Top-ranked daily fantasy sports pro Jason Mezrahi, founder and CEO of WinDailySports.com, breaks down his favorite DFS plays at various salary ranges for Week 16 of the NFL season.
Even though we have had great results in picking top DFS plays in this article every week, I’m going to let you in on a little secret: Our projection model at WinDailySports.com has been firing on all cylinders to start the season so what I will do in this article is list some of our highest projected players based off raw points and our highest point per dollar plays based on DraftKings.com pricing.
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These are some of the players Jason will be locking in his lineups on DraftKings and FanDuel for this weekend’s slate.
QUARTERBACKS
PATRICK MAHOMES, KC
$8,500 DRAFTKINGS, $9,400 FANDUEL
If Tom Brady can go out there and light up the Falcons, one can only imagine what Mahomes and the Chiefs will do. Mahomes is my MVP on the season in both real life and in fantasy. He has been super consistent scoring over 20+ points in every game but 1, and has exceeded 30+ points 6 times on the season. The matchup doesn’t get any better than the Falcons and should push Mahomes to a ceiling game. The Falcons are allowing over 300+ passing yards per game and allowing the 29th most points to quarterbacks. There is no safer play on the board this week so load up on Mahomes in both cash games and tournaments in week 16.
MITCHELL TRUBISKY, CHI
$5,700 DRAFTKINGS, $7,200 FANDUEL
The price on Trubisky has stayed low simply due to the fact that David Montgomery has been scoring touchdowns in bunches lately. That can easily change this week. Trubisky will get his points regardless because the matchup is elite versus the Jaguars. The Jaguars rank 25th against defending the quarterback position and give up a league worst 424 total yards per game. Both Trubisky and Montgomery are in great spots but the price is right on Trubisky. At $5,700 on DraftKings, we don’t need much and if the touchdowns go through the air instead of the ground this week we have a nice leverage spot as Montgomery will be popular this week. In lineups you’re playing Montgomery feel free to play Jalen Hurts, Matt Ryan, and Drew Lock in tournaments.
RUNNING BACKS
AUSTIN EKELER, LAC
$7,600 DRAFTKINGS, $7,000 FANDUEL
Austin Ekeler is a nice pivot away from what will be a chalky David Montgomery. Don’t get me wrong I will have shares of Montgomery and he is a great play this week. The matchup is one of the best on the board and the running back position is rather weak this weekend so if you can find a way to pay up for both I can agree to it. The matchup for Ekeler is just as good, and facing off against the Broncos run defense should help him get over 20+ points on DraftKings. With the PPR upside that Ekeler brings to the table he can easily have a slate breaking performance in Week 16 climbing you to the top of the leaderboards.
DAVID JOHNSON, HOU
$6,100 DRAFTKINGS, $6,700 FANDUEL
With all the injuries around him in Houston, David Johnson had a monster game in Week 15. He found a way to catch 11 passes for 106 yards and caught each of his 11 targets. If we can remember way back when, Johnson was a dual threat running back and one of the best fantasy performers in the entire league. The consistent play from Johnson has been hampered by injuries over his career but when he’s healthy he’s been a solid fantasy producer. The price is right on Johnson and the matchup is a plus one as well. The Bengals allow the 26th most rushing yards per game and Johnson should find pay dirt in Week 16.
WIDE RECEIVERS
TYREEK HILL, KC
$9,000 DRAFTKINGS, $9,400 FANDUEL
We need shares of the Kansas City offense and the more the merrier. Tyreek is stud and simply can’t be covered. He has been more consistent this year than in years past and as long as his hamstring is ok, I will be loading up on him and Kelce in any lineup I can afford them. If for any reason Tyreek is out or limited due to injury, feel free to lock up any of the value Chief receivers like Watkins, Robinson, or Hardman. You will need shares of this offense to cash in tournaments so find ways to get your exposure. The Falcons rank league worst at defending wide receivers and second worst in passing yards allowed. Expect those numbers to rise after a Week 16 matchup versus the Chiefs.
BRANDIN COOKS, HOU
$6,700 DRAFTKINGS, $5,700 FANDUEL
Brandin Cooks is still the number 1 receiver in a Deshaun Watson offense. That’s all I need to know in Week 16. It’s a small slate with not too many studs to pay up for at the wide receiver position, so I will lean on Cooks. His floor is safe and the upside will come this week once he finds the end zone. The Bengals defense has played better as the season has progressed, but I have confidence that Cooks will find a way to get to 20 DraftKings points in Week 16.
TIGHT ENDS
LOGAN THOMAS, WAS
$4,900 DRAFTKINGS, $6,000 FANDUEL
Logan Thomas has found a way to have wide receiver production from the tight end slot with a mixture of below average quarterbacks around him. He has become one of the safer tight ends to roster each week and the targets continue to roll in. Thomas has become the top target in this offense the past couple of weeks and that should continue in Week 16. The matchup is great against a Panther team that ranks 25th at defending the tight end, so have confidence in Logan in Week 16.
DALLAS GOEDERT, PHI
$3,600 DRAFTKINGS, $5,700 FANDUEL
We will need some value on this slate and Goedert provides that for us. He has scored 7 or more points in the past 6 games, and scored double digits in 3 of them. At the respective prices on both sites, Goedert is as safe as you can get at the tight end position. This game should be close and on the higher pace side, so we need some exposure to the Eagles. Even though Greg Ward had a great game the last time out, I don’t see a repeat performance from him again. All we need from Goedert in Week 16 is 4 catches, 50 yards, and a touchdown.
DEFENSES
CHICAGO BEARS
$3,600 DRAFTKINGS, $4,700 FANDUEL
The Bears entire team has come on strong as late while trying to make a push for the playoffs. They are motivated and have one of the best matchups on the board. They need this win and they will be bringing the heat to this Jaguar team. The Jaguars are projected to score only 20 points and I doubt they make it there. They scored a combined 24 points in the last 2 weeks and without a quarterback they will struggle to score points versus the Bears. I will have equal shares of the Bears, Ravens, and Browns defense in Week 16.
HOUSTON TEXANS
$2,800 DRAFTKINGS, $4,600 FANDUEL
If you need some value on DraftKings I will be taking a shot or two on the Texans. They are a DraftKings only play for me when needed. As good as the Bengals looked against the Steelers I don’t see a repeat performance from Ryan Finley in Week 16. The Bengals will struggle scoring points and are projected to score less than 20 by Vegas standards. Finlay will take a couple sacks and hopefully turn the ball over a couple times in Week 16, so fire up a couple shares of the Texans defense.
Jason Mezrahi has been a professional, top-ranked Daily Fantasy Player on FanDuel and DraftKings for more than eight years. He has won FanDuel’s $155,555 King of the Diamond competition and placed second in DraftKings’ Fantasy Basketball World Championship, earning him $300,000. He owns and operates WinDailySports.com, which supports the DFS and Sports Betting community with resources such as tools, projection models, expert chat, in-depth written analysis and podcasts, plus much more.
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