DraftKings NFL picks, Week 14: Best DFS fantasy football values
By Drew DeLuca
DraftKings NFL picks for the Week 14 main slate of DFS fantasy football.
Week after week, we sift through the DraftKings NFL main slate (Sunday 1 PM and 4 PM EST games) to uncover the best values at every position. We’re back again with our picks for the best DFS fantasy football values and bargains at each position in Week 14.
We offer recommendations for players in every pricing tier in order to accommodate every lineup strategy under the all-too-early-setting sun. We start with good news: no bye weeks, which means a deeper pool than we’ve seen in a long time!
We begin with the quarterback position. While we regret that Ben Roethlisberger, Josh Allen, Lamar Jackson, and Baker Mayfield are all absent from the slate due to prime time games, we didn’t miss much from Cam Newton or Jared Goff on Thursday night; those two set a low bar for others to jump over.
Week 14 DraftKings NFL Values: Quarterbacks
Premium Tier ($7,000 and up): Five signal-callers find themselves on the top shelf this week, with Patrick Mahomes (KC at MIA, $8,100) the most expensive of the lot. With Clyde Edwards-Helaire a question mark and Le’Veon Bell so very underwhelming of late, we like the odds of Mahomes finishing with a stat line commensurate with his sky-high price.
We like Russell Wilson (SEA vs. NYJ, $7,900) just as much for a $200 discount; he draws a New York Jets defense that has allowed more points per game to fantasy quarterbacks than any other NFL team over the last four weeks. While we’re not opposed to the idea of starting Deshaun Watson (HOU at CHI, $7,600) or Aaron Rodgers (GB at DET, $7,500) given their juicy matchups, we like the odds of a bounce-back game from Kyler Murray (ARI at NYG, $7,200) at an even lower price.
Mid-Tier Values ($6,000 to $6,900): Tom Brady (TB vs. MIN, $6,900) seems like a sure thing against a pedestrian Minnesota Vikings pass defense, and Justin Herbert (LAC vs. ATL, $6,800) offers even more upside to go along with a side of extra risk. While we like the matchup for Ryan Tannehill (TEN at JAX, $6,700), it’s hard to get too excited for his prospects, given the likely game script.
Our favorite option from this tier is actually the oft-snubbed Kirk Cousins (MIN at TB, $6,200), who faces one of the worst pass defenses in terms of points allowed to fantasy quarterbacks in recent weeks. Cousins is red-hot in his own right after posting three straight 300 yard games, throwing three touchdowns in each; he has outscored Mahomes, Rodgers, Wilson, Murray, and just about every other quarterback in the NFL during this span.
Value Tier ($5,500 to $5,900): Phillip Rivers (IND at LV, $5,900) isn’t someone we saw ourselves recommending several weeks ago, but 2020 is funny like that, and honestly, the matchup is a strong factor: only two teams have allowed more passing touchdowns over the last three weeks. With T.Y. Hilton awakening from the dead, Rivers has averaged 289 passing yards on his own over his last three games, a span during which he’s tossed seven touchdowns and only two interceptions.
A higher risk, higher reward option exists in the form of Mitchell Trubisky (CHI vs. HOU, $5,600), but we prefer Rivers, or Andy Dalton (DAL at CIN, $5,500) in a revenge game in his former digs. Dalton definitely has sufficient weaponry at his disposal, and only seven teams have allowed more passing touchdowns than his former teammates so far this season.
Bargain Bin: If Dalton’s not cheap enough to fit into your budget, look no further than Alex Smith (WAS at SF, $5,200), who should shoulder a larger load with electric rookie running back Antonio Gibson ruled out in Week 14. DraftKings enthusiasts with higher risk tolerances may find the matchups of Sam Darnold (NYJ at SEA, $5,100) and Mike Glennon (JAX vs. TEN, $5,100) attractive in GPP formats; both square off against defenses that rank among the league’s worst in fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks over the last few weeks.
Best Buy: We try not to get too excited about revenge games, but we’re hard-pressed to pass on Dalton at his price in GPP lineups, given all of the potential pairings possible in multi-entry formats. However, we like the higher floor of Cousins just a bit more.