Finishing Wildcard weekend for the 2022 season- the DraftKings showdown, Dallas @Tampa Bay. Week 18 wa s struggle for the Cowboys, as they struggled to get anything going against Washington. Meanwhile, Tampa Bay rested up their starters ahead of this game. I think both teams are going to try and air it out, with the defensive lines of both teams effective at limiting production on the ground. The Cowboys are favored by a FG with an O/U of aroudn 45 points.
DraftKings SNF Showdown 2022 – Dallas @Tampa Bay Wildcard Captain Picks
CeeDee Lamb ($15,900 Capt/ $10,600 Flex)
The key to the Cowboys success is going to be through the air against this Tampa Bay defense, meaning Lamb is in great position to have a strong game as the leading receiver for the Cowboys. Now, obviously it’s going to need Dak Prescott to perform much better than he did last week against Washington, but even then Lamb had a decent outing. I’ll have him as my CPT in some lineups, and for me, feels like the only Cowboy worth considering here.
Tom Brady ($15,000 Capt/ $10,000 Flex)
Who is the receiver that is going to pop here? Mike Evans? Chris Godwin? Not sure? Then playing Brady is fine here. Brady has been airing it out all season, but crucially the Tampa offense has been converting drives into scores. Put it this way, in the first half of the season Brady threw for multiple TDs once. In the second half, it was 5 times with some huge yardage totals to boot. If Tampa go down a score or two early, we could see Brady have another playoff performance.
Mike Evans ($14,400 Capt/ $9,600 Flex)
Evans sat Week 18, but after smashing the Panthers in Week 17 he might’ve needed it. I love Evans in this game, as he is likely to face Trevon Diggs who isn’t going to be able to get up and grab it the same as Evans. With his tendancy to try and push for the INT too, I’d expect Brady to look Evans way plenty in this one. I think Evans might end up being the CPT for alot of lineups though, so bare that in mind and mix some Godwin/ Lamb in.
Chris Godwin ($13,800 Capt/ $9,200 Flex)
Godwin is a decent CPT option with his floor of targets in the offense. Should easily hit double-digit targets in the offense with the volume the team put through the air. The Cowboys secondary isn’t a massively strong unit, especially in the slot. If Godwin finds the endzone here, which he should do considering his usage, he is going to be a top add here.
DraftKings SNF Showdown 2022 – Dallas @Tampa Bay Wildcard Flex Picks
Dak Prescott ($10,400 Flex)
Prescott really struggled last week, and this Tampa Bay defense is a stronger unit than Washington. But, he has some upside here if (as I expect) the Cowboys don’t find too much success on the ground, Prescott is going to need to air it out. After his struggles last week, I could see his ownership taking a hit so a nice play for GPPs.
Tony Pollard ($8,000 Flex)
Pollard has been great all year, splitting carries with Elliott but has been getting more involved in the passing game- which makes him the preferred option on this slate. The issue will be if the offense gets into the endzone and Elliott vultures TDs, but Pollard should see enough volume here to be considered for lineups (but I will say I prefer the Tampa backs on the slate)
Ezekiel Elliott ($7,800 Flex)
Elliott has been ok for fantasy this season for one reason- falling into the endzone. He hasn’t really been overly efficient with his touches, but he has been heavily used in short-yardage situations. Infact, when you look at his season the flop of Week 18 broke his scoring record going all the way back to Week 6. In this game he could score and hit value, but that’s what you have to hope for- especially against this tough Tampa defense. Prefer Pollard to Zeke here.
Leonard Fournette ($7,200 Flex)
It’s the playoffs- fire up Fournette. Didn’t see much work last week, only playing three snaps, so should be rested up and ready to go here. The price is nice with his involvement in the passing game too- with 32 targets in his last five games (excluding the Atlanta 3 snap outing). Feel like I’m going to have Fournette a decent amount in lineups on this slate.
Dalton Schultz ($6,400 Flex)
Schultz has been getting plenty of checkdowns as Prescott has been under pressure in the pocket. The issue is that despite getting 19 targets in the last two games, he only has 89 yards (and 2 TDs). As a result, in DK’s PPR scoring, he has a safe floor and if he gets into the endzone is going to hit value at this price.
Rachaad White ($5,400 Flex)
Has had decent volume in the Tampa Bay offense, but in this one I think Fournette takes the majority of work out of the backfield. Despite that, the price is great on this slate. Should still be able to get 10ish carries and get a couple of targets too as his floor. If Fournette doesn’t take the majority of touches here, White could smash- especially if he gets into the endzone.
Russell Gage ($5,200 Flex)
Gage has become the WR3 for Tampa Bay, with Julio Jones rarely getting on the field. As a solid floor in the offense of something like 4 or 5 receptions for 50ish yards, a nice play on the slate. If he has one of his big games where he scores once or twice, could really smash this price.
Michael Gallup ($5,000 Flex)
Gallup has been working as the WR2 in the offense, and the Cowboys are going to need to throw the ball in this one. The thing is that between Lamb and Schultz he is only getting around 5-6 targets in the offense. So unless he is getting downfield and connecting on some deep passes, as well as getting into the endzone, he isn’t going to hit value on the slate.
T.Y. Hilton/ Noah Brown ($3,000/ $2,400 Flex)
Both of these pay-down options deserve interest. Hilton has been pretty effective since he returned with Dallas. Should be able to get a few targets here and have 40-50 yards. With the costing on the slate, the kickers are likely to outscore Hilton- unless he gets into the endzone. I’ll take some shots on Hilton, but won’t go crazy.
Brown has been losing targets to Hilton as the WR3, so it’s hard to trust him on the slate. Brown is getting more snaps than Hilton though- double the number of snaps infact. I prefer Hilton on the slate though, given he is getting more targets and Brown doesn’t really have much of a floor here at all- so his value is all going to be realted to if he gets into the endzone or not.
Cade Otton/ Cameron Brate ($1,800/ $200 Flex)
The pricing of both of these make them attractive to a degree. Otton has generally been the big body receiver that Brady has looked to to move the chains, and is likely going to be on the field for the majority of the game. If he falls into the endzone he is going to immediately hit value here.
If you go for Brate, it has to be on the understanding that he could absolutely goose egg. He hasn’t caught a pass in either of his last two games, or had a single target. But, at the absolute minimum only really needs to catch a few passes and he smashes value and allows you to spend up on studs to stack your lineup.
DraftKings SNF Showdown 2022 – Dallas @Tampa Bay Wildcard Kickers and DSTs
The kickers are in-play here with both teams likely to look to them to convert scoring opportunities. Ryan Succop ($4,000) has been ok this season, but has been struggling in the last few weeks as the offense has finished drives with TDs- limiting his FG attempts. If the Cowboys force Tampa’s offense to stall, Succop should be able to convert from most distances. My preffered option is Brett Maher ($3,800) though. Didn’t do anything last week, but then the whole offense didn’t. Maher has been a huge part of the success of this Dallas side, converting from distance consistently.
The defenses both have some appeal too. Tampa DST ($3,400) have been returning to health, and are able to put pressure on the QB consistently. WIth how Prescott struggled last week, we could see a repeat here and the Bucs smash value as a result. The Cowboys DST ($4,800) are an odd defense in that they give up plenty of points, but they have the playmakers to make big plays. Force turnovers and get sacks too. A decent option, but feel expensive at $1.4k over the cost of Tampa Bay here.
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Image Credit: Geoff Burke – USA TODAY Sports
