I'm concentrating on the Browns at Bucs game for my NFL Week 7 DraftKings Classic Team. What appeals to me about that match up is that players on both sides should excel. Neither team has a great defense while both offenses are crazy pass happy.
Other games I'm looking to capitalize on are Saints at Ravens, Vikings at Jets, and Patriots at Bears. All 3 match ups provide highly-skilled players at reasonable salaries. Check out the team and let me know where you disagree!
NFL Week 7 DraftKings Classic Team
QB Baker Mayfield, Cleveland Browns, $5,800
Overall, rookie Baker Mayfield's played well this season. He had a terrible game against the Chargers' good defense in Week 6, only completing 47.8% of his passes, but in Week 5 he led the Browns to an upset win over the Baltimore Ravens.
One thing to note about Mayfield is that in 2 of his 3 starts this season, he's faced good to great defenses. The Chargers' defense has been flat out fantastic the last couple of weeks. Baltimore's defense ranks as one of the top in the league. When Baker got a chance to face a bad defense, Raiders' in Week 4, he produced a 295 yards and 2 TD game.
The Oakland match up was Mayfield's first start. He faces the worst pass defense in the NFL on Sunday, which means he should easily eclipse what he posted in the almost win over the Raiders. Mayfield could be in line for over 350 yards passing and 3 to 4 TD passes. That's great value for a $5,800 salary.
RB Mark Ingram, New Orleans Saints, $5,900
In his first game back after a 4 week suspension, Ingram rushed for 53 yards and 2 touchdowns. He also caught 2 of 3 targets for 20 yards. Ingram could have a similar game versus the Baltimore Ravens even though the Ravens have one of the best defenses in the NFL.
At full strength, every player on the Saints offense should post okay if not great fantasy football stats every week. Ingram's at $5,900 while fellow running back Alvin Kamara's at $8,500. Ingram offers value while Kamara doesn't.
RB Peyton Barber, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, $3,800
Barber's trending up after a fantastic game against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 6. He rushed for 82 yards on 13 carries. Quarterback Jameis Winston targeted Peyton 4 times. Barber caught all 4 passes for 24 yards. One of his catches went for a TD.
Barber's salary is ridiculously low compared to how he might perform on Oct. 21. The Bucs face a Browns' rush defense that allows 138.2 yards per. The Chargers rushed for 246 yards from 36 carries against Cleveland in Week 6. Don't be surprised if Barber scores a couple of touchdowns on his way to 150 rushing yards. Heck, let's throw in something like 6 catches as well.
WR Stefon Diggs, Minnesota Vikings, $7,200
Diggs averages over 19 fantasy points. Adam Thielen got the bulk of the targets in Week 6, 13, which means it's Diggs' turn in Week 7. Also, because he hasn't caught a TD pass since Week 2, he's due. The match up couldn't be better.
The Jets allow 272.3 passing yards. Colts' Andrew Luck threw for 301 yards and 4 TD passes against the Jets last Sunday. Kirk Cousins should have the same success. Unless Thielen lives up to his $8,600 salary, Diggs should be the primary beneficiary of Cousins surgical destruction of the Jets' secondary.
WR Kevin Golladay, Detroit Lions, $6,000
Detroit's got a favorable match up against Miami on Sunday. The Dolphins gave up 316 yards and 3 TD passes to Chicago's Mitch Trubisky in Week 6. On average, Miami allows 278.5 passing yards per.
Golladay hasn't caught less than 4 passes in any game this season. He's also scored at least 1 touchdown in 3 of 5 Lion's games. Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford should have a good outing that includes at least 3 TD passes. If two of those go to Golladay, he'll more than have outplayed his $6,000 salary.
WR Antonio Callaway, Cleveland Browns, $4,300
Since Mayfield took over as the starter, he's shown more affection towards Antonio Callaway than he has towards Jarvis Landry. Landry's salary is ridiculous, $7,100, while Callaway's salary makes him a great value add.
Callaway has caught 15 passes. Not great, but he could breakout in Week 7. If Tampa has any hope of beating the Browns, they must double Landry. That could leave Callaway open for his first TD of the season. Who knows? If Mayfield targets Callaway like he often does, Antonio might pull down 8 to 10 catches.
TE David Njoku, Cleveland Browns, $4,300
Here's another Cleveland player offering great value. Njoku's caught 27 passes for 245 yards. Last Sunday, he caught a TD pass. Njoku's already built a decent rapport with Mayfield. In the 12-9 win over the Ravens, Mayfield targeted Njoku 11 times. He caught 6 of those passes for 69 yards. In the Chargers loss, Mayfield targeted him 12 times. Njoku caught 7 passes for 55 yards and a TD.
Like Calloway, Njoku could surprise.
Flex – RB Todd Gurley II, L.A. Rams, $9,800
The more I think about it, the more I'm convinced Todd Gurley II is a must add to every NFL DraftKings Classic team. He'll never offer salary value. But, that's because he's the best fantasy player in any scoring system. He hasn't gotten less than 17 carries in any game while he's also caught 21 passes for 870 combined yards. Gurley's scored 11 touchdowns.
On Sunday, Gurley gets to beat up on the San Francisco 49ers defense. Hopefully, San Francisco scores some points so that Rams' coach Sean McVeigh leaves Gurley in for all 4 quarters.
DST – Washington Redskins, $2,900
Washington and Dallas battle this week in what should be a tight, low-scoring, game. Dallas is one-dimensional. The Cowboys can't pass the ball. Washington holds opponents to less than 90 rushing yards per game, anyhow.
Although Dallas has a great offensive line, Washington can put an extra man in the box because cornerback Josh Norman takes away Dallas' best wide receiver (whomever that is!). The extra man in the box will keep Dallas running back Ezekiel Elliott from going off. If the Cowboys get down late, Dallas will push too much, leading to Prescott mistakes.
Washington's defense offers decent value at less than $3,000.
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