AFTERNOON Only Short Slate Survey – Week 14
After Steve’s massive wins on the Thanksgiving 3-game slate and the Early Only short slate in Week 12, we are doing a weekly Short Slate Strategy Survey for both Early Only and Afternoon Only slates. Check out our favorite QB stacks, values, contrarian plays, fades, and more for the Afternoon Only Slate for Week 14! You can always find all our Daily Fantasy content here!
FAVORITE QB STACK?
STEVE:
MEG:
FAVORITE GAME STACK?
STEVE:
Bills at Chiefs
MEG:
Bills at Chiefs
TOP 3 VALUE PLAYS (ANY POSITION)?
STEVE:
Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Khalil Shakir, Jaxon Smith-Njigba
MEG:
Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Michael Mayer Jaxon Smith-Njigba
TOP 3 CONTRARIAN PLAYS (ANY POSITION)?
(Don’t have exact ownership projections for short slates)
STEVE:
Jordan Addison, Jakobi Meyers, Gabe Davis
MEG:
Courtland Sutton, George Kittle, Gabe Davis
TOP 3 FADES (20% OWNERSHIP OR HIGHER)?
(Don’t have exact ownership projections for short slates)
STEVE:
MEG:
FAVORITE DEFENSE?
STEVE:
Vikings
MEG:
Vikings, but like playing Bills or Chiefs in lineups that you fade or nearly fade that game
OVERALL LINEUP STRATEGY FOR EARLY ONLY?
STEVE:
Spend wisely! With so many elite talents on this slate at every position you are only going to be able to fit in a couple of top plays no matter how you build. It’s just a 4 game slate here and all 4 games have guys we normally would want to jam in the line-up. My priority will be on the Bills vs Chiefs game as it is the highest total, but if it comes from some secondary pieces, perhaps you want the studs from another game, so just keep that in mind.
Vikings at Raiders: Josh Dobbs could be an interesting salary-saver QB to pair with Justin Jefferson or T.J. Hockenson. I also think Jordan Addison could be a great contrarian pivot play. I think Alexander Mattison becomes popular due to the match-up and the salary savings he provides. If you want to be unique Ty Chandler could be an option. From the Raiders it’s pretty easy, Jacobs, and Adams should see decent ownership, Michael Mayer will be a cheap TE play, and Jakobi Meyers is an option if you want a 5% or less play.
Seahawks at 49ers: Don’t expect any of the 49ers to end up coming in low-owned. The upside and talent of this skill group are clear, and we know 1-2 guys can pop off any given week. Purdy, Samuel, and Aiyuk are aided by a price decrease vs the top of their position groups, despite similar ceilings. CMC is expensive, but it’s also a super thin RB group, so unless he really fails and has like sub 20 points, you probably want him in most of your line-ups. The Seattle side is tough. Geno is still dealing with injuries, as are both RBs. That leaves the top two WRs in clear limbo, despite Metcalf coming off a slate-breaking performance. JSN is cheap enough that he’s worth playing, even if he’s just average.
Broncos at Chargers: From the Denver side expect Javonte Williams to be extremely popular, which for me makes him basically an auto-fade. Williams has struggled of late, and even if Perine is out I don’t know if that will increase his role enough to justify playing him at this price. I would rather play Courtland Sutton. Sutton has been consistently good this year, but hasn’t had a breakout game. That could come this week. From the Chargers’ side, it’s pretty simple. Fade the RBs, play Herbert, Allen, and sprinkle in some Gerald Evertt and Johnston.
Bills at Chiefs: This is the marquee game and the highest total of the slate. Just about everyone on the Bills should be in play in this game, but Josh Allen does have the highest upside on this slate. Diggs, Davis, and Kincaid are all great stacking options, and Shakir is a nice salary saver. Even James Cook is worth a look, especially in non-Allen line-ups. From the Chiefs side, it’s a little tougher to find stackable options for Patrick Mahomes past Travis Kelce. With Pacheco being out CEH will be the starter, but McKinnon should get some run as well (check injury report). Rice and Watson have seen the most recent work, but it’s not as consistent as you want. Overall, I think Kelce can be a priority though as the Bills LBs have had some issues due to injuries covering TEs. I also think having CEH or McKinnon in most line-ups makes sense.
MEG:
Quick summary…I’m either going to do 2 different builds…one will overstack the Bills/Chiefs and the other will almost fade it (piece or two) and play a defense from that game. If you do get away from stacking up that game, I like Herbert stacks and Purdy stacks.
Good luck!