Continuing with our DraftKings showdown slates in 2020, we bring you Washington @Philadelphia. Well, someone from the NFC has to make the playoffs, it’s the rules. However, to say one of the 4 teams in the East deserves it would be a bit of a stretch. With the Giants’ victory over Dallas this afternoon, they will take the No. 4 seed in the NFC with a Philly win tonight. Washington Football Team will take their place with a victory in Philadelphia. They enter this game with the simple win-and-in motive, whilst a loss here for Philly could mean a top-5 pick in April’s draft. Washington are currently 6.5 point favorites, with the O/U sitting at a low 43 points.
DraftKings Showdown: Washington @Philadelphia Captain Picks
Jalen Hurts ($17,100 Capt/ $11,400 Flex)
Any time a QB with good rushing upside is available, he becomes a very good choice in the captain spot, and that is no different in this matchup. Whilst Washington’s defence has been solid vs opposition QBs this season, Hurts has been great since being named the starter in Philly. In his 3 starts, he’s averaging 29.6 DKPTS a game, whilst also contributing 238 yards on the ground and a rushing TD. With potential on the ground and in the air here, I love him in the Captain spot.
Logan Thomas ($11,700 Capt/ $7,800 Flex)
My favourite mid-tier Captain play tonight is the WFT TE Logan Thomas. He has become a reception magnet over his past few outings. Whilst he hasn’t seen the end zone since Week 13, he has 26 of 35(!) targets for 207 yards in the 3 weeks since. On DraftKings with PPR scoring, Thomas has the potential for another big outing tonight, even if he fails to hit pay dirt.
Boston Scott ($2,100 Capt/ $1,400 Flex)
With Miles Sanders official out of tonight’s game, Scott comes in as RB1 for Philly. I expect Scott to see at least 15 touches in this matchup – in his 3 games without Sanders, Scott averaged 12 carries for 50.3 yards, to go with 2.3 catches for 24.7 yards. At such a cheap price, he is definitely a viable Captain option, and definitely allows you to jam in the other studs on this slate, but also provides great value if he played in the Flex, allowing you to pay up at the Captain spot.
DraftKings Showdown: Washington @Philadelphia Flex Picks
Terry McLaurin ($10,000 Flex)
McLaurin is currently listed as questionable going into this game. If he is active, he has a great matchup vs a Philly defence surrendering the 6th-most DKPTS to opposing wideouts, to go with 176 yards and just over 1 TD per game. If he is official inactive, Thomas should snag a large percentage of his targets, but if he indeed plays, he faces a secondary who have given up 9.1 yard per target to WRs they’ve face, good for third-worst in the league. The pricing is quite soft on this slate, so McLaurin should be a good play in the Flex, even if he is on a snap count of some sort.
J. D. McKissic ($8,800 Flex)
McKissic is probably my favoured WFT RB tonight, again only due to the questionable tag on Gibson coming into kick-off. When Gibson is at full-health, McKissic’s role on the ground is limited, but he’s seen a decent amount of action in Weeks 14 and 15 with Gibson out. Even with Gibson back last week, J.D. went 8-77-1 receiving, so should definitely be considered tonight given this role in the passing game, especially if McLaurin is not yet back to full health.
Jaelen Reagor ($6,200), Zach Ertz ($4,600)
With Goedert, DeSean Jackson, Alshon Jeffery and Richard Rodgers all out for the Eagles, Reagor and Ertz are really the only viable pieces of this Philadelphia receiving corps. He has been poor across his recent outings, but the volume is there; he saw 7 targets last week, but only managed to grab 3 for 30 yards. He’s perhaps not as safe as other plays on this slate in terms of yardage, but I believe he should see a very high percentage of targets on offence. I love Ertz in this matchup, especially with the absence of Goedert. WFT rank below average in terms of TE matchups, and have surrendered 7 TDs to the position this season. At only $4,600 Ertz is my favourite piece of the Philly passing attack.
Cam Sims ($4,800)
This one really depends on McLaurin’s status pre-game. He’s currently trending towards playing, but if he does end up being ruled out, Sims makes for a viable play in the Flex. He saw 9 targets last week in Terry’s absence. As I said previously, this Philly secondary is dire, so Sims should be able to produce if he sees a decent number of targets here.
Washington Football Team D/ST ($4,200)
Even with Hurts at Captain, the WFT DST is still in play. Hurts is explosive on offence, but like most rookie QBs, has shown he is capable of turning the ball over frequently. In his 3 starts, he’s thrown 2 INTs, fumbled 6 times and been sacked 9 times. Behind an O-line ranking last in adjusted sack rate on the season (9.6%), Hurts is vulnerable. WFT’s defence has been incredible this season, with a record of 14 INTs, 6 fumble recoveries, 44 sacks and 3 DTDs through 16 weeks. In a matchup with playoff implications for one side, and potential draft-pick shenanigans on the other, I can see the WFT DST putting up some points on this slate.
Quez Watkins ($1,600)
Perhaps more of a GPP-pivot off of Boston Scott, Watkins is definitely in play given how much Hurts likes to spread the ball around on offence. Last week he saw 3 targets, turning them into 2 catches for 57 yards, good for 7.7 DKPTS. His floor is incredibly low, but with Scott looking like he’ll be major chalk in this matchup, Watkins makes for a nice pivot with big-play upside, especially with the absence of DeSean Jackson.
Additional Coverage!?
To give more context to those selections, we’ve added the comments of our other DFS showdown writer @kahlilgedin as he digs into the DraftKings Showdown 2020: Washington @Philadelphia
DraftKings Showdown 2020: Washington @Philadelphia: Washington Offense
The Washington Football Team has been dealing with issues at the quarterback position. They recently released Dwayne Haskins Jr., activated Taylor Henicke, a practice squad quarterback, and Alex Smith has been battling injuries.
Bright Spot of the Season
Antonio Gibson has been a bright spot for this team in 2020. He averages 11.6 rushing attempts a game and is responsible for 29% of the offense’s production. Philadelphia over the last four weeks has given up the 16th most fantasy points to opposing running backs.
If the Washington Football Team finds themselves behind in this game expect J.D. McKissic to be involved in the passing offense. He has a target share of 16% this season, the third-highest on the team.
Concentrated Passing Offense
The passing attack is pretty concentrated between Terry McLaurin and Logan Thomas. Terry holsters a target share of 25% and Logan carries a target share of 18.1%. Philly has been generous to opposing wide receivers over the past four weeks and have allowed the 2nd most fantasy points to that position.
Unfortunately, Alex Smith doesn’t pose a threat to NFL defenses. He has a 65.8 PFF grade and has been terrible throwing the ball vertically this season. He does lead the league with percentage of passes thrown short of the first down marker, meaning a bunch of targets for McKissic, Thomas and McLaurin
DraftKings Showdown 2020: Washington @Philadelphia: Philadelphia Offense
Miles Sanders will sit out this contest along with Dallas Goedert. This opens up opportunities for Boston Scott and Zach Ertz. The Eagles offense has been moving the ball better with Jalen Hurts at quarterback. He will be tested against a good Washington defensive line.
Sanderless Run Game
When Philly has been down in games Boston Scott has been reliable option on in the passing game. He carries 9.4% of the team’s target share for the season. Washington has defended the run well this season and Scott will have trouble finding the gaps at the line.
Unfamiliar Pass Catchers
Jalen Reagor leads the team in target shares and has developed into Hurts primary target. Over the past four weeks Washington has given up the 10th most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers so the Eagles will look to attack Washingtons corners.
Although Greg Ward averages a depth 5.77 yards per target he is responsible for 19.4% of the offense’s production. Also he has been the most reliable option on the team with a 86.79% completions per target.
Zach Ertz will look to get back to previous season form as he will be the only TE starter available for the team. He has been battling injuries all season long but should use this game to develop chemistry with the young quarterback Jalen Hurts.
So, there are our DraftKings selections for the 2020 Showdown of Washington @Philadelphia! Remember any DFS questions, you can check out our articles here. Or you can find us on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.
Image Credit: Bill Streicher – USA TODAY Sports
