Building a Draft Kings Lineup Against Normandy
By Jen Ryan
(Lineup Tool: https://www.footballdiehards.com/fantasyfootball/dailygames/Lineup-Generator.cfm)
Josh Norman has made guys like Richard Sherman and Darelle Revis look like a bag of small potatoes this season. He is probably the only true, shut-down corner in the game right now. No one has been able to do much of anything when Norman shadows them. He is intimidating and down-right scary which is why I have taken to referring to him as Normandy. This weekend is Julio Jones’ D-Day. Few are brave enough to roll out Jones this week. It remains to be seen if I am brave or silly but I will have Julio Jones in one lineup. I am going to battle against a bunch of daily fantasy studs in a Draft Kings league hosted by our very own Fantasy Goodfellas. The lineup I am taking to this battle with me is below.
QB – Tyrod Taylor - $5,400
There is already so much drama surrounding this game. All anyone wants to talk about this week is Chip Kelly and LeSean McCoy. I am far more interested in Tyrod Taylor and his juicy matchup. He is $2,400 cheaper than top-priced quarterback Tom Brady this week. The Eagles are a bottom-three defense against quarterbacks and Taylor has the ability to do damage with his arm and his legs. McCoy will be the featured piece of the offense this weekend but Taylor has never been shy about throwing him the ball either.
RB – Doug Martin - $6,200
The Saints’ defense is garbage and that is my attempt at being polite. They are a bottom-five defense against running backs and I would consider Martin well above average. He has not cracked 100 yards in two weeks and he should have no problem doing so this week. Martin could very well finish as the top running back when Week 14 comes to a close.
RB – T.J. Yeldon - $4,900
If you have read this column before than you already know I consider a running back under $5,000 to be a bargain-bin back. How he is still priced this low is beyond me but I will gladly take advantage of it. The Colts have a weak run defense and Yeldon is a dual-threat back. He has not seen a ton of backfield-volume over his past two games but he is averaging over 62 yards through the air in that time frame. Against a team that is allowing an average of 118 yards per game to running backs I love Yeldon’s upside and discount this week.
WR – Allen Hurns - $5,500
I went with Yeldon’s cheaper receiver this week as I expect him to resume his usual duties in his return after missing time due to a concussion. Blake Bortles has been throwing the ball all over the place and there will be plenty of passing to go around. Hurns is a touchdown machine and has a ridiculously high probability of hitting pay dirt.
WR – Sammy Watkins - $6,100
I am a sucker for a QB/WR stack and it works out nicely this week that my stack is against the defense that has allowed the most touchdowns to receivers. Of the 20 touchdowns the Eagles have allowed this season, eight of them have come in the past three weeks. They just cannot stop receivers and Watkins is coming off two back-to-back 100-yard games. I do not see him slowing down this week.
TE – Austin Seferian-Jenkins - $2,700
After missing nine games with a shoulder injury, Seferian-Jenkins was eased in last week against the Atlanta Falcons. The Buccaneers will take the reins off him this week. He could, and should, have the type of game we expect out of a tight end of his caliber this week against the hapless New Orleans Saints.
Flex – Jarvis Landry - $6,300
The Giants are not the worst team against receivers but they are not very good either. After Landry’s abysmal day against the Ravens last week I am hopeful that people will be fading him. This is precisely why I currently have him sitting in my flex. This is a Monday night game so I will have all day to consider swapping out Landry if I feel like I need to. I have a feeling he will want to put on a show for his good friend and college teammate Odell Beckham, Jr. I just need that show to include a touchdown.
DST – Seahawks - $3,500
The Seahawks are the top-priced defense this week and rightfully so. They will either draw Matt Schaub of Jimmy Clausen. In my mind, they will either be getting inexperience or a nearly-guaranteed pick six. The quarterback situation is a mess in Baltimore but the team in general is falling apart. Their receivers are average and their entire tight end corps is injured. I usually stay away from paying top dollar for a defense but there is no way I can avoid the Seahawks in this lineup.
I doubt these fellas I will be playing against are as brave or silly as I am and I am expecting to be alone in rostering Julio Jones this weekend. If Jones can prove all of the doubters wrong and show Norman why he is one of, if not the, top receivers in football then I believe he will make me the queen among these DFS kings. This may be the riskiest play of the season but if I am looking for a reward I have to be a little risky, don’t I?
By Jen Ryan
(Lineup Tool: https://www.footballdiehards.com/fantasyfootball/dailygames/Lineup-Generator.cfm)
Josh Norman has made guys like Richard Sherman and Darelle Revis look like a bag of small potatoes this season. He is probably the only true, shut-down corner in the game right now. No one has been able to do much of anything when Norman shadows them. He is intimidating and down-right scary which is why I have taken to referring to him as Normandy. This weekend is Julio Jones’ D-Day. Few are brave enough to roll out Jones this week. It remains to be seen if I am brave or silly but I will have Julio Jones in one lineup. I am going to battle against a bunch of daily fantasy studs in a Draft Kings league hosted by our very own Fantasy Goodfellas. The lineup I am taking to this battle with me is below.
QB – Tyrod Taylor - $5,400
There is already so much drama surrounding this game. All anyone wants to talk about this week is Chip Kelly and LeSean McCoy. I am far more interested in Tyrod Taylor and his juicy matchup. He is $2,400 cheaper than top-priced quarterback Tom Brady this week. The Eagles are a bottom-three defense against quarterbacks and Taylor has the ability to do damage with his arm and his legs. McCoy will be the featured piece of the offense this weekend but Taylor has never been shy about throwing him the ball either.
RB – Doug Martin - $6,200
The Saints’ defense is garbage and that is my attempt at being polite. They are a bottom-five defense against running backs and I would consider Martin well above average. He has not cracked 100 yards in two weeks and he should have no problem doing so this week. Martin could very well finish as the top running back when Week 14 comes to a close.
RB – T.J. Yeldon - $4,900
If you have read this column before than you already know I consider a running back under $5,000 to be a bargain-bin back. How he is still priced this low is beyond me but I will gladly take advantage of it. The Colts have a weak run defense and Yeldon is a dual-threat back. He has not seen a ton of backfield-volume over his past two games but he is averaging over 62 yards through the air in that time frame. Against a team that is allowing an average of 118 yards per game to running backs I love Yeldon’s upside and discount this week.
WR – Allen Hurns - $5,500
I went with Yeldon’s cheaper receiver this week as I expect him to resume his usual duties in his return after missing time due to a concussion. Blake Bortles has been throwing the ball all over the place and there will be plenty of passing to go around. Hurns is a touchdown machine and has a ridiculously high probability of hitting pay dirt.
WR – Sammy Watkins - $6,100
I am a sucker for a QB/WR stack and it works out nicely this week that my stack is against the defense that has allowed the most touchdowns to receivers. Of the 20 touchdowns the Eagles have allowed this season, eight of them have come in the past three weeks. They just cannot stop receivers and Watkins is coming off two back-to-back 100-yard games. I do not see him slowing down this week.
TE – Austin Seferian-Jenkins - $2,700
After missing nine games with a shoulder injury, Seferian-Jenkins was eased in last week against the Atlanta Falcons. The Buccaneers will take the reins off him this week. He could, and should, have the type of game we expect out of a tight end of his caliber this week against the hapless New Orleans Saints.
Flex – Jarvis Landry - $6,300
The Giants are not the worst team against receivers but they are not very good either. After Landry’s abysmal day against the Ravens last week I am hopeful that people will be fading him. This is precisely why I currently have him sitting in my flex. This is a Monday night game so I will have all day to consider swapping out Landry if I feel like I need to. I have a feeling he will want to put on a show for his good friend and college teammate Odell Beckham, Jr. I just need that show to include a touchdown.
DST – Seahawks - $3,500
The Seahawks are the top-priced defense this week and rightfully so. They will either draw Matt Schaub of Jimmy Clausen. In my mind, they will either be getting inexperience or a nearly-guaranteed pick six. The quarterback situation is a mess in Baltimore but the team in general is falling apart. Their receivers are average and their entire tight end corps is injured. I usually stay away from paying top dollar for a defense but there is no way I can avoid the Seahawks in this lineup.
I doubt these fellas I will be playing against are as brave or silly as I am and I am expecting to be alone in rostering Julio Jones this weekend. If Jones can prove all of the doubters wrong and show Norman why he is one of, if not the, top receivers in football then I believe he will make me the queen among these DFS kings. This may be the riskiest play of the season but if I am looking for a reward I have to be a little risky, don’t I?