Welcome into the NFL DFS Building Blocks designed specifically for showdown contests this season! If you’ve never read my main slate Building Blocks article, I will be highlighting my favorite overall plays and how I intend to build my main lineup. I will be providing both core plays and prop picks for every primetime game this season, and you can gain access to those here. With that being said, let’s dive into the first game of the season…
Top CPT Plays
Mike Williams
I love this play, and will strongly consider Williams in the CPT slot on my main team. Yes, he let me down massively in Week 1 but I’m not passing up on the chance to get even with Big Mike already this season. Despite not doing literally anything, he still paced the Chargers in routes run against the Raiders. He has a strong history against Brandon Staley-led defenses and has smashed in his career without Keenan Allen. His receiving yards per game jump almost 40 yards with Allen off the field, and I don’t see how they fail to get him going early on Thursday after that letdown in Week 1. He’s currently projected for single-digit CPT OWN%, which is a mistake for someone with one of the higher ceilings on tonight’s slate.
Josh Palmer
I don’t usually like spending down at CPT or MVP, but playing Palmer doesn’t really feel like spending down when you look at his numbers with one of the top Chargers WR’s out last season. This is someone we’ve seen have legitimate production in the NFL and he tied for the team-lead in targets against the Raiders. I think he is going to be extremely popular, but you can make some crazy attractive lineups with his salary at the CPT spot.
Top Flex Plays
Mecole Hardman
I think Hardman can have a big game tonight, and he’s pretty much a lock to come in lower-owned than Josh Palmer who is $600 less expensive on DraftKings. He ran a much more complex route tree in Week 1 than what we saw from him in years past, and saw six targets. He just missed connecting on a few splash plays with Mahomes, and if one of those hits and he scores we are probably talking about him way differently tonight. If you are playing heavier on the Chargers, consider running it back with Hardman at lower ownership than someone like Kelce or JuJu.
Dustin Hopkins
I think stars and scrubs builds will dominate the overall ownership of this slate, but if going balanced I always consider kickers. I wrote about this on Monday night, taking kickers is generally a strong move especially in these high O/U’s. If I’m building a Chiefs onslaught or heavy stack I would consider running it back with Hopkins in hopes that the Chargers just can’t finish drives and Hopkins is outscoring guys priced around him.
Top Value Plays
Tre’ McKitty
Easily my favorite value tonight, priced under $1,000 on DraftKings. McKitty is a lock to be the Chargers number two TE tonight with Donald Parham ruled out once again. They ran two-TE sets at a top-ten rate in Week 1, and McKitty saw a 60% snap-share. He also four targets. Overall, there is always the chance he falls in the end zone, but one catch would suffice at this type of salary.
Written by Ben Hossler (Follow @BenHossler on Twitter)
