Andrew Ortenberg
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Sunday Night Football will feature a matchup that looked a lot better on paper at the beginning of the season as the New England Patriots host the Baltimore Ravens. Obviously New England has been a big disappointment recently, but that doesn’t mean there won’t still be plenty of excitement here. It’s still Cam Newton vs. Lamar Jackson, what more can we really ask for?
A win here could potentially get the 3-5 Patriots’ season back on track, although oddsmakers have them as an underdog of about a touchdown. We’ve got plenty of thoughts on the game, including picks for the side and total, but right now we’ll be talking about some daily fantasy. Here’s what we’re rolling with in this single-game DraftKings showdown format:
Captain: Lamar Jackson, QB, Ravens ($18,600)
I don’t see any way that Jackson doesn’t have a big game here. The reigning MVP of course hasn’t been his sharpest as a passer this season, but this is a perfect get-right spot for him against a Pats secondary that is giving up a league-worst 8.8 yards per pass attempt this season. When he got to face New England last year the Ravens put up 37 points while Jackson had two rushing touchdowns and another passing, so it’s not like Bill Belichick has some special scheme to stop him.
Flex: Gus Edwards, RB, Ravens ($2,400)
You’re going to want to get one super cheap option in your lineup here so we can fit both quarterbacks, and Edwards makes the most sense. He has by far the most upside of anyone priced this low, and he’s averaging 14 carries per game over his last three. Obviously Mark Ingram is set to return but he should be limited, and Edwards was still getting plenty of touches when the whole backfield was healthy. He also has scored in each of his past three games.
Flex: Cam Newton, QB, Patriots ($10,800)
As I just mentioned, Edwards allows us to fit both quarterbacks into our lineup. New England absolutely needs to win this one in order to stay in the playoff hunt, so I think they unleash Newton here and let him run a lot more. He didn’t run much against the Jets last week since the Patriots clearly thought they would win that game, and I think this game-plan will be much more creative since Belichick knows he’s a big underdog in this spot.
Flex: Justin Tucker, K, Ravens ($3,800)
We still need one more cheap option to make the salary math work here, and Tucker of course has a lot more upside than your typical kicker. He’s been the best kicker in the league for years now, and he should get plenty of opportunities if the Ravens’ offense is clicking. Belichick’s defensive schemes often center around limiting teams to field goal attempts, so Tucker’s volume should be high here. His range is also unbeatable.
Flex: Jakobi Meyers, WR, Patriots ($9,600)
Newton has clearly found a favorite target, and it’s worth ponying up for Meyers here. The young receiver exploded for 168 yards last week, but he had ten targets the week before, so I don’t think this is any sort of fluke or anything. He has at least 58 yards in three straight contests, so his floor is pretty low, and this Ravens secondary certainly isn’t impenetrable.
Flex: Damiere Byrd, WR, Patriots ($4400)
Byrd is the last play that makes any sense due to the Draftkings salary constraints. Byrd is a speedster with a lot of upside as a deep-ball catcher, and he has a reception of at least 16 yards in each of his past seven games. As touchdown-underdogs the Patriots project to be throwing the ball a lot late, which means Newton should have more than enough attempts to feed both Meyers and Byrd.
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