Saturday ONLY – Short Slate Week 16

After Steve’s massive wins on the Thanksgiving 3-game slate and the Early Only short slate on in Week 12, we are doing a weekly Short Slate Strategy Surveys. Check out our favorite QB stacks, values, contrarian plays, fades, and more for the Saturday ONLY Week 15 slate! You can always find all our Daily Fantasy content here!

Check out our Short Slate Show on Fanspeak Network for more details on the Saturday ONLY slate!

 

FAVORITE QB STACK?

STEVE:

 

 

FAVORITE GAME STACK? 

STEVE:

Bills/Chargers

 

TOP 3 VALUE PLAYS (ANY POSITION)?

STEVE:

 

TOP 3 CONTRARIAN PLAYS (ANY POSITION)?

*Note:  Ownership tough to judge at this point for Saturday Only.

STEVE:

 

TOP 3 FADES (20% OWNERSHIP OR HIGHER)?

*Note:  Ownership tough to judge at this point for Saturday Only.

STEVE:

 

FAVORITE DEFENSE?

STEVE:

 

OVERALL LINEUP STRATEGY FOR EARLY ONLY?

STEVE:

So like any short slate anything can happen, but it’s hard not to overload on the Bills in this 2-game slate. This offense can put up 4-7 TDs on anyone, and now they face a Chargers defense that can’t stop anyone. All the Bills stars will be highly popular, but if overload them, and maybe add one unique piece that might be enough to win the slate.

 

Josh Allen and the Bills’ passing game has been muted the past few weeks, but I can see them getting right in this match-up vs a bad Chargers secondary. Don’t hesitate to play Allen with 2 or 3 of his weapons. Maybe even four in the right build, if you are spreading out with RB, 2 WR, and a TE.

 

From the Chargers side, no Keenan Allen again should make Josh Palmer pretty popular, but it’s tough to get excited about much else. Maybe the coaching change will jump-start the team a bit, but they are missing so many big names. Austin Ekeler is interesting because his ownership figures to be lower, but his production has been down and the price is high.

 

I do like Gerald Everett as a TE option, and he is a strong bring-back in Bills stacks. Though I won’t consider doing it much, Easton Stick is a great contrarian QB play. Despite 3 turnovers and not using his legs last week, he had 20 DK points due to garbage time. This week figures to be more of the same, and maybe they will utilize his rushing which could put his score more in the high 20’s.

 

The Bengals have played well under Jake Browning, and it’s likely that the back-up QB will be pretty popular on the slate. He’s cheap and has shown enough of a fantasy floor to get excited about. He did struggle in this match-up a month ago in Cincy, producing just 13 DK points, and that was with Ja’Marr Chase. Browning does have Tee Higgins, Tyler Boyd, Joe Mixon, and the rest of the Bengals skill guys to rely on, but losing Chase is a body blow for their offense. Pittsburgh’s defense has been reeling, but this could be a get right spot for them. All three of the Bengals big offensive weapons will be extremely popular, so don’t expect much leverage by playing them.

 

I think even though it’s risky, playing them with a low-owned Chase Brown/Trenton Irwin/Andrei Iosivas could make some sense. These three wouldn’t be viable on larger slates, but in a short slate, easily one of them could get enough to be in a winning line-up. TE Tanner Hudson is a solid play, but not a priority for me. He still shares the role too much, and you don’t save enough in money or ownership to have me prioritize him.

 

The Steelers will come in coming off one of the worst 3 game stretches in the Mike Tomlin era. With Kenny Pickett still out, Mason Rudolph will take the helm. Though he probably can’t be much worse than Mitch Trubisky, he also doesn’t offer the mobility. I do think he is going to come in as the lowest-owned QB so if he somehow throws for 300 and 3 TDs, you would have incredible leverage on the field. as well as the money to pay for just about anyone.

 

Neither Warren or Harris were priced up, so both will see ownership, but Warren is likely to be one of the highest-owned players on the slate. I like going to Harris as a bit of a leverage pivot. In this match-up a month ago, Harris had 99 yards and a TD, so perhaps he finds some similar success. Speaking of success in this match-up previously, Freiermuth dominated the Bengals’ secondary, and even with the QB change is my priority at TE this week. Both Johnson and Pickens are of course in play, but it’s been frustrating to say the least. I wouldn’t overly rely on one, and would have plenty of line-ups with neither involved.