Joey Ricotta | November 17th, 2019
Welcome into the GPP/Tournament plays article for Week 11. Let’s start by saying, any picks used or mentioned for cash games can be played in tournaments. I think that’s an important thing to know and can sometimes get confused whenever the two are mentioned separately. For that reason, I’ve tried to avoid mentioning my cash game plays for this article.
There’s merit to using or fading certain players in tournaments, whether it be ownership expectations, bust potential, etc. But, as I said earlier, just about all of the cash game plays are viable for tournaments. If you’d like to see who I like for those types of contests, you can check that out here. With that said, let’s get to some other picks I like for tournaments.
Quarterback
Deshaun Watson ($6,800 DK, $8,200 FD)
Most of the talk is swirling around Lamar Jackson and his video game-like spin moves. Watson isn’t getting nearly as much attention as he should be from the DFS world. He has a massive ceiling, evidenced by his 44.74 DK points outburst in Week Five. The matchup isn’t great, but this seems like a great leverage spot.
Other Targets: Any Cash Game QBs, Josh Allen, Jameis Winston
Running Back
Ezekiel Elliott ($9,000 DK, $8,400 FD)
How long have we been saying Zeke is due? I’m sick of saying it. Last season, Zeke had four games putting up over 30 points on DraftKings. This season, he hasn’t done that once all year. The Dallas Cowboys are favored by a touchdown on the road. The Detroit Lions have given it up to running backs all year. They’ve given up the second-most DK points per game to opposing running backs (32 DK PPG).
J.D. McKissic ($4,600 DK, $5,800)
I like McKissic more so on full PPR sites like DraftKings. Ty Johnson is banged up and questionable to play. Each week McKissic has been getting more work and saw a season-high 70% of the offensive snaps last week. He also caught a season-high six catches. Even if Johnson is active, the Lions might lean heavier on McKissic in the passing game, especially if they are playing catch up.
Other Targets: Any Cash Game RBs, Devin Singletary, Miles Sanders, Carlos Hyde
Wide Receiver
Auden Tate ($4,200 DK, $5,300 FD)
Well, A.J. Green is still out and that means Auden Tate is still relevant. This game between the Oakland Raiders and Cincinnati Bengals has sneaky shootout potential, or at least game-stacking potential. Most of the DFS ownership will go to Tyler Boyd, as he is the more consistent and heavier targeted receiver. But Tate is cheaper in salary and could be a nice pivot.
Other Targets: Any Cash Game WRs, Hunter Renfrow, Nelson Agholor, Mike Evans, Chris Godwin, John Brown
Tight End
Dawson Knox ($3,000 DK, $4,500 FD)
For the last few weeks, this $3,000 range for TE on DraftKings has been a very popular spot, and one I’ve been actively attacking. The ownership projections show Dawson Knox as a massive sleeper compared to what I was expecting. Two weeks ago, Noah Fant smashed at this salary. Last week, everyone was on Mike Gesicki to be the cheap lineup booster, although he ended up not living up to expectations. I’ve had a feeling Knox would win someone a tournament at some point this season. The kid is talented. Squaring off against the Miami Dolphins automatically puts offensive weapons in play. He also saw a season-high six targets last week, along with one red-zone target.
Other Targets: Any Cash Game TEs, Irv Smith Jr., Mark Andrews
Defense/Special Teams
For the most part, the defenses I’m targeting in tournaments are the exact same as the ones I’ll be using in cash games. Generally, for tournaments, I’ll build lineups using players and stacks I like and use whatever remaining salary I have on defense. This is always the last position I fill out, although I may use mixtures of the same lineup with different defenses to have a better shot at striking gold, given the unpredictability of it.
- Arizona Cardinals ($1,500 DK, $3,500 FD)
- New Orleans Saints ($2,900 DK, $4,800 FD)
- Minnesota Vikings ($3,400 DK, $4,700 FD)
- Buffalo Bills $3,800 DK, $5,000 FD)
- San Francisco 49ers ($4,000 DK, $4,900 FD)
For further defense analysis and picks, you can check out my cash game article here.
Favorite Game Stacks
HOU @ BAL
The marquee matchup of the week, and one that should be very entertaining to watch. The two young star quarterbacks Lamar Jackson and Deshaun Watson will square off. The points total has risen since opening up and is now over 50 points. Will Fuller has been ruled out, making Kenny Stills interesting. DeAndre Hopkins is always in play. Carlos Hyde is sneaky, facing the fifth-worst rushing defense in terms of DVOA. For the Ravens, Marquise Brown and Mark Andrews are my preferred targets to pair with Jackson.
ATL @ CAR
This game is super chalky, but you can’t ignore it. I love Kyle Allen, Christian McCaffrey, D.J. Moore, and Curtis Samuel on the Panthers’ side. I’ll also be using Greg Olsen, but his ownership seems like a fade spot in tournaments. To be honest, all of the ownership levels are scary high, but I think the likelihood that none of these guys produce are very slim. So, you’ll need to take a stand on a few of them. The Falcons Brian Hill is extremely high owned but in a very nice spot. Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley, and Russell Gage are all garnering ownership as well. You’ll want some exposure to them, and if the game shoots out, they will most likely be factors.
DAL @ DET
Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, Amari Cooper, and Michael Gallup are all in play. You don’t necessarily need all of these guys in the same lineup. But they seem to be going overlooked, due to the fact many believe Jeff Driskel and the Lions won’t be able to keep up. Being at home, I think they can. Running it back with some Lions like Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones, or the aforementioned J.D McKissic makes sense.
Honorable Mentions: NO @ TB, CIN @ OAK
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