In Week 7, several players with very low draft percentages delivered huge performances.
These leverage plays vaulted their managers up the DFS leaderboards, especially since only a few entries included them on their roster. In the DraftKings NFL $2.5M FANTASY FOOTBALL MILLIONAIRE [$1M TO 1ST, $100K LEADERBOARD ELIGIBLE], an entry from user dfs_ads finished at the top of the leaderboard with a total of 225.42 FPTS. The entry finished over five points clear of the rest of the field and included seven players with draft percentages under 10%. It was a good day to go against the flow, and dfs_ads did that extremely effectively on the way to a huge week.
Here’s a look at the highest-scoring entry from the Week 7 Millionaire contest:
DraftKings NFL Millionaire Winning Lineup Breakdown for Week 7
The Bucs Start Strong and Tony Pollard Goes Big
The entry from dfs_ads only had a few plays in the early window but got off to a fast start thanks to Tony Pollard (39.5 FPTS), who posted the highest score of any player for the whole slate. He was only in 4.4% of entries as he took on the Browns and delivered a massive performance despite his team’s loss to Cleveland.
Pollard finished the day with three rushing touchdowns and took his 25 carries for 129 rushing yards while adding on three catches for 26 more yards. Pollard’s big game came with Tyjae Spears (knee) inactive, but not many fantasy managers went to the veteran running back to carry the workload like the Titans did.
While Pollard was producing, Braelon Allen (22.4 FPTS) was also putting together a big game for the Jets in their loss to the Dolphins. Allen finished as the No. 4 RB on the slate with 104 rushing yards on 17 carries and six catches on seven targets for 30 receiving yards. Although he didn’t score a touchdown, that PPR production helped him post a strong fantasy performance as the Jets tried to rally.
While the running backs fueled this entry’s fast start, the Buccaneers DST (27 FPTS) was also a critical play. It finished as the top defense by a wide margin and was only in 4.6% of entries. Pollard and the Bucs were both not very popular plays, but they definitely paid off.
The Bucs held the Panthers to only 13 points while racking up five sacks, four takeaways, a defensive touchdown, a blocked extra-point attempt, and even a two-point conversion return. The defensive touchdown came on a scoop-and-score by Calijah Kancey after veteran linebacker Al-Quadin Muhammad sacked Bryce Young.
Tee Higgins’ Huge Half
Unlike this entry from dfs_ads, the Bengals didn’t get off to a fast start. They trailed the Ravens 13-0 at halftime, but in the second half they rallied to a 35-13 win, with Tee Higgins (29.8 FPTS) turning in the second-highest score of all of Sunday afternoon’s wide receivers. Higgins was only in 5.9% of entries, again providing outstanding leverage and a huge return for the top entry.
Higgins ended up with six catches for 148 receiving yards and this touchdown. He didn’t have a single catch at halftime, but he only needed the second half to put up a big score.
In the Rams-Raiders game, the entry from dfs_ads had two players who each finished right around their expected production based on salary. They didn’t earn the flame emoji on the scoreboard, but their solid production was still critical. The entry used a value option at tight end – one that I highlighted Saturday – going with Colby Parkinson (9.8 FPTS) at just $3,000. Parkinson didn’t get into the end zone for the Rams but did have five catches for 48 yards.
Ashton Jeanty (21.6 FPTS) was also in the top entry, finishing with a solid day as a receiver, catching eight passes for 61 yards and a touchdown, which helped offset the fact that he had only 15 rushing yards on eight carries.
Lions Stack Roars
The entry from dfs_ads finished out the day with a trio of Lions in their game against the Packers. While Jared Goff (22.02 FPTS) was fine, he focused heavily on both Amon-Ra St. Brown (27.2 FPTS) and Jameson Williams (26.1 FPTS), making both Lions pass-catchers top options.
St. Brown had the third-highest WR total on the afternoon slate with nine catches for 153 yards against the Packers. St. Brown didn’t get either of Goff’s two passing touchdowns, but he still had a solid game with so many catches. Williams ended up with the two touchdown catches while hauling in five of his nine targets for 91 yards and the two scores.
The Lions kicked a field goal as time expired to get the win and remain undefeated at home, and the big game from their tandem of wide receivers was enough to push this entry from dfs_ads to the top of the leaderboard.
The Bottom Line
On Week 7’s main slate, dfs_ads selected players with very low draft percentages in Pollard, Higgins, and the Bucs’ defense. Those contrarian plays all had big games and helped this entry outperform the other 147,057 entries in the Millionaire contest.
Looking ahead to Week 8, four more teams are on a bye, but there is no early international game, leaving 11 games on the main DFS fantasy football slate Sunday afternoon. DraftKings’ full slate of contests includes another chance for a huge top prize in the NFL $2.5M Fantasy Football Millionaire [$1M to 1st, $100K Leaderboard Eligible], which will award another $1 million top prize for a $20 entry. To help you prep for Sunday’s Week 8 contests, follow DraftKings Network’s coverage of both DFS and season-long fantasy football!
