NFL DFS Cash Games – Week Five Checkdown (DraftKings)

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Week Four was another great week for NFL DFS Cash Games at Win Daily Sports. Feel free to review last week’s Checkdown to see what players we were high on, including the top scoring Running Back, Nick Chubb… at extremely low ownership! Let’s get right back to it for the Week Five Checkdown for your NFL DFS Cash 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.

I wanted to start something new this week to quickly point out 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 Five, please see below for my notes on roster construction:

• I don’t anticipate there being any crazy chalky players that you have to roster in cash games this week. It’s a rather wide open slate.
• Standard to what I’ve been doing the past couple of weeks, I will be paying down at the quarterback position in Week Five.
• There is not a whole lot of “value” or “punt” plays at the running back spot like there have been in weeks prior. You’re going to need a top-tier running back (or two) in Week Five NFL DFS Cash Games.
• Tons of great plays at the wide receiver position – I don’t think you have to focus on any one player here when building your cash lineups.

NFL DFS Cash Games Quarterbacks

1. Lamar Jackson ($7,100) – At first glance, I had no interest in including Lamar Jackson into this article due to the fact this matchup against the Steelers has an alarmingly low total of ~42 points. To me, that calls for a slow-paced, run-focused gamescript for both teams that we would usually avoid.
   
   Lamar is the most expensive quarterback on the slate but he is also the only quarterback who is averaging 60+ rushing yards a game. Jackson always provides an excellent floor for DFS players.
   
2. Tom Brady ($6,500) – The way to beat the Washington Redskins is through the air. Brady should have a top-five fantasy performance in Week Five.
   
3. Kyler Murray ($6,300) – I’m not sure either defense can get a stop in the battle of the winless Bengals and Cardinals. Murray should be in line for his biggest fantasy performance to date in what is by far the softest matchup of his young career.
   
4. Andy Dalton ($5,700) – We will continue to pick on the Arizona Cardinals’ defense. Dalton is at home, extremely affordable, and is averaging over 40 passing attempts per game in Zac Taylor’s offense. Dalton is my favorite quarterback play for NFL DFS Cash Games in Week Five.
   
5. Chase Daniel ($4,800) – Mitch Trubisky dislocated his shoulder in Week Four and will not play in London against the Raiders next Sunday. When Daniel entered the game, he looked very in tune with this offense and may have even looked better than Trubisky this season so far. Against the Raiders, I have no problem if you want to use Daniel with this minimal price tag.

NFL DFS Cash Games Running Backs

1. Christian McCaffrey ($8,800) – Christian McCaffrey is always cash game viable. On paper, this is his hardest matchup of the year, but he appears to be matchup proof.
   
2. Dalvin Cook ($8,400) – His usage his beyond belief. No need to talk a lot about Dalvin Cook, he should be the Vikings’ top option on offense against a weak Giants’ team.
   
3. Ezekiel Elliott ($8,300) – Elliott is probably going to be the highest owned running back on the slate and for good reason. Green Bay continues to get carved up by opposing running backs and this week they face the best one in the NFL. Keep in mind, Tyron Smith will miss this game, so Elliott’s production is likely going to take a bit of a hit.
   
4. David Johnson ($7,500) – David Johnson’s usage in the passing game continues to increase each week (11 targets in Week Four and 99 yards receiving) and the Cincinatti Bengals are allowing the 3rd most receptions per game to opposing running backs. At this point, David Johnson is a fantasy wide receiver who also gets carries in the red-zone. He is a very valuable fantasy asset in PPR formats like DraftKings.
   
5. Le’Veon Bell ($6,800) – Do the Jets have any other offensive weapons? The Philadelphia run defense has been very respectable but with the lack of other playmakers in New York, Le’Veon Bell should be a lock for 25+ touches in Week Five. At the price, I’m quite interested in Le’Veon Bell for cash games.
   
6. Joe Mixon ($6,100) – Excellent price. Excellent matchup. I love picking on all aspects of the Arizona Cardinals’ defense. I know on DraftKings you’ll see the scary red font showing “OPRK 8th“, but this is 100% a matchup DFS players should take advantage of. Arizona simply cannot stop the run.
   
   My early projections are finally calling for a 20-touch game by Joe Mixon – he will feast against a defense that has given up 268 rushing yards and two scores to opposing running backs over the past two weeks.
   
7. Aaron Jones ($5,900) – Dallas has been tough against the run but they are allowing an average of over six receptions per game to opposing running backs. Assuming Jamaal Williams misses this game (due to injury in Week Four), Aaron Jones is in line for a heavy workload both running and receiving. He’s a nice value play that I don’t think many DFS players will be on this week.
   
8. Chris Thompson ($4,600) – Chris Thompson has gotten to double digit DraftKings points in every game this season and he has yet to find the end-zone. We don’t have to go crazy with any analysis of Chris Thompson here. Washington is going to be at least a 15-point underdog in Week Five against New England. The Redskins will be playing from behind for the majority (if not all) of this game and that will lead to a 60%+ offensive snap count for Thompson. He looks to be the only true “pay-down” spot at the running back position for Week Five NFL DFS Cash Games.

Wide Receivers

1. DeAndre Hopkins ($7,800) – Hopkins is absolutely due for a blowup performance as he hasn’t topped 70 receiving yards since Week One. Vegas is showing a total of 49 points for this matchup against the Falcons – which is currently the highest on the board. Houston is at home and has to right the ship here against a beat-up Atlanta secondary that was just destroyed at home by Marcus Mariota and the Tennessee Titans. Hopkins will get back to form in Week Five.
   
2. Chris Godwin ($6,900) – I’m not even going to touch on the career day Godwin just had against the Rams. Godwin will see Saints’ Cornerback, P.J. Williams for most of the day on Sunday and that is all you need to know. His price is high, but his matchup against Williams is ELITE.
   
3. Adam Thielen ($6,700) – May have the best matchup in the write-up against a putrid Giants’ secondary. He will see a lot of DeAndre Baker (who may be the worst corner in the NFL), but I’d rather see Thielen go back to the slot more often (where he has done the most damage throughout his career). Regardless, this is a great spot for Thielen.
   
4. Michael Thomas ($6,600) – Chris Godwin is more expensive than Michael Thomas? If you would have told me that at any time this year Godwin’s price would be higher than Thomas’, I would say that you lost your mind – Yet, here we are. With or without Drew Brees, Thomas continues to provide a high floor for DFS players and everyone is destroying the Tampa Bay secondary, so play Thomas with confidence.
   
5. Tyler Boyd ($6,500) – If we love Andy Dalton this week, we obviously love his top option in the passing game who is seeing 10+ targets on a weekly basis. Boyd should have his way with this Arizona secondary.
   
6. Allen Robinson ($5,600) – When re-watching the Bears Week Four game against the Vikings, it was clear to me that Chase Daniel trusts Allen Robinson over any other pass catcher on the team. Daniel seemed to have tunnel vision towards Allen Robinson on 75% of the routes he ran and was his first read anytime Daniel and the Bears needed to move the ball via the pass.
   
   Robinson and Daniel should have a lot of fun together in London against a Raiders’ secondary who really struggles against top-tier wide receivers like Allen Robinson.
   
7. Courtland Sutton ($4,900) – Sutton is one of my favorite wide receivers in the NFL. He is quietly putting together a helluva season and should continue to make plays in Week Five, despite having an inept quarterback like Joe Flacco. Sutton is responsible for over a 20% target share in the Broncos’ passing attack and leads the team in air yards by a significant margin.
   
   Courtland Sutton is an excellent route runner, he catches everything, and he happens to be leading the NFL in passing yards per attempt in their last three games (since Drew Brees got injured). If you have to save salary to roster more top-tier players elsewhere, I don’t think Ginn will kill your chances at crossing the pay-line, but I’d advise you to just stick with Sanu for your low-priced wideout in NFL DFS Cash Games.

Tight Ends

1. Zach Ertz ($6,000) – He is the only tight end on the slate that is guaranteed to see 10+ targets and his price is affordable if you use some of the value options mentioned above.
   
2. Evan Engram ($5,800) – I know that most of his production is inflated by that long touchdown he had in Week Three at Tampa Bay, but Evan Engram is the best receiving option Daniel Jones has to throw to. For some reason, I think the Vikings get back on track this week and put up points at will against this Giants’ so-called defense (although I’m not confident enough to include any Vikings pass catchers in this write-up, but having said that, Diggs and Thielen are definitely in play for me this week).
   
   If the Vikings get back into form, the Giants will be chasing points early and Gallman will get shut down. If that happens, the Giants will have to rely on Evan Engram to anchor this passing attack.
   
3. Darren Waller ($5,000) – Incredible price for the best receiver on the Raiders’ offense (sorry to those who love Tyrell Williams). It looks like the floor of 10+ points will be there week in, week out for Waller. Continue to put Waller in your DFS lineups with confidence. This is not an ideal matchup for Waller, but the price warrants him to be considered in cash builds.
   
4. Mark Andrews ($4,800) – I mentioned earlier my concerns with the anticipated gamescript for this Ravens @ Steelers game, but my Mark Andrews faith is still in tact. Lamar Jackson loves throwing his way in the red-zone and I love Andrews’ chances of getting in the end-zone yet again in Week Five.
   
   Andrews has never played more than 55% of the offensive snaps for Baltimore, but when he is out there, he is running routes. Andrews is currently leading the Ravens is targets so we do not need to panic on the lack of snaps.
   
5. Austin Hooper ($4,500) – No one is talking about Hooper, but we have to start considering him in DFS. Offensive Coordinator, Dirk Koetter made in known prior to this season that he loves to get his tight ends involved, and that is certainly playing true so far in 2019. Hooper is coming off of two monster performances but faces a Houston defense that has been extremely stingy to opposing tight ends.
   
6. O.J. Howard ($3,900) – If you choose to punt at the tight end position, Howard would be my only recommendation, but I don’t advise it.

Defense/Special Teams

1. New England Patriots ($4,300)
2. Chicago Bears ($3,800)
3. Minnesota Vikings ($3,200)
4. Tennessee Titans ($3,000)
5. Los Angeles Chargers ($2,700)
6. Carolina Panthers ($2,500)

NFL DFS Cash Games – Sample Lineup

QB: Chase Daniel
RB: Ezekiel Elliott
RB: Le’Veon Bell
WR: Chris Godwin
WR: Michael Thomas
WR: Mohamed Sanu
TE: Mark Andrews
FLEX: Chris Thompson
DST: Tennessee Titans