Before I get to my cash plays for Week 6, let’s all give a boisterous standing ovation for DFS Army member, “jhawkfan25”, who took second place in the FanDuel Sunday Million contest and won $150,000! It was incredibly exciting to be a part of on our members only Slack chat service. I broke down the lineup he made and what he used on our website to create the life-changing entry. Give it a quick read if you are not familiar by clicking here! If you only have time for one read I implore you to read the $150,000 breakdown right now and to come back to my cash plays later.
Cash plays aren’t always as easy to identify as one might think. Sometimes they are buried in perceived difficult matchup or poor implied team total (ITT). There are various mitigating factors that go into deciding who is cash viable and who is a better option for GPPs. Each week I will lay out a handful of cash viable options for you at each position that will allow you to create your own path. Our goal will be to find high floor players that carry upside.
Quarterback
Deshaun Watson is an absolute lock on both FanDuel and DraftKings for cash lineups in Week 6. His running ability and his match-up against a bottom five defense against quarterbacks provide both safety and a massive scoring ceiling.
For our VIP members, when we use our ladder strategy (a conceptual investment strategy of how to invest our DFS bankroll weekly and in what contests to do so) we attempt to build our lineups with players that are considered to provide safety with a ceiling. Watson fits that mold perfectly.
The Houston Texans have a 28.5 implied team total (ITT) and currently are 11.00 point favorites as they are hosting the Cleveland Browns. In 2017, the Browns have allowed opposing quarterbacks to score at least 20.6 PPG on both FanDuel and DraftKings. Don’t overthink this one, go ahead and push the lock button.
Running Back
On FanDuel, touchdowns reign supreme and it’s imperative to build a high floor at the running back position with players that will get red zone carries and a heavy workload. Leonard Fournette checks both boxes and as a 3.00 point home favorite against a bottom five defense against the run, he is a pretty safe RB1 for Week 6.
Fournette only has a 59% snap share on the season but has an incredibly heavy workload when he is on the field. His 17 red zone touches are the seventh most in the league and his seven goal-line carries are tied for third. He is second in the NFL in rushing yards (466) and his six total touchdowns are tied for second.
His metrics are solid as he is fifth in the NFL in evaded tackles (26) and seventh in yards created (135). His offensive line is actually the second highest rated run blocking unit in the NFL according to PlayerProfiler.
I think this game plays to the over with both Todd Gurley and Leonard Fournette providing safety with a ceiling. The advantage goes to Fournette because of the positive game script of playing at home with a projected lead.
In cash games, Jerrick McKinnon is going to have such high ownership on DraftKings that you almost cannot fade him. When an uber cheap running back who’s heavily owned smashes value it can be incredibly hard to make up the ground of such a large percentage of the field. Fading a high owned running back when they’re priced at value or overpriced is much easier to do.
McKinnon will likely get 15-18 touches and his pass-catching abilities out of the backfield raise his scoring floor on DraftKings to a point where you might as well just lock him in and win the cash contest elsewhere in your lineup.
***Editor Note***
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Since 2016, Devonta Freeman has scored 14 of his 18 total touchdowns at home. The Falcons are 11.5 point home favorites and the positive game script sets up the Falcons offense to be run heavy on Sunday.
The Falcons have the fourth highest rated run blocking offensive line according to PlayerProfiler. Freeman is similar to Fournette with his snap count, where it is lower than most “lead backs”, but he still gets the ball a ton while he is in the game.
Freeman has 24 evaded tackles on the season (seventh most) and 130 yards created (11th most). He looks explosive, has a great line in front of him, and is a great bet to score one or possibly two touchdowns. He’s a fantastic cash play on FanDuel.
Kareem Hunt is not being talked about this week which probably makes him an even better play for GPPs, but he offers an incredible floor with a superb matchup in Week 6. The Chiefs are home favorites to the visiting Pittsburgh Steelers who are imploding as a team.
The Steelers have given up the sixth most PPG to opposing primary running backs on DraftKings (16.2) and the fifth most on Fanduel (15.6). Hunt is fifth in the NFL in carries (97) and first in rushing yards (609).
His metrics are off the charts as he leads the NFL in evaded tackles (42) and breakaway runs (9). He has created 233 yards which leads the NFL and has a fantastic dominator (looks at his production ratio relative to total yards and touchdowns by the team) rating (fourth best) according to PlayerProfiler.
What I like most about Hunt is that no matter how stacked the front is he’s eating the defense alive. Against stacked fronts, he averages 5.0 yards per carry (YPC), 6.0 YPC against base fronts, and 7.0 yards per carry against light fronts. Lock and load.
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Wide Receiver
DeAndre Hopkins is the clear-cut chalk play of the week for cash games. The Texans have an incredibly high ITT and Hopkins is receiving a ludicrous amount of targets. He’s also becoming a big red zone threat for Watson over the past two weeks as their chemistry is clearly growing.
He is second in the league in targets (61), second in receptions (35), ninth in receiving yards (363), and second in touchdowns (5). He has caught all five of his red zone targets for touchdowns and has 353 air yards (third most).
He’s being targeted deep between the 20’s and in the red zone. What more can we ask for out of a cash game receiver?
Chris Hogan continues to score the football and has become Tom Brady’s favorite red zone threat this season (his 30.0% red zone target share leads the team). He has caught five touchdowns in the red zone which is tied with DeAndre Hopkins for the league lead.
He has a 97.5% snap share and his 37 targets are the 17th most in the NFL. He’s being treated like a number one wide receiver and as a result, he has produced like one. The Patriots have the second highest ITT (28.5) of Week 6, trailing on the Atlanta Falcons (29.0).
The Patriots have the second highest ITT (28.5) of Week 6, trailing on the Atlanta Falcons (29.0). If Brady and the offense is going to score four touchdowns and clear their projected total, there is a great chance that Hogan scores at least one touchdown.
Golden Tate is in a decent spot against the New Orleans Saints. Drew Brees and friends have been incredibly successful coming out of a bye week and the Saints are doing just that. The Lions are 5.0 point underdogs which means they’ll likely be playing from behind most of the game adding to Tate’s opportunities.
Tate has run 71.7% of the snaps out of the slot this season and that has resulted in 29 receptions (sixth most) but a very low amount of air yards (109) has capped his upside. On DraftKings, where receptions are king, Tate is a fantastic play.
His finesse in the short passing game and high volume of targets (23.4% target share) will likely result in an uptick of receptions and thus more opportunities to score points while the Lions are playing catch-up football.
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