After a week’s hiatus, the bar is back open! The Week 11 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. And as a bonus, I’ll include my cocktail recipe from Week 10’s show 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 11 DFS Cocktail Hour: Base Spirits
This week’s base spirit is an old standard at this point. Entering Sunday’s slate of games, Dak Prescott ($6,500) has passed for more yards this season than all but five other quarterbacks in the league. He’s tied for seventh in touchdown passes and is on pace for the second-best completion percentage of his career. It all adds up to a ranking of QB10 in DraftKings scoring, both overall and in average points per game. The Cowboys aren’t exactly burning down the house in the wins and losses department, but Prescott has Coach Brian Schottenheimer’s passing offense torching opposing defenses.
Coming off a Week 10 bye, Prescott now will face the Las Vegas Raiders. While the Raiders haven’t given up a ton of points to opposing quarterbacks, they’re not matchup-prohibitive. They haven’t exactly faced a murderer’s row of opposing passers, and game scripts haven’t been pass-friendly for opponents, as the Raiders’ 2-7 record can attest. But Vegas has allowed the 12th-highest opponent completion percentage in the league this season. And Prescott has a pretty good track record of multiple-touchdown games following a bye week in his career. This is the third time we’ve used him this season, but his QB6 salary should return good value in the Week 11 DFS Cocktail. Here we go.
One good turn…
Someone has to be on the receiving end of all that passing goodness coming from Dak’s right arm. When healthy this season (as in prior years), that someone has been CeeDee Lamb ($8,000) more often than not. Despite a mid-season injury hiccup, Lamb is seeing almost a 30% target share. Lamb is 10th among wide receivers in fantasy points per game. That rank jumps to seventh if you exclude his Week 3 injury game. Lamb is seeing almost 11 targets per contest. This week, he faces a Raiders defense that- while stingy against fantasy quarterbacks- has surrendered the sixth-most points to the wide receiver position. Even at his lofty WR5 price tag, he projects to return one of this week’s best values per dollar at wideout.
Souring Agent
We will be playing it by the book in the Week 11 DFS Cocktail and using a receiver from the Cowboys’ opponents this week. Tre Tucker ($5,100) is WR33 from a salary standpoint, which helps balance the money we spent up to get Lamb. Since the Raiders traded Jakobi Meyers, there is an opening for the fantasy WR1 on this roster. Things had arguably started heading that way a few weeks before the trade. Tucker outscored Meyers on average with the Raiders this season. And Meyers’s target totals had dropped noticeably since back-to-back double-digit totals in Weeks 1 and 2.
As good as the Cowboys’ passing offense has been, their opponents have been even better. Dallas has given up the most fantasy points to opposing wide receivers. The Cowboys and Raiders carry the weekend’s biggest over/under number into their Monday Night tilt. With the shootout this one’s expected to be, I expect the Raiders to have to pass to keep up. Tyler Lockett ($3,400) got some immediate run after Vegas signed him to its active roster. If you want to save some serious money and take a long shot on him instead of Tucker, I’ll allow it. But I prefer the multi-faceted talent of Tucker in this one.
Sweetener
There’s some spice to the Week 11 DFS Cocktail, but now let’s sweeten things a bit. Jaylen Warren ($6,100) checks in at a cool RB15 price-wise, but is a top-10 play by ECR. Warren is the RB20 on the season, both overall and in points per game. But over the last three weeks, he ranks as the RB14. In Week 7 against the Cincinnati Bengals (his opponents in Week 11), Warren had his best game of the season both in rushing yardage and fantasy points. Accordingly, Warren finished as the RB3 that week. Cincinnati surrenders the most points to opposing fantasy running backs of any defense in the league. I expect this to be a Jaylen-Warren-and-tight-ends day for our old pal F.A.S. (F…fffffforget Arthur Smith.) It’s a chalky play, but Warren needs to be in your DFS lineup this week.
Garnishes
As always, how you dress up the rest of your Week 11 DFS Cocktail is up to you. We didn’t go cheap at QB and WR1, but we saved money on a great running back option and our playback WR2. If you’re looking for some affordable options, check out GOYAADI’s DFS Cheapskate plays.
Week 11 DFS Cocktail: The Stretch Run
We’re approaching crunch time in fantasy. You’re going to need something to keep you going as we sprint to the finish. Here’s a grapefruit-based refresher to do the trick.
Ingredients:
- 1-1/2 oz. Jack Daniel’s Old No. 7
- 1/2 oz. Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey
- 2 oz. Grapefruit Juice
- Paulaner Grapefruit Radler
- Ice
- Grapefruit Slice (garnish)
Directions:
Combine Jack Daniel’s, Jack Daniel’s Honey, and grapefruit juice in a shaker with ice. Shake until well-chilled. Strain into a coupe or martini glass and top with Paulaner Grapefruit Radler. Garnish with a grapefruit slice. Slàinte mhath!
A few notes:
- Of course, fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice is best, but bottled will work just fine.
- If you use Ruby Red grapefruit juice, the drink will tend to be slightly sweeter.
- The Radler lends a bit of bite to the mouthfeel. You can adjust the amount you use to taste.
Bonus Week 10 DFS Cocktail: The Trade Rumor
This is a fun one as you research NFL trade deadline possibilities and ponder late trade requests from your league mates.
Ingredients:
- 2 oz. Rye Whiskey
- 3/4 oz. Sweet Vermouth
- 3/4 oz. Cherry Liqueur
- Distillers Cola
- 1/2 tsp. Anisette
- Ice
- Maraschino Cherries (garnish)
Directions:
- Use the Anisette to rinse the inside of a rocks glass and discard the excess. Mix rye, vermouth, and cherry liqueur in a mixing glass with ice. Stir until well-chilled. Strain into a rock glass over ice. Top with Distillers Cola to taste. Garnish with cherries. Slàinte mhath!
A few notes:
- If you’ve never rinsed a glass before, just add the rinse (in this case, the Anisette) to the empty drinking glass and swirl it all around to coat the inside. Any extra liquid that pools quickly at the bottom of the glass can be discarded.
- Using the Distillers Cola is key to not overpowering the other aspects of the drink with sweetness. If you’re set on using Coca-Cola, at least use the real sugar variety.
- As always, use good cherries, not the neon ones next to the chocolate syrup in the grocery store dessert aisle.