Have you ever felt extremely confident in something and you just have an eerie feeling that something will go awry because of the confidence you have in that said thing? That is exactly how I felt with my cash-game lineup for the Week 10 DFS main slate on DraftKings.
Ezekiel Elliott being ruled out for the Cowboys allowed me to go with Saquon Barkley, Travis Etienne Jr., and Tony Pollard at the running back position. While Justin Fields, Barkley, and Pollard combined for 94.18 points on DraftKings, Etienne and the rest of my lineup accrued only 41.6 points. But to be fair, JuJu Smith-Schuster suffered an injury early in last week’s game.
After having only my second week of the season where I failed to make a profit in cash games, it’s time to bounce back in Week 11. With that in mind, let’s dive into what players I’m liking at each position in cash games for the Week 11 main slate on DraftKings.
Quarterbacks
Justin Fields @ ATL ($7,600)
Even though DraftKings continues to increase Fields’ salary tremendously, I’ll continue to play him. The Bears are finally letting Fields flourish in a dual-threat role and as a result, he leads all QBs with 10.9 non-passing PPG. The second-year quarterback has 12-plus rushing attempts in four of his last five games, he’s rushed for 60-plus yards in five straight, and he has a rushing touchdown in four straight. The Falcons have the second-lowest pressure rate in the NFL, so Fields should have plenty of opportunities to cook again in Week 11.
Daniel Jones vs. DET ($5,700)
With Brian Daboll calling the shots for the Giants, Daniel Jones is also operating in a dual-threat role to maximize his athletic ability. Jones is posting a solid 5.9 non-passing PPG (fifth-most among QBs) and he has 6-plus rushing attempts in all but one game this season. There isn’t a team bleeding more points per game to QBs than the Lions this season, so Jones won’t have a better matchup this year. If you can’t pay up for Fields, I feel like Jones is going to be a popular play this week.
Running Backs
Joe Mixon @ PIT ($7,400)
When we’re looking at RBs to use in cash games, we want guys that are going to have a decently high floor in touches. There aren’t many RBs that get a workload like Mixon as he’s registering an impressive 80.1% opportunity share (fourth-highest among RBs). And with the Bengals not having Ja’Marr Chase, we saw Mixon produce 211 yards and 5 touchdowns on 26 touches. While five touchdowns aren’t going to happen again, Mixon should handle another massive workload in Week 11, which gives him a fantastic floor.
Rhamondre Stevenson vs. NYJ ($6,700)
Damien Harris is off the injury report for the Patriots, but it doesn’t matter as Stevenson has stolen the starting job in New England’s backfield. It doesn’t appear as though Stevenson is interested in surrendering the job with him scoring 16-plus points on DraftKings in six of the last seven games while he’s also garnered five-plus targets in six of the last seven. We witnessed Stevenson notch 21.3 points against the Jets in Week 8 and I expect the Patriots to lean on the talented back coming out of their bye week.
Devin Singletary vs. CLE ($5,800)
I understand using a running back on the Bills in cash games is a scary thought, but hear me out. With Josh Allen dealing with an elbow injury in Week 10, Singletary received all five red-zone rushing attempts for the Bills as he scored two touchdowns. Allen is still limited in practice and it’s clear that Buffalo wants to limit his red-zone rushing usage to avoid him taking an unnecessary hit. So while Allen is certainly a threat to score rushing touchdowns in the red zone, now is the time to use Singletary before Allen gets healthy again. It also helps he faces a Browns defense that’s allowing the second-most points per game and the fourth-most yards per attempt to RBs this season.
Wide Receivers
CeeDee Lamb @ MIN ($7,500)
Of players that have played in nine or more games this season, there isn’t a wide receiver that boasts a higher target share than Lamb right now. In nine appearances thus far, Lamb has five games where he’s posted 15-plus points on DraftKings and he’s coming off a game in which he tallied a season-high 41 points. When Lamb is on the field, he’s going to spend most of his time in the slot, and the Vikings are giving up the fifth-most points per game to slot WRs this season. The star wideout is also playing in a game that has the second-highest projected total in Week 11.
Terry McLaurin @ HOU ($5,900)
There aren’t many times you can get a wide receiver as talented as McLaurin under $6,000 on DraftKings, so it’s tough to ignore him in cash games, though, more value could open up by Sunday. In the four games that Taylor Heinicke has started at quarterback for the Commanders, McLaurin has recorded 18-plus points on DraftKings in three of them. Heinicke has been announced as the starting quarterback for Week 11 despite Carson Wentz being cleared to play, making McLaurin someone to consider in cash games in a solid matchup versus the Texans.
Jakobi Meyers vs, NYJ ($5,500)
Meyers is never going to get the respect he deserves and I’m just going to have to come to terms with that. There isn’t a No. 1 wide receiver that gets forgotten as much as he does, but he continues to give us a solid floor, which is perfect for cash games. The former undrafted wideout has scored 10-plus points in all but one of his seven appearances this season and he’s seen six-plus targets in all but two games. He’s a top-10 WR in NECC consistency rating. Meyers gets to go up against the Jets again in Week 11, a team he produced 21 points on DraftKings against in Week 8.
Tight Ends
Greg Dulcich vs. LV ($3,800)
If Mark Andrews is active this week and Isaiah Likely isn’t starting again in his place, the two popular cash-game tight ends could be from the same game. Dulcich disappointed a lot of people last week (including myself) with 2.1 points, but he’s got a favorable matchup in Week 11 against the Raiders. While Jerry Jeudy could be sidelined or limited, Dulcich will square off against a Raiders defense that is allowing the fifth-most points per game to TEs.
Foster Moreau @ DEN ($3,700)
Meanwhile, on the other side of the field, Moreau is expected to continue starting at tight end with Darren Waller. on injured reserve. Even though Moreau has a limited ceiling in the offense he plays in, he did tally 13.3 points on DraftKings in Week 10. Besides Davante Adams, the Raiders are leaning on Mack Hollins and Moreau to pick up the rest of the targets in the passing game. Once again, Likely would be the preferred cash-game tight end play if Andrews is ruled out by the Ravens again.
D/ST
New Orleans Saints vs. LAR ($3,000)
As a Rams fan, it pains me to say that any defense against them is a fine play in NFL DFS. Matthew Stafford returned to practice on Wednesday, but it won’t matter much as Cooper Kupp is sidelined due to an ankle injury. If you have enough salary to spend $3,000 or more on a defense in cash games, the Saints aren’t a bad option at home.
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. CIN ($2,300)
Where most people are likely going to land in cash games when it comes to a defense is the Steelers. T.J. Watt returned in Week 10 and Pittsburgh’s defense looked dominant again with him coming off of the edge. We know that the Bengals have struggled to protect Joe Burrow this season, Chase is out, and the Steelers are only $2,300 on DraftKings.