DraftKings NFL picks, Week 14: Best DFS fantasy football values

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David Montgomery, Chicago Bears (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images) /

Week 14 DraftKings NFL Values: Running Backs

Premium Tier ($7,000 and up): Seven running backs form this elite group in Week 14. With Christian McCaffrey ruled out, and Dalvin Cook (MIN at TB, $9,400) facing a notoriously tough Tampa Bay Buccaneers run defense, we quickly whittle down our options from the top tier.

We like James Robinson (JAX vs. TEN, $7,500) and Alvin Kamara (NO at PHI, $7,100) this week, but we feel a bit less confident in Austin Ekeler (LAC vs. ATL, $7,000), though we are intrigued by the latter’s matchup and recent passing game usage (25 targets over the last two weeks since returning from injury). That said, our clear two favorites in this tier, in order, are Derrick Henry (TEN at JAX, $8,700) and Aaron Jones (GB at DET, $7,600); both have matchups against teams who rank in the bottom five at bottling up opposing fantasy running backs over the last four weeks.

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Mid-Tier Values ($6,000 to $6,900): Last week’s featured Best Buy, Chris Carson (SEA vs. NYJ, $6,900), fulfilled expectations by compiling 110 total yards and a touchdown, despite playing “only” 58 percent of his team’s snaps. We expect both his volume and fantasy point totals to increase further in Week 14.

Ezekiel Elliott (DAL at CIN, $6,600) has been a disappointment in fantasy circles this season, and is listed as questionable this week. However, we love him at this price in a cake matchup, almost as much as D’Andre Swift (DET vs. GB, $6,500); should the rookie actually play for the first time since Week 10, he’ll feast on a famously poor Green Bay Packers run defense.

Our favorite option from this group, however, is David Montgomery (CHI vs. HOU, $6,500). Last week, the second-year player out of Iowa State saw four or more targets for the seventh time in his last eight games and posted his second straight week with 27 or more fantasy points in DraftKings lineups; with volume not a concern, we expect that trend to continue in Week 14 against one of the league’s worst run defenses.

Value Tier ($5,000 to $5,900): It’s hard to ignore what Jonathan Taylor (IND at LV, $5,800) did last week, but the specter of Frank Reich’s history of favoring a running back rotation gives us slight pause. However, we’d be foolish to pass entirely and ignore his sky-high upside at such a reasonable price.

Matchup or not, we will not be fooled again by Giovani Bernard (CIN vs. DAL, $5,000); instead, we like Wayne Gallman (NYG vs. ARI, $5,700) and Melvin Gordon III (DEN at CAR, $5,200). Of the two, we lean slightly to Gordon, especially at his price against a Carolina Panthers defense that’s had issues shutting down opposing running backs this season.

Bargain Bin: Sure, we have standards. Really, we do. But the Seattle Seahawks rank 28th in fantasy points allowed to running backs over the last four weeks. Therefore, we’re looking at two Jets: Frank Gore (SEA vs NYJ, $4000) if he passes concussion protocol, and Ty Johnson (SEA vs NYJ, $4,700) if he doesn’t; the latter should see the field on some passing downs, regardless.

Either way, we’d rather start J.D. McKissic (WAS at SF, $4,900), who should reprise his role as a PPR specialist with Gibson on the shelf with a toe injury. If Kenyan Drake misses this week’s game, Chase Edmonds (ARI at NYG, $4,600) will become a value that’ll be hard to pass up.

Best Buy: We’re tempted to go with McKissic or Gordon, but we’ll ride the hotter hand and plug Montgomery into our lineups just about everywhere, especially given his matchup. No team has given up more fantasy points per game to running backs over the last three weeks than the Houston Texans; Derrick Henry is the only running back we plan to play more often.

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