It was a nice rebound week for FLEX Finder in Week 2 despite some poor luck. JK Dobbins would have had run of the entire backfield had he not gotten hurt, and Rico Dowdle joined him on the injury report. Kaelon Black didn’t quite get there but the circumstances for him getting there remained true — it would have been nice if Jordan James had remained a healthy scratch. The Saints kept feeding our two low-cost all-stars in an upset of the Ravens. Now all we do is simply: Try to do it again
Rules for this weekly article:
1) I will not recommend quarterbacks — There are plenty of good ones. You’re on your own there.
2) I will not recommend any running back who costs more than $5,000, wideout who costs more than $4,500, or tight end that costs more than $4,000 in DraftKings’ DFS slate — This was an easy cutoff for what a FLEX really is.
3) I consider any player who garners over 50 yards or scores a victory for the column — anything more you get out of that, well, great for you. Let’s set expectations low because we are combing for outliers.
▶ Running Backs
Woody Marks, HOU — $5,000 — I haven’t particularly liked anything that Marks has done so far this season as someone who has drawn two Texans games in Rotoworld Sunday coverage. He’s had some nice gains at times, but mostly they’ve come when the offensive line has conclusively won. However, the Colts defense has been just dreadful through two games this year — there are viral tweets (proven wrong, naturally, but not by much) about how the 1,029 yards they’ve allowed this year in two games are the most in the first two games of the season — and Marks is one of a few running backs in the FLEX line who conclusively gets work. If the game is a shootout, Marks will get passing game work. If the game is a blowout, the Texans will be incentivized to rest David Montgomery; I like Marks’ chances here.
Blake Corum, LAR — $4,600 — Corum paid off for us last week. This is a tougher test against the Broncos, but the Jaguars and Chiefs have both run the ball fairly well against them (the Chiefs moreso, obviously) and if Puka Nacua remains sidelined, the Rams will become a run-first, play-action heavy offense as they were against the Giants. Corum almost cracked 100 total yards in that same script against New York, so he paid even without needing a touchdown. Which is good, because he’s not getting the red zone carries that Kyren Williams is.
Keaton Mitchell, LAC — $4,300 — I did not like Mitchell at all this offseason — I thought he was overpaid and overhyped. However, with Omarion Hampton having a back-breaking fumble against the Raiders and Mitchell slated to face a Bills defense that has allowed 62 points in two games — not to mention running back reception touchdowns in each of those games — I think this is a situation where Mitchell could be a worthwhile punt at just $300 over the minimum. There was quite a bit of hype about Mitchell as a receiver in training camp, and if nobody else is going to catch the ball in Los Angeles, they might as well try Mitchell.
Tank Bigsby, PHI — $5,000 — I feel like this is going to be a pretty chalky one, and because of the column publish date I would recommend a pivot if this read proves wrong, but with Saquon Barkley undergoing an MRI I think there’s a real chance we get Bigsby as a lead back. I don’t love this matchup for Bigsby — well, let’s reframe this: I don’t love how the Eagles offensive line is playing. But the volume could be there to make him a good pick anyway.
▶ Wide receivers
Dontayvion Wicks, PHI — $4,100 — We have gone back to the Wicks well. The Bears turned Bryce Young into a downfield passer and I’m not reading much into the Vikings game because of the weather. Wicks had a 27-yard catch against the Titans en route to a 74-yard day last week and Makai Lemon seems to be being brought along slowly. Dallas Goedert is in the MRI room. Wicks is going to find plenty of volume here.
Adonai Mitchell — $4,300 — 12 targets and available for $4,300 is a pretty decent combination for DFS purposes. Mitchell has gone over 60 yards in both starts with Geno Smith and the Jets are also given a matchup against the Lions, who are currently running a secondary that can best be described as DJ Reed and veteran flotsam. Rock Ya-Sin, Chuck Clark, Roger McCreary. As Norm MacDonald once intoned: All the stars are here. Mitchell leads the NFL in targeted air yard percent at 56.69 percent. If Smith can’t find a deep ball to Mitchell here he’s not trying hard enough.
Denzel Boston, CLE — $4,500 — Part of me hates picking players who have had two touchdowns in two games because it’s fairly obvious that attention is coming. Boston isn’t sneaking up on anyone the way he snuck up on the entire Buccaneers secondary on his catch-and-run score last week. But none of the underlying stats say anything other than that this will continue as long as the passing game floor doesn’t fall out in Cleveland. Boston has garnered 51.9 percent of Cleveland’s targeted air yards, a top-10 rate. Maybe someone else does score here, but this looks like a reliable 50-yard game.
Devaughn Vele, NO — $4,400 — Vele has 16 targets and 133 yards with a touchdown in two games, the Saints play a Raiders defense that I think has been better than expected but has little in the way of cornerback depth. And all eyes are on Chris Olave first. Vele’s price has steadily risen over the first two weeks of the season — we have played him all three weeks — and I’m going to be sad when he’s off the table.
Tyquan Thornton, KC — $3,700 — Patrick Mahomes flashed a better deep ball than we’ve seen in years against the Colts on Sunday Night. “OK, OK, that’s nice,” you may say, “but it was the Colts.” Fair! On the other hand, they are playing the Dolphins this week. Thornton leads the Chiefs in targeted air yards through two weeks, and he is available for a pittance in DFS contests. He only needs one catch to get there.
▶ Tight ends
Oronde Gadsden, LAC — $3,500 — Suddenly, Gadsden is the last man standing in the room here after David Njoku hit injured reserve and Charlie Kolar pretended to hit injured reserve but still remains out. We saw some big Gadsden games last season and the Chargers receivers have not looked impressive so far. I think changes could be coming for this offense and, as with my Keaton Mitchell hunch, I like playing into this Bills defense right now.
Terrance Ferguson, LAR — $2,700 — As of this writing I have no idea if Puka Nacua will play, but Sean McVay said he always want to err on the side of caution on soft tissue injuries and Nacua didn’t practice on Wednesday. We saw how involved Ferguson was last week with Nacua sidelined, and if there’s a weak point on this Broncos pass defense it’s the linebackers and the spaces they sometimes must vacate. I like Ferguson to get them in the blender and to continue to prove Denny’s assertion that he’s a psyop wrong in Week 3.
