Welcome to the bar! The Week 2 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 this time, I’ll include Week 1’s cocktail at no extra charge!)
A reminder that we’re looking at cash games on the DraftKings Classic mode, using the Sunday through Monday games. All player scores mentioned use DraftKings scoring as displayed by FantasyData.com.
Week 2 DFS Cocktail Hour: Base Spirits
Every cocktail has a base spirit —a distillation that serves as the foundation for your drink. The Week 2 DFS Cocktail’s base spirit might taste like one you’ve enjoyed before. The Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs renew what’s become an annual rivalry, playing for the fifth time in the past five seasons. Two of those matchups, of course, were in the Super Bowl. That includes last season’s 40-22 Philly victory.
The two teams have split their previous four contests, with the average point total over 61. This week’s matchup boasts an over/under of 47 —one of the highest on the slate. If this game lives up to the previous ones in this series, you’re going to want a piece of it. Multiple, in fact. So we’ll play the Eagles’ Jalen Hurts ($6,800) as our quarterback. In those four games against Kansas City, Hurts has averaged over 31 points. He may be missing tight end Dallas Goedert this week. But I’d bet A.J. Brown sees more than one, late, fourth-quarter target here. And the “Tush Push” is still alive and well, which makes Hurts a good bet to pad his score with a rushing touchdown. Last season, including the playoffs, Hurts rushed for a score in 13 of 19 games. He had two such scores last week. Wheels up, baby.
The Chiefs allowed the most points to the wide receiver position of any team last week. And since mixology’s Golden Ratio calls for two parts base spirit, we’re going to play another Eagle in DeVonta Smith ($5,600). Goedert saw a team-leading seven targets last week, but is dealing with an injury. When Goedert misses time, Smith tends to thrive. In such games, in the last three seasons, Smith averages 18.73 points per game, compared to his career average of 14.2. If you take out the game against the Giants last season, that average climbs to 20.01. (That Giants game was the Saquon Barkley homecoming game. Hurts only attempted 14 passes all game.) Potential great return.
Souring Agent
We’re going to balance our base spirit by adding a souring agent. In a cocktail, that usually means fresh citrus juice. But for our purposes, the souring agent will be Hollywood Brown ($5,200). We know Travis Kelce is going to see his share of targets. But Rashee Rice is on suspension, and Xavier Worthy will be limited even if he somehow plays through last week’s shoulder injury. That leaves my cousin Tyquan (not really) and the husk of JuJu Smith-Schuster as Brown’s primary competition for targets. Brown won that competition handily last week, seeing 16 targets to lead the team. Smith-Schuster and Thornton saw five and four targets, respectively.
Hollywood was on the field for 93.4% of the Chiefs’ offensive snaps in Week 1. His target share of 42.1% was fourth in the league at wideout. If you’re looking at last week’s top-12 receivers in that regard, it looks like a game of “One of These Things is Not Like the Others”. Trust me, you can probably guess eight or ten of them off the top of your head. Brown was a surprise, but the performance happened. And, realistically, who else are they going to throw to? His 10 catches for 99 yards were good for a WR12 overall finish last week. It could be more of the same here.
Sweetener
The Golden Ratio also calls for a sweet ingredient. Our dash of sweet for the Week 2 DFS Cocktail is going to be Jahmyr Gibbs ($7,400) playing at home against the Bears. Gibbs (really, the whole Detroit offense) was stymied last week by what looks to be a burgeoning force in Green Bay’s defense. But Chicago allowed the ninth-most points to running backs in their Week 1 loss to Minnesota. Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason combined for 91 yards on 18 rushes and added 51 more yards on four catches. On one of those, Jones scored the go-ahead touchdown with a 227-yard reception.
In his last game against Chicago, Gibbs racked up 154 total yards and a touchdown on 23 rush attempts and four catches (five targets). That was good for an RB7 finish in Week 16 of last season. The Lions would be motivated enough after the humiliating loss to the Packers last week. But this will also be their first game against their former offensive coordinator, Bears head coach Ben Johnson. Gibbs and his teammates will be itching to prove themselves and to avoid falling into last place in the NFC North. You’re paying up for him, but we went with value plays at receiver. You can afford the good stuff here. Sweet, indeed.
Garnishes
How you dress up the rest of your lineup is up to you. As stated above, the value plays at receiver will allow you to spend up elsewhere. For some lower-shelf options, check out GOYAADI’s DFS Cheapskate Plays.
Week 2 DFS Cocktail: The Domination Depth Charge
There’s the football portion of the column. Let’s get to the refreshments. This week’s beverage of choice is a supercharged American twist on an Irish Slammer. It’s a slammer/shooter, not a sipper, so bar patrons beware!
As a reminder, none of the brand-name products listed in this article or their parent companies have any sponsorship or endorsement deals with me, Operation: Domination, or Fantasy Sports Advice Network. It’s just stuff I had on hand to make drinks I thought we’d all enjoy.
Domination Depth Charge
Ingredients:
- Dragon’s Milk Bourbon Barrel-Aged Stout
- Straight bourbon whiskey (we used Border Bourbon)
- Jackson Morgan Southern Cream Brown Cinnamon and Sugar Liqueur
Directions:
Pour half of a bottle of Dragon’s Milk Bourbon Barrel-Aged Stout (or similar) into a good-sized rocks glass. Then, pour one ounce of the bourbon of your choice into a shot glass. Top the shot glass off with Jackson Morgan Southern Cream Brown Cinnamon and Sugar Liqueur. Carefully drop the full shot glass right-side-up into the rocks glass, and drink immediately. Slàinte!
A few notes:
- Some might tell you to use a larger glass (such as a tulip or gravity pint). Gravity being, well, gravity and all, the problem is that the taller glass means the shot glass has further to fall before sliding into your lip or teeth as you drink. With the shorter rocks glass, you can more easily control the literal moving parts of the drink as you imbibe. If you end the night with a busted-up mouth, you want a better story than getting dominated by the DDC.
- Speaking of that shot glass, use one of the old-fashioned stubby ones with the pour line near the top for best results. Filling the line with the bourbon and from there to the top with the Jackson Morgan will work pretty perfectly.
- If you’re serving these to others, let them drop their own shot into the stout. It’s more hygienic and allows your guest to determine when they’re ready to take what’s essentially a LARGE shot. If the cream sits too long in the bourbon or beer, it’ll curdle. Ultimately harmless, but it detracts from the experience.
Bonus Beverage: Week 1 DFS Cocktail (Opening Kickoff)
Ingredients:
- 2 ounces gin (we used Death’s Door)
- 1 ounce fresh lime juice
- 1/2 ounce agave nectar
- 1-1/2 ounces Mountain Dew Orange Citrus Kickstart (chilled)
- Ice
- Sugar or salt (for glass rim)
- Lime wedge (garnish)
Directions:
This is essentially a gin margarita with an energy drink booster. In a shaker, combine ice, gin, lime juice, and agave nectar. Cover and shake it enthusiastically until well-chilled (about 15-20 seconds). Strain into a pre-rimmed coupe or margarita glass (sugar or salt, to taste). Add Mountain Dew Orange Citrus Kickstart and stir gently. Garnish with a lime wedge in time for the whistle. Slàinte!
A few notes:
- It’s typically not a good idea to shake carbonated beverages, which is why you add the Kickstart afterwards. This is especially true if you attempt to mix more than one drink’s worth in the same shaker.
- I find this drink enjoyable with either a salt- or sugar-rimmed glass. The choice is yours. Either way, use the lime wedge to wet the glass rim. The salt or sugar will stick better.
If this interests you, check out the full discussion: