Quarterback Matthew Stafford put on a show to cap Week 14 in the NFL as the Los Angeles Rams evened the season series against the Arizona Cardinals, and now it’s on to Week 15. This article will cover The Professor’s low-cost options for DFS in the upcoming slate of NFL action.
Quarterbacks
Jimmy Garoppolo, SF, $6700 FanDuel / $5800 DraftKings
Jimmy Garoppolo is coming off a 296-yard, two-touchdown performance against the Bengals and will face an Atlanta defense that has struggled for most of the season, their solid performance against Carolina’s two-quarterback rotation last week notwithstanding. Garoppolo typically needs a balanced approach to thrive, which limits his fantasy ceiling, but he is a solid value when he throws for two touchdowns, which he has done on a fairly consistent basis since the early-season Trey Lance experiments ended.
Teddy Bridgewater, DEN, $6600 FanDuel / $5500 DraftKings
Teddy Bridgewater may not have the tools to maximize the deep group of pass-catchers around him, but his weapons will have an advantage over Cincinnati’s defense this week. Denver was able to use a run-heavy approach in their win over a lackluster Detroit team, but Bridgewater will likely shoulder a larger load against the Bengals, and there will be advantageous matchups for the Broncos to exploit in the passing game.
Ryan Tannehill, TEN, $7000 FanDuel / $5900 DraftKings
Ryan Tannehill did not have to do a lot against an overmatched Jaguars team last week, but he did steady out his recent uneven play, which was encouraging. Jacksonville’s defense is among the worst in the league, but so is Pittsburgh’s, and while the Steelers offense is far from an elite unit, they are far better than the current version of the Jaguars offense and more likely to push the score. Star receiver A.J. Brown appears to be at least a week away from returning from injury, but Tannehill should still have a productive day against Pittsburgh’s defense without him.
Running Backs
D’Onta Foreman, TEN, $5800 FanDuel / $5200 DraftKings
Tennessee has generally used a committee approach since Derrick Henry went down, but D’Onta Foreman has taken on a significant role over the past two games, rushing for over one hundred yards against New England and scoring his first touchdown of the season against Jacksonville. Foreman’s career has been derailed by injuries on multiple occasions, but the physical back is running well now and has an excellent matchup against a Steelers’ run defense coming off an atrocious performance against Dalvin Cook and the Vikings.
Rashaad Penny, SEA, $6100 FanDuel / $5400 DraftKings
Rashaad Penny has been a massive disappointment since the Seahawks drafted him in the first round four years ago, but despite his many injuries and inconsistent performance, draft status is never forgotten, as head coach Pete Carroll showed when he announced that Penny’s performance against a talent-deficient Texans defense merited a chance for Penny to prove that he can be the lead back. It’s a reminder that NFL evaluators have the memory of an elephant for a player’s draft season evaluation and the memory of a goldfish for every prior and future evaluation, but that’s a discussion for another time; Penny is set to get volume, and while he will face significantly more talented defense in the Rams, his projected touches make him a solid option at this price.
Cordarrelle Patterson, ATL, $7000 FanDuel / $6900 DraftKings
Cordarrelle Patterson is not as much of a value if you play on DraftKings, but Atlanta’s hybrid weapon brings some bang for your buck on FanDuel this week. Patterson’s role has shifted to the ground game since he returned from the ankle injury he suffered against the Cowboys, but that could change this week if Falcons coach Arthur Smith can get Patterson away from linebackers Fred Warner and Azeez Al-Shaair by splitting him out wide. No matter how he gets his touches, Patterson is a threat for a big game in a matchup that will feature the NFL’s two most versatile stars in Patterson and 49ers receiver Deebo Samuel.
Wide Receivers
A.J. Green, ARI, $5700 FanDuel / $4900 DraftKings
DFS players will need A.J. Green to break his one-game-on / one-game-off trend of the last month that has seen him alternate big games and duds; Green posted seven catches for 102 yards against the Rams, so he would be due for a disappearance if the pattern holds, but Arizona’s matchup with Detroit may be the solution to Green’s recent inconsistent production. The Cardinals are coming off a disappointing loss to the Rams and should look to take out their frustration on a Detroit team that appeared content to call it a season now that they have a win in their beatdown loss at Denver last week.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling, GB, $5500 FanDuel / $4900 DraftKings
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers will want to exploit some of the zone rotations that Ravens defensive coordinator Don “Wink” Martindale loves to employ behind his pressure looks, and Valdes-Scantling is a threat to pierce the defense deep in those situations. Valdes-Scantling does not get significant volume in the committee behind lead receiver Davante Adams, but he averages 16.5 yards per reception and has been especially dangerous on the road this season, where he has posted double the yards-per-game and both of his touchdowns.
Odell Beckham Jr., LAR, $6000 FanDuel / $5400 DraftKings
The change of scenery has done wonders for Odell Beckham Jr., who has posted his two best performances of the season over the past three weeks. Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford has played reasonably well in the 2021 NFL season but had not shown the MVP-caliber form he established in 2019 with Detroit; based on his performance Monday Night, Stafford may have found that extra gear for the December run. If so, everyone in the Rams offense will benefit. Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson is back on track and Seattle is making a desperate playoff push, which could mean plenty of points from both offenses.
Tight Ends
Dallas Goedert, PHI, $6000 FanDuel / $5300 DraftKings
Dallas Goedert had his most productive game of the season with backup Gardner Minshew at quarterback two weeks ago, but even with starter Jalen Hurts slated to return coming out of the bye, Goedert should have a prominent role in Philadelphia’s pivotal matchup with Washington. The Football Team’s defense has improved since their slow start to the season but the Eagles should have success against this unit if Hurts gets past the turnover issues that plagued him against the Giants before he missed the Jets game with his ankle injury.
Conclusion
This article covered The Professor’s low-cost DFS plays for the upcoming week. For more fantasy content from The Professor check out his weekly appearance on Razor’s RedZone and the rest of his content on BeerLife Sports!
Steven Clinton, better known as "The Professor", is a former D-1 Quality Control Assistant (Northwestern, Toledo) who holds a B.A. in Economics and M.S. in Predictive Analytics from Northwestern University. He maintains an end-to-end NFL game projection model and is a film junkie who breaks down the tape of every NFL game.
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