DFS Monday Night Football Preview
Is there anything better than Monday Night Football? The closing out of the week, a final chance to tweak rosters to try and pull out a victory, or maybe you’ve already lost, and you want a crack at a DFS lineup. Either way, we got you covered here with the MNF preview breakdown. Each week we will be breaking down the matchups to provide some insight into the game. We’ll look for weak spots in defenses and matchups to exploit. This week we have a doubleheader as the 2020 season gets underway. All salaries will be based on DraftKings while building a lineup for the Showdown slates.
GAME ONE
- Steelers at Giants
- Steelers -6 I O/U 46
QUARTERBACKS
Ben Roethlisberger ($10,200)
Daniel Jones ($9,000)
Daniel Jones put together a good rookie campaign, finishing with 3,027 yards, 24 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and completed 61.9% of his passes. His rushing ability provided an additional boost for 279 yards on the ground with two scores. With a new head coach and a new offensive coordinator at the helm, there may be some growing pains here. Pittsburgh is one of the better defenses in the league and doesn’t have many holes; although long-term, he will be fine, but the Sophomore QB could be in for a long night.
RUNNING BACKS
James Conner ($9,600)
Although Conner has yet to play a full season in his three-year career, he gets the job done when he’s healthy. The Giants were average last year against the run, allowing 1,558 yards and 13 touchdowns, and while they have a new scheme in place, the Steelers run game will be too much for them to handle. Conner is the bell cow for the Steelers and should see a healthy volume of work this week.
Saquon Barkley ($10,800)
This is not an ideal spot for Barkley this week, but you play him no matter what. The Steelers were better than average against the run last year, allowing 1,486 yards on the ground and just five touchdowns to opposing running backs. You didn’t draft Barkley to have him sit on the bench; he is always a threat to rip one and take it to the house.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Pittsburgh Steelers
As we stated earlier, JuJu Smith-Schuster appears to be ready to go and should lead the team in targets and get ample opportunities against a weak Giants secondary. Second-year man Diontae Johnson should also play a roll in the passing game as he comes off a stellar rookie year; keep an eye on his status as he has missed practice time this week with a foot injury. James Washington will get a slight bump if Johnson is unable to go against a weak Giants secondary.
New York Giants
The trio of Golden Tate, Sterling Shepard, and Darius Slayton isn’t as bad as some may think. Tate is one of the best possession receivers in the league, and Slayton should improve on rookie numbers that made him a popular “sleeper” pick this year. Shepard’s issue is health; if he can stay healthy, this makes for a nice group of receiving options. It may be best to look elsewhere this week, though, as the Steelers were the fifth-best team against receivers last year, allowing just 2,156 yards and 13 scores a year ago.
TIGHT ENDS
Eric Ebron ($6,400)
Ebron has always been too sporadic for me to be considered an every week start. However, if you are streaming tight ends, he’s not a bad choice this week against the Giants. The only downside risk would be how involved he is in the offense in his first game with the Steelers. Last season the Giants gave up eight touchdowns and 821 yards to opposing tight ends.
Evan Engram ($8,000)
For me, it’s a make or break year for Engram; he has all the talent in the world to be an elite option at the tight end spot, but staying healthy is a huge concern. The Steelers are good all-around defensively, but Engram should provide an easy outlet for Jones underneath. He could be a sneaky play this week based on a volume basis.
PICK
Steelers -6 Under 46
LINEUP
- James Conner- Captain
- Ben Roethlisberger
- Darius Slayton
- Saquon Barkley
- James Washington
- Chris Boswell
GAME TWO
- Titans at Broncos
- Titans -3 I O/U 41
QUARTERBACKS
Ryan Tannehill ($10,000)
Drew Lock ($9,600)
The Broncos hope their QB search is over and that they’ve got their man in Drew Lock. Lock took over Week 13 of last year and threw for at least one touchdown in all but one start to close the season. The Titans were the seventh-worst team last year, giving up 4,356 yards to opposing quarterbacks while also surrendering 25 touchdowns. Lock also has excellent weapons at his disposal, and once they are all on the same page, this offense could take off—more on the receiving corps below.
RUNNING BACKS
Derrick Henry ($11,600)
Last season was the breakout season everyone had been waiting to see from Henry. He reached career highs in all major offensive categories, finishing the year with 303 carries for 1,540 yards and 16 touchdowns. Henry saw a ton of volume last year while averaging 5.08 yards per carry and had just three games of 15 or fewer carries on the year. Although the Broncos are stout against the run, the Titans want to control the game by running the ball; Henry could be in for 20 plus touches this week.
Denver Committee
The Broncos have created this three-headed monster with the signing of Melvin Gordon, adding him to the already split backfield of Phillip Lindsay and Royce Freeman. Things seemed to be sufficient in Denver last season with just the two of them, and now it’s even more muddled. Matchup aside, it’s best to leave all three on the bench for this week until we see how this timeshare plays out.
WIDE RECEIVER
Tennessee Titans
Second-year man AJ Brown leads the Titans receiving corps with Corey Davis and Adam Humphries rounding things out. Out of this group, Brown is sure to lead the way in targets, but the game script is not in any of their favor this week. Tannehill and Brown were firing on all cylinders last year, and the chemistry is there, but the opportunities may not be this week. The Broncos last year were the eighth-best team against the wide receiver position.
Denver Broncos
Courtland Sutton is likely out for this after a shoulder injury during practice late this week. They are calling it an AC Joint Sprain, which could sideline him for a bit. Sutton may be a game-time decision, but this is a late Monday game; if you’re rolling the dice with him, make sure you have a backup plan. If Sutton is out, the Broncos receiving game (and Drew Lock) gets a significant downgrade. The Broncos are looking at rookie Jerry Jeudy, Tim Patrick, and third-year man DaeSean Hamilton who has yet to put it together. As excited as I am for Jeudy to make his debut, short of them taking it to the house, they won’t play a significant role.
TIGHT END
Jonnu Smith ($5,800)
Smith saw an uptick in targets, receptions, and yardage last year and should be able to see some targets in this one. The Broncos gave up 974 yards to the position a year ago but surrendered just three touchdowns. Smith could have a chance to produce here if the Titans can move the ball.
Noah Fant ($6,200)
One of my favorite tight ends coming into the year was Fant mainly for his discount in season-long drafts. With Sutton possibly out for this game, Fant gets a bump up and could see a bump in volume. The Titans were below average against the tight end last year, giving up 916 yards and nine scores.
PICKS
Titans -3 Under 41
LINEUP
- Derrick Henry- Captain
- Phillip Lindsay
- Brandon McManus
- Ryan Tannehill
- AJ Brown
- DaeSean Hamilton
