Week 17 DFS

*Stats and figures courtesy of FanDuel

Quarterbacks

Patrick Mahomes vs. Bengals – $8,000

He’s angry and Cinci’s secondary is subpar.

Kyler Murray @ Eagles – $7,800

Eagles are 27th in passing defense.

Will Levis @ Texans – $6,500

Value pick here. A week off and a good matchup for Levis has me optimistic.

Running Backs

Rachaad White vs. Saints – $7,900

White has scored double-digit fantasy points in 10 straight games and the Saints are 25th in the league in rushing defense.

James Cook vs. Patriots – $7,600

Despite a juicy matchup, Cook is affordable, likely because his poor performance last week. New OC Joe Brady has done wonders for the dynamic young RB.

Zamir White @ Colts – $6,100

Jacobs is currently doubtful for the game and White is coming off a 145 yard rushing game.

Wide Receivers

Stefon Diggs vs. Patriots – $7,600

In 8 career games against New England he has 7 TD’s and he has to bust out of this slump at some point.

Brandon Aiyuk @ Commanders – $7,500

Washington is 31st in passing defense and Purdy will be looking to make everyone forget about last week.

Zay Flowers vs. Dolphins – $6,300

He’s scored at least 17 fantasy points in 3 out of his last 4 games and is Lamar’s #1 option.

Tight Ends

Trey McBride @ Eagles – $6,800

Philadelphia is 27th in passing defense and McBride’s target share is massive.

Dalton Schultz vs. Titans – $6,200

11 targets last week and Stroud is back.

Isaiah Likely vs. Dolphins – $6,000

Despite a subpar matchup, he’s been a major factor in the Ravens offense the past three weeks.

Defense

Bills vs. Patriots – $4,900

The second priciest defense this week but the difference between the others is minimal. Plus you know they’ll be going all out for a playoff spot in front of their home crowd.

Colts vs. Raiders – $4,000

Las Vegas is the 29th ranked offense and the Colts had strung together some nice games before last week’s loss to Atlanta.

Raiders @ Colts – $3,900

4 defensive touchdowns in the past two weeks. Interim coach Antonio Pierce has this team inspired.

Browns vs. Cardinals Week 9 Matchup

Sam Abood

Oct 31, 2023

The Arizona Cardinals enter their week 9 matchup against the Cleveland Browns riding a 5-game losing streak and down to their 3rd string quarterback, Clayton Tune, after trading Josh Dobbs to the Minnesota Vikings on Tuesday.

Dobbs will now be faced with the challenge of learning his 3rd offense this season after being traded from the Browns to the Cardinals just before the season started. 

With Kyler Murray rumored to return from his ACL injury any week now, Arizona decided Dobbs was expendable and traded him to Minnesota for a 6th round pick.

Looking back at the initial trade between the Browns and Cardinals after 8 weeks, an argument can be made that it was a loss for both teams. 

Dobbs led the Cardinals to a 1-7 record while averaging just under 200 yards a game with a QBR of 46.6, good for 19th in the league. Those numbers leave a lot to be desired, but the Browns sure could have used that production.

Filling in for an injured Deshaun Watson, rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson had a disastrous debut in Week 4 when he was thrust into action against a vaunted Ravens defense.  The next week he was replaced by PJ Walker who has averaged 206 yards per game with a QBR of 25.3 in his 3 starts with the team.

How might things have gone for Cleveland if they held onto Dobbs? No one really knows but looking at his QBR compared to Thompson-Robinson’s and Walker’s, I imagine the Browns might have won a few more games. 

Cleveland enjoys a measly 169 days of sunshine compared to 299 days a year in Phoenix. Cleveland was once a proud, blue collar steel town but is now struggling with a declining population and scarcity of job opportunities. Maricopa, representative of the whole city of Phoenix, is one of the fastest growing cities in the country. 

But when it comes to the NFL, both teams and cities share the heartbreak and misery that comes along with years of losing. Both teams head into Week 9 in similar predicaments, waiting for their franchise quarterbacks to return from injury and prove that they are deserving of their massive contracts. Until then, it’s a battle of the 3rd string quarterbacks in Cleveland on Sunday.