Jared Contestabile 
Thursday night brings us a battle of underachieving teams. The Ravens come into this one at 4-3, having blown three double-digit leads, and nearly doing it again two more times. Tampa Bay is coming off the most embarrassing loss in the NFL this season, being dominated by the worst team in the NFL. This one is currently a 1-point spread for Baltimore with a total around 45 points. Let’s find some angles to cash in on TNF!
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.
Captain/MVP Plays
Lamar Jackson, Ravens ($17,700 DraftKings, $17,500 FanDuel)
Lamar is an easy guy to root for, even as a fan of a division rival. Jackson is much maligned in many circle. This game has nothing to do with contracts, playoff wins, or anything in-between. He is the most talented player that will be on the field on Thursday Night, and his upside is second to none.
Lamar has struggled in a massive way over the last few weeks. He has just 15.06, 15.76, 18.1, and 10.7 DraftKings points in those contests. The Ravens had plenty of opportunities to take a stranglehold on the AFC North after a slow start by Cincinnati. This is the perfect time to get right against a Tampa Bay team that is struggling in all facets of the game. Lamar is expensive, but his ownership may be lower tonight than it rightfully should be.
Mike Evans, Buccaneers ($16,500 DraftKings, $14,000 FanDuel)
Be sure to check Evans’ status before locking him in here, as he missed practice early this week. That said, the Bucs’ offense has been a trainwreck in 2022. Evans has still found a way to be productive, and his 15 targets last week led the NFL.
Baltimore has improved a bit against opposing WR in the last few weeks. Regardless, they are still 26th in the NFL, allowing nearly 39 fantasy points per game. As I always say, volume is king, and (assuming health) Evans is still the top target in this offense. If we hear he is a full go for this one, I’ll be all aboard the Evans train in a plus matchup. The Ravens secondary is one of the most overrated in the NFL. Argue with your momma.
Mark Andrews, Ravens ($13,800 DraftKings, $13,500 FanDuel)
Coming off the worst performance of his career (you can’t get much worse than ZERO), Andrews will be needed more than ever this week. He still saw 88% of the snaps, and will continue to be on the field more often than not. Mark still saw two targets, and is averaging 8.4 targets per contest in 2022.
As usual, the Ravens seem allergic to signing or drafting decent WR. Andrews will again be the focal point of the offense outside of Jackson in this one. Tampa is 22nd in the NFL in fantasy points allowed to opposing TE. I’d be willing to wager he won’t post another dud in this one. Both teams NEED this win, and Andrews should see double-digit targets in this one if Baltimore wants to win.
FLEX/AnyFLEX Plays
Cade Otton, Buccaneers ($5,000 DraftKings, $8,000 FanDuel)
Cameron Brate is OUT for this one yet again, and if we are being honest, Otton has been much better anyway. He is coming off a solid game last week, posting a 4-64 line. Tampa still throws the ball more than any team in the NFL at over 67%, so I’m all aboard the pass-catchers in this one. Otton seems far too cheap for someone who should see 4-6 targets in this one.
Gus Edwards, Ravens ($7,600 DraftKings, $12,000 FanDuel)
Despite playing just 37% of the snaps in Week 7, Edwards was a revelation for the Ravens. He posted a 16-66-2 line in his first action of the season. As always, on a short week, be sure to check on injury news prior to locking him into your lineups. He was a limited participant on Tuesday. That said, the Bucs just allowed both Chuba Hubbard AND D’Onta Foreman to run all over them in Week 7. Gus is easily the best option in this backfield if he is healthy. He is priced up a bit on FD, but if he is a full-go, I’ll have a decent amount of exposure here.
Tom Brady, Buccanneers ($10,000 DraftKings, $15,000 FanDuel)
Fresh off Antonio Brown calling him “Tampon Brady” and “Tom Booty” on Twitter, Brady decided to play like a combination of the two. He was abysmal against the worst team in the NFL, failing to find the end zone a single time in a blowout loss. As a Bengals fan, I remember Brady having his consecutive game touchdown streak broken in Cincinnati. Maybe he can start a new one here against the Ravens.
Regardless of his struggles, Brady still threw the ball FORTY-NINE times against the Panthers. Volume remains king, even if Brady is no longer the king of the NFL. You will need some Brady shares in this one, you can scream at the offensive line with him if it doesn’t pan out.
Other Options
Chris Godwin still saw 13 targets against the Panthers, even though he did a whole lot of nothing with it yet again. He has 12.9 DraftKings points or less in all but one game this season (his high was 15.5, so don’t get too excited). He has a solid floor, I just don’t personally see a ton of upside here, despite the decent matchup.
Leonard Fournette had a very forgettable game along with the rest of the team in Week 7. He posted just 4.6 DraftKings points. He saw his lowest snap count of the season (60%) but should be more heavily involved again this week.
If you’re looking for a Ravens WR you can trust, you are wasting your time. Ravens fans will talk your ear off about Rashod Bateman…but he hasn’t topped 8.2 DraftKings points in any of his last three games. Devin Duvernay is also in play, but again, I’m not excited about any of these WR. John Harbaugh and company seem content being second-tier offensively.
In case you thought I forgot, the Ravens most consistent player also has the best name. Justin Tucker is always a candidate to be the highest scorer on a team that is inconsistent on offense. You may just want to lock him in your lineups.
Rachaad White has one of the most difficult first names to spell in the NFL. He has carved out a role in this Bucs’ offense. He saw his highest snap count of the season last week at 43%. White also has four or more targets in three of his last four games. Don’t be surprised to see him get more run in this one. He is dirt-cheap with upside.
If you’re looking for a very cheap play, Breshad Perriman should see some action this week with Russell Gage OUT. Julio Jones and Mike Evans are potentially banged up. He is only $1,200 DraftKings.
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.
Good luck on Thursday Night! Make sure to follow me on Twitter if you aren’t already, and let’s meet at the top of the leaderboards!
