DraftKings Cash Game Lineup: Week 9

Welcome to a weekly series where I provide you with what I think is the optimal cash game lineup. All prices, fantasy points, and analyses are based on DraftKings’ DFS platform. If you are unfamiliar with what cash games are, or if you are interested in my basic strategy, click here.

Week 8 Recap

It felt like the value was quite obvious, leading me to worry my cash team would be too similar to others. However, it seemed like Hurts ended up as the least owned of the big three, and both Lamar and Mahomes failed in a massive way, while Hurts dropped 31.4 points. This runout was definitely lucky, but I identified this 1v1v1 as the most important part of the slate and was able to reason my way onto Jalen Hurts. The rest of the team performed well and I went on to have a perfect week in cash.  

Here are my results to date. 

• Week 1: Won 44.4% of head-to-heads 
• Week 2: Won 92.3% of head-to-heads
  
  
• Week 3: Won 92.3 % of head-to-heads
  
  
• Week 4: Won 7.1% of head-to-heads
• Week 5: Won 92.3% of head-to-heads
  
  
• Week 6: Won 71.43% of head-to-heads
  
  
• Week 7: Won 35.71% of head-to-heads
• Week 8: Won 100.00% of head-to-heads
  
  

Total ROI: 21.15%

Now, let’s dive into Week 9.

Quarterback

I feel like value at QB is really thin this week. There are some punt options that could be considered, but the cash construction I like most this week has Jalen Hurts ($8,000). I think it’s really interesting that Hurts is priced at $200 cheaper than last week after a stellar performance. All the reasons I liked Hurts last week remain true. He has arguably the best floor/ceiling combo and should be forced to keep his foot on the pedal in what should be a tight contest against the divisional rival Cowboys.

Running Back

I’m not going off the wall at RB, because the two most obvious plays are also the two best plays. Jonathan Taylor ($6,400) is probably a few hundred dollars too cheap. He’s seen his role grow every week and gets the Panthers, owners of the NFL’s worst run defense.

Again, I’m not sure Bijan Robinson ($6,100) belongs in the $7k range, but he’s still far too cheap. He saw a reasonable 73% snap share last week and remains one of the best-receiving backs in the league, posting a 15% target share this season.

Wide Receiver

It’s taken eight weeks, but there is finally chatter about the insane role that AJ Brown ($8,600) has. He’s clearly separated from Devonta Smith as he possesses a 31% target share compared to Smith’s 22% target share. He’s not quite in the Tyreek Hill range, but he should probably be priced closer to $9k.

Terry McLaurin ($5,600) is reminding us that he’s really good at football. Over his last three games, he’s received 94% of the snaps and 34% of the targets on his, elite usage. He still lacks the top-end potential, but he has a solid floor and ceiling and is underpriced.

There were a couple of good punt options, but none as good as Demario Douglas ($4,000). The Patriots are desperately in need of talent among their skill positions, and Douglas will have every opportunity to showcase that this week with Kendrick Bourne’s season over and DeVante Parker trending out. He should be New England’s #1 WR, which we’ve seen produce big numbers this year in several outings.

Tight End

I originally wanted to get up to TJ Hockenson, but I think there’s too much uncertainty with their QB to spend that much at TE. Instead, I’m scrolling down and clicking Luke Musgrave ($3,300). He probably lacks upside, but he’s still seeing the field a ton and I don’t like spending a lot on TE unless it feels necessary, and it certainly does not this week.

FLEX

Playing Musgrave instead of Trey McBride allows me to get up to Zay Flowers ($5,700) at FLEX. It feels like every week is going to be his week, and then he ends up disappointing. He still projects well and has a great role. He’s run bad on TDs and now has a great matchup against Seattle in a game that should be competitive.

DST

I was pretty much always the New York Giants ($2,300). They project clearly as the best value of any DST on the slate and are the cheapest option on the slate, allowing me to spend as little as I possibly can on DST, which is always preferable.

Summary

There was some really obvious value on the slate, meaning cash should be pretty condensed this week, making any pivots off the optimal important. I’m choosing to fade some guys that will be quite popular like Trey McBride, Adam Thielen, and Michael Thomas. Hopefully, the guys I’m pivoting to perform better.

Here is the final lineup: