Givanni Damico | December 8th, 2019
Welcome to the GPP/Tournament Plays article for Week 14. I’m filling in for Joey again, but you can check out his cash games article. It is important to note that players mentioned for cash games can absolutely be used in GPP lineups as well, but you may want to be contrarian and break the chalk. Let’s get into it.
Quarterback
Kyler Murray ($5,800 DK, $7,500 FD) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
I want some of what DraftKings is smoking by making Devlin Hodges more expensive than Murray. Murray has shown up in tough games, like against the 49ers when in one game he had 241 in the air and two touchdowns, and 150 through the air and three total touchdowns in the other. The Steelers have a good secondary, but it doesn’t compare to the 49ers. Murray’s rushing upside provides a lot of value and makes his price tag seem more than reasonable. The Cardinals contend in almost every game they play (notice the almost), and I expect them to be in it to the very end against Pittsburgh tomorrow, largely because of Murray.
Josh Allen ($6,200 DK, $7,800 FD) vs. Baltimore Ravens
Allen and the Bills’ offense has been meshing more and more every week as the season goes on. They seem to have figured it out. Baltimore allows about six yards per carry on running plays, making Josh Allen’s value increase because of his rushing upside. He’s had good chemistry with John Brown and Cole Beasley and will look to keep the Bills’ fanbase fired up against one of the top teams in football. The Bills will be in it for the majority of the game, but will Josh Allen be able to defeat the MVP-frontrunner?
Other Quarterbacks: Cash Game QBs, Ryan Tannehill, Andy Dalton
Running Back
Austin Ekeler ($6,300 DK, $7,000 FD) at Jacksonville Jaguars
Despite the uptick in Melvin Gordon’s usage throughout the last four weeks, Ekeler still has immense receiving upside. He’s pretty inconsistent but he gets tons of targets out of the backfield from Philip Rivers. If he can make a big play and gain some serious YAC, he could easily find the endzone and make this play worth it. Ekeler’s owned percentage is projected around four percent this week, so he would definitely be a contrarian play.
Ty Montgomery ($4,000 DK, $4,600 FD) vs. Miami Dolphins
Bilal Powell’s ownership percentage is expected to be through the roof! He’s projected to be the highest-owned running back, so Montgomery would be a nice contrarian pivot. We don’t know how the Jets will split the workload between the two. Both have nice receiving upside but this is a major dart throw, but I guess that’s why you’re reading an article about GPP plays, right?
Other Running Backs: Kareem Hunt, Derrick Henry, Benny Snell (although overpriced)
Wide Receivers
Marvin Jones ($5,400 DK, $6,400 FD) at Minnesota Vikings
If Jeff Driskel was still the quarterback, I wouldn’t love this play as much. But David Blough didn’t seem to hesitate when throwing the football last week. He looked relatively natural and made a lot of good throws, unfortunately for Jones, most of them were in Kenny Golladay’s direction. Despite this, Jones still found the endzone. This price is dirt cheap for a guy who has consistently produced. With the Vikings’ secondary struggling, I like this play all the better.
Cole Beasley ($5,400 DK, $6,100 FD) vs. Baltimore Ravens
Beasley and Josh Allen have had a really nice connection over the last two weeks. Beasley has had 12 catches for 186 yards and two touchdowns in those two weeks. Despite a tough matchup against the Ravens, Beasley’s reliable hands and ability to get open in the slot provide a good value play who can really be a home run hitter. He has sneaky speed in open space that allows him to maximize on yards after catch.
John Ross III ($4,400 DK, $5,500 FD) at Cleveland Browns
Ross has a cheap price tag as he comes off of the Injured Reserve list for his first game since week four. This is a risky play because I don’t know how many snaps Ross will take and if he is 100%, but before he went out, he had two electrifying games where he combined for 11 catches for 270 yards and three touchdowns. His next two weeks, he produced modest numbers, but all four of those games were against great secondaries. The Bengals look forward to getting their explosive playmaker back in an offense that has lacked the “it-factor” all season long.
Other Wide Receivers: Cash Game WRs, Diontae Johnson, Christian Kirk, A.J. Brown, Olabisi Johnson
Tight Ends
Mike Gesicki ($4,000 DK, $5,400 FD) at New York Jets
Gesicki has had his ups and downs this year, but he has two touchdowns and 14 targets in his last two weeks. He and Devante Parker are becoming Ryan Fitzpatrick’s favorite targets and Gesicki’s price tag provides great value for a guy with red-zone potential.
David Njoku ($3,500 DK, $4,900 FD) vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Njoku is another guy who is a bit of a dart throw considering he is coming off of the IR for his first game back. Njoku is such a valuable pass-catcher for this Browns’ offense and he will immediately jump ahead of Demetrius Harris and Ricky Seals-Jones as the top tight end on the depth chart. I expect him to get plenty of looks on Sunday, enough to warrant this “punt” at tight end.
Other Tight Ends: Cash Game TEs, Jack Doyle, Darren Waller
Defenses
Chiefs D/ST at Patriots ($2,200 DK, $3,200 FD)
Maybe I’m crazy, but the Patriots’ offense hasn’t looked amazing this year. They are very beatable and I believe the Chiefs defense is a good “punt” at defense because they can still put points on the board for you. As long as they can stop the run, they’ll be in the game.
Other Defenses: Punt
Favorite Game Stacks
Panthers at Falcons
This stack could compose of either Matt Ryan or Kyle Allen at quarterback, McCaffrey, and Freeman at running back, D.J. Moore and Julio Jones, or Calvin Ridley, at wide receiver. You’ll have to pay up for Jones and McCaffrey, but this game should be a bit of a shootout.
Titans at Raiders
I like Ryan Tannehill in this stack with Derrick Henry and Josh Jacobs (questionable). A.J. Brown and Tyrell Williams at wide receiver with Darren Waller at tight end would be the ideal combination. This stack would definitely be more contrarian, but neither of these teams has exceptional defenses. Henry has proved his value and that he is worth his price tag. The wide receivers are a bit more scrappy in this game, so you can stray from them if you’d like, but A.J. Brown is almost a lock for me.
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