NFL DFS: Stix Picks Week 11 Cash Game Checkdown

Another great week for Week 10 NFL DFS Cash Games. Let’s get right back at it for a solid showing yet again in Week 11, which is shaping up to be a really nice slate without a lot of headache decisions. A slate without Wilson, Kyler, and Mahomes should make your roster builds much less of a headache.

The purpose of this article is to identify my top plays for a NFL DFS cash game lineup on DraftKings and FanDuel Sunday Main Slates (also known as a double-up). Players in this article are usually a mix of the following:

• High-floor/high-volume “safer” players (players with a very low bust-rate)
• VALUE PLAYS
• Not a part of a stack – Stacking is great for GPPs, but if you stack in cash games, your lineup is entirely too dependent on said stacked team. If that team does poorly, your whole lineup does… Not a risk we need to take in a cash game. QB/WR pairing is fine, but unless there’s extreme value in a 3-man stack, let’s keep it to QB/WR or QB/TE at most.
• Extremely chalky for the week… in GPP’s I’ll usually always fade volatile players at > 40% ownership, but in cash games, it’s usually best to eat the chalk. If that player underperforms, it does not hinder your ability to cross the pay-line as 40% or more of the field is in the same boat. If you fade this player(s) and he has a great game, your lineup is likely toast… as you’re now behind 40% or more of the field. Make sense? If not, hit me up on Discord/Twitter to discuss further.

In my opinion, cash games are extremely important for long-term bankroll building and sustainability. I’ll consistently use at least 50% of my weekly bankroll towards cash games. It’s not sexy, but it works and allows me to take big shots in high dollar GPPs.

Long story short, if we hit our cash games each week, the worst we can do is break-even (not counting your GPP shots with the remaining 50% of your weekly bankroll). The weeks you hit both, you smash. The weeks you miss your GPPs, your cash game lineup will carry you. It’s my job to ensure you always hit those cash games.

If you haven’t yet, I would strongly advise giving my NFL DFS Strategy article I published this offseason before diving into the 2020 NFL DFS season. If you have any questions or would like some further help when building your lineups, please do not hesitate to reach out to me directly on Twitter. Without further ado, let’s do this thing!

*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 11, please see below for my notes on roster construction:

• ON FANDUEL: LOCK in Taysom Hill at Tight End. It’s embarrassing that they haven’t changed his position, but take advantage of that freesquare. If you don’t play him in FanDuel cash lineups, retire from DFS, yesterday.
• I’m narrowing down the player pool a lot this week. I see a ton of different cash lineups in the discord with way too may different players in the builds. With this article, we should all be honed in on educated plays and smash this slate.
• CHALK REPORT: Taysom Hill, Dalvin Cook, Duke Johnson, Giovani Bernard, Jakobi Meyers, Keenan Allen, and Mark Andrews all project to be incredibly high in ownership. I think we’ll likely want to lock in at least two or three of them in our cash games.
• Just because a player is not mentioned in this article, does not mean they are not cash viable.
• AETY Model Projections change throughout the week, please ensure you check out our final projections before lock!
• I update this article periodically through the week. Be sure to check back on Saturday night / Sunday morning for any additions/revisions!!

NFL DFS Quarterbacks

1. Lamar Jackson ($7,300 DK / $8,400 FD) – On a slate with no Kyler Murray, Patrick Mahomes, and Russell Wilson. Lamar Jackson is clearly the top dog at the Quarterback position. Mike Vrabel will likely have a good game plan to slow down the quarterback that posted over 500 all-purpose yards against him in the playoffs last year, but this Tennessee defense is bad, so Vrabel doesn’t matter to me at all.
   
   In addition, this price-tag on Lamar Jackson is way too low for the upside he possesses. Great option for cash game and NFL DFS GPP builds this week.
   
2. Cam Newton ($6,200 DK / $7,600 FD) – Holy savings on DraftKings! Houston’s defense is absolutely atrocious rating 32nd against the run in DVOA and 22nd in pass defense DVOA. Cam should have a field day in both categories at a very affordable price.
   
3. Andy Dalton ($5,300 DK ONLY) – If you need the savings, you can’t really go wrong with using Andy Dalton as your DraftKings quarterback. This game has sneaky shootout potential and this price is fantastic.
   
   Honorable Mention: Taysom Hill (DK), Justin Herbert, DeShaun Watson, Matt Ryan

Running Backs

1. Dalvin Cook ($9,000 DK / $10,500 FD) – Expensive as hell, but if you can afford him, you play him.
   
2. Alvin Kamara ($9,200 DK / $9,700) – Kamara is much more appealing this week on FanDuel but similar to Cook, if you can afford him, you play him in cash.
   
   I don’t think it’s 100% necessary to use one or the other in cash, but it’s clearly doable with all of the savings around both sites this weekend.
   
3. Miles Sanders ($6,900 DK / $7,700 FD) – Way too cheap for one of the few running backs in the NFL that is not in a timeshare. Cleveland’s run defense is extremely banged up and have been getting worse at defending the run on a weekly basis. With a close spread and an upper-40s point total, this should set up nicely for a very busy Miles Sanders day.
   
4. Kalen Ballage ($5,600 DK / $5,800 FD) – If you need to go dumpster diving, it seems like the whole field is going to Kalen Ballage against the Jets. With Ekeler and Justin Jackson both injured, Ballage is clearly the number one running back (played over 70% of the snaps last week) and should be considered for salary relief in your cash game builds.
   
5. Kerryon Johnson ($4,000 DK / $4,800 FD) – D’Andre Swift is out, so it’s wheels up to Adrian Peterson and the forgotten Kerryon Johnson. It’s disgusting, but as you saw last week with Mike Davis, you can cash a cash game lineup with 7-8 points out of your running back punt play.
   
   Honorable Mention: Duke Johnson, Ezekiel Elliott, Giovani Bernard, Mike Davis, Antonio Gibson

Wide Receivers

1. Davante Adams ($8,600 DK / $9,500 FD) – Adams is matchup proof and offers the highest floor on this slate against Indianapolis’ Xavier Rhodes and Rock Ya-Sin.
   
2. Calvin Ridley ($7,000 DK / $7,800 FD) – You’re going to want exposure to this Atlanta/New Orleans shootout and no better way to do so on the Atlanta side with Calvin Ridley coming back at 100% health. Julio Jones is absolutely in play here, but I’ll take the savings with Ridley and a great matchup against Marshon Lattimore and Janoris Jenkins.
   
3. Keenan Allen ($7,400 DK / $8,000 FD) – Keenan Allen will likely always make the cash article on a weekly basis. Hard to avoid this target share and consistent double-digit floor. Pair all of that with a matchup against the Jets’ dead last ranked pass defense and you’ll do just fine in a cash build.
   
4. Amari Cooper ($5,400 DK / $6,900 FD) – Absolute freesquare on DraftKings against this Vikings’ secondary we pick on weekly. No need to over think this one, this is a great buy-low spot for Amari Cooper (and any Cowboy receiver for that matter) with Andy Dalton coming back under center.
   
5. Diontae Johnson ($5,900 / $6,400 FD) – This dude is incredible. When he’s on the field, he collects damn-near a 30% target share. Big Ben loves throwing him the football and for good reason… he produces! Diontae Johnson against the 2nd worst secondary in the NFL is a perfect recipe for NFL DFS cash game success.
   
6. Jakobi Meyers ($4,900 DK / $6,000 FD) – On DraftKings, I think rolling out Jakobi Meyers is a lock-button for me. Meyers is still well below what his price should be and he’s built a strong chemistry with Cam Newton over the past month while racking up 37 targets in his last four games.
   
   Honorable Mention: Terry McLaurin, Justin Jefferson, Tyler Boyd, Marvin Jones, Jarvis Landry, CeeDee Lamb, Denzel Mims

Tight Ends

Tight end seems like an absolute wasteland this week with no Travis Kelce or Darren Waller. I don’t have a great read on where I’m going yet (on DraftKings, because remember, you’re using Taysom Hill on FanDuel), but here are my top options on the slate.

1. Mark Andrews ($4,900 DK)
2. Dallas Goedert ($3,800 DK)
3. Logan Thomas ($3,300 DK)

Defense / Special Teams

I’ll rarely write about defense and special teams in the Cash Game Checkdown. I believe it’s much more important to lock in your key skill position players and hopefully a solid defense fits your build for NFL DFS cash games. Prices considered, here’s who I’ll take a look at:

1. Los Angeles Chargers
2. Baltimore Ravens
3. Washington Football Team
4. Denver Broncos
5. Atlanta Falcons

NFL DFS Cash Game Sample Lineup

QB: Lamar Jackson
RB: Kerryon Johnson
RB: Miles Sanders
WR: Diontae Johnson
WR: Jakobi Meyers
WR: Amari Cooper
TE: Logan Thomas
FLEX: Dalvin Cook
DST: Washington