Week 5 NFL DFS Monday Night Showdown: Colts at Ravens

The NFL DFS season continues with the Monday night showdown, and we’ve got the breakdown to help you win big money in the final Week 5 NFL DFS contests!

NOTE: For a refresher on showdown general rules and strategy, see my first showdown article of 2021.

Let’s get to the game!

Week 5 NFL DFS MVP candidates (1.5x points)

Some notes on the differences between MVP on FanDuel and DraftKings: The 1.5x point boost on FD comes with no salary penalty, while and DK also bumps the salary to 1.5x – a crucial factor in deciding who we can and cannot afford on both sites. We can use this to our advantage on FD by occasionally targeting non-QBs to establish more variance and more unique lineups, and on DK it allows us to build more hearty overall stacks when we punt the MVP position with a cheap but high-upside player.

Week 5 NFL DFS Chalk: Lamar Jackson (FD $17,000, DK $18,900)

Pivot: Jonathan Taylor (FD $13,000, DK $14,700)

Contrarian #1: Marquise Brown (FD $13,500, DK $16,500)

Contrarian #2: Michael Pittman, Jr. (FD $11,000, DK $13,500)

Contrarian #3: Mark Andrews (FD $12,000, DK $9,900)

There’s no question who the chalk play will be on Monday night this week, as Lamar Jackson is head and shoulders above the rest of the field in terms of pricing and upside. I may have one or two lineups that make use of Carson Wentz, but I’m not looking at the Colts B for my captain spot in any builds and would rather seek a pass catcher from Baltimore if I need to squeeze in some big playmakers. The Ravens DST is another possibility for DK, as they allow for smattering of options on both teams.

Colts notes: The two players I’m most interested in are Jonathan Taylor, who’s coming off his best game of 2021 and Michael Pittman, Jr., who has seen 32 targets and has 20 catches over his last three games. After that, I could find some bargain spots for Nyheim Hines — always a candidate to pop off in limited opportunities — and red zone targets Zach Pascal and Mo Alie-Cox.

Ravens notes: The Ravens can break the record for most consecutive 100-yard rushing games (43) as a team this week, as they’re tied with the mid-to-late 70s era Steelers. for that reason, I think we could see a few more carries for Latavius Murray this week but he’s far from the explosive runner that Jackson is and nowhere hear a priority for me. Mark Andrews has just as much upside in this offense and is cheaper, and the Colts will have a very difficult time containing Andrews and Marquise Brown, among others. James Proche is a cheap option but could be popular after his last game.

Week 5 NFL DFS Final thoughts (and some DOs and DON’Ts)

Remember to build your team based on a narrative that makes sense.

DO: Build a trio (or quartet) of offensive weapons for a team that makes sense together.

DON’T: Go too heavy on the Colts DST, but use plenty of Baltimore’s high-upside DFS unit.

DO: Use the projected team totals to shade one way or the other with your selections.

DON’T: Forget about a sub-$1K Marlon Mack. You just never know when they are going to give him carries.

Now that we’ve established some Week 5 NFL DFS narratives and MVP candidates, the best way to round out this piece is with a list of my favorite options in descending order, based on overall value (a combo of salary and projected points):

1. Lamar Jackson
2. Jonathan Taylor
3. Marquise Brown
4. Mark Andrews
5. Ravens DST
6. Michael Pittman, Jr.
7. Latavius Murray
8. Carson Wentz
9. Zach Pascal
10. Sammy Watkins
11. Mo Alie-Cox
12. Nyheim Hines
13. Justin Tucker
14. James Proche
15. Jack Doyle
16. Ty’Son Williams
17. Ryan Blankenship
18. Parris Campbell
19. Devin Duvernay
20. Colts DST
21. Marlon Mack

Don’t forget to read the rest of WinDaily’s excellent football articles this week as you prep for next week’s action!