Yet another NFL Sunday is upon us, meaning it’s time for the latest edition of our weekly must-starts column. Looking back to last week, Bo Nix exploded for four touchdowns and 24.8 DraftKings fantasy points while Derrick Henry and DeVonta Smith posted a respectable 19.1 and 14.4 points themselves.
With the halfway point of the regular season on deck and the crisp air of November surrounding us, there’s plenty of data to work with — after crunching the numbers, we’ve got another three must-start players. Whether a standout talent to build lineups around or an intriguing value with matchup and salary, these are guys who can smash and win you a contest this week. Let’s jump right in.
Set your DraftKings fantasy football lineups here: NFL $2.75M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st]
QB Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts, $6,200
Daniel Jones enters Week 9 as the seventh-priciest quarterback on the slate. That shouldn’t be the case given his success and the matchup on deck. Jones looks like a legitimate MVP candidate with a 71.2% completion rate, 257.8 passing yards per game, 13 touchdowns to three interceptions, plus an additional four scores on the ground. He averages 21.1 FPPG with elite weapons in Tyler Warren, Michael Pittman Jr., Josh Downs and Alec Pierce as well as Jonathan Taylor setting up the pass with his OPOY-caliber play in the backfield. On Sunday, the Colts face a soft Steelers defense ranked 25th in total EPA and EPA/pass with the sixth-most passing yards allowed. Don’t let the reputation of Pittsburgh fool you — this matchup looks like one to target, especially with the potential for a shootout on the scoreboard as DraftKings Sportsbook projects a total of 50.5 points.
RB Kimani Vidal, Los Angeles Chargers, $6,300
The Chargers took Kimani Vidal in the sixth round of last year’s draft and he earned plenty of hype during training camp. Unfortunately, he never truly panned out at the time and the outlook for his future only worsened with the selection of first-rounder Omarion Hampton this past April. However, the latter suffered an injury several weeks ago and Vidal has filled in admirably ever since with 18.7 FPPG as the starter. He gashed the Dolphins for 25.8 DKFP with 138 scrimmage yards and a touchdown, then racked up 127 scrimmage yards with another score against the Vikings last week to the tune of 22.7 DKFP. His 7.5 DKFP in the game between those wasn’t spectacular, but he was largely game-scripted out of that one. Regardless, there’s a nice ceiling here especially in a matchup against a Titans defense ranked 22nd in EPA/rush, 28th in rushing yards allowed and dead-last in rushing touchdowns given up (14, four more than second-worst). As the ninth-most expensive RB, jump on the value here.
WR DK Metcalf, Pittsburgh Steelers, $5,500
There are 20 wide receivers with a salary higher than DK Metcalf’s this week, which feels borderline insane given the dependable floor, high ceiling and tasty matchup. Metcalf averages 15.2 FPPG with 3.9 catches and 65.9 yards per contest with a hair over six targets a game. While he doesn’t see elite volume on a weekly basis, the big-bodied wideout does posy a career-high 17.1 yards per reception and 10.7 yards per target, so his efficiency and deep-ball threat makes up for the lack of PPR-merchant opportunities. Plus, he’s caught five touchdowns and always brings an end-zone threat. The game script mentioned earlier that makes Daniel Jones an intriguing pick rings true for Metcalf as well, and the Colts have allowed the second-most passing yards with the fifth-most passing touchdowns on the year so far. Given the high total and potential for the Steelers to play from behind and force a few additional passes, Metcalf brings one of the best outlooks of any wideout in Week 9 at an extreme value.
