Sunday Night Showdown Strategy: Philadelphia Eagles vs Los Angeles Rams

Week 11 of the NFL season continues with a bang as the Eagles take on the Rams at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California. In this article, I’ll share my top DFS showdown picks and strategies for DraftKings and FanDuel, helping you build winning lineups.

For a deeper dive into general showdown rules, make sure to check out David Jones’s “Daily Fantasy Football Showdown: Strategy for Building Winning Lineups” article. It’s essential reading for anyone crafting MME lineups, as player salary and team dynamics can impact each game’s approach.

Link: https://windailysports.com/daily-fantasy-football-showdown-strategy/

Note on Quarterbacks:

I will not write up the quarterbacks because the wide receiver and tight end section tend to cover the matchups. The QB rankings are at the bottom of the article. 

Philadelphia Eagles

Running Back

• The Rams have given up 1008 rushing yards (15th Most in NFL)
• They have given up 344 receiving yards to running backs (16th Most)
• Giving up 21.6 DK to running backs (10th Fewest)

Don’t overthink the Eagles running back room. There is only one player I am locking in from this position and that is Saquon Barkley. The only reason not to use Barkley this week is if you are playing Hurts and expecting him to vulture all the rushing touchdowns via the tush push.

Between Barkley’s two backups, Kenneth Gainwell and Will Shipley, I would only use Gainwell. He has played 28% of the Eagles snaps over the past three games and has 98 total yards on 19 touches in that span. For his $3K price on DraftKings, he is worth a punt. As for Shipley, I am staying far away from him. In the past three weeks, he has a game with one snap and another with no snaps played. Unless Barkley or Gainwell get hurt or the game is a blowout in the 2nd half, he shouldn’t see an uptick in his workload.

Tier 1: Saquon Barkley

Tier 2: Kenneth Gainwell

FADE: Will Shipley

Wide Receiver

• The Rams have allowed 1484 yards to opposing wide receivers (16th Most).
• They are giving up 35.7 DK (11th Most).

With DeVonta Smith being ruled out for this game on Saturday, the main guy for the Eagles becomes AJ Brown. Brown is my favorite of the Philly wide receivers as he leads the team in Targets/Route run. He sees a target on 27.4% of his routes and now that Smith will not be available he should see a slight uptick on that number. He should see a lot of Cobie Durant on Sunday who is allowing a target to opposing wide receivers in 15% of the routes covered. Durant is also giving up .21 fantasy points per route which is near the higher end of points allowed which bodes well for Brown who is averaging .59 FP/RR. Brown will be my main Eagle wide receiver.

After Brown, the Eagles wide receiver room gets a bit rough. On paper, the number two receiver should be Jahan Dotson but over the past three weeks, he has four total targets which is only one above the likes of Ainias Smith. I have no issue if you want to play Dotson but I think for a Showdown slate I would rather take my shot with Johnny Wilson. On DraftKings, he is $2K cheaper at only $800 so he doesn’t need much to pay off this game. Also what I like about Wilson is his size, he has seen more plays in the red zone. With his big body, he can serve as a tight end option for Hurts when they get close to the end zone. 

Britain Covey and Smith are the other wide receivers for the Eagles. I don’t want much of either but like I mentioned above with Dotson, Smith has seen some targets the past three weeks so you can use him as a punt play in larger entries as a pivot off of Wilson. 

Tier 1: AJ Brown

Tier 2: Jahan Dotson, Johnny Wilson

Punts/Fades: Britain Covey, Ainias Smith

Tight End

• The Rams have given 623 receiving yards to tight ends (8th Most).
• They are giving up 14.6 DK (7th Most).

I love Dallas Goedert this week for Showdown especially with the Eagles being down Smith. Goedert is top three on the Eagles in receptions (31), targets (37), and yards (387). He also has a receiving touchdown this season. Being priced in the midrange of the slate at $6400 on DraftKings lets you fit him into lineups with Barkley and/or Brown. I am not too worried about him losing work to backup Grant Calcaterra. Thanks to Goedert missing a couple of weeks earlier in the season Calcaterra has more snaps than him, but in games with both active Goedert has 115 more snaps.

Tier 1: Dallas Goedert

Punt/Fade: Grant Calcaterra 

Los Angeles Rams

Running Back

• Philadelphia is giving up 18.5 DK per game (6th Fewest).
• They have allowed 843 rushing yards (8th Fewest).
• They have allowed 362 receiving yards (13th Most).

I’ll be honest, I am not the biggest fan of the Rams’ running back room against the Eagles for Showdown. The lead back for the Rams is Kyren Williams who has begun to struggle the past three weeks. He has failed to find the end zone over his last 82 carries with his last rushing touchdown coming halfway through the 3rd quarter against the Raiders in Week 7. I won’t fade Williams but I will not have as much of him as I normally would. The passing game of the Rams is what I’d rather focus on.

With how good the Eagles are against the run, I am not rostering Blake Corum unless I am maxing out a 150 where maybe you can get a handful of shares of him. He has had consistent touches the past few games but even at $2400 on DraftKings, I don’t see much value with him.

Tier 1: Kyren Williams

FADE/Punt: Blake Corum

Wide Receiver

• The Eagles have given up 1165 receiving yards to wide receivers (Fewest in NFL).
• They are giving up 28.1 DK to receivers (6th Fewest).

On paper, the Eagle’s defense has been one of the best against wide receivers, but luckily the games aren’t played on paper. The Rams have enough wide receiver threats that they should have some success against the Eagles. Let’s start with the hottest Rams wide receiver over the past two games, Puka Nacua. Puka has 16 receptions for 221 yards and a touchdown in the past two weeks. Puka has been one of the best wide receivers this season, his .6 fantasy points per route run is only behind Nico Collin’s .63 and St.Brown’s .66 this season. His 3.13 Yards per route run is also third only behind Collins and AJ Brown. He should see a lot of Darius Slay today but I am not worried about the matchup as Puka has been great against every defender since joining the league. 

The other main guy for the Rams is Cooper Kupp. Kupp has also been hot the past few weeks averaging eight receptions for 96.7 yards and has scored twice in the past two weeks. I like Kupp’s matchup this week against Cooper DeJean. DeJean is allowing the most fantasy points (.22) and yards (.85) per route run of all of the Eagle’s corners. Kupp is only averaging .01 fantasy points less than his teammate Kupp which puts him as the fourth highest FPRR. Of the two big Rams wide receivers, I am leaning toward Kupp as my main player over Puka.

Demarcus Robinson should get a couple of targets this game as well. Since Puka and Kupp have returned, he is averaging 5.3 targets which is third on the team in that span. He is one of the better lower mid-salary players on the slate. 

Tier 1: Cooper Kupp, Puka Nacua

Tier 2: Demarcus Robinson

Punt: Tutu Atwell

Tight End

• The Eagles have given up 396 receiving yards to tight ends (6th Fewest).
• They are allowing 9.4 DK per game (5th Fewest).

I am almost a complete fade for the Rams tight ends this week in the SE and lower entry contest. Since Kupp and Puka returned to the field, the Rams tight ends are only averaging 3.5 targets per game between all of them. Davis Allen has had more snaps than Colby Parkinson in the last few games but outside of his six-target game two weeks ago he reallyhasn’t done much with the workload. Then you combine that with how good the Eagles have been against tight ends, it’snot something I want to target too much. The only SE lineup I am fitting either tight end in is those with multiple plays from this group; Barkley/Brown/Puka/Kupp.

Tier 1: Davis Allen, Colby Parkinso

Punt/Fade: Hunter Long

FanDuel MVP and DraftKings CPT Picks—SNF Showdown 

I want a high-usage player at MVP on FanDuel like a quarterback or a workhorse running back. You need the highest-scoring player, not the best value. The salaries do not change from flex to MVP on FanDuel, so the value at the MVP is not a priority. Take the points up top. 

On DraftKings, you look for the best “value” in the mid to high price range. 

FanDuel

DraftKings

Flex Tier 1:

• AJ Brown
• Cooper Kupp
• Saquon Barkley
• Puka Nacua
• Jalen Hurts
• Matthew Stafford
• Dallas Goedert
• Joshua Karty
• Kyren Williams
• Demarcus Robinson
• Jake Elliott

Flex Tier 2/Punts:

• Eagles D/ST
• Rams D/ST
• Johnny Wilson
• Jahan Dotson
• Blake Courm
• Davis Allen
• Tutu Atwell
• Colby Parkinson
• Grant Calcaterra
• Ainias Smith

Favorite prop for the game: Dallas Goedert Over 49.5 Receiving Yards (-115)