Best DFS lineup strategy for Vikings-Bears on Monday night

As we continue Week 15 in the NFL, we have a NFC North matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football. The Vikings are coming off an eight-point win over the Pittsburgh Steelers at home last week. The Bears have lost four out of their last five games, which includes a 15-point loss to the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.

This game features a few great DFS plays that could end up making or breaking your lineup. Many DFS players will opt to put Dalvin Cook or David Montgomery in their captain spots, which would not be bad ideas.

However, where you can really separate yourself from your opponent is with the FLEX picks, in which both teams have some interesting choices. Let’s go over the Showdown fantasy outlook for the game for contests on DraftKings.

Injuries

Bears wide receiver Allen Robinson is one of the many players on the reserve/COVID-19 for Chicago. As for Minnesota, backup running back Alexander Mattison was placed on the reserve/COVID last week. But the Vikings may get back star wide receiver Adam Thielen, who is listed as questionable with an ankle injury.

Captain’s Chair

Kirk Cousins, QB, Vikings

With the Bears having their entire starting secondary placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list, this seems like a good spot to play Cousins as one of your captains. Last week against the Pittsburgh Steelers, the veteran quarterback did not have his best night throwing the ball with 216 yards, two touchdowns, and two interceptions. However, Cousins still ended up scoring 16 fantasy points in the eight-point win.

This season, Cousins has thrown for 3,569 passing yards, 27 touchdowns, five interceptions and averaging 21.1 fantasy points per game. In his last five games, Cousins is averaging 20.7 fantasy points per game.

Darnell Mooney, WR, Bears

In terms of a Bears player to put in the captain’s spot, we are going to stay away from Justin Fields and David Montgomery, which are obvious choices. Our pick will be Darnell Mooney, who will be the Bears’ number one wide receiver with Robinson on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

The second-year receiver was a non-factor in last week’s loss to the Packers (one reception for 19 yards and 2.9 fantasy points). But Mooney should be able to bounce back against this Vikings’ secondary, which is ranked 32nd against WRs (OPRK) and allowing 29 FPPG to the position this season. Before Week 14, Mooney had three-straight games with at least five receptions and scored 18.1 FPPG. With Fields under center for the second-straight week, it would be wise to get the young receiver into your lineup.

Value Plays

K.J. Osborn, WR, Vikings — $5,800

If Thielen does not play tonight, then we could see a lot of DFS players putting Osborn into their showdown lineups. Osborn has a scored a touchdown in two consecutive weeks and is coming off a week, where he had three receptions for 83 yards and 17.3 fantasy points.

It would not come as a surprise to see Osborn score another touchdown as the Bears put their attention on Justin Jefferson, who is an absolute star and playmaker.

Jakeem Grant, WR, Bears — $5,000

The Bears will need another receiver to step up besides Mooney, especially if they want to pull off the upset on MNF. One potential candidate is Jakeem Grant, who used his speed to create a couple of big plays for Chicago last week. Grant had a punt return for a touchdown and a receiving touchdown to give him 18.1 fantasy points.

The previous week against the Cardinals, Grant saw more targets in the passing game with five receptions (seven targets) for 62 yards and a touchdown (17.2 fantasy points). He does not need many snaps to make plays, which works well as a cheap value play for this slate.