an insane 19 targets last week, so even if he sees a 40 percent reduction in balls thrown his way, he should easily justify his price against a mediocre Buffalo Bills pass defense. Some may fade him in fear of shadow coverage from Tre’Davious White, but that would be a mistake: Allen plays a large percentage of his snaps out of the slot, where the CB/WR matchup tilts well in his favor.
Tyreek Hill (KC at TB, $7,800) is licking his lips and rubbing his hands together at the very idea of lining up against a Tampa Bay Buccaneers defense that ranks 26th in fantasy points allowed to wide receivers since the start of Week 9. Meanwhile, even though his matchup is tougher, we can endorse dropping coin on Stefon Diggs (BUF vs. LAC, $7,600), given how lights-out the former Maryland Terrapin has been this season.
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Mid-Tier Values ($6,000 to $6,900): Ordinarily, we wouldn’t recommend A.J. Brown (TEN at IND, $6,700) in this matchup, but all bets are off when a top-shelf defense is so thoroughly impacted by injury and illness designations. Cooper Kupp (LAR vs. SF, $6,400) is a high-floor, high-ceiling option at a fair price, and the riskier Justin Jefferson (MIN vs. CAR, $6,300) is enticing based on projected volume alone, not to mention a cupcake matchup.
Value Tier ($5,000 to $5,900): We’re a bit skittish about the Miami Dolphins quarterback situation, but that doesn’t mean we’re expecting anything less than 8-10 targets for DeVante Parker (MIA at NYJ, $5,900), no matter how it’s going under center. With the Jets are allowing over six fantasy points per game more to wide receivers than any other team in the league, we can conservatively expect a 6-72-1 line (19.2 points), which we’ll happily take for under $6,000.
Larry Fitzgerald’s absence should result in a greater number of targets for Christian Kirk (ARI at NE, $5,800), who’s quietly enjoying a breakout campaign in 2020. At the same price point, we absolutely love Robert Woods (LAR vs. SF, $5,800) even more; “Bobby Trees” should have his way with a 49ers secondary that ranks 24th in the league in fantasy points per game allowed to wide receivers since Week 8 began.
Jamison Crowder (NYJ vs. MIA, $5,400) seems like a steal in the PPR format employed by DraftKings. We’re also watching the birth of a star in Indiana, where Michael Pittman (IND vs. TEN, $5,000) is quickly becoming Philip Rivers’ favorite target: the rookie out of USC has caught 10 of 11 targets for 167 yards and a touchdown over the past two weeks.
Another player we’re watching is Jarvis Landry (CLE at JAX, $5,200), who draws a nice matchup, but has generally flopped as a WR1 ever since Odell Beckham, Jr. went down with a season-ending injury. We’d rather take our chances with Sterling Shepard (NYG at CIN, $5,100), who has logged four straight games with six or more catches and draws a Bengals defense that ranks in the bottom five in shutting down opposing wide receivers.
Best Buy: As much as we love Stefon Diggs, we’d rather reallocate a savings of 500 dollars to other positions and start Calvin Ridley (ATL vs. LV, $7,100) against a very beatable Las Vegas Raiders secondary. Julio Jones is questionable with a hamstring injury, but we love Ridley’s prospects regardless of whether or not his future Hall of Fame teammate suits up.
Bargain Bin: Sammy Watkins (KC at TB, $4,700) returns from injury this week; the former Clemson star saw seven or more targets in three of his four full games prior to his Week 5 injury. We’re interested in that kind of volume in a Patrick Mahomes-led offense, especially at this price.
While battling injuries in recent weeks, Henry Ruggs III (LV at ATL, $4,300) has been a disappointment and has been seemingly written off by a sizeable portion of the small contingency of armchair Fantasy Twitter analysts who hadn’t already discounted him as a prospect (and been called a few nasty names not fit for print by others). We’re avoiding the speedy rookie in cash games, but we’re intrigued by the idea of Ruggs torching an atrocious Atlanta Falcons secondary for at least one long touchdown.
For a much safer floor, especially in cash contests, we prefer Keelan Cole, Sr. (JAX vs. CLE, $3,600), who has seen five or more targets in eight games so far this season, and should see even more looks with D.J. Chark and Chris Conley both sidelined. Rookie teammate Laviska Shenault, Jr. (JAX vs. CLE, $3,300) also figures to be a bigger part of the gameplan this week, and could be used in imaginative ways to help take the pressure off new starting quarterback Mike Glennon; we like the $1000 discount that Shenault offers in place of Ruggs.