General Rules for Creating Showdown/MVP Lineups
Correlate with your Captain/MVP - Make sure you are creating a roster that makes sense with your 1.5x player.
On DraftKings, lean RB/WR in the captain. Though QB can finish as the optimal captain, it’s often overused by the field relative to its success rate. When you are using a QB in the captain, I like to use a lot of his pass-catchers. Because the likely scenario if a QB ends up as the captain on DK is he spreads his touchdowns around to multiple receivers and not one skill player had a ceiling game.
On FanDuel the MVP spot doesn’t cost you 1.5x salary which means you’re just trying to get the highest scoring player in that spot. Contrary to DK, it’s often the QB because of the scoring system. I would lean QB/RB on FD, but there are always exceptions to the rule.
Leave salary on the table - I’m not just talking about a few hundred. Don’t be afraid to leave a few thousand on the table. In a slate that has an extremely limited number of viable options, there is a much greater chance for lineup duplication. It may not seem like much of an issue, but it can decimate your expected value to put in lineups that are going to split with 500 other people.
Multi-enter if you can. Single-game slates have so much variance that the first play of the game can take you completely out of contention if you only have one lineup. It’s best to build a bunch of lineups (you don’t have to max enter) that concentrate on different game scripts and a handful of different correlated captains.
DST and Kickers, while not very exciting, usually offer a solid floor for cheap. Especially in game scripts that go under expected point totals. I would only use at most two per lineup.
When creating single-game lineups, the most important part is creating correlated lineups according to a projected game script, and not pinpointing the exact five or six players who will score the most fantasy points on the slate.
Captain
Dyami Brown is a weird start to this article, but I think there is a ton of merit to captaining him in Week 2. Obviously this doesn’t apply to FanDuel because there isn’t a 1.5x salary boost to each players’ price. The tag on Brown on DraftKings is extremely cheap at $1400. Throwing him in the captain allows access to basically any other five flex players you want. It’s clear he is the WR2 in this offense as he outsnapped Cam Sims by a wide margin.
Taylor Heinicke possesses the rushing prowess to be a viable captain especially if he can score on the ground. I think Heinicke captain builds lends itself more to a pairing with one pass-catcher, not the entire stable. If Heinicke is the optimal captain, it’s because he ran in a touchdown or two, not because he slung the ball all over the field for four touchdowns to four different receivers.
Antonio Gibson was targeted more than I thought he’d be considering he didn’t play on third down in the preseason. The Giants showed they can be beaten on the ground against the Broncos, who in my opinion have an inferior rushing attack to the Football Team. I could see Gibson pushing 25 opportunities again in Week 2. A Gibson captain lineup would severely limit the prospects of Heinicke and all but one pass-catcher, while bolstering Washington’s DST.
Sterling Shepard looked excellent in Week 1, leading the Giants in pretty much every statistical category. He’s the only Giants player that I am willing to captain. I think Washington’s defense is going to put the clamps on this Giants’ offense. When that happens, usually it’s the volume short-to-intermediate receivers that can still produce usable fantasy numbers.
Flex
Terry McLaurin will probably draw James Bradberry, which isn’t an ideal matchup. I’m a huge believer in McLaurin though, so he’ll be in my player pool for the flex spot only. In a slugfest type game script, which this game is projected to be with a 40-point total, McLaurin can land in the optimal with a 7-70 type lineup. Logan Thomas is in the same boat. I can’t see him having a blow up game that is captain worthy, but he probably has one of the safer floors of anyone playing in this game. I like making sure he’s linked with Heinicke because both quarterbacks and tight ends rely on touchdowns. Adam Humphries can be added as a last man in flier, especially on slugfest type teams. If there aren’t many touchdowns scored, receptions will make up a solid percentage of total fantasy points.
JD McKissic is of the same vein as Humphries. In a slugfest, McKissic catching 5-6 passes would be good enough to land him in the optimal lineup. I would temper my expectations on McKissic though as he only saw one target despite playing 35% of the offensive snaps in week one.
The Giants’ tight ends are intriguing and I think they may be key to the flex portion Kaden Smith played about 50% of snaps last week and checks in at $200 on DraftKings. He makes for a really solid last man in on teams that are heavy on studs. Kyle Rudolph played 75% of snaps last week and it is reflected in his $3200 salary. I don’t necessarily have a preference here between the two, I would rotate both through
I’m going to be light on Daniel Jones. As I already alluded, I don’t think the Giants are going to score much in this contest, which will make it tough for Jones to reach the optimal lineup, especially at his price. The other two pass-catchers that we have to dissect are Kenny Golladay and Darius Slayton. I’m going to pivot to Slayton on this slate, or at least I’ll have more Slayton than Golladay. Golladay brings the name value, but Slayton had nearly identical usage in Week 1. In fact he saw one more target (7) than Golladay. With the idea that Slayton will be a fraction of the ownership, I’ll take him every time.
The Giants backfield is tricky. Saquon Barkley just played on Sunday, then has a quick turn around in four days. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Giants either completely rest or use Barkley sparingly to give him 10 days to rest up. Devontae Booker didn’t play much or get involved either. If Barkley is ruled out that changes things, and Booker can be rotated through lineups where he makes sense from a correlation standpoint. If Barkley is active, I’m not excited about either players’ usage.
This is a good slate to rotate in DST and Kicker more than usual. Both defenses can turn this offense over throughout the game. I can envision a defensive battle that results in an above average number of field goals.
Lineup Starters
Captain/MVP: Taylor Heinicke
Flex: Logan Thomas, Sterling Shepard, Kyle Rudolph
Captain/MVP: Dyami Brown
Flex: Taylor Heinicke, Antonio Gibson, Darius Slayton
Captain/MVP: Antonio Gibson
Flex: Sterling Shepard, Dyami Brown, WAS DST
Captain/MVP: Sterling Shepard
Flex: Taylor Heinicke, Terry McLaurin, WAS DST
