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Daily Fantasy Football Week 11: DraftKings, FanDuel Top Picks, Best Value Plays
November 16, 2018
The Week 11 NFL game with the most high-scoring potential (Kansas City Chiefs at Los Angeles Rams on Monday Night Football) isn't on the daily-fantasy main slate for DraftKings or FanDuel, but numerous matchups can be shootouts on Sunday, leading to fat fantasy numbers for a host of players.
Below you'll find eight players projected to dominate on Sunday (the top two projected scorers for quarterback, running back, wideout and tight end are listed below). Note that these players are projected to be the top players on both sites despite the different scoring systems.
Top Picks (FanDuel and DraftKings)
Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton (at Detroit Lions): $8,600 FD, $6,200 DK
New Orleans Saints QB Drew Brees (vs. New Orleans Saints): $8,500 FD, $6,500 DK
Arizona Cardinals RB David Johnson (vs. Oakland Raiders): $7,900 FD, $7,500 DK
New York Giants RB Saquon Barkley (vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers): $8,500 FD, $8,700 DK
New York Giants WR Odell Beckham Jr. (vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers): $8,500 FD, $8,400 DK
New Orleans Saints WR Michael Thomas (vs. Philadelphia Eagles): $8,800 FD, $8,800 DK
Philadelphia Eagles TE Zach Ertz (at New Orleans Saints): $7,600 FD, $6,600 DK
Carolina Panthers TE Greg Olsen (at Detroit Lions): $6,500 FD, $5,000 DK
Top DraftKings Values
Baltimore Ravens QB Lamar Jackson (vs. Cincinnati Bengals): $4,700 (if Jackson starts)
Detroit Lions RB Theo Riddick (vs. Carolina Panthers): $4,000
New Orleans RB Mark Ingram (vs. Philadelphia Eagles): $4,700
Carolina Panthers WR D.J. Moore (at Detroit Lions): $4,200
Arizona Cardinals TE Ricky Seals-Jones (vs. Oakland Raiders): $2,900
Top FanDuel Values
New York Giants QB Eli Manning (vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers): $6,700
Tennessee Titans RB Dion Lewis (at Indianapolis Colts): $5,900
New Orleans Saints WR Tre'Quan Smith (vs. Philadelphia Eagles): $4,900
Arizona Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald (vs. Oakland Raiders): $5,900
Indianapolis Colts TE Jack Doyle (vs. Tennessee Titans): $5,400
Top Picks (FanDuel and DraftKings)
Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton (at Detroit Lions): $8,600 FD, $6,200 DK
The Detroit Lions just struggled against a mobile quarterback in the Chicago Bears' Mitchell Trubisky, who had 355 passing yards, 18 rushing yards and four touchdowns (three passing, one rushing) on Sunday.
The Lions aren't getting any breaks against quarterbacks, as they now face the dangerous Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers. He is dealing with a right shoulder injury and was listed as limited on Thursday. Provided he's good to go, Newton could have a monster game.
Arizona Cardinals RB David Johnson (vs. Oakland Raiders): $7,900 FD, $7,500 DK
Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson has come alive in his two games with new offensive coordinator Byron Leftwich calling plays, as he's amassed 283 yards from scrimmage and two touchdowns. He's been an excellent passing-game threat in particular, with 11 receptions for 126 yards.
Now Johnson faces the Oakland Raiders, a 1-8 team that have given up the third-most points per game. They've also allowed the third-most rushing yards per game (141.0) in the league, so Johnson could easily be the top fantasy back on the week.
Philadelphia Eagles TE Zach Ertz (at New Orleans Saints): $7,600 FD, $6,600 DK
Who else can you realistically pick to be the top tight end on the main slate? The Philadelphia Eagles' Zach Ertz snatched 14 passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns on Sunday.
What can he do for an encore against the New Orleans Saints? Chances are he'll have the opportunities to do well, as he's seen an average of 11.1 targets per game. Furthermore, the Eagles will likely have to pass a ton with this one, as the high-flying Saints are favored by 8.5 points, per OddsShark.
If New Orleans jumps ahead, the Eagles can't afford to go to the ground much to keep pace. That should mean more looks for Ertz, who is on pace for 133 catches for 1,403 yards and nine touchdowns.
Top DraftKings Values
Detroit Lions RB Theo Riddick (vs. Carolina Panthers): $4,000 (Value of the Week)
Two notable trends have shown up since Detroit Lions wideout Golden Tate was traded to the Philadelphia Eagles.
First, the Lions have struggled significantly, losing games to the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears by a combined 58-31 score.
Second, Lions running back Theo Riddick has more or less emerged as a Tate replacement.
Tate was a master at catching passes around the line of scrimmage and running after the catch. Similarly, Riddick has become quarterback Matt Stafford's favorite target for short passes, as Riddick has had 13 catches (on 15 targets) for 96 yards.
The important thing is when those targets are occurring. Four of Riddick's looks came on the team's last scoring drive against Minnesota with the result no longer in doubt, while five of his targets versus the Bears came in the last 17 minutes with the team down by double digits during that entire span.
Provided the Lions fall behind to a 6-3 Panthers team that is currently favored by 4.5 points, per OddsShark, expect more action for Riddick.
If he continues his production from the past two weeks and adds a touchdown, Riddick will be an excellent value on Sunday.
Arizona Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald (vs. Oakland Raiders): $5,900
Like his teammate David Johnson, Cardinals wideout Larry Fitzgerald has seen increased success under Byron Leftwich. Fitzgerald caught eight passes for 102 yards and a touchdown in his first game with Leftwich calling plays before snagging six passes for 50 yards on Sunday against the Kansas City Chiefs.
Of note, Fitzgerald has seen 22 targets in his past two games after seeing just 5.9 targets per game prior to Leftwich's promotion. He's a great FanDuel play at a sub-$6,000 salary.
Indianapolis Colts TE Jack Doyle (vs. Tennessee Titans): $5,400
Indianapolis Colts tight end Jack Doyle's salary is $600 cheaper than his teammate and position mate Eric Ebron.
Granted, Ebron just had three touchdowns last week, but he only saw four touches. Needless to say, he's not keep up a 75 percent touchdown rate on his touches.
More importantly, Doyle played 87 percent of his team's snaps, so it's clear he's good to go after sitting out most of the year with a hip injury. Take advantage of the decreased salary on a player who snagged 80 receptions last season.