Week 15: Secret Stars
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For the uninitiated, let me tell you. DraftKings is super easy and fun to play. You start with an imaginary budget of $50,000. Each player has a price so if you find a couple "cheapies" who produce, your studs will help your team power to the top! Your goal every week is to find a player or two that is cheaply priced, put them in your lineup, and watch them go off. You don't have the budget to get super stars at every position so you must use your budget wisely.
START BUILDING YOUR TEAM HERE or read below for this week's SECRET STARS.
The Secret Stars weekly article isn't suggesting the full lineup you should use, rather its purpose is to identify players who represent extreme value at their current salaries. Selecting these players will give you enough wiggle room in your budget to roster such players as Demaryius Thomas and DeMarco Murray your lineup.
These picks courtesy ScoutFantasy.com's own Daily Expert, Nate Weitzer (@nweitzer7 on Twitter)
QB Philip Rivers $6,200 @ DEN – Rivers was the latest QB to get thwarted by Bill Belichick's elite secondary on Sunday night, but he's in great position to bounce back in this week's matchup. The Broncos give up the 7th most DK PPG to opposing QBs because they can stop the run (allow 2nd fewest RuYPG), and their offense usually puts up a boatload of points. Rivers attempted 41 passes when these teams met in Week 8, as the Chargers were playing from behind nearly the entire game. With solid weapons in the form of Keenan Allen and Antonio Gates, expect the brazen QB to put up solid numbers in an effort to match Peyton Manning's elite offense.
QB Johnny Manziel $5,900 vs. CIN – Manziel is going to get a chance to start a game, and the DFS community holds it's breath in anticipation. After another horrendous performance by Brain Hoyer, the Browns coaching staff is going with a rookie whose ability to make plays outside of the pocket should translate into plenty of FPs. He's probably going to make some mistakes against a Bengals pass defense that's holding opposing QBs to a 78.4 passer rating (3rd best in NFL), but Manziel will make his debut at home, and should be able to exceed value by piling up rushing stats.
RB Jeremy Hill $4,600 @ CLE – The Browns sieve-like run defense hasn't allowed a ton of yards lately, but is still allowing 129.5 RuYPG (7th most in NFL) this season. After getting bottled up by Cleveland during a Thursdaynight beatdown in Week 10, Hill was asked if the Browns were better than he thought they were. He replied, "Oh no, to be honest with you, they're worse than I thought." Andy Dalton is playing worlds better since that pathetic performance, and Hill clearly has the confidence to thrive in this matchup if his QB can keep the chains moving. Most importantly, head coach Marvin Lewis has announced that the Bengals are going to use one RB going forward, and most beat writers around the team are fairly sure that the powerful Hill will be that back.
RB Chris Johnson $3,600 @ TEN – This is a revenge game for CJ2K, who was dragged through the mud on his way out of Tennessee, but more importantly, it's a matchup with the league's worst run defense. The Titans cough up 141.5 RuYPG and have allowed at least one back to total 100 YFS in six straight games. Johnson has played 130 snaps to Chris Ivory's 133, and earned 53 touches to Ivory's 57 over the Jets past 4 games, so he's in a pretty close timeshare, and has slightly more upside as a pass-catching back with the potential to make a big play or two.
WR Marqise Lee $3,600 @ BAL – Blake Bortles is in for a LONG afternoon in Baltimore this Sunday. The Ravens defense has piled up 17 sacks over their last 4 games, and Jags QBs have been sacked a league-high 54 times this year. Yet once Bortles finds a little a bit of time- or the game gets so out of reach that the defense starts playing prevent- he'll start peppering his new favorite receiver with targets. Lee leads Jacksonville's receivers in targets (21), receptions (14), and yards (194) over the Jags last 3 games, and found the end zone against the Texans leaky secondary last Sunday. The Ravens are extremely stout against the run, but cough up the 2nd most passing YPG (267.2) in the NFL, so it's no secret how Jacksonville will try to move the ball this week.
WR Marquess Wilson $3,000 vs. NO – Here is a true secret star that's flown completely under the radar all season. Wilson actually flew under the radar in last year's draft, as he fell to the Bears in the seventh round because of character issues. After scoring 12 TDs and totaling 1,388 receiving yards in 12 games as a sophomore at Washington State, the 6-foot-3 former track star quit the team the following year. With a year of NFL experience under his belt, he's expected to get the opportunity of a lifetime as the replacement for Brandon Marshall (rib, lung) in a dream matchup with the Saints non-existent pass defense. While Alshon Jeffery duels with Keenan Lewis, Wilson can run down the opposite side of the field and win those jump balls Jay Cutler loves to throw.
TE Travis Kelce $4,600 vs. OAK – As soon as fantasy pundits move on from touting Kelce, he goes off for a career-high 110 yards on a team-high 9 targets in Week 14. Of course, he also lost what turned out to be the game-deciding fumble, but played on 82% of offensive snaps and seems to have earned the coaching staff's trust. Kansas City desperately needs to break out of their 3-game losing skid, and could take out a lot of frustration on the lowly Raiders, which means Kelce has a great shot to exceed the 10.7 DK points he produced against Oakland in Week 12.
FLEX: Steve Smith Sr. $4,800 vs. JAX – Torrey Smith hobbled through warm ups and was generally ineffective in Baltimore's Week 14 win over Miami. That opened up increased playing time for Kamar Aiken among others, while also solidifying Steve Smith's targets. You can chase Aiken's stats if you're feeling lucky, but one of the toughest players in the NFL (pound for pound) is a much safer bet for $1,800 more than the minimum. Over the last four weeks, Smith was not a big part of the game plan against the Titans awful run defense, blew up against the Saints on Monday night, was completely shut down by Chargers elite DB Brandon Flowers, and blew up against Miami's excellent pass defense. He should eat against a Jags secondary that's really struggled to contain the opposition's top receiver.
DST Carolina Panthers $2,600 vs. TB – Cam Newton's serious car accident is not something to take lightly, but it does apply to the situation in Carolina as the Panthers should rally around their injured star. Finally getting healthy after a horrendous start to the season, the Panthers got to Drew Brees early and often in Week 14, while the Bucs Josh McCown was running for his life in a road game at Detroit. Tampa Bay is allowing the 4th most FPPG to opposing defenses this season, as the Bucs have scored 17 points or fewer in 7 of their last 8 games. Carolina's D/ST averages a solid 8.8 DK PPG at home, and probably being overlooked with this generous price tag.
Here's our lineup this week:
· QB Johnny Manziel $5,900 vs. CIN
· RB Le'Veon Bell $9,600 @ ATL
· RB Jamaal Charles $8,700 vs. OAK
· WR Steve Smith Sr. $4,800 vs. JAX
· WR Marquess Wilson $3,000 vs. NO
· WR Jeremy Maclin $6,100 vs. DAL
· TE Travis Kelce $4,600 vs. OAK
· FLEX Jeremy Hill $4,600 @ CLE
· DST Panthers $2,600 vs. TB
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Remember to read all our columns for this week and use our Who To Start Rankings
