DFSGhost 
This is an NFL week like no other, with numerous players being ruled out due to injury and/or being placed in COVID protocols. However, we’re ready to roll once again and the player pool is condensed with limited exposure to a few games on the slate. To quote the great Michael Rasile, “It’s a great day to be alive!” and just like contending teams, we’re heating up at the right time of the season.
Before diving into our GPP plays of the week, please be sure to read the Week 15 Cash Game Checkdown and Stix’s NFL DFS Strategy article. Some cash plays may be mentioned below, but all remain in play for tournaments as well, so feel free to overlap the player pools in the contest of your choice.
NFL games to target:
- DAL @ NYG
- GB @ BAL
- HOU @ JAC
- TEN @ PIT
Quarterbacks
Aaron Rodgers ($7,500 DK / $7,600 FD)
If Lamar Jackson plays for the Ravens this week, I’m all aboard this Packers aerial attack on the flipside in a back-and-forth shootout. The Ravens may be decimated on defense, but there’s no shortage of playmakers for Lamar and company to keep pace in this one as the largest underdog they’ve been in over five years. Ranking 26th DVOA against the pass, I’m expecting a banged up Aaron Jones will keep a light workload on the ground as he gears up for the NFL Playoffs, leaving Rodgers and Adams to get this one done on the road.
- Projected rostership: 3%
- Key pairing(s): Davante Adams, Allen Lazard
- Key run-back options (if applicable): Mark Andrews, Marquise Brown, Devonta Freeman
Trevor Lawrence ($5,100 DK / $6,500 FD)
With a chalk James Robinson this week, we don’t have to venture to another play at his position for possible pivots, rather, we can simply turn to the Jaguars passing offense. Vegas has since moved this line two points in the favor of the Jaguars, and while I’ll have plenty of Robinson despite the overwhelming rostership, Trevor “Sunshine” Lawrence is in a tremendous get-right spot following the dismissal of Urban Meyer. As much as this could be a revival of Robinson in the back field, this game is just as, if not more important for the Jaguars to get their franchise quarterback in good spirits following a rough debut campaign. He is near the bottom of the NFL in nearly every statistical category for qualified QBs, but Lawrence can certainly torch this atrocious Texans secondary, just as he did in his first career start, where he threw for 332 yards and three touchdowns.
- Projected rostership: 4%
- Key pairing(s): Marvin Jones, Laquon Treadwell, Laviska Shenault, James O’Shaughnessy
- Key run-back options (if applicable): Brandin Cooks, Nico Collins
Cash Game Checkdown GPP Targets:
- Dak Prescott ($6,500 DK / $7,500 FD)
Running Backs
Devonta Freeman ($5,500 DK / $5,900 FD)
Given his workload as the clear #1 options in this Ravens backfield, I was surprised to see that Freeman’s price on both sites has simply not moved on a weekly basis. Logging double-digit carries in every game since the Ravens’ Week 8 bye, Freeman also has 27 targets in those same six games, including a combined 13 in the last two weeks. With the Packers ranking 24th DVOA in the NFL against the rush, Freeman’s touchdown equity gives him a great chance at a ceiling game in a potential shootout.
- Projected rostership: 6%
- Key Pairing(s): none
- Key run-back options (if applicable): Packers stack listed above
Cash Game Checkdown GPP Targets:
- Saquon Barkley ($6,500 DK / $7,300 FD)
- James Robinson ($5,400 DK / $6,300 FD)
Wide Receivers
Amari Cooper ($6,400 DK / $7,000 FD) & CeeDee Lamb ($7,400 DK / $7,400 FD)
I’m all in on the Cowboys’ and Packers’ aerial attacks this week, and there is arguably no better WR combination to pair with a quarterback on a point per dollar basis than the Cowboys duo. With Cooper drawing James Bradberry, who has allowed 10.8 fantasy points per game and 1.90 fantasy points per target, and CeeDee Lamb drawing Logan Ryan, who has allowed a ridiculous 115.6 passer rating when being targeted and 1.94 fantasy points per target, the Cowboys are set to blow this NFL slate wide open through the air.
- Projected rostership: 8% each
- Key pairing(s): Dak Prescott
- Key run-back options (if applicable): Saquon Barkley
AJ Green ($4,900 DK / $5,700 FD)
With the majority of the field flocking to Christian Kirk in the absence of Deandre Hopkins, we can pivot to AJ Green in tournaments whether you’re rostering Kyler Murray or not. Neither wideout has a safe floor, but AJ Green did generate 10 targets last week and is now up to a 17.3% target share on the season. While the combination of Kirk and Rondale Moore offer more flash and big play ability, it’s Green that will be counted on in 3rd down situations and in the red zone, making him intriguing at half the rostership of Kirk.
- Projected rostership: 8%
- Key pairing(s): Kyler Murray
- Key run-back options (if applicable): none
Cash Game Checkdown GPP Targets:
- Davante Adams ($8,900 DK / $8,500 FD)
- Christian Kirk ($5,300 DK / $6,000 FD)
Tight Ends
I had originally written up Dallas Godeart and Tyler Higbee as my GPP tight ends for this week’s NFL slate, but both the SEA @ LAR and WAS @ PHI games have been postponed. I’ll likely be sticking to the targets I listed below, where analysis can be found in the Cash Game Checkdown article.
Cash Game Checkdown GPP Targets:
- George Kittle ($7,500 DK / $7,800 FD)
- Mike Gesicki ($5,000 DK / $6,200 FD)
- Pat Freiermuth ($4,500 DK / $5,300 FD)
You can find me on Twitter @DFS_Ghost
