Two Offensive Guru’s

With Matt LaFleur and Kyle Shanahan squaring off we have what is believed to be two of the better offensive minds in the NFL today. Shanahan brings his zone running scheme into a matchup where the Packers are coming off of an offensive explosion against the Lions last Monday night. This should be an exciting game to watch and one that will have plenty of DFS activity.

NOTE: All pricing references pertain to DraftKings

Showdown Strategy

When Showdown slates first became available I was not a big fan simply because I don’t often like change. When these slates were designed we hadn’t ever seen anything like them in the DFS world. Come to realize a few years later I really enjoy them. On a normal slate with multiple games, I would typically describe myself as a cash game player primarily. That’s where my focus typically lies; cash games/single entry tournaments and from there I’ll build lineups for multi-entry GPP contests. For me, the cash game/single entry strategy kind of goes out the window as I’ll hardly if ever play double-ups and single-entry contests in showdown. Instead, I’ll take a core of players, more than often three to four players in the game that I want in virtually every lineup, typically 20 or so, that I build. The core will usually include both quarterbacks and one to two skill players that I have to have. Like much of fantasy football volume is king but it comes with a price. The wrinkle is the captain’s spot in showdown lineups. The captain’s spot generates 1.5 times the amount of fantasy points scored however a player’s salary goes up in the captain’s spot obviously. Locking in a core and deciding on a captain is how I’ll start building lineups. From there I’ll fill in the rest of the spots with correlation and value plays. Don’t be afraid to get a little weird with these lineups because virtually anything goes!

Core Plays

Green Bay Packers: QB Aaron Rodgers, WR Davante Adams

San Francisco 49ers: QB Jimmy Garoppolo

Last week was the “Aaron Jones Show” as he scored four touchdowns, three of which went through the air. The last running back to score three receiving touchdowns in a score before last week was Danny Woodhead. Yeah, it’s rare. Rodgers got back on track last week and I expect him to look to Davante early and often this week. Adams had eight receptions for 121 yards last week which was back on par with what we would expect. This week I believe he gets into the endzone at least once.

Jimmy G is the one core play I can feel good about considering the personal tinkering that Kyle Shanahan has been doing and really been force to do, specifically at the running back position. Garoppolo has thrown at least 25 passes in both game this season and I’ll expect that to be the case in this game as I feel that Green Bay will be able to score points.

*NOTE: All plays above are obviously “Captain” viable

Captain Plays

*Captain plays will always be options other than those mentioned in the “core plays” section.

RB Aaron Jones (GB)

As I mentioned we saw Jones have a monster effort last week. After handling the ball just seven times in Week 1 Jones came out of Week 2 with 17 carries and six receptions. Regardless of how tought the San Francisco defense can be it’s hard to ignore that kind of volume in what should be a high-scoring affair.

George Kittle (SF)

We’re still waiting for Kittle to get on track and do “Kittle things”. Lions tight end T.J. Hockenson hauled in eight balls for 66 yards and a touchdown last week. Kittle has had just five and four targets in his first two games which is out of the norm. Jimmy G should look his way more in this matchup as he is a nightmare for the Packers to cover.

Flex Plays

WR Deebo Samuel (SF)

Samuel has been the best playmaker thus far and had a monster Week 1 with 189 receiving yards and a touchdown. He backed up that effort with 93 receiving yards last week. With Jaire Alexander likely to follow him around the matchup will be tougher but Kyle Shanahan will find ways to get him the ball.

WR Marquez Valdes-Scantling (GB)

MVS is a big play waiting to happen and after a four-target zero catch game last week we are literally waiting for the big play to happen. Rostering MVS at $4,600 is a gamble worth taking for the upside alone.

Also consider:

RB Elijah Mitchell (SF)

WR Brandon Aiyuk (SF)

TE Robert Tonyan (GB)

K’s Mason Crosby (GB), Robbie Gould (SF)

Value Flex Plays

RB A.J. Dillon (GB)

RB Trey Sermon (SF)

GOOD LUCK!!