Jared Bets the NFL (DFS)

Disclaimer: This is not gambling advice.

Every week last year, I talked DFS shop with friends and found it exciting enough that this year, I’ll post a lineup that best represents what I view as “best practice” when it comes to the new elephant in the room when it comes to fantasy sports. DFS stands for Daily Fantasy Sports. The idea is that you draft new team every week, put money on your team (or scour for free entries) and get rewarded when your team performs. For the purpose of this exercise, I’ll be using DraftKings mobile on my iPhone to talk about DFS in terms of cost.

First, I pick a Defense & Special Teams (D/ST) unit because I’ll have half the investment in that unit that I will every other person I draft. Basically, I picked the Patriots ($3,200) against Miami because the Patriots play good defense and who knows which version of Fitzmagic shows up tomorrow, right? It also raises the high average for the rest of my picks. My baseline cost per player after doing so is at, around, or under $6,000.

Second, I pick a Tight End (TE) because I think you have to hit on this and every position to cash in DFS. I sort by Points Per Game (PPG) and try to commit to memory the most consistent offensive threats at the position so that I know going in to the next week who is going to have a monster game. I chose Baltimore Raven TE Mark Andrews against the Cleveland defense at $6,000.

Third, I pick a Quarterback (QB) and again, I sort by PPG and look for who I think will surprise and be valuable given their cost. Wouldn’t you know the guy right at $6,000 this week is Philip Rivers against the Jaguar secondary. I expect him to out-perform his cost.

I pick Running Backs (RB) and Wide Receivers (WR) last because up until game time, I expect to try to improve those picks. That said, there are a few players I am targeting that I’ll list below, but again, this isn’t gambling advice. Do your own research and come to your own conclusions. I got a free $5 bet and this is where I landed.

Off the rip, I feel connected to the Colts, Ravens and Seahawks this week. I picked them all to win big this week. I already have Rivers, so Hilton at $5,800 and Mack at $5,300 make sense because as Rivers go, so do these two, right? I also admit that the Colts have traditionally struggled against #1 WRs, so Chark at $6,300 makes sense as well. To round out my entry, right now I’m looking at D.K. Metcalf at $5,800, Mark Ingram at $5,500 and Calvin Ridley at $6,100.

I showed you mine. Show me yours!

Le sigh.

Your DFS entries...