Welcome to the weekly tournament plays article for Sunday’s main DraftKings fantasy football slate for Week 7. I’m going to focus purely on upside plays, stacks and strategies to help tackle the largest tournaments on the slate. GPPs are not won by using all of the most popular players on the slate and finding some relatively lower-owned diamonds in the rough will be the goal of this article.
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Stacks
Game Stack: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Carolina Panthers
Tom Brady ($6,300) — Chris Godwin ($6,300) — DJ Moore ($4,900)
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers enter this week’s game with a solid 26.0-point implied team total and as -11.0 favorites over the Panthers. The Buccaneers averaged 37.5 points scored against Carolina in two games last year and Brady threw for 326 yards and three TDs in Week 17. While the efficiency wasn’t there last week against Pittsburgh, Carolina’s secondary seems likely to put up even less resistance after allowing Matthew Stafford to complete four or more passes to four different wide receivers in Week 6. Stafford also completed a season-high 78% of his passes last week, so increased efficiency from this Tampa Bay passing game should almost be guaranteed.
If we’re targeting Brady we can certainly think about using both Tampa Bay receivers with him, and Mike Evans ($6,900) has scored four TDs in his last four games against the Panthers. Value-wise though, it’s Chris Godwin who should be our primary target as he comes $600 cheaper despite out targeting Evans, 18-12, the last two weeks.
When the Bucs were down last week it was also Godwin who Brady went to first and foremost, and there’s clearly a desire for Tampa Bay to get him back to full efficiency fast. On the flip side, there should also be concerns about the Bucs’ secondary after they failed to contain Mitchell Trubisky of all people late in last week’s game. The Bucs have now allowed five TDs to an outside receiver over the past five games and will see the struggling DJ Moore ($4,900) this week, who has gone for over 80 yards against this defense in three of their last four meetings.
Moore obviously carries a low floor, but at under $5,000 he also doesn’t need a monster game to help you. The upside is still massive with such an explosive after-the-catch receiver and there will certainly be lots of targets out there for Moore after the expulsion of Robby Anderson to Arizona this week.
Stack the depressed prices on the elite wide-outs in this game and hope we get a vintage performance from the Tampa Bay offense to help push the Carolina pass game into some healthy garbage time action.
Quarterback
Dak Prescott, Dallas Cowboys at Detroit Lions ($6,700)
The Cowboys take on a Lions team that is second in overall pace of play this season and fourth-to-last in yards per pass attempt. They’ve also allowed the second-most fantasy points to opposing QBs this year and have allowed the last two QBs they’ve faced (Bailey Zappe and Geno Smith) to complete 78% of their combined passes.
It’s a perfect opponent for Dak Prescott (thumb) to return against. Prescott himself made it sound as if he likely could have played last week if there was a need. While the Cowboys managed to go 2-1 with Cooper Rush his limitations were felt last week against Philadelphia and Prescott should be eager here to emphasize the fact that the full capabilities of this Dallas offense can’t be reached without him at the helm. It’s worth noting as well that Detroit’s weak rushing defense could also lead to increased usage on the ground for Prescott. The Lions have allowed two rushing TDs to QBs already and the second-most rushing yards to the position overall. A rested Prescott should feast here and looks like solid value at under $7,000.
Running Back
Top End: Austin Ekeler, Los Angeles Chargers vs Seattle Seahawks ($8,300)
The Chargers are taking on a Seahawks team that has allowed the third-highest yards per play against and also ceded over 5.1 yards per carry against this year as well. To say we might want some exposure to Los Angeles’ top skill players for fantasy purposes might be an understatement.
Austin Ekeler may have got somewhat stifled last week on the ground but his 10 catches against Denver were a good reminder that, regardless of game flow, he is going to be at the heart of how the Chargers move the ball. Against Cleveland, with the Chargers ahead for most of the game, he averaged 10.8 yards per carry and found the end zone twice. With the Chargers set as -5.0 favorites, there’s no doubt that similar upside exists this week. He’s a strong pay-up target and good core play to build around as long as he stays under $8,500.
Value: Travis Etienne Jr., Jacksonville Jaguars vs New York Giants ($5,400)
The Travis Etienne breakout may be coming soon. The 2021 first-round pick has averaged just under 8.0 yards per carry in his last two starts and has also averaged 13.0 yards per catch over that span. Considering the Jaguars have now lost two straight and are at risk of becoming irrelevant again, there should be a push to get him more touches in the coming weeks.
We have seen a steady decline in snaps for James Robinson ($5,900) since Week 3 and Etienne also matched Robinson in red zone touches (2-2) last week for the first time all season. The Giants have traveled a lot of late and are dead last in opponent rush yards against. Etienne sets up as the potential value breakout of the week in a juicy home matchup.
Wide Receiver
Top end: Michael Pittman Jr. Indianapolis Colts at Tennessee Titans ($7,400)
Despite coming off a 16-target game and scoring 29.4 DKFP (without finding the end zone), there doesn’t seem to be a huge appetite for Michael Pittman Jr. this week against a poor Titans pass defense. Pittman buried Jacksonville with crossing routes late in the game last week and will have a chance to do the same against a Titans defense that has ceded three 100-plus yard performances to opposing WRs over their past four contests.
Tennessee has shorn up their rush defense and again profiles as a classic funnel to the pass kind of team that you’ll want to target with opposing WRs for the rest of 2022. Pittman himself went for 10-86-2 against Tennessee in Week 8 last season and profiles as a great pay-up target for DFS this week, especially with the likelihood of low ownership attached.
Value: Romeo Doubs Green Bay Packers vs Washington Commanders ($5,000)
The Packers will be without Randall Cobb for this game which means we should again see a healthy dose of Romeo Doubs — who played on over 90% of the snaps last week against New York. Doubs will be taking on a Commanders team whose secondary has allowed the sixth-most fantasy points per game to opposing WRs and who has generally been torched by solid after-the-catch receivers in 2022.
Doubs has been solid in that regard for Green Bay, ranking out 33rd in yards after the catch in the entire league, despite converting on just seven of his last 14 targets. Even without a ton of air yards or big aDOT, Doubs should be able to pile up yards in this spot and will have a great chance at a score against this weak secondary, which has allowed eight TDs to his position already. He’s a solid upside target at just $5K.
Tight End
David Njoku, Cleveland Browns at Baltimore Ravens ($4,200)
The Browns project as near TD underdogs in this spot and will likely need to revert to a heavier passing-based attack against Baltimore, which allowed just 2.7 yards per carry last week against Saquon Barkley. The Ravens’ linebackers simply don’t cover the middle of the field well and it’s led to a couple of breakout games from second-tier TEs in Hayden Hurst (6-53-1) and Daniel Bellinger (5-38-1) the last two weeks.
We witnessed a true upside game from David Njoku against a weak coverage team in Pittsburgh earlier this season and it feels like a spot where the Browns may end up leaning on him again to carry this offense. Despite seeing just one target in his first game, Njoku enters this game sixth in targets among all TEs and is trending with low sentiment this week, as this game isn’t on many people’s radars for DFS. Cleveland’s porous defense should help push for more Jacoby Brissett ($5,300) dropbacks and give Njoku a chance at another monster performance.
Defense/Special Teams
Jacksonville Jaguars ($3,100) vs. New York Giants
The DST pool this week admittedly doesn’t have many appealing pivot plays. It’s still the position with the most variable scoring, however, so why not target a home team in Jacksonville that is taking on a Giants team that could be on the verge of a letdown after a crazy travel schedule the past three weeks?
Since Week 4, New York has traveled to London, back to New York and now down to Florida, hardly ideal for a team that is having trouble keeping any starting receiver on the field for longer than a game. Jacksonville’s defense also sets up nicely for this Giants' run-based attack as they’ve allowed just 3.6 yards per carry this year (third-best in the league) and have been a far better unit at home, averaging three sacks and 13.0 DKFP in two home games. Pay up if you can for the most certainly low-owned Jaguars, who should get the jump on a tired Giants squad.
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is wavegoodbye) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.