Thursday Night Showdown Strategy: Seattle Seahawks at Chicago Bears

Week 7 of the NFL season starts with the Seahawks traveling to Chicago to take on the Bears. In this article, I’ll share my top DFS showdown picks and strategies for DraftKings and FanDuel, helping you build winning lineups.

I prefer a correlated lineup build that tells a compelling game story – a strategy that has proven to win more often than not. For a deeper dive into my general showdown rules, make sure to check out my “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 To Strategy Article: https://windailysports.com/daily-fantasy-football-showdown-strategy/

Note on Quarterbacks:
I tend to not write up the quarterbacks because the wide receiver and tight end sections cover the matchups. The QB rankings are at the bottom of the article.

Seattle Seahawks

Running Back

I will give Zach Charbonnet the lock button in everything (even 150 MME). He is also a very line CPT + MVP. The Chicago Bears are one of the worst rush defenses in the league. They have allowed the same number of rushing TDs as the Carolina Panthers (16) while giving up the 4^th most fantasy points the position per week in the NFL (26.5).

His backup will be Kenny Mcintosh. Expect anywhere from 3-6 touches for him, and while cheap, he is unlikely to do enough to make it into the winning lineup. 

Tier 1: Zach Charbonnet

• Tier 3: Kenny Mcintosh 

Wide Receiver

• The Bears allow 31.3 fantasy points per game to the WR
• They have allowed only 13 receiving TDs to the position 

Whenever a team plays the Chicago Bears, I just want to target the receivers who will not see Jalen Johnson on the majority of their routes. That means you start with the WR that is in the slot. In this game, that is the most expensive player in the pool, Jaxon Smith-Njigba. JSN runs 84% of his routes out of the slot. He is the best SEA WR on the board. 

Johnson will see a mix of D.K. Metcalf and Tyler Lockett. Neither will be on him exclusively. Metcalf has been the better receiver, although it was a steep fall from last season. Lockett is unplayable in season-long formats, but on a showdown slate at only $3,200 on DraftKings, he is very firmly in the mix. In the first half of the season, he had plenty of games that pay off that price tag, yet we have seen him suffer since the emergence of JSN. I am certain I have plenty of Lockett just because of that price tag. 

Jake Bobo may be the only other SEA receiver to see the field. Last week, he got 19% of snaps. The Seahawks haven’t played more than four wide receivers (basically) in the past three weeks. 

• Tier 1: JSN
• Tier 2: Tyler Lockett, D.K. Metcalf
• Punt: Jake Bobo 

Tight End

• The Bears give up 13.4 fantasy points per game to the TE
• They have allowed four receiving TDs to the position 

There will be three tight ends that get on the field for the Seahawks. Noah Fant will run the most routes and likely double the snaps as the other two options. The TE will also avoid Johnson, which has paid off nicely in the past month. Fant is a quality showdown option that is priced just above Tyler Lockett. 

Pharoah Brown and A.J. Barner are both educated punts who should see a couple of targets. I am not playing them in main lineups, but I will mix them in lineups where Noah Fant isn’t present. 

• Tier 1: Noah Fant
• Punts: Pharaoh Brown, A.J. Barner

Chicago Bears

Running Back

• The Seahawks give up 24.1 fantasy points per game to the RB
• They have allowed nine rushing TDs and two receiving to the position

D’Andre Swift hasn’t been doing much in the second half of the season, as proven by his $7,600 salary on DraftKings. That is the kind of price to make you want to take a shot on an offensive player who may touch the ball the second most on the Bears offense behind Caleb Williams. Nothing screams play him, aside from the salary. 

Roshcon Johson is a punt that you shouldn’t put in Swift lineups. 

• Tier 2: D’Andre Swift
• Punt: Roshcon Johnson 

Wide Receiver

• The Seahawks give up 34.8 fantasy points to the WR per game
• They have allowed 18 receiving TDs to the position, which is tied for the 4^th most in the league 

The Bears only throw it to three receivers. I am going to give the lean to primary slot receiver Keenan Allen. The left side of the field is typically where you want to throw against the Seahawks, but with the way the Bears run routes, the slot is going to be the safest spot to target. The slot allows 0.93 YPRC, which is only slightly worse than whichever side Josh Jobe is covering (1.09 YPRC). He is on the left side of the field 52.2% of the time, so you can see predicting who will be on him the most is a fool’s errand. 

DJ Moore is the next best option, followed by Rome Odunze. Moore has a higher target % and YPRR than Odunze, but the coverage they will see will be very similar. I am not opposed to using Rome, where you can’t fit Moore. 

Collin Johnson and Tyler Scott might be on the field for a limited time. You can take shots on them if you want, but you likely end up with a zero. 

• Tier 1: Keenan Allen
• Tier 2: DJ Moore, Rome Odunze
• Punt: Collin Johnson, Tyler Scott

Tight End

• The Seahawks give up 12.4 fantasy points per game to the TE
• They have allowed three receiving TDs to the position 

Cole Kmet will see the lion’s share of TE snaps (89% last week). At $4,400, he is fine. There is no predicting how often Caleb Williams is going to throw to him, but there are way worse options on this slate. 

Gerald Everett and Marcedes Lewis, I will use sparingly in MME lineups. They are better “punts” than the Seahawks WR depth of Darden, White, and Young. 

• Tier 1: Cole Kmet
• Punts: Gerald Everett, Marcedes Lewis

FanDuel MVP Picks –TNF 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 MVP Tier 1: Zach Charbonnet, Caleb Williams
• FanDuel MVP Tier 2: Geno Smith 

I prefer using the receivers on DraftKings.  

• DraftKings CPT Tier 1: JSN, Zach Charbonnet, Caleb Williams
• DraftKings CPT Tier 2: Keenan Allen, DJ Moore
• DraftKings CPT Tier 3: Rome Odunza, Geno Smith, DK Metcalf, Tyler Locket, Noah Fant

Best Value: Fant, Lockett, Kmet 

Flex Rankings Tier 1:

• Zach Charbonnet
• Caleb Williams 
• Jaxson Smith-Njigba
• Geno Smith
• Keenan Allen
• DJ Moore
• Jason Myers
• D.K. Metcalf
• Cairo Santos
• D’Andre Swift
• Rome Odunze
• Noah Fant (Fant or Lockett seem like nice ways to round out a lineup)
• Tyler Lockett
• Cole Kmet 
• Seattle D
• Bears D

Flex Rankings Tier 2: (Don’t play more than 1 Tier 2 or Tier 3 guys)

• Roschon Johnson
• A.J. Barner
• Pharoah Brown 
• Kenny Mcintosh
• Jake Bobo
• Gerald Everett
• Marcedes Lewis 

Fadeable Flex Punts: (Don’t play. More than 1 Tier 2 or Tier 3 guys – will probably fade them all)

• Collin Johnson 
• Tyler Scott
• Cody White
• Jaedon Darden
• Dareke Young

Best Rules for the slate:

We have two very condensed offenses. You don’t have to get too cute tonight. 

• Lock Zach Charbonnet 
• Lock in a SEA pass catcher (JSN, DK, Lockett, Fant)
• Play at least one Bear pass catcher (Allen, Moore, Odunze, Kmet)
• I don’t think you have to force a kicker due to the low salary of some of the skill positions that will spend a significant amount of time on the field (Fant, Lockett, Kmet, etc.)
• Play at least one QB.
• You can fade the Tier 3 guys listed above in basically everything 
• Don’t play more than 1 RB per team per lineup 
• Stack your kicker with at least one skill player (I am not forcing a kicker)
  • Someone has to move the ball down the field
• Don’t play more than 1 TE per team per lineup 
• Don’t play more than 1 Tier 2 or Tier 3 guy