Finishing Week 9 of the 2023 DraftKings showdown slate- Los Angeles @New York. This game firstly needs Zach Wilson to continue to be this version (able to not throw constant INTs), and for their defense to make some stop to stop the Chargers offense. The Chargers offense can put up points quickly if given the opportunity. The O/U has been set at 41.5, with the Chargers currently a FG favorite.
DraftKings MNF Showdown 2023 – Los Angeles @New York Captain Picks
Austin Ekeler ($18,000 Capt/ $12,000 Flex)
Ekeler is rightly the highest-priced player on the slate. There really is nothing he can’t do. Missed a bit of time with injury, but seems healthy now. Leads the backfield in carries, and is one of the lead receivers for the team. With goal-line ability too, floor, ceiling, everything.
Keenan Allen ($17,400 Capt/ $11,600 Flex)
Allen hasn’t had a huge game for a few weeks. But could have a nice return here. With the Jets pass rush being unrelenting, Justin Herbert is going to need to try and release the pressure on the pocket. And that spells checkdowns and quick passes to his favored target in the offense- Allen. Could be inline for double-digit targets here, which should lead to plenty of production. With Ekeler back in the offense, doesn’t have the same upside as earlier in the season, but a nice pivot from Ekeler.
Breece Hall ($15,600 Capt/ $10,400 Flex)
The backfield was shared to start the season, but it’s Hall’s now. Hall is just electric when he gets the ball in the open field, but has struggled behind this offensive line on the ground. Gets goal-line work too, so is a decent CPT option for the Jets (although I do prefer the Chargers options). Should be inline for double-digit carries, and 5 or 6 targets here. With that target share, and DK’s PPR scoring, has a nice floor.
Garrett Wilson ($14,400 Capt/ $9,600 Flex)
Well, the Rodgers experiment didn’t last long, but the Wilson-to-Wilson connection seems to be strong. Getting double-digit targets and the Chargers secondary has been giving up plenty of production to the position this season. He offers a chunk of savings over the Chargers pieces I’d consider as CPT plays. On balance, I prefer a Chargers CPT, but Wilson would be my CPT if I went for a Jet.
DraftKings MNF Showdown 2023 – Los Angeles @New York Flex Picks
Justin Herbert ($11,800 Flex)
Herbert is elite, but with a lack of rushing upside he is really always needing his receivers to do the work to get him up there. The Jets secondary isn’t an easy defense to pass on either. Feels like on this slate, you don’t really need to include the QB to create stacks. Instead think you can just have Ekeler and Allen to get the majority of Herbert’s production in this one and get cheaper talent.
Zach Wilson ($8,800 Flex)
Wilson has been real-life serviceable this season. Outside of the implosion against Dallas in Week 2, which is a tough defence to face on the road, Wilson has only thrown 2 INTs. This Chargers secondary isn’t a tough unit to throw against this season. So could this be a ceiling game? Absolutely. What does that ceiling actually look like? Hasn’t thrown for over 250 yards, and only thrown multiple TDs in a single game. I’ll grab him as a flex with upside, but won’t be loading up multiple lineups with him.
Gerald Everett ($5,600 Flex)
Everett missed last week with injury, but should be set to play here. Getting an average of 4 targets a game, but that has been on the rise in previous games. Ended up in the endzone in each of his last two games, and it’ll take a similar performance to hit value here. The issue is he doesn’t have the ‘big-play’ ability, and the volume in this offense is sucked up by Ekeler and Allen.
Allen Lazard ($5,200 Flex)
As weird as it sounds, Lazard could be the key to this slate. Appeared on the injury report, which could mean that he is ruled out of the game, or limited. If that happens, it opens up this slate. As for Lazard’s outlook, I’m not overly keen at this price. There isn’t much upside for the receivers (not named Garrett Wilson) in this offense. Lazard himself has only had nor than 60 yards a single time this season (where he had 61) and never caught more than 3 passes. Hard to hit value at this price.
Quentin Johnston ($3,600 Flex)
Johnston had his best game of the season last week against the Bears, catching 5 of six targets for 50 yards. With Josh Palmer ruled out, he should be in-line for more targets here. Tough matchup against this secondary though, but if he can score his first TD of the season he hits value. Think I’ll take a few shots, but prefer upside shots elsewhere.
Donald Parham ($3,200 Flex)
Parham is (obviously) TD-dependent. Only has 19 targets this season, but he does get those endzone looks, with 4 TDs. The return of Everett muddies the water though, as it gives Herbert another big-body to use. He could pop here, but you need to know there is no floor when building your lineups.
Tyler Conklin ($3,000 Flex)
Conklin is actually second on the team in targets and receptions. Failed to catch either of his targets last week, which could impact and hurt his ownership. Been getting around 5 targets a game, which with PPR scoring, can help him hit value. If he scores his first TD of the season, he smashes value.
Xavier Gipson/ Randall Cobb ($200/ $200 Flex)
NOTE: You can only really consider playing one of these two if Lazard is ruled out, or is going to be limited. Gipson is the immediate replacement for Lazard, with a bigger frame than Cobb. Also (and I always like this in min-price guys) has return duties for the team. Cobb is likely to be the popular flock to, with name value, but hasn’t done much for a while. Only caught three passes this season, and the last time he had 6 or more targets was in Week 11 last season. Neither of them has to do too much to hit value though at min-price.
Dart Throw Plays (Various)
Instead of writing up a line for a few options with their own sections, thought I’d list out a few in one area. Not really worth considering these as core plays, only in multi-entry GPPs:
- Joshua Kelley (RB, LAC) $2,600 Flex – This is a tough defensive line to run against, and Ekeler is going to dominate the touches here. Would need an injury, or a busted assignment (like he did a few weeks ago) to hit value.
- Dalvin Cook (RB, NYJ) $1,400 Flex – Cook had some value at the start of the season, but has really been limited as Hall’s role expanded with his return from injury. Could get a few touches in the offense, his past two games have only led to 6 touches in total.
- Simi Fehoko (WR, LAC) $600 Flex – popped up out of nowhere to score a TD last week. Did it on just two targets, and limited snaps too. Can’t see lightning striking twice, but with Palmer out it could.
- C.J. Uzomah/ Jeremy Ruckert (TE, NYJ) $200 Flex – Both of these are playing near enough the same role as the TE2 for the Jets. Can’t really choose between them, as they are near enough identical in their outlook. Even at min-price they need to fall into the endzone to hit value.
- Derius Davis (WR, LAC) $200 Flex – Davis should see an increased role in the offense, with Palmer ruled out. The majority of targets are likely to go to Johnston, but Davis has been schemed in a variety of ways. With that ‘gadget’ role and kick return duties has a few ways he could get involved. Decent punt.
My favorite play from the above is Davis. Gets schemed runs and targetted in the offense, and the other plays get limited usage. The others feel like they need multiple things to go their way to hit value.
DraftKings MNF Showdown 2023 – Los Angeles @New York Kickers and DSTs
The kickers here are cheaper than in other showdown slate this season, with both plays below $5k. Cameron Dicker ($4,600) has been good this season, only missing a single long-range FG this season. If the Chargers offense does stall out against a tough Jets defense, then Dicker could see more attempts and hit value. (Dicker is my preferred play of the two kickers). Greg Zuerlein ($4,400) has seen more volume this season than Dicker, as the Jets have stalled out in mid-field plenty. Has a decent floor on the slate, but doesn’t have great upside in this offense.
The defenses are priced up here. The Chargers DST ($5,000) aren’t a great defense and the pricing is only really this high because the team are facing Wilson as the Jets QB. But, he has been able to secure the ball more than in previous seasons. I’d prefer to go with Jets DST ($4,200) on the slate, as they have talented playmakers throughout.
So, there are our DraftKings selections for the 2023 Showdown of Los Angeles @New York! Remember any DFS questions, you can check out our articles here. Or you can find us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
Image Credit: Mark J. Rebilas – USA TODAY Sports
