Justin Elick 
Another week of football, another prime-time game for Russell Wilson and the Broncos. Let’s hope the Chargers can score some points, because Wilson seems incapable of finding the end zone. The Chargers are favored by 4.5 points in this one with a total hovering around 46. Let’s find ourselves some value and upside to cash in on Monday Night Football.
DraftKings and FanDuel each have a slightly different setup for Showdown slates, with DraftKings using a “Captain” spot. Captain earns you 1.5X points, BUT also costs you 1.5X in salary. FanDuel uses an “MVP”, which is ALSO 1.5X points, but salaries are the same, regardless of position. DraftKings uses 5 FLEX spots, and FanDuel uses 4 “AnyFLEX” spots to fill out your roster.
Make sure to join our Discord to jump into our conversations with the team and share your successes (I am “Myrtle Beach Mermen”, if you understand the reference, we will get along right away! We have a TON of great tools for you to check out, make sure you’re taking advantage! You can find projections here and try out the optimizer here.
Captain/MVP Plays
Austin Ekeler, Chargers ($17,100 DraftKings, $15,500 FanDuel)
Ekeler is coming off back-to-back monster performances, and is in a solid spot once again. He is still seeing just under 60% of snaps on a weekly basis, but his usage has been elite. Last week, he totaled 199 scrimmage yards and a pair of touchdowns on 20 opportunities. That was on the heels of a 109-yard, three-score game on 19 touches.
Denver has actually been decent against opposing RB, ranking 10th in fantasy points allowed. That said, Ekeler should be in line to see around 20 touches again, and has averaged over seven targets per game over the last four weeks. He has one of the highest floors of any player in this game, and his ceiling is massive. With Keenan Allen once again doubtful to play, he will continue to be the focal point of the offense. He will be popular, but you’re going to want exposure here.
Courtland Sutton, Broncos ($12,600 DraftKings, $13,000 FanDuel)
In DFS, volume is king, and Sutton continues to see a ton of looks from Russell Wilson. In fact, Wilson continues to throw to Sutton even when he is blanketed and other WR are WIDE OPEN. That matters little here, and I will continue to capitalize on Sutton’s opportunities.
The Chargers rank 23rd in fantasy points allowed to opposing WR, and Denver will need every bit of help they can get on offense. Sutton averages over nine targets per game, and I’m expecting Wilson to continue to look his way Monday Night.
Mike Boone, Broncos ($7,200 DraftKings, $7,500 FanDuel)
Melvin Gordon has hardly practiced all week, and although it seems like he will play, Boone makes for a fantastic leverage play here. He had 85 total yards on 10 touches last week. Gordon did see 56% of the snaps, but Boone came in with a solid 41%. Either way, at Boone’s price, he may just be a lock for me.
The Chargers rank dead last in the NFL in fantasy points allowed to opposing RB. Gordon is a fine play in his own right, but I’ll take the discount with Boone, especially with Gordon being less than 100%.
FLEX/AnyFLEX Plays
Gerald Everett, Chargers ($5,600 DraftKings, $8,000 FanDuel)
Sure, Everett saw only three targets last week, but the Chargers didn’t need much from him. Austin Ekeler ran wild, and the passing game was secondary. Prior to last week, Everett had seen 22 targets over the previous three games. As I mentioned above, Keenan Allen is very unlikely to play again, so there will be more opportunities for Mr. Everett.
The Broncos have been solid against TE, but Everett is still averaging over 10 DraftKings points per game, even after last week’s disappointment. His price tag is ideal. Fire him up as a low-risk, medium-reward type of play.
Justin Herbert, Chargers ($11,000 DraftKings, $17,000 FanDuel)
Herbert has thrown for only four scores in his last three games, but volume should be here in this one. The Broncos aren’t the walk in the park against the run that the Browns were, so the Chargers will need him to step up. Pairing him with Mike Williams will lock in some big upside on MNF. Williams has been a monster the last two weeks, hauling in 17 of 24 targets for 254 yards. He hasn’t found the end zone in either game, but I’m willing to bet that changes on Monday Night. PLAY MIKE WILLIAMS!
Other Options
Jerry Jeudy is always a downfield threat, and I’m expecting the Chargers to put up some points in this one. Denver may just be playing from behind again, and Wilson will be looking his way often if that’s the case. I’m not excited about playing Russell Wilson at all…he is banged up and at his price tag, there are options I like more here. It also seems quite possible that he isn’t good at football anymore.
I’m certainly not expecting Joshua Kelley to see 12 touches again in this one, but his price tag is cheap. He could steal some touches, and you will be looking to differentiate where you can in this one.
Dustin Hopkins has returned, and Brandon McManus could be the stars star of the show if the Broncos continue to be terrible in prime time. Kickers are cheap, especially on DraftKings. Fill out your lineups with some legs on MNF.
A game-changer could be Latavius Murray…Gordon is banged up and I think there’s a much higher chance Murray steals goal-line work than Mike Boone. Then again, the Broncos need to GET to the goal line for that to happen. He is basically free on DraftKings.
Good luck on Monday Night! Make sure to follow me on Twitter if you aren’t already, and let’s meet at the top of the leaderboards!
