NFL Trend of the Week
After Mason Crosby sealed the Cowboys’ fate with a clutch performance and Chris Boswell seemingly became the entire Steelers offense in the NFL divisional playoffs, I considered writing this article about kickers. After all, they are the unsung heroes of the game. But then I remembered . . . they’re kickers. I’d rather scrape the bottom of the skill-position barrel for cheap players than write about kickers.
With only four NFL teams left in the playoffs, DFS ownership becomes inflated, making the ‘punt plays’ all the more important. Let’s use the Trends tool to target cheap wide receiver punt plays who have a chance to make (or break) DraftKings lineups.
Step 1: Player Filters > Salary > $3,000 to $5,000
As one could expect, players in this range typically underperform. However, this cohort includes backups and part-time players. Let’s focus on players who are more involved. There’s little sense in rostering a player who doesn’t get snaps or targets.
Step 2: Market Share Filters > Market Share % > 50 to 99
That’s much better. We’re now looking at players’s whose market shares of fantasy production are in the top half among all WRs in the league — a rather impressive feat for this price range.
Step 3: Projections > Ceiling > 20 to 31.4
We want upside out of our punt plays. Otherwise, they’re just cheap players. Adding a minimum ceiling projection of 20 points has increased the overall production, leading to a +2.59 Plus/Minus.
Current Matches
Eli Rogers is easily the best bargain of the group at just $3400. In last week’s divisional matchup against the Chiefs he had seven targets, the second-highest total on the team and his second-highest total of the season. With tight end Ladarius Green (concussion) likely to be out again, Rogers will likely continue to work the middle of the field with some success.
It’s very easy to gravitate toward Taylor Gabriel and Mohamed Sanu as punt plays. The Packers-Falcons matchup has an unreal 61-point Vegas over/under, and the Packers have given up the slate’s highest Plus/Minus to wide receivers this season (+2.7). Sanu has hit pay dirt in each of the last two games, and Gabriel remains a splash play waiting to happen. Julio Jones played less than 60 percent of the snaps last week due to his toe injury, and it’s possible that his snaps will remain limited this week.
Be sure to keep an eye on our NFL News feed for any updates, and as always good luck this week!
