Adam Caplan's Top 2019 NFL Conference Championships DFS Team
Well, it’s here.
NFL Championship weekend is upon us and we have what look to be, at least on paper, two excellent matchups for fantasy football betting fans.
And another piece of good news came late this week as it appears the weather in Kansas City will not be nearly as bad as once feared. In fact, unless it changes again, the conditions might actually be favorable for passing.
So, with that, it’s on to this week’s games but before you play check out our list of the best daily fantasy sites.
Quarterback Best Bet
Jared Goff = $5,400 at DraftKings
Matchup: Los Angeles Rams at New Orleans Saints
In his matchup in Week 9 at the Saints, the Rams fell way behind and Goff put up 391 yards in the air and three passing TDs. And the Saints defense, though 17 games played this season (including the one playoff game), is giving up about 281 yards in the air and 1.75 passing TDs per game.
While I expect this game to be much closer and his pass attempt total to be lower (40 attempts in last matchup), it’s hard to imagine a scenario where this would be a low scoring game. And it’s important to note that the Saints will be without DT Sheldon Rankins, who is one of their best pass rushers.
Running Back Best Bet
Sony Michel = $5,600 at DraftKings
Matchup: New England Patriots at Kansas City Chiefs
I recommended Michel last week against the decent Chargers run defense and he came up large with three rushing TDs and 129 yards on the ground.
And the good thing with Michel is he finally seems to be over the knee problems that plagued him throughout the regular season, so you can count on him again for a lot of carries as long as Patriots don’t fall behind in this game.
In his previous matchup in Week 6 against the Chiefs, he had 24 carries, so there’s no reason to think he won’t have a lot of work in this game. And the Patriots seem to be committed to running the ball of late.
The Chiefs are giving up about 4.6 yards per carry over their last 4 games and just about 5 yards per carry for the season (including playoffs), so this matchup is looking quite favorable for the rookie.
Wide Receiver Best Bets
Julian Edelman = $6,600 at DraftKings
Matchup: New England Patriots at Kansas City Chiefs
I mentioned in this space last week not to be concerned that the numbers were not favorable for Edelman against the solid Chargers secondary.
Edelman has taken over as the clear No. 1 passing target for Tom Brady and that’s not likely to change — no matter what the matchup might look like by the numbers. Edelman as totally earned Brady’s trust while TE Rob Gronkowski has seen a major regression in his role.
And now that the weather conditions (as of late Friday morning) are looking much more favorable than to start the week, Edelman should be heavily involved as usual.
He’ll face a Chiefs secondary that is giving up about 178 yards and a TD on average over its last four games to wide receivers.
Tyreek Hill = $7,700 at DraftKings
Matchup: Kansas City Chiefs vs. New England Patriots
I actually considered not recommending him once the week started as the weather forecast was very poor. However, once it improved greatly, I’ve placed him on here.
Hill crushed the Patriots in the first matchup for 142 yards receiving to go along with three TD grabs on seven receptions.
While some of those big plays were on improvisational plays from QB Patrick Mahomes, the Patriots simply don’t have the athletes in the secondary to keep up with Hill.
Over their last four games (including last week’s game), the Patriots are giving up about 171.5 yards in the air to wide receivers to go along with 13.2 yards per catch and three TD receptions.
In the last matchup, the Patriots tried to take TE Travis Kelce (5-61) out of the game and it worked to a certain degree. It will be interesting to see what they do on defense this game, but no one has been able to slow down Hill, so he should get the job done again this time around.
Tight End Best Bet
Tyler Higbee = $2,600 at DraftKings
Matchup: Los Angeles Rams at New Orleans Saints
The third-year player was actually an accomplished pass-catching tight end in college at Western Kentucky and the expectation was that he would become an all-purpose TE , but he has been mostly used as a blocker with the Rams.
However, as we saw in Week 11 against the visiting Chiefs, Higbee could be very effective in the passing game, as he finished that game with six receptions for 63 yards. And in the earlier matchup against the host Saints, he had two receptions for 40 yards.
Higbee will face a Saints defense which has given up 16 yards per catch and two TDs over its last four games, so there's some hope for those who want to take a chance on him and happen to be looking to spend very little on a TE this week.
Flex Best Bet
Ted Ginn = $4,300 at DraftKings
Matchup: New Orleans Saints vs. Los Angeles Rams
The Saints really need to find another passing option other than the great Michael Thomas, and the veteran Ginn might just be that guy.
Thomas, who is really not what you would call a deep threat, primarily catches everything in the shorter to intermediate areas. While he’s very difficult to cover, is only averaging 11.2 yards per catch.
And now with Ginn finally back from his knee injury, the opportunity is there for him to make a big play or two against the Ram cornerbacks, who are not great athletes. And Ginn just missed a big play last week against the Eagles.
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Adam Caplan's NFL FanDuel Lineup
Position | Player | Matchup | FanDuel Price |
---|---|---|---|
QB | Jared Goff | Rams @ Saints | $5,400 |
RB | Sony Michel | Patriots @ Chiefs | $5,600 |
RB | Todd Gurley | Patriots @ Chiefs | $7,500 |
WR | Julian Edelman | Patriots vs. Chargers | $6,600 |
WR | Tyreek Hill | Chiefs @ Patriots | $7,700 |
WR | Michael Thomas | Saints vs. Rams | $8,200 |
TE | Tyler Higbee | Rams @ Saints | $2,600 |
FLEX | Ted Ginn | Saints vs. Rams | $4,300 |
D | New England Patriots | Patriots @ Chiefs | $2,100 |
Play this lineup with DraftKings
Note: Prices from DraftKings app are based on a $50,000 salary cap for the week.
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