For each week's Draftkings slate, I will give a chalk and tournament play. I will also provide a player that I am fading as well. Before I go into this week's picks, I will give a little definition of chalk and tournament play.
A chalk pick is a player that will be highly owned across most all contests. Typically, this might be because of a low price, a great situation, or a combination of both. These plays are best for cash games (50/50s and head to heads) but can also be used for tournaments.
A tournament or GPP (Guaranteed Prize Pool) are contests that have payouts weighted heavily towards the top. The most famous one is the weekly Millionaire contest that DraftKings has on most NFL slates. Hopefully, we can find a player at smaller ownership, thus increasing the likelihood of a unique lineup and, if the player hits, the potential for a huge payout.
Last Week's Plays
Chalk - Josh Jacobs- At a whopping + 80% owned in double-ups, Josh Jacobs was uber chalk. But it was well warranted. He put up a massive week at 39.50.
Tournament Play - Dalton Schultz- Not a great game at 9.9, but Dalton Schults was low-owned, which is what you want in a GPP type of play in a good spot.
Fade - Greg Dulcich- Greg Dulcich had a fine game at 11.1, but he was not a deal breaker if you did not have him.
This week on Edge Rush, Kris Abbott, ClevTA, and Hitman break down every single game of the Week 8 slate and give their opinions on sides, totals, and spreads they feel strongly about.
Week 8 Selections
Chalk
Raheem Mostert - This was a tough week for me to pick a player standing out from the rest. I had a few in mind, but I decided to go with the former track star Raheem Mostert. Mostert has been playing pretty well, going over 10 DK points in four of his last five games. Also, in the previous four weeks, Mostert has gotten at least 14 carriers. The kicker is that he is $5,900 and is going against a terrible Detroit defense. With a game total sitting at 51, this contest could have some fireworks. As the week goes on, people will start to see him when building lineups, and he will shoot up the boards in terms of ownership.
Tournament Play
Ken Walker - This might be surprising to some people. How can Ken Walker be a GPP play, given he's been borderline unstoppable the last 3 weeks? $6,500 is a reasonable price for him, but Walker is only projected to be around 10% to 15%. That could get lower when people realize they can pay down for someone like Mostert. Sometimes in DFS, players who had a huge week previously are under-owned in their next week because the theory is, "Oh, this player already went off. There's no way he can do it again." Walker is going against a mediocre Giants defense with a decent team total of around 23 (23 is on the higher end of team totals this week). Walker could easily go beast mode again, and no one would be surprised.
Fade
Kyle Pitts - I can't do it. I just can't. Kyle Pitts is at $4,000. Players around him are Pat Freiermuth and Mike Gesicki. Is Kyle Pitts a better talent than those players? Yes. Is he a better DK play? Probably yes, but it's pretty darn close. Pitts has been a massive bust this season in all manners. Somehow though, he is projected to be the highest-owned TE at 10%. The Falcons throw so little, and even last week, in a positive game script behind the Bengals for much of the game, Marcus Mariota threw just 13 times. You can be the best WR (or TE) in the world, but if the offense only throws 13 times in a game, it's challenging to trust any of the pass catchers. Even if Pitts and the Falcons sit in a decent spot, I will have to pass on him until he can show us he is a fantasy asset.