Levitan’s DFS Cash Lineup Review: Week 4

I play about 60% of my action each week in “cash games.” Cash games refer to any competition that pays out approximately 50% of the playing field, such as: B. Head-to-Head, Double Up or 50/50. I try to get as much head-to-head action as possible each week and then supplement that with other cash games.

Every week I will review my cash game lineup in this section. Sometimes I lose, but hopefully I win more often. Anyway, I’ll post it here and give you my thought process.

The key to this lineup was figuring out the RB position. I thought there were literally eight viable options on DraftKings, from Cam Akers ($5,300) to Saquon Barkley ($8,000). Once we decided how much capital we wanted to invest in RB, the rest of the team would come together.

MY MUST PLAY
* Tank Dell (out, ribs) completed 17% of goals in the first three weeks. Replacing him with dusty WR3s like Robert Woods and John Metchie meant a higher projected target share for Nico Collins and Stefon Diggs. We also had Joe Mixon (ankle) out, which could certainly force the Texans to lean more into the pass. Add in a matchup with a Jaguars pass defense that was seventh-worst in our DvP metrics, and we had a stone-cold lock in Nico.

* In Week 3, we saw Andy Dalton step in and immediately execute Dave Canales’ passing offense at an extremely high level. In this game, Diontae Johnson saw 14 targets for a 38% share. I didn’t think Diontae would sniff 40% again, but strangely his price was only $5600. Even if Adam Thielen (hamstring) is out and the Bengals defense has a lot of leaks. A classic cash game must, especially when you consider the forecast. We charged Diontae with his groin injury, and he was still our best salary-adjusted WR value on the roster.

MY DESIRES PLAY
*I thought there were only three QBs in the money game on DraftKings: Kyler MurrayJayden Daniels and Justin Fields. I liked them in that order and didn’t want to force them. You’ll notice that all three are elite runners, but the game environment and defensive duels for Kyler and Jayden were elite runners.

In the end, I believed Kyler would surpass Jayden. Kyler was home, Commanders was on a week/long road trip, Austin Ekeler was on the road. So in this setup I happened to have the extra $300 to get to Kyler. I played against Daniels on FanDuel, who was $600 cheaper there.

* I mentioned the RB situation above. As I discovered during the last-minute live stream on Sunday morning, I chose DraftKings with full PPR and wanted to deploy more of my capital on the WR position. That meant blocking Rashee Rice Over-punt WR options like Tre Tucker and Greg Dortch. It also meant taking the cheap volume at RB.

I preferred it Chuba Hubbard to Cam Akers. Given the way Chuba was used in Andy Dalton’s first start, the way he’s played the last two seasons, and the matchup…he’s been pretty solid. I thought Akers was OK, but the Texans had four active RBs and Akers hasn’t played well in the NFL since 2022.

Najee Harris was also allowed a 15-touch floor against a depleted Colts team with Jaylen Warren (knee) sidelined. Of course, I don’t like playing Najee, who has no explosive skills and no question of a passing role, while Justin Fields is in the middle. I completely tuned out Najee at tournaments. But at just $5,600, the volume was too much to ignore.

The hardest part for me was the last one. I looked at teams that included Jordan Mason, Bijan Robinson, Breece Hall and Brian Robinson. In the end, I didn’t think it made sense to move a few pieces to get from Brian Robinson to Mason. With Austin Ekeler sidelined (concussion), I expected Robinson to see an uptick in both runs and targets in the team’s best playing environment.

Note that I took the opposite approach for the half-PPR FanDuel at RB. I played Bijan and Breece there and saved some money at WR instead.

* I know Dallas Goedert (no AJ Brown or Devonta Smith) and Brock Bowers (no Davante Adams or Michael Mayer) were both strong. But at DraftKings, I rarely want to sacrifice WR firepower for the shaky floor/ceiling combinations at tight end. Therefore, I had no problem defending the ball using the pass-catching option Elijah Higginswho filled in for Trey McBride (lost, concussion). We couldn’t create a better matchup or playing environment for a punt TE.

* As the week began, I wanted to play the Raiders D/ST against a broken Browns offense that was missing both their tackles and standout RG Wyatt Teller. But then the Raiders lost all-world sack artist Maxx Crosby and their best offensive player, Davante Adams.

The three D/STs I was willing to play for cash were Steelers ($3,300), Texans ($3,000), and Hawks ($2600). I will rarely/never swap my team for D/ST, I’m always willing to go with the cheapest option.

Week 4 results
I was very lucky to have two Falcons D/ST touchdowns. I was very unlucky when I lost Rashee Rice midway through the first quarter and got an airball. Of course, luck plays a big role in a 1-slate trick-taking game, which is why it’s so important to focus on the process and game selection.

I was happy with my decision to take advantage of cheap RB volume on DraftKings this week, which allowed me to score 62 touchdowns for a total of $17,400. It obviously helped that both Breece Hall and Bijan Robinson underperformed.