Point/Counterpoint: Week 10 Short Slates

November 13, 2022

Daily Fantasy

Megan Shoup

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By Megan Shoup and Steve Shoup:

We both like to play Short Slate in NFL daily fantasy. The Early Only and Afternoon Only slates give you opportunities to play differently than you play on the Main slate.

I use it as an opportunity to do the following:

-Hedge – get exposure to players I didn’t play in the Main slate

-Be Contrarian – stack up a game that people aren’t stacking as much

-Differently lineup construction – short slates you can do different lineup constructions than I typically would on Main. Whether it’s stars and scrubs, overstack a game, or play 2 TEs, it’s an opportunity to be unique with your lineup build.

So let’s talk Week 10 short slate strategy!

MEG:

For week 10, we have seven games for Early only and three games for Afternoon only. Some big name receivers will be on the Afternoon only slate like Davante Adams, Deandre Hopkins, and Cooper Kupp.

So at a first glance, I could see being more RB-heavy or balanced in the early slate and taking a more stars and scrubs approach with the receivers in the afternoon slate. Though I do want as much Tyreek Hill in early only as much as possible.

So who are your priority spend-ups in the early slate? What are your early only slate strategies?

STEVE:

For the early slate, I want to really be overweight on Saquon Barkley. I know the price is high and his ownership will be up there, but I want to exceed the field. I think he’s just too good for this spot and can break the slate. I will also be heavily focused on Travis Kelce as well. Whether in stacks with Mahomes or on his own, Kelce is another option that can swing the entire slate. Among all pass catchers, Kelce is my priority as I think his price offers more per dollar given the match-ups. I think it will be hard for me to get to Tyreek Hill outside of Tua stacks, but it’s tough to ignore his volume.

Overall though, I will probably be the highest on Mahomes and Tua here, and just try to have the right combo around them. I would rather pay up for QB on the early slate, rather than finding value.

*Watch Josh Allen status and Case Keenum as a value QB play

MEG:

I agree those are priority spends, but I would add Tyreek Hill, Amon St. Brown, and some Just Fields to that list for Early only. For Kelce, you can view him as a receiver and play him in the flex with a cheap TE. I think the 2 tight end build (especially with one expensive one like Kelce) works better on shorter slates.

On shorter slates, I’ve had some more luck with stars and scrubs builds so a cheap tight end, defense and even 2nd running back are in play for me. There are some rumors that Jaylen Warren may get more of a workload in Pittsburgh. That may be a risk I’m willing to take for Early only (but not main slate) to save money. What about you?

Then who are your favorite stacks for the 3-game Afternoon only slate?

STEVE:

I’d maybe have interest in Warren as a cheap play in the smaller 3-game slate, but in the 7 games early slate I still think it’s tough. Harris should still see the majority of the work, and it’s not as though Pittsburgh figures to be leading or in control of the game. I don’t mind the 2 TE builds though to save some money.

For the afternoon slate I’m going to be all-in on Dak Prescott. The Kyler Murray hamstring injury concerns me. Even if he’s able to play, will he be able to use his legs to make plays and buy time in the pocket? With Matt Stafford and Aaron Rodgers also dealing with injuries, I’m just going to focus on different Dak builds. Maybe I’ll have a couple of contrarian Derek Carr line-ups, but I’d rather focus on Josh Jacobs in that game against the Colts. With Dak Prescott, I will probably look to double stack in him in most cases.

MEG:

I agree I’m mostly interested in Dak Prescott in afternoon only lineups. There is a chance Matt Stafford is out Sunday, but I don’t think I’d punt off QB for John Wolford. Unless it lets me get a great stars and scrubs build.

My other priority plays are going to be the receivers – Cooper Kupp, Davante Adams, CeeDee Lamb and DeAndre Hopkins (in that order). I’d rather pay up for WR than RB on the afternoon slate. How about you? Who are your core plays or priorities for the afternoon only slate?

STEVE:

If Stafford doesn’t play I don’t know if I will still pay up for Kupp. That is a massive downgrade at QB, and Kupp isn’t priced to reflect that. If Stafford is playing, then I will still have an interest in Kupp, but I probably favor Adams over him regardless. Both Hopkins and Lamb are top options as well. I will also add Allen Lazard to that list now that he doesn’t carry an injury tag.

Running back is tough this week on the short slate. Josh Jacobs looks like he’s in a great spot, but what do you do about the other running situations? Jonathan Taylor is attached to an awful offense, he should see usage, but they might struggle to score. It sounds like Elliott will be back for the Cowboys, so can we still play Pollard? There is a similar situation with the Packers as Aaron Jones is back, but can we trust him in a tough match-up? Then you have James Conner, it looks like he’s healthy, but this Cards offense is struggling. What do you see at RB?

MEG:

Running back is tough for the Afternoon only slate, there are none I really love at their respective price tag so that’s why I may be fine punting RB and paying up for WR for that slate. Though I agree with you, if Stafford is out (and Kyler Murray), I would no longer have interest in Kupp and/or Hopkins. So that will be important injury news to monitor.

After thinking about it more, I think I will play Pollard even if Zeke is in. He’ll be a better play at that point because you’re getting him lower-owned. I just don’t see them rushing back Elliott to a full workload. So I’m very interested in Pollard for Main and Afternoon only slates.