Welcome to the bar! The Week 16 DFS Cocktail Hour is here to satisfy your thirst for DFS football strategies. We’ll be looking at useful ingredients that you can use as part of your weekly DFS plays. Additionally, we’ll mix up my cocktail from this week’s Operation: Domination program. As a bonus, you’ll get last week’s recipe as well.
A reminder that we’re looking at cash games on the DraftKings Classic mode, using the Sunday through Monday games. Of course, you’re welcome to pour one out in a GPP tournament using this advice as well. All player scores mentioned use DraftKings scoring as displayed by FantasyData.com.
Week 16 DFS Cocktail Hour: Base Spirits
Ooh, it’s an interesting base spirit this week. Not one of the old classic standards. This is more of a rediscovered, hidden gem. We haven’t used Jacoby Brissett ($5,300) yet. Quite frankly, it’s more than overdue. Since taking over the starting job for Kyler Murray after Week 6, Brissett has been outstanding for fantasy managers. He’s the overall QB2 for the past 10 weeks behind only Josh Allen. Read that again. QB2!! He’s the QB3 in fantasy points per game using DraftKings scoring. He’s thrown multiple touchdowns in every game except a Week 12 tilt against Jacksonville (but he did still throw for over 300 yards in that one.) So he’s not only been fantasy-relevant, but he’s kept the other Cardinal assets viable as well.
The craziest part of the whole thing is just the sheer volume. Brissett has attempted an average of almost 43 passes per game as the starter. Against San Francisco in Week 11, he completed an NFL-record 47 passes on 57 attempts. You know how we’re always talking about opportunities and volume on Operation: Domination? This is the kind of thing we’re looking for. On top of that, the Cardinals are underdogs and should be trailing in this one. Looks like more bombs away from Brissett. He’s stupidly cheap still, so let’s take advantage here for our Week 16 DFS Cocktail.
An Indispensable Pairing
Here’s where Brissett becomes the real cheat code. We’re going to use the savings from Brissett (only QB15 in DraftKings salary) to pay for his all-world tight end Trey McBride ($7,600), one of my absolute favorite players in the league. McBride’s expensive as the top overall tight end in salary- exactly $2,000 more than TE2 Brock Bowers. But he’s been worth every penny and bit of draft capital you spent on him, regardless of fantasy format. He’s the top tight end across the board (salary, ECR weekly rank, overall points scored, and points per game).
McBride’s numbers have been staggering. He’s outscoring the runner-up at the position by over 100 points on the season. That point total would have him at WR4 overall! He trails only Ja’Marr Chase in targets among all players, and leads all players in receptions. Only Davante Adams and Amon-Ra St. Brown have caught more touchdowns. He’s on some record paces and is clearly the alpha dog in the desert. I know Atlanta is tough on fantasy tight ends. But McBride is matchup-proof. His only game under 10 DraftKings points this season was Week 5- Murray’s last game. It’s a steep price for a tight end, but McBride justifies it. Giddy-up.
Souring Agent
Here’s where you may need to take a breath before taking your shot. (Actually, don’t take this as a shot. It’s the Week 16 DFS Cocktail, not a thimbleful of Jägermeister.) We spent down at quarterback and up at tight end. We’re paying way up at running back on a hunch that my least favorite passer from this past draft cycle is going to necessitate a heavy dose of the run game. Actually, I hate using the word “favorite” in any context regarding Quinn Ewers. But he’s getting the start for the Dolphins against Cincinnati, so I’m looking for De’Von Achane ($8.800) to get even more work than usual. Look for Achane to be active on outlet passes and hot reads this week. He may get even more of those looks with tight end Darren Waller limited in practice this week with a knee issue.
Achane is already getting a large number of touches. He’s 14th in number of rush attempts among running backs and third in targets. And he’s performing efficiently as well. Achane leads the league in yards per carry for players with more than 40 rush attempts. He’s essentially been Jahmyr Gibbs, but with only two-thirds the touchdown total. Chalk that up to the differences in the teams’ offensive quality. So he’s going to get work regardless. But having to protect an alleged quarterback (Ewers) and going against a Bengals team that gives up the most points to the position? He’s going to see 20+ touches and score out the wazoo (as my mom used to say.) Even at the elevated price, he still grades out as the best running back value per dollar for me. We’ll have to get creative elsewhere, but we’re getting major points for our money here.
Sweetener
Here’s where we start with that rest-of-roster creativity. We need at least three relatively affordable wideouts. We’ll start with DK Metcalf ($5,400) in a great matchup with the Lions. Metcalf is tied for just WR25 in salary this week, but he’s ranked WR13 in ECR as I write this. He graded out as my top wide receiver value this week and should give us a big bang for our smallish bucks. Some have been disappointed with Metcalf’s performance as Aaron Rodgers‘s top receiver. But in essence, Metcalf has performed essentially identically to last season, with more touchdown equity. Anyone upset that 2025 DK Metcalf is not 2020 Davante Adams needs to cool their jets. He’s never been that guy, on the field or in fantasy lineups.
On a team that disproportionally loves tight ends (thank Arthur Smith for that), Metcalf is still getting a large RedZone target share. He trails Kenneth Gainwell and the Steelers’ cadre of tight ends in terms of total looks inside the opponents’ 20 yard line. But that discrepancy lessens as you get closer to the goal line, to the point that Metcalf is Pittsburgh’s leading RedZone target inside of five yards (he’s WR5 in the league for goal line targets inside of five yards.) This game has the highest Vegas point total, and the Steelers are about a touchdown underdog. They’ll be throwing all game against a defense giving up the second-most points to wide receivers. Metcalf only saw three balls last week and still ended up a fantasy WR2. This week should be even better, and you’ve got to like the price.
Garnishes
As always, how you dress up the rest of your Week 16 DFS Cocktail is up to you. You’re going to need to find reliable points on the cheap. Look for committee running backs with good matchups (Chargers? Vikings?) I was able to fill my lineup with some nice upside receiver plays as well. Go for volume over efficiency there. For help with your bargain bin search, check out GOYAADI’s DFS Cheapskate plays.
Week 16 DFS Cocktail: The Hot Seat
It’s the time of season where we’re hearing about all kinds of NFL peeps on the dreaded “hot seat”. We’ve seen assistants blamed, quarterbacks benched, and head coaches let go already. And you as a fantasy manager are on the hot seat as well. If you don’t do your job this week, you’ll be going home. With that, we’re mixing up a fun one for the Week 16 DFS Cocktail.
Ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon Grenadine
- 1 oz. Rum (White or Spiced)
- 2 oz. Cranberry juice
- 1 oz. Fireball Whiskey
- 1 oz. Bourbon
- 2 oz. Peach Juice
- Ice
- Cherries/lemon wheel/lemon peel/cinnamon stick (garnishes)
Directions:
Put a teaspoon of Grenadine in the bottom of a rocks glass and then add ice. In a shaker full of ice, combine the rum and cranberry juice. Shake until well-chilled. Pour that into the rocks glass slowly and carefully. We’re going for a layered effect, and you don’t want your rum and cranberry to mix too much with the Grenadine. Rinse the shaker and add fresh ice, then add the Fireball, bourbon, and peach juice. Shake until well-chilled and again, pour slowly into the rocks glass. If you’ve done this right, your cocktail should show a neat gradation from red to orange to a golden color. It’s the flame for the hot seat! Get it? And the Fireball is cinna-spicy! Add cherries and/or a lemon wheel (or lemon peel) and/or a cinnamon stick for a garnish. Slàinte mhath!
A few notes:
- You can use white or spiced rum, but I prefer using a white for this one, both for taste and aesthetics.
- Pour into your glass slowly (use the ice as a break) to achieve the layered look. Pouring too quickly or directly will cause the different shakes to mix more, detracting from the desired effect.
- This is the one time I’ll allow for the bright red maraschino cherries instead of higher-end options like Luxardo. They fit with the look and won’t distract from the finished product.
Bonus Week 16 DFS Cocktail: One-and-Done
It’s playoff time in fantasy football, so it’s win-or-go-home. In that spirit, we’re calling this cocktail the One-and-Done. That’s both for the playoff atmosphere and for the potency of this variation on a Long Beach (not Island) Iced Tea.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 oz. Vodka
- 1/2 oz. Gin
- 1/2 oz. White Rum
- 1/2 oz. Tequila
- 1/2 oz. Cointreau
- 1 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice
- Winter Spiced Cranberry Sprite
- Cranberry Juice
- Ice
- Lemon Wheel/Wedge (garnish)
Directions:
Combine vodka, gin, rum, tequila, Cointreau, and lemon juice in a shaker with ice. Shake until well-chilled. Pour into a pint or Collins glass over ice. Top with Sprite and a splash of cranberry juice. Garnish with your preferred lemon cut. Slàinte mhath!
A few notes:
- These can be strong, hence the name. You might want to limit yourself to just one per game. Or per half. Or maybe per quarter. (Sorry, that’s the Wisconsin coming out.)
- You can play around with the amount of Sprite and juice you top this with, adjusting to taste.
- Similarly, you can sub some of the ingredients as suits you. I used a reposado tequila, but you may prefer silver. Subbing triple sec for the Cointreau is also a possibility. Ultimately, it’s your drink. Mix it how you like!