daily fantasy sports articles

We're pumping through the 2022/23 NFL season now, as we pass a third of the distance through the NFL regular season. It’s sad that the season goes by so quickly, but also exciting that the next few months are going to have some amazing football. This week’s Monday morning slate will see 11 games, highlighted in the later window by the Superbowl LIV rematch between the Kansas City Chiefs and San Francisco 49ers. There are also two particularly important Divisional matchups, with the Indianapolis Colts taking on the Tennessee Titans and the Cleveland Browns taking on the Baltimore Ravens.

Totals were down slightly last week, with the average down to 43.3 after peaking in week 5 at 45.4, and the average total for this slate is currently lined at 44.5, with the markets reacting to totals being down again last week.

Draftstars once again is your place to play fantasy NFL, with a $40,000 guaranteed slate for Monday morning, with a first prize of $3,915. There’s plenty of other contests that might tickle your fancy, so get on over to Draftstars and get involved.

Quarterback

Joe Burrow - $15,750

Burrow had a wonderful game last week, busting out for 300 yards throwing and 3 touchdowns, and I see no way the Falcons will slow that down this week. The Falcons are currently bottom third of the league in giving up points to quarterbacks, and have struggled to get to the quarterback (32nd in pass pressure rate). Anyone that has watched the Bengals this season knows Burrow has dominated when his offensive line has blocked effectively, and they get the worst defensive front in the league this week. Start Burrow confidently in a game lined with a total of 47.5.

Lamar Jackson - $15,580

Lamar has the pedigree to be QB1 every single week, however the past 3 weeks he and the Ravens have struggled to get going, failing to score more than 20 points in each of those games. Despite this, Lamar figures to dominate this week, with a matchup against a porous Browns defence who are currently ranking 27th in defensive pass DVOA, and the 8th highest EPA per play conceded to quarterbacks. Jackson has a higher upside than Burrow; however, you should only pick him over Burrow if you’re high on the Ravens offense destroying the Browns this week.

Running Back

Josh Jacobs - $13,810

The Texans are the worst team in the NFL giving up fantasy points to running backs, and Josh Jacobs has been eating the past few weeks. Since week 4, Jacobs has averaged 29.5 touches per game and 184 totals yards per game. Jacobs is playing for a contract, and it shows, as he is having his best statistical season since his rookie campaign in 2019. On the Texans, they rank 30th in the league in rushing yards allowed per game and 29th in explosive run rate. Whilst Jacobs is the 5th most expensive RB in this slate, he has RB1 upside and saves you around $4,000 over Austin Ekeler.

Leonard Fournette - $13,660

‘Playoff Lenny’ has been eating in the regular season so far this year, averaging 19.4 points per week and a high score of 35.9. His matchup this week against the Panthers screams high usage for Fournette, with the Bucs a great chance at getting out to an early lead before leaning on the run game. They had a game state remarkably like this two weeks ago against Atlanta, where Fournette had his highest score of the season. Fournette isn’t the explosive back that’s going to get you a couple splashy plays for his points, he’s a high usage running back who also gets receptions out of the backfield. A solid RB1 or FLEX option this week.

Travis Etienne Jr. - $8,650

Etienne has continued to be further integrated into this Jaguars offense, and gets a great matchup this week against the Giants. The Giants are currently 28th in rushing yards per game allowed, 29th in EPA per rush, and 30th in explosive rush rate allowed. Etienne has big play ability, and will get a solid snap share with fellow running back James Robinson. Etienne is a high upside RB2 with a solid matchup this weekend, but don’t expect him to smash out RB1 type numbers.

Wide Receiver

Michael Pittman Jr. - $12,520

Whilst Pittman is a high upside WR1, this pick is more based on his opponent for the week, the Tennessee Titans. The Titans are currently 32nd and last in fantasy points allowed to wide receivers per week, and he comes up against a secondary that has really struggled this year. Despite Pittman not receiving many deep targets, expect that to change this week, as the Titans are also ranked 32nd in DVOA against deep passing. Matt Ryan appeared to be unshackled last week, and whilst the likely return of Jonathan Taylor will see the Colts go back to the ground game more, the success in the air last week bodes well for Pittman to continue his solid DFS play.

Chris Godwin - $11,570

I keep picking Buccaneers wide receivers expecting this offense to take off, and keep being disappointed. If they cannot get going this week against the Panthers, maybe Tom Brady really is washed. Godwin has taken over Mike Evans as Brady’s go-to target over the past 3 weeks, and against a soft Panthers’ zone defence, he figures to dominate. The one concern I have is if the Panthers line Jaycee Horn up against Godwin in the slot, and if this is the case Horn has shown he can shut down receivers for large parts of games. However, if Godwin draws snaps against Myles Hartfield, he has high end WR1 upside this week. He just needs a touchdown Tom!!

Juju Smith-Schuster - $10,910

JSS has developed into Patrick Mahomes’ number two target after Travis Kelce at the Chiefs, and against a banged-up 49ers’ secondary I like his chances to see plenty of targets again this week. Schuster is no WR1, however given the matchup I like him to have a stat line similar to what you would expect for a WR2 this weekend. Generally, the 49ers are not a team to select wide receivers against, however they are likely without 3 starters in the secondary this week, and with the 49ers likely to double up on Kelce, expect JJS to get a chance to shine.

Tight End

Gerald Everett - $8,700

My tight ends selected this week aren’t the big names, however at some point you need to save some money. Everett has seen 6 targets per game, good for 8th in the NFL this season amongst tight ends. He and the Chargers get a great matchup this weekend against the Seahawks, who give up the most points per week to tight ends. Everett has the 8th most redzone targets amongst tight ends in the league and the 6th most routes run. With Keenan Allen again likely to miss out and Mike Williams being guarded by stud rookie corner Tariq Woolen, expect Everett to be Herbert’s safety blanket over the middle this week.

Robert Tonyan - $7,980

Tonyan had 12 targets last week against the Jets, and figures to continue to get his fair share of targets moving forward. Whilst last weeks numbers could be a one-off, Rodgers tends to stick with guys who are doing a decent job and catching balls when they should be, and Tonyan caught 10 of his 12 targets last week for 90 yards. He has been a favourite of Rodgers in the past, and against a below average Commanders defence, I am expecting another decent performance from Tonyan this week.

D/ST

Denver Broncos - $6,540

Denver is an elite defensive unit, and with a turnover prone quarterback on the other team (Zach Wilson), the Broncos may finally have a game with some good turnover luck. I would not be surprised at all to see the Jets struggle to get to 10 points this week, with this Broncos front likely to have Wilson under pressure all game. Zach Wilson is the worst quarterback in the league against pressure, and he only needs to throw up 1 or 2 errant passes for the Broncos D/ST unit to score big this week.

New York Jets - $5,680

I’m not a huge fan of taking an away team for D/ST, however I see this being a low scoring contest and the Jets defence has been electric the past few weeks. The team has forced 7 turnovers the past 3 weeks, blocked two kicks and forced a safety. On top of this, the Broncos offense with Russell Wilson at the helm has been god-awful this year, and with a chance we see Brett Rypien starting under center, a high score for the Broncos is at long odds this week.

Draftstars Suggested Lineup