Points Galore

Stafford and the Rams are looking to avenge their first loss of the season as they take on the 2-2 Seattle Seahawks who are coming off a win in their last game. Both teams are in the top-10 in points per game as well as being near the bottom in total yards allowed per game (Rams sit at 28th and the Seahawks are dead-last). Look for a high-scoring fantasy-packed affair on Thursday night.

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

Los Angeles Rams: QB Matthew Stafford, RB Darrell Henderson

Seattle Seahawks: QB Russell Wilson

Stafford has 38 and 41 pass attempts in his last two games and I expect him to get up around that range in this game. While he has a plethora of weapons to target in the passing game there are some substantial salary cap restrictions with locking in guys like Cooper Kupp and Robert Woods in 100 percent of lineups. For that reason, I’m looking at getting a lot of Darrell Henderson as the Seahawks have been BRUTAL against running backs allowing 143, 140, and 212 rushing yards in their last three games. Henderson saw six targets and five targets in the passing game in his last two games. Russell Wilson hasn’t had extremely high yardage totals against the Rams in his career but he’s going to have to throw the ball in this game judging by how poor Seattle’s defense has been. Despite not airing the ball out a ton, Wilson continues to be extremely efficient with nine touchdowns and zero interceptions in his first four games with 298 passing yards or more in two of those four contests.

*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.

WR Cooper Kupp (LAR)

Kupp had been in a league of his own up until last week’s game in which he had a “down” effort with five receptions for 64 yards while still seeing 13 targets. Kupp has formed a tremendous connection with Kupp so far and I don’t see that coming to an end against this friendly defense.

RB Chris Carson (SEA)

Chris Carson is Questionable tonight and is trending towards not playing.  If he sits then it would be a strong spot for Alex Collins.

The Rams are allowing 123.5 rushing yards per game and Carson comes in with an extremely friendly captain’s price tag of $9,900. Despite Carson only having 13, 12, and 13 carries in his last three games, Seattle would be inclined to give Carson the ball more frequently to keep L.A.’s offense off the field.

RB Alex Collins (SEA)

Collis saw 10 carries and two targets last week resulting in 78 total yards. The 12 touches were surprising considering that coming in Collins had just three touches all year. At $3,200 you could do worse than Collins IF Seattle goes with a two-man approach again.

 

Flex Plays

WR Robert Woods (LAR)

We’re waiting for Robert Woods to bust out and this could be a good spot for him to do that. Woods is getting the targets with 6, 6, and 9 in his last three games but hasn’t gone over 64 yards in any game this season. Cornerback D.J. Reed who Woods could see a good amount of has allowed a 100.9 passer rating and a 63 percent catch rate against this season.

WR D.K. Metcalf (SEA)

Metcalf has a 32.4 percent target share and has seen seven deep balls to this point. Metcalf also has at least eight targets in each of his last three games. The last time the Seahawks faced the Rams Jalen Ramsey covered Metcalf for the majority of the time and Wilson still targeted him eight times resulting in six receptions. This is gonna be a fun matchup all night.

Also consider:

TE Tyler Higbee (LAR)

• Higbee is questionable but it looks as if he’s going to play in a good spot. Higbee has five red-zone targets with at least five total targets in three of his four games this season. $5,600 for a target like Higbee is more than affordable.

WR Van Jefferson (LAR)

• Stepping in as the third receiver, Jefferson has six targets in each of his last two games and had 90 receiving yards last week with a touchdown. Jefferson is a big play or two waiting to happen and is worth a bargain play at $4,800.

WR Tyler Lockett (SEA) *check game status

K’s Matt Gay (LAR), Jason Myers (SEA)

GOOD LUCK!!