NFL DFS expert breaks down Monday’s Cardinals-Rams matchup, revealing his lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel.
Cardinals-Rams DFS Plays
Kyler Murray has shredded zone coverage this season, so it’s not surprising two of his six-highest passing yardage totals (383 and 268) came against the Rams. Murray has to be locked into cash game lineups.
The best WR to pair with Murray in GPPs is A.J. Green, who leads all Cardinals pass catchers who will be active in yards per route versus zone (2.23).
Christian Kirk (1.94), Rondale Moore (1.80) and Zach Ertz (1.51) have all been solid versus zone, while Antoine Wesley (0.85) has struggled. Because of his 6-foot-4 frame, Wesley has seen five targets in the red zone over the past four weeks. He’s in play as a DraftKings Showdown cash game punt play at WR and a low-cost stacking option with Murray in GPPs.
Darrell Daniels and Demetrius Harris have combined for four catches and one red-zone target all season, so they’re not even in the Hail Mary dart throw conversation.
Although the Rams have the fifth-best run defense by DVOA, this is a good matchup for the Cardinals RBs in the passing game, as they rank 24th in DVOA on targets to RBs. This favors Chase Edmonds, who piled up 139 yards on 16 touches in his only active game against the Rams this season. Due to his discounted salary, Edmonds is my choice of the Captain spot in cash games on DraftKings Showdown slates. James Conner is still the superior bet for a TD, though he may not be the featured back here after practicing only once this week with a rib injury.
Matthew Stafford averaged 283.5 yards and 2.5 touchdowns against the Cardinals this season. Like Murray, Stafford is a must-play in cash games in order to maximize your chances of accounting for all of the game’s TDs.
The Cardinals have been strong against opposing No. 1 WRs, ranking third in DVOA. Cooper Kupp’s 5/64/0 line in Week 4 against the Cardinals will go down as the only game in which he did not post at least 92 receiving yards. With that said, he came back to hang a 13/123/1 line on Arizona in the second meeting, so I wouldn’t worry about the matchup.
The Cardinals rank 26th in DVOA versus No. 2 WRs and 28th against non-WR1/2s, but second against TEs, so this is a better spot for Odell Beckham and Van Jefferson than Tyler Higbee. Woods and Jefferson both scored in the first matchup, and Beckham and Jefferson both scored in the second. Ben Skowronek’s routes run per dropback over the past four weeks have gone 42%, 3%, 50% and 24%. With upside to play up to half the snaps, Skowronek is in play as a contrarian GPP option. Backup TE Kendall Blanton hasn’t caught a pass since Week 14.
Sony Michel is coming off an inefficient 21-carry, 43-yard outing last week against the 49ers, but he retained his lead-back duties even with Cam Akers returning from his Achilles injury. I think you still have to play Michel in cash games.
Akers has the upside to potentially be the lead back in this game, so he is still one of the best GPP options on the slate. The Cardinals’ biggest weakness on defense has been surrendering explosive runs, so Akers could pay off even as the No. 2 back.
The Cardinals DST are the better play of the two given their higher pressure rate and Stafford’s inconsistent play and propensity to hold the ball longer as of late.
- Cash Plays: QB Kyler Murray, QB Matthew Stafford, RB Chase Edmonds, RB James Conner, RB Sony Michel, RB Cam Akers, WR A.J. Green, WR Antoine Wesley
- GPP Plays: WR Christian Kirk, WR Odell Beckham Jr., WR Van Jefferson, WR Rondale Moore, WR Ben Skowronek, TE Zach Ertz, DST Arizona Cardinals
Cardinals-Rams DFS Lineups
DraftKings
- CPT RB Chase Edmonds $7,500
- QB Kyler Murray $11,200
- QB Matthew Stafford $10,800
- RB James Conner $9,400
- RB Sony Michel $7,800
- WR Antoine Wesley $1,800
FanDuel
- MVP QB Kyler Murray $17,000
- QB Matthew Stafford $15,500
- RB Sony Michel $12,000
- WR A.J. Green $8,000
- RB Cam Akers $7,500
