NFL DFS Cash Games – Week 16 Checkdown

Championship Week 16 in Season-Long leagues and one of the last full slates for your NFL DFS Cash Games. Yet again, our incredible run from a cash game perspective kept rolling last week for Win Daily. We welcome you all in for another week of cashing – last week’s Cash Game Checkdown included a sample lineup that AGAIN crossed the pay lines with over 166 DraftKings points!

Let’s get right back at it for Week 16 which has a Sunday main slate of 11 games.

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My articles will be mainly meant for DraftKings, but you can certainly use this information for other DFS websites. Please check back in on Saturday/Sunday morning for potential NFL DFS Cash Games updates!

If you have any questions and would like some further help when building your lineups, please do not hesitate to reach out to me directly on Twitter. I’m always available to help NFL DFS players make the most of their investments.

Some notes on what I believe to be the “optimal” roster build for NFL DFS Cash Games. I’ll include this in all the Checkdown articles moving forward. For Week 16, please see below for my notes on roster construction:

• My NFL DFS Cash Game build for Week 16 will probably start with locking in DeAndre Washington (the free square play for this week).
• There are a lot of different ways to go with the WR position. I don’t think you have to have Michael Thomas because there are a lot of strong plays in that $6k range that you can load up.
• Just because a player is not mentioned in this article, does not mean they are not cash viable.

NFL DFS Cash Games Quarterbacks

1. Lamar Jackson ($8,000) – It’s Lamar Jackson. He is as safe as they come right now and worth every penny if you can afford him in your cash builds.
   
2. Russell Wilson ($7,000) – Wilson is an excellent pay-down option if you can’t afford Lamar Jackson. I’m projecting this to be more of a Carson game as the Seahawks are a double-digit home favorite but Wilson still offers a high floor against the 28th ranked defense in terms of pass DVOA.
   
3. Kyler Murray ($6,100) – Murray’s price is too cheap going up against a pass-funnel Seattle defense. This game has the highest total on the slate and looks like it will set up nicely for Murray to throw it 35+ times. We always get a bit of a rushing floor as well with Kyler Murray so that helps raise his floor in DFS.
   
4. Phil Rivers ($5,700) – Rivers has been unreliable all season long but this is a spot Rivers can get right. Rivers will have a healthy, full-staff of talented pass-catchers that will be able to consistently beat this Oakland secondary. At $5,700, I love Rivers’ chances at hitting 3x value (if not more) at home, against the 31st ranked defense in pass DVOA.
   
5. Will Grier ($4,300) – Gross… but Grier is only $4,300 and should have no issues hitting 3x value, I hope. He offers the world in salary relief and truthfully, is likely to me my main cash game QB.

NFL DFS Cash Games Running Backs

1. Christian McCaffrey ($10,100) – Do we need to say anything about Christian McCaffrey? The floor is as high as anyone in the game right now.
   
2. Chris Carson ($8,500) – Last week’s lock at the running back position is probably going to be locked into my cash game lineups again in Week 16. I mentioned earlier that the Seahawks are a double-digit home favorite, which sets up nicely for Carson who’s coming off of a 25-touch outing in Carolina.
   
   In addition, Arizona has given up a total of 378 rushing yards to opposing running backs with an average of 4.85 yards per carry over their last three games. This should be a Carson smash week!
   
3. Saquon Barkley ($8,300) – If for some reason you don’t want to play Carson, Barkley is certainly in play as one of your top tier running back options. Barkley is coming off of his best game of the season and should continue to put up significant fantasy points as this 2019 season comes to a close.
   
   Washington’s defense is an absolute mess right now and just gave up a career day to Miles Sanders… Barkley should be in line for an easy 18+ DraftKings points.
   
4. Joe Mixon ($6,600) – Mixon is on fire. Miami’s defense is awful and currently rank 29th in run DVOA. Keep things simple here and lock in Joe Mixon and watch him rush for 115+ yards for the third straight week. He is by far my highest value at the running back position when baking in projections and price. Strong rumors of having the flu.
   
5. Devonta Freeman ($6,000) – Enter value running back number two, Devonta Freeman. We’ve been attacking this Jacksonville run defense (31st in run DVOA) all season long and will continue to do so in Week 16 with Freeman. I have Freeman projected for 93 yards, one touchdown, and four catches which puts him right around 3.2x value.
   
6. Melvin Gordon ($5,600) – I know Gordon was in the dog house a bit last week in the blowout against Minnesota, but this price is simply too cheap for a dual-threat running back with significant touchdown equity. Oakland’s run defense was their strength for most of the year but they’ve now crept down to 26th in run DVOA.
   
   Assuming the Chargers have no issues moving the ball through the air, Gordon should fine himself with plenty of red-zone work and get in the box at least once.
   
7. Dion Lewis ($4,300) – Free square with Henry ruled out.
   
8. DeAndre Washington ($4,000) – Josh Jacobs is probably done for the season. Washington is your free-square play of the week. I am 90% sure I’ll full fade him in GPPs, but he’s a lock for cash games.

Wide Receivers

1. Michael Thomas ($9,300) – Tennessee’s secondary is banged up and are no match for Michael Thomas regardless of health. We all are aware of Michael Thomas’ quest for the NFL single-season receptions record (he needs just 13 catches from tying the record). Thomas is going to be fed, which is nothing new. He has the highest floor at the wide receiver position.
   
2. Julio Jones ($8,000) – You probably can’t afford Julio Jones and Michael Thomas in the same NFL DFS Cash Games lineup unless you pay down at all three running back spots (which is entirely possible). Jones is at home, in a great match-up against Jacksonville corners’ Tre Herndon and A.J. Bouye.
   
3. Tyler Lockett ($7,600) – Not a big fan of this price, but Lockett is back to 100% health and checks our box of being a slot receiver against the Cardinals. If you’re going to pay up for two receivers and can’t afford Julio Jones, Lockett is in-play, but probably best left for GPPs with a Seahawks’ stack.
   
4. Amari Cooper ($6,700) – Amari Cooper seeing Ronald Darby for most of the day on Sunday has me licking my chops. Truthfully, I don’t even know what that phrase means, but whatever it implies is exactly how I feel about Amari Cooper this week. Terry McLaurin and Darius Slayton just destroyed this Philadelphia secondary in back-to-back weeks (mainly Ronald Darby)… Cooper is going to go off.
   
5. Keenan Allen ($6,300) – He’s too cheap. Keenan Allen is going to be matched up with LaMarcus Joyner in the slot for Oakland and that is a match-up Allen should feast in. He may not have the slate-breaking ability his counterpart, Mike Williams has, but Allen has one of the highest receiver floors in all PPR formats.
   
   If you can’t afford Keenan Allen, use Mike Williams ($5,000). He is in just as good of a spot as Allen and is always one play away from hitting value.
   
6. Tyler Boyd ($5,800) – Boyd highlights our weekly “pick on Jomal Wiltz” match-up. Boyd makes perfect sense at this price and offers a high-floor in GPPs as well. Boyd is one of my top plays on a points-per-dollar basis this week. Enjoy the fireworks.
   
7. Diontae Johnson ($4,700) – We have to find some value at the wide receiver position and Johnson offers that. He’s clearly been Duck Hodges’ preferred target in the Pittsburgh offense and should have no problems hitting value against the Jets’ secondary.
   
8. Tim Patrick ($3,700) – Patrick is more of a GPP play, but if for some reason you need a punt-play for salary relief, I’d prefer to use Patrick at home against the Lions’ secondary. Darius Slay didn’t shadow last week as Chris Godwin mainly plays inside, but I’m confident Slay will follow around Courtland Sutton for most of the day allowing Tim Patrick to have his way with Rashaan Melvin and Justin Coleman.

Tight Ends

1. Zach Ertz ($6,400) – It’s Zach Ertz, use him if you can afford it.
   
2. Austin Hooper ($4,400) – Hooper has been quiet since he returned from injury to the Falcons’ offense but he’s had two very tough match-ups against Carolina and San Francisco. Jacksonville has given up over 15 points to opposing tight ends over the last month and should offer Hooper a lot of opportunities to get back to where he was earlier in the season when he was priced up over $6k.
   
3. Mike Gesicki ($3,600) – Gesicki is probably going to be the tight end I roll out in my personal NFL DFS Cash Games lineup. His price is incredibly cheap and he should have no problems putting up 10+ points against the Bengals. The targets have been there on a weekly basis for Gesicki ever since Preston Williams went down with injury. He’s a great play this week in terms of salary relief.

Defense/Special Teams

1. Baltimore Ravens ($4,000)
2. Pittsburgh Steelers ($3,900)
3. Denver Broncos ($3,500)
4. Indianapolis Colts ($3,300)
5. Washington Redskins ($2,800)
6. Dallas Cowboys ($2,600)

NFL DFS Cash Games Sample Lineup

QB: Russell Wilson
RB: Dion Lewis
RB: Devonta Freeman
WR: Keenan Allen
WR: Michaels Thomas
WR: Tyler Boyd
TE: Austin Hooper
FLEX: DeAndre Washington
DST: Washington Redskins