NFL DFS Sims: SimLabs Lineup Generator Building Blocks for Week 3

This season marks the third year of our SimLabs tool being available to the public. It’s a powerful feature that allows casual players to build competitive lineups effortlessly — or serious players to leverage their convictions more effectively. We’ve also added the feature of being able to export lineups from SimLabs directly to our models for easy tweaking of lineups.

I broke down some general uses of the tool from an evergreen perspective last season. Moving forward, we’ll be checking out some suggested starting points for building lineups.

The process is simple: from the SimLabs home screen, first select the field size and desired range of outcomes for your lineups. The field size depends on the contest type, while the “results range” allows you to customize how unique you want your lineups to be.

Then, find the box titled “include players” and type your preferred options — then sit back and let the sims do their thing. You can generate as many or as few lineups as you want, then upload directly to DraftKings to be entered into contests.

For more on what SimLabs is and how it works, check out our user guide.

Let’s check out some potential starting points in Week 3.

Rome Odunze + CeeDee Lamb

Last week, the winning millionaire maker lineup featured a “stack” of sorts between Rome Odunze and Amon-Ra St. Brown — without the QB from either team. This week, we could see a similar dynamic with Odunze and CeeDee Lamb, both of whom have 27% target shares so far this season.

The nice thing about starting with this block in SimLabs is that it will generate lineups both with and without their respective quarterbacks, tailored to the specific settings you give it. That allows you to diversify from what should be the chalk build — these receivers and Caleb Williams — in some lineups, while eating the chalk but getting contrarian elsewhere in others.

Odunze and Lamb rank third and fourth, respectively, in the SimLabs “Optimal vs. Projected Ownership” metric, meaning they’re both solid plays individually. Given the solid correlation between opposing wide receivers, they’re an even better play together.

Justin Herbert + Quentin Johnson

I’m interested in any combination of Herbert plus one (or more) of his receivers this week. Herbert and the Chargers lead the NFL in Pass Rate Over Expectation (PROE) by a massive margin and also lead the league in percentage of targets to wide receivers.

Johnson, Ladd McConkey, and Keenan Allen all have seen a relatively similar share of targets so far this season. Where Johnson stands out is in the depth of his targets — his 14.4 aDOT is more than five yards deeper than both Allen and McConkey.

That means he’ll catch a lower percentage of the targets he sees on average, but the catches he does make will be more valuable since they’re farther down the field. That’s how he’s able to lead the Chargers in receiving yards despite having the fewest catches of the group.

Plus, with SimLabs handling the details, you’ll get various permutations of Chargers double stacks, as well as Broncos bring-back options where needed. That helps remove a lot of the guessworkfrom the process, so the only thing you need to get right is the Herbert and Johnson tandem if you’re entering multiple lineups.

Carson Wentz + TJ Hockenson

Carson Wentz is joined by Marcus Mariota as starting QBs with a minimum price tag on DraftKings. Mariota is probably the better raw option thanks to his rushing upside, but it’s hard to see him bringing a specific pass catcher with him.

That’s not the case for Wentz. Wentz loves tight ends — in every season he started full-time for the Eagles, their leading receiver was a tight end, and in some years their top two receivers by yardage both played the position. Those tight ends were Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert, both of whom are far less athletic than Hockenson.

Hockenson has just three catches on the year with JJ McCarthy under center but could be the focal point of a Wentz-led passing attack. That makes this an ideal buy-low spot, especially considering his low ownership. Hockenson ranks second among TEs in Optimal vs. Projected Ownership.

Plus, the salary saved on this pair allows SimLabs to jam-pack the rest of your lineup with stars, so you don’t necessarily need Wentz and Hockenson to put up huge scores.

Pictured: Rome Odunze

Photo Credit: Imagn

I broke down some general uses of the tool from an evergreen perspective last season. Moving forward, we’ll be checking out some suggested starting points for building lineups.

For more on what SimLabs is and how it works, check out our user guide.

Let’s check out some potential starting points in Week 3.