Week 15 of the NFL season was a wild week of action full of big comebacks, thrilling finishes, and plenty of fantasy points to go around. In the high-scoring 13-game slate, one entry emerged with the top total of the week as giantsanddwarfs built an entry that racked up 236.02 fantasy points. That entry was strong enough to rise to the top of the NFL $2.5M FANTASY FOOTBALL MILLIONAIRE [$1M TO 1ST]. The entry was a unique construction from the pool of 147,058 entries in the Milly Maker and finished almost five fantasy points ahead of the rest of the field.
The entry used a strategy that fit with its name using both giants and dwarfs in what is commonly called a “stars and scrubs” build. There were plenty of high-leverage options.
Here’s a look at the highest-scoring entry from the Week 15 millionaire contest:
Off and running!
The entry from giantsandwarfs started off with two running backs in the early wave of games. While most of the lineup was in the later window, running backs TreVeyon Henderson (33.1 FPTS) and D’Andre Swift (22.6 FPTS) both had strong games to get the entry’s big week off to a fast start.
Henderson had a pair of rushing touchdowns against the Bills, racking up 148 rushing yards and 13 receiving yards with a pair of receptions. His two touchdowns helped the Pats build an early lead before Buffalo circled the wagons and got the win.
Swift also had a pair of touchdowns for giantsandwarfs, finishing with 98 yards rushing and -2 yards receiving. Swift came up just short of the 100+ yard bonus but still finished as the No. 7 running back on the main slate.
The entry also included the Bears DST from that game against the Browns, and the Bears finished the day as the No. 2 scoring defense on the main slate, posting 18 fantasy points on five sacks, three interceptions and just three points allowed in their comfortable win over Cleveland.
The entry used some bargain leverage at the FLEX spot, utilizing a tight end in Ben Sinnott (4.6 FPTS) which allowed them more spending space in other spots.
Sinnott’s salary under $3,000 in the flex spot allowed the entry to pay up for both strong running backs and all the receivers from the later games. Sinnott was five with a 36-yard catch, but his main contribution came from his ability to fill the FLEX spot at such a low rate.
Rams and Lions pile up points in dueling stacks
After those entries got the day started well for this entry, it was two stacks of players from the Lions and Rams game in Los Angeles that helped carry the entry to the top of the leaderboard. Since the Rams won 41-34, plenty of fantasy points were produced on both sides of the matchup.
On the Lions’ side, the entry included Jared Goff (28.5 FPTS), Amon-Ra St. Brown (44.4 FPTS) and Jameson Williams (29.4 FPTS). Goff was the third-highest scoring QB of the slate, and his ownership was only 3.7%. He connected on three touchdown passes and finished with 338 passing yards.
St. Brown hauled in two of those touchdowns and finished with 13 catches for 164 receiving yards. In just the first half, he had nine catches for 126 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
On the way to his huge day he became the first player in NFL history with at least 90 receptions in each of their first five seasons and also reached, 1,000 receiving yards for the fourth straight season.
Jameson Williams caught the other touchdown from Goff and finished with 134 receiving yards on seven catches.
From the Rams, the giantsandwarfs entry included Puka Nacua (30.9 FPTS) and Colby Parkinson (24.5 FPTS), who was a very productive but affordable option at tight end. By rolling with Sinnott and Parkinson as sleeper tight ends, the entry saved enough salary to pay up for both Nacua and St. Brown, who had hefty salaries at receiver.
Nacua finished second on the receiver leaderboard for this slate just behind St. Brown and ahead of Williams. He hauled in nine catches for 181 receiving yards, and became only the fifth player in NFL history with at least 100 receptions and 1,200 receiving yards in two of his first three seasons.
Parkinson also did his part by returning excellent value production. He had his best game of the season, catching two touchdown passes and totaling five receptions for 75 yards.
The Bottom Line
By getting such good value from some “dwarf” picks, this entry was able to include just the right “giant” plays. The entry included the top three receivers on the board and got excellent leverage by using four plays with under 5% ownership, led by Sinnott, who had just 0.8% ownership. The other top leverage plays in the entry from giantsandwarfs were the Bears DST, D’Andre Swift, and Jared Goff, who had a huge game in his return to Los Angeles to face the Rams.
Looking ahead to Week 16, all 32 NFL teams are again in action, but with a pair of games divisional matchups scheduled for Saturday, there are 11 games on next Sunday’s main slate instead of 13 like this week. Plenty of juicy matchups are still on the board, though, even with only one divisional matchup. DraftKings has another NFL $2.5M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st] on the board, giving another entry a chance to claim a $1 million top prize by finding just the right blend of stars and values. To help you with your prep work for Sunday’s huge slate and to keep up with all the latest fantasy football info all season and postseason long, be sure to follow DraftKings Network’s coverage of both DFS and season-long fantasy football!
