DFS Building Blocks – Week 13
SUNDAY MORNING UPDATE: Some tweaks to our main lineups at the bottom.
A nice week last week. A 12x return on DK, with a very real chance for the 250k top prize. A 3x return on FD. And a 4x return on Yahoo. Last week was a great example of using the site pricing and scoring settings to get exposure to different players. Three different QB stacks across the sites and all produced winning scores.
Maybe you even made some tweaks to the posted lineups and did better. Send your winning screenshots to [email protected]!
Initial Reactions
This week is one to take it easy on your bankroll. It will be very tempting to want to play all the great plays this week, but there are simply too many good games and good plays to target them all. I like spending up and playing more entries on weeks where we have more clear advantages over the field. This week, we’ll need a little more luck, so don’t go overboard. Pick a couple core teams/players and build smart lineups and then hope your players rise above the sea of good players this week.
This is also a week where ownership will be spread out enough that we won’t get significant ownership leverage, but, at the same, time when picking between a bunch of equally good plays, we can still use ownership levels as our tie-breaker. If everyone is on Burrow, take Mahomes. If everyone is on Watson, take Chubb. And on and on.
Game Overviews
| Cincinnati Bengals * | Kansas City Chiefs | 2(-110) | 115 | 25.5 | 53 | Sun, Dec 4, 2022 05:25 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | Cincinnati Bengals * | -2(-110) | -135 | 27.5 | 53 | Sun, Dec 4, 2022 05:25 |
Big total. Tight spread. This should get all the attention this week. No reason not to target it, other than the likely very high salaries on everyone involved. Burrow looks to be the most popular QB of the week, but not to a level where you need to fade him simply because of ownership. Higgins is projecting to be highly owned so you could go Burrow and Chase or start with Mahomes, who has been fine to play without stacking a WR, and Mixon. Kelce is always the top stacking partner with Mahomes but that’s an expensive pairing. I’ll be playing around with this game most likely starting with Mahomes + Chase or Mahomes + Mixon. If going to the Burrow side, I’d rather go Burrow + Mixon + Chase to get unique. We know these QB + RB + WR trios can pay off in shootouts. This is also a great overstack opportunity with Mahomes + WR/TE + Mixon + Chase.
Building Blocks (stacks to build around)
Any way you want to stack this game is fine, so I’m going to limit this section to a few that I’ll be focusing on.
Mahomes + JuJu + Chase + Kelce
Burrow + Mixon + Boyd + Kelce/JuJu
Pacheco + KC DEF
Burrow + Chase + Higgins/Boyd + Kelce/JuJu
Individual Plays (players that can be rostered alone to fill out your lineups that are built around other stacks)
Mixon
Pacheco
JuJu
Boyd
Moore
Mahomes
Lottery Picks (players that can be rostered alone to fill out your lineups that are built around other stacks)
Mixon + CIN DEF
Perine + CIN DEF
Watson
Mahomes + Moore + Chase + Kelce
| Detroit Lions * | Jacksonville Jaguars | -1(-105) | -110 | 26 | 51 | Sun, Dec 4, 2022 02:00 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | Detroit Lions * | 1(-115) | -110 | 25 | 51 | Sun, Dec 4, 2022 02:00 |
Big total. Tight spread. This is basically KC vs CIN at a price discount. Or, KC vs CIN, with a better chance of the running game getting involved. That second part is important as the times these two teams have gotten into big games is when they’re playing catch-up. There is a higher-than-not chance that these two teams play a more competitive, non-shootout game than people expect. St. Brown is always in play. Etienne is always in play. I think Swift is sneaky this week if you want to attack this game in a way no one else is. And Etienne + Jags DEF is not a bad approach either.
Building Blocks (stacks to build around)
Etienne + St. Brown
Etienne + Jags DEF
Goff + Etienne + St. Brown
Lawrence + Etienne + Kirk
Swift + Kirk
Swift + Etienne
Individual Plays (players that can be rostered alone to fill out your lineups that are built around other stacks)
Etienne
St. Brown
Hockenson
Swift
Williams
Lottery Picks (players that can be rostered alone to fill out your lineups that are built around other stacks)
Williams + DET DEF
Goff + Etienne + Chark
Goff + Etienne + St. Brown + Hockenson
M. Jones
| Las Vegas Raiders * | Los Angeles Chargers | -2.5(-110) | -135 | 26 | 49.5 | Sun, Dec 4, 2022 05:25 |
| Los Angeles Chargers | Las Vegas Raiders * | 2.5(-110) | 110 | 23.5 | 49.5 | Sun, Dec 4, 2022 05:25 |
Another high total. Another tight spread. Jacobs put up 50 points or so, has the same calf injury he had going into last week, and is only the 10th highest owned RB. That’s what the Q tag and the highest salary will do for you. I started the week wanting to play Adams to get leverage off of Jacobs, but Adams is actually projecting to be a lot higher owned than Jacobs, so Jacobs makes a nice play again this week. I like Ekeler on the other side as well, so you could go there at even lower ownership and price than Jacobs. Or play them both and get really unique. I like Josh Palmer here and Keenan Allen is getting ownership attention, but he’s never a great DFS play. Jacobs + Palmer works here. And any other way you want to stack this game up is fine too.
Building Blocks (stacks to build around)
Herbert + Jacobs + Palmer/Everett
Herbert + Jacobs + Palmer + Everett
Herbert + Ekeler + Adams (+ Palmer/Everett)
Carr + Ekeler + Adams (+ Palmer/Everett)
Ekeler + Adam
Jacobs + Palmer/Everett
Individual Plays (players that can be rostered alone to fill out your lineups that are built around other stacks)
Jacobs
Adams
Ekeler
Palmer
Everett
Lottery Picks (players that can be rostered alone to fill out your lineups that are built around other stacks)
Carter
Moreau
Hollins
Carr + Ekeler + Moreau
Herbert + Jacobs + Carter
| Houston Texans * | Cleveland Browns | 7.5(-110) | 280 | 19.5 | 46.5 | Sun, Dec 4, 2022 02:00 |
| Cleveland Browns | Houston Texans * | -7.5(-110) | -350 | 27 | 46.5 | Sun, Dec 4, 2022 02:00 |
It’s Deshaun Watson time. Or, put another way, it’s Chubb time. Watson is popular this week, but I’m going to play this game as the dream running matchup it is, with the Browns easing Watson back in by leaning on Chubb. Chubb is expensive and Watson is popular, giving us some really nice ownership leverage here. Chubb in the best running game matchup in the NFL at less than 3% ownership? Yes, please.
People are also loading up on Pierce on the other side. I won’t be. I’d rather double up my leverage and play CLE DEF.
Building Blocks (stacks to build around)
Chubb + CLE DEF
Watson + Cooper + Peoples-Jones + CLE DEF
Watson + Cooper + Peoples-Jones + Collins
Individual Plays (players that can be rostered alone to fill out your lineups that are built around other stacks)
Chubb
Hunt
Cooper
Lottery Picks (players that can be rostered alone to fill out your lineups that are built around other stacks)
Watson + Hunt + Pierce/Collin
Bryant
Watson + Cooper + Collins + Bryant
| San Francisco 49ers * | Miami Dolphins | -4(-110) | -200 | 25.25 | 46.5 | Sun, Dec 4, 2022 05:05 |
| Miami Dolphins | San Francisco 49ers * | 4(-110) | 165 | 21.25 | 46.5 | Sun, Dec 4, 2022 05:05 |
This game has a lot of my focus this week. If we know there are a ton of good games and plays this week and we need get a little lucky, we might as well overstack one game and hope it goes crazy and the others fall a little flat. This is that game. You have to go pretty far down the ownership list to find Tua, Hill, and Waddle. And surprisingly far down to find Kittle on the other side. If all the other popular games explode too, you’re going to need to be extremely lucky to have the right combination of players from those games. Take the ownership leverage here with players we know can go crazy in the right game environments.
Building Blocks (stacks to build around)
Tua + Hill + Waddle + Kittle
Tua + Hill + Kittle
Tua + Hill + Waddle + Deebo
Tua + CMC + Hill/Waddle
Jimmy G + Hill/Waddle + Kittle
Individual Plays (players that can be rostered alone to fill out your lineups that are built around other stacks)
Hill
Waddle
Kittle
Deebo
CMC
Lottery Picks (players that can be rostered alone to fill out your lineups that are built around other stacks)
Wilson + MIA DEF
CMC + SF DEF
| Chicago Bears * | Green Bay Packers | 3.5(-110) | 150 | 20.5 | 44.5 | Sun, Dec 4, 2022 02:00 |
| Green Bay Packers | Chicago Bears * | -3.5(-110) | -185 | 24 | 44.5 | Sun, Dec 4, 2022 02:00 |
It looks like Fields will back, making him a nice pivot away from all the other QBs. We know what he can do and you can run on the Packers. Montgomery is also in play. Aaron Jones is really popular this week, but I’ll fade him at his ownership level. Would rather take a shot on the Packers disappointing and play the Bears DEF (everyone will be flocking to low-priced DEF this week, but this one will go overlooked because it’s such a bad play on paper). On that note, it makes me even more likely to want to jam in the Browns DEF at their high salary, but low ownership.
Building Blocks (stacks to build around)
Fields + Lazard + Kmet
Fields + Watson + Kmet
Fields + Lazard/Watson
Rodgers + Montgomery + Lazard/Watson
Individual Plays (players that can be rostered alone to fill out your lineups that are built around other stacks)
Jones
Montgomery
Fields
Lottery Picks (players that can be rostered alone to fill out your lineups that are built around other stacks)
Claypool
Fields + Claypool
Montgomery + Bears DEF
Jones + GB DEF
| Minnesota Vikings * | New York Jets | -3(-110) | -155 | 23.75 | 44.5 | Sun, Dec 4, 2022 02:00 |
| New York Jets | Minnesota Vikings * | 3(-110) | 130 | 20.75 | 44.5 | Sun, Dec 4, 2022 02:00 |
Nothing here really excites me. People are overconfident in Mike White and the cheap Jets RBs like White. I’d rather take a flier on Robinson somehow getting back into the fold. The Jets DEF is good, which should dampen the ceiling for the Vikings, making this game a pretty easy pass for me. I should note that Cook is popular, meaning attacking this game with Jefferson or Hockenson would be the way to go, but I’m still skipping it overall.
Building Blocks (stacks to build around)
Individual Plays (players that can be rostered alone to fill out your lineups that are built around other stacks)
Hockenson
Lottery Picks (players that can be rostered alone to fill out your lineups that are built around other stacks)
Moore
Robinson
White + Jefferson + Moore
Robinson + Jets DEF
Cousins + Moore + Jefferson/Hockenson
| Philadelphia Eagles * | Tennessee Titans | -4.5(-110) | -225 | 24.5 | 44.5 | Sun, Dec 4, 2022 02:00 |
| Tennessee Titans | Philadelphia Eagles * | 4.5(-110) | 180 | 20 | 44.5 | Sun, Dec 4, 2022 02:00 |
I really want to play December-Derrick-Henry here, and come back with AJ Brown. But that’s expensive. And if we want to target some of the other top game environments, that may be impossible. What’s more likely is that I end up rostering Hilliard (gasp – if you’re not first, you’re last) in a game script that see the Eagles jump out to a nice lead and Hilliard getting more passing work and volume than he’s used to. He’s a scary play but at near zero ownership would be a nice pivot away from guys other cheap RBs like White. Smith is fine instead of Brown, but he’s actually higher owned since he’s cheaper. Hurts is always in play of course and makes sense in a stack if you’re building off a monster Henry game.
Building Blocks (stacks to build around)
Henry + Brown
Hurts + Henry + Brown
Henry + Smith
Hurts + Henry + Brown + Smith
Individual Plays (players that can be rostered alone to fill out your lineups that are built around other stacks)
Brown
Smith
Lottery Picks (players that can be rostered alone to fill out your lineups that are built around other stacks)
Tannehill + Hilliard + Brown/Smith
Tannehill + Henry + Burks + Brown/Smith
| Atlanta Falcons * | Pittsburgh Steelers | 1(-110) | -105 | 20.75 | 42.5 | Sun, Dec 4, 2022 02:00 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | Atlanta Falcons * | -1(-110) | -115 | 21.75 | 42.5 | Sun, Dec 4, 2022 02:00 |
I like the Steelers pieces here and the Steelers DEF. They fit the mold of cheap DEF needed to get all the studs on this slate into your lineup. I’m finding Pickens in my lineups as a cheap piece to fill out my roster and, especially on DK, I keep coming back to Pickett because I just can’t cheap my way down to a decent lineup when paying up at QB. Unless you like Hunt and Hilliard (who are both great in a lottery-pick lineup). You can mix and match any of Pickens/Diontae/Freirmuth. I’ll likely end up with some of those pieces AND the Steelers DEF, rather than playing any Falcons.
Building Blocks (stacks to build around)
Pickens + Steelers DEF
Pickett + Pickens/Diontae/Freirmuth + Steelers DEF
Individual Plays (players that can be rostered alone to fill out your lineups that are built around other stacks)
Pickens
Diontae Johnson
Freirmuth
Steelers DEF
Lottery Picks (players that can be rostered alone to fill out your lineups that are built around other stacks)
London
Pickett + Pickens + London
Patterson
Pickett + Patterson + Pickens/Diontae/Freirmuth
| New York Giants * | Washington Commanders | 2.5(-110) | 115 | 19 | 40.5 | Sun, Dec 4, 2022 02:00 |
| Washington Commanders | New York Giants * | -2.5(-110) | -135 | 21.5 | 40.5 | Sun, Dec 4, 2022 02:00 |
Rough game here, but there is a piece I like. I like playing Brian Robinson here as a pivot off other cheap RBs and a piece that you’re going to be forced to play if you want to target the other big games. If Gibson misses the game, Robinson will become popular and I’d probably fade him then, so I’m hoping the threat of Gibson keeps people off of Robinson for now. He also pairs nicely with the WAS DEF.
Building Blocks (stacks to build around)
Robinson + WAS DEF
Individual Plays (players that can be rostered alone to fill out your lineups that are built around other stacks)
Robinson
McLaurin
Lottery Picks (players that can be rostered alone to fill out your lineups that are built around other stacks)
Heinicke + Barkley + McLaurin
Jones + Giants WR + McLaurin
Barkley + Giants DEF
| Los Angeles Rams * | Seattle Seahawks | 7(-110) | 260 | 16.75 | 40.5 | Sun, Dec 4, 2022 05:05 |
| Seattle Seahawks | Los Angeles Rams * | -7(-110) | -350 | 23.75 | 40.5 | Sun, Dec 4, 2022 05:05 |
Walker, Lockett, and Metcalf are all in play but this isn’t a great game to target overall. Walker is pretty highly owned so I’d rather go to the passing game if going here, but those pieces are expensive so I’m not likely to make it here.
Building Blocks (stacks to build around)
Walker + SEA DEF
Smith + Metcalf + SEA DEF
Individual Plays (players that can be rostered alone to fill out your lineups that are built around other stacks)
Lockett
Metcalf
Walker
SEA DEF
Lottery Picks (players that can be rostered alone to fill out your lineups that are built around other stacks)
Rams DEF
Akers
Higbee
| Baltimore Ravens * | Denver Broncos | -9.5(-110) | -450 | 24.5 | 39.5 | Sun, Dec 4, 2022 02:00 |
| Denver Broncos | Baltimore Ravens * | 9.5(-110) | 325 | 15 | 39.5 | Sun, Dec 4, 2022 02:00 |
Nope, nope, nope, nope.
Building Blocks (stacks to build around)
Jackson + Andrews
Individual Plays (players that can be rostered alone to fill out your lineups that are built around other stacks)
Andrews
Lottery Picks (players that can be rostered alone to fill out your lineups that are built around other stacks)
Hinton
Wilson + Hinton + Andrews
Jackson + Murray + Andrews
The Lineup Build
Don’t get carried away this week. Pick a game or two to build an overstack around, or try to build a studs and duds lineup, and then build a hedge lineup that is more balanced. Whichever game you choose to stack, play a secondary lineup (your balanced one) that fades it. Remember, you can’t target every good game and every good play this week. Perfect plan this week: 1) Build game stack around Chiefs and Bengals. 2) Build game stack around a different game. 3) Build balanced lineup that targets a few of the top games (Boyd, MVS/Moore, Palmer, etc.)
FD
For now, I’m building around the Dolphins and hoping my cheaper pieces come through. It’s scary. I’ll also be building my balanced lineup still, so check back for a Sunday morning update to see where I settle.
Tua + Hill + Waddle + Kittle. Taking a chance on Robinson and adding Swift. I wanted to go with Pickens + Steelers DEF, but that left me going all the way down to Byrd at the flex, so I drop down to the Bears DEF (getting leverage on the Jones ownership) and then, since I’m not playing the Steelers DEF, adding Drake London at flex.
You could drop Hill or Waddle from this and make it more balanced if you prefer. I tend to build riskier lineups that give me a greater chance for first place. This lineup also completely fades the top game of the week, which is scary. I’ll be playing around with another lineup that features a Mahomes stack.
UPDATE: Sticking with Tua + Hill + Waddle + Kittle. Keeping Swift. I’ll drop Robinson and Pickens and instead add Pachecho + Boyd ministack, getting exposure to the Chiefs game. Still needing to take a chance on the Bears DEF since fading Jones anyway. And adding Kareem Hunt at flex – who has been disappointing but can get some extra garbage time today or even some extra passing work with Watson back.
DK
I started similarly here, but dropped to Pickett at QB, plus Pickens and Steelers DEF. Etienne + Hunt at RB. AJ Brown. Keeping Waddle + Kittle. And I can flex JuJu to get a piece of the Chiefs.
UPDATE: I didn’t have any correlation with Etienne, like St. Brown, and he has some injury concern, so I’m dropping him and moving up to Josh Jacobs at RB, bringing Palmer back. I have to lose AJ Brown, so I’ll probably build a secondary lineup that has Henry + Brown/Smith. This leaves me with Pickett + Pickens + Steelers DEF. Jacobs + Palmer. Pacheco + Boyd. Waddle + Kittle. If I like Hunt on FD, I should like him even more on DK, so you could drop down to Hunt in the flex and move up somewhere else if you prefer.
Yahoo
I let price drive me more on Yahoo than any other site, building around bargains. Montgomery and Etienne are a nice RB core, allowing me to pay up for Chubb and Browns DEF. I can also pay up for Adams, coming back with Everett at TE. I have Pickett + Pickens again. And adding Chark opposite Etienne.