Welcome to the bar! The Week 7 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.
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 7 DFS Cocktail Hour: Base Spirits
It’s a familiar flavor to the base spirits this week. As expected, the Dallas Cowboys have one of the most prolific passing offenses in the league. And they’ve been a veritable gold mine of fantasy points at just about every position. Unfortunately for us, that wasn’t the case in Week 3, as CeeDee Lamb would leave with an injury and derail our DFS plans before they even got off the ground. That game, however, was the last time Dak Prescott ($6,500) failed to throw at least 3 touchdown passes. Since then, he’s been the QB1, QB6, and QB7 in DraftKings scoring. He’s thrown 10 touchdowns and run for another, and hasn’t thrown an interception. His opponents this week, the Washington Commanders, have given up the ninth-most fantasy points to quarterbacks. We’ll try another shot at him in a game with this week’s highest Vegas point total.
Make it a double
It appears Prescott and the Cowboys will get Lamb back this week. That should only help things against a Washington defense that has allowed the most yards per completion of any team in the league. We paired Lamb with Prescott in Week 3, but this week, we’re going with another member of the Cowboys’ receiver room. George Pickens ($7,300) has scored six touchdowns in his last five games. Since Lamb’s injury, Pickens has been a weekly fantasy star, finishing as the WR16, WR2, WR24, and WR1. The Commanders have not defended the pass well this season and have surrendered the tenth-most points to wideouts. Lamb’s return means the lowly Washington secondary won’t be able to completely key on Pickens. He’s a top-10 play by ECR this week, and could return nice value even on the week’s fifth-highest wide receiver salary.
Souring Agent
Even though the Cowboys have also been a gold mine for their opponents’ fantasy points, I’m not recommending a playback this week. Terry McLaurin will miss another game, and Deebo Samuel and Zach Ertz are both questionable. Instead, we’ll look elsewhere, specifically to Denver.
The Broncos are one of the week’s heaviest favorites as they play host to the New York Giants. The G-Men are flying high after last week’s upset victory over the Eagles. Optimism abounds in Gotham as rookies Jaxson Dart and Cam Skattebo have injected new life into the Giants’ offense. That optimism has not extended to the defense. New York is among the 10 worst teams in the league in numerous defensive categories, including yards allowed (passing and rushing), offensive plays allowed, and first downs allowed. And they’re the league’s most penalized unit. Sounds like a great time to take advantage of the low price tag on J.K. Dobbins ($5,600).
Dobbins has a rushing touchdown in four of six games, and outside of a tough Week 6, has been a solid RB2 all season. While he’s been limited somewhat by a lack of usage in the pass game, he ranks seventh in rush yards and is tied for sixth in rushing scores. With the Broncos favored by more than a touchdown, Vegas certainly expects Denver to be playing from in front. That bodes well for Dobbins, who boasts a healthy 54.2% rush share. The Giants surrender the tenth-most points to running backs. I like Dobbins for over 75 yards and at least one score to add some bite to the Week 7 DFS Cocktail.
Sweetener
We haven’t waded in the tight end waters much this season, as it’s been the usual cesspool of injuries, inconsistency, and general unpredictability. We’re going to make an exception this week for Cade Otton ($3,700) of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Otton is one of the very few currently healthy targets on the roster for Baker Mayfield to throw to. Emeka Egbuka, Chris Godwin, and Bucky Irving are all expected to miss Week 7. Jalen McMillan is still on IR. And while Mike Evans may return, he’s still listed on the injury report with a hamstring.
Otton hasn’t been much of a fantasy asset on the whole this season. But his quarterback has been. Baker Mayfield is fourth in the league in passing yards, passing touchdowns, and DraftKings fantasy points. His available options are down to Otton, Sterling Shepard, and Rachaad White. Over the last two weeks, Otton is tied for 13th in tight end targets and is fourth in tight end receiving yardage. Detroit has been middle-of-the-road against fantasy tight ends, but they did allow Travis Kelce to rack up his best receiving yardage game of the season. Earlier this season, Mark Andrews caught all six of his targets for 91 yards and two scores. That was the fourth-best tight end fantasy score of the season. I don’t like to pay up for tight ends in DFS, and Otton has only the sixteenth-highest salary on DraftKings. Let’s go.
Garnishes
As always, how you dress up the rest of your lineup is up to you. Personally, I think there are some excellent lower-cost options at receiver this week. So, I’ll be putting more on my RB2 and strongly considering a back at FLEX. If you’re looking for some affordable options, check out GOYAADI’s DFS Cheapskate plays.
Week 7 DFS Cocktail: The Bye Week Boilermaker
We’ve reached the time of year when the NFL gives each team a mini-vacation and gives fantasy managers no end of headaches. It’s time for bye weeks. To celebrate, we’re bringing out the festive fall ingredients. The Bye Week combines whiskey and beer in the classic boilermaker formula, but adds a few fun ingredients. The result is a sipper perfect for kicking back and juggling lineup decisions as the Fall fun deepens.
Ingredients:
- 6-8 oz. Pumpkin Ale
- 1 oz. Apple Whiskey
- .5 oz. Maple-Infused Vodka
- .5 oz. Cinnamon Schnapps
- Orange Peel (garnish)
- Pumpkin Spice
Directions:
Pour ale, whiskey, vodka, and schnapps into a double old-fashioned glass and stir. Garnish with an orange peel twist and a small sprinkle of pumpkin spice. Slàinte mhath!
A few notes:
- Go easy on the pumpkin spice. Being too liberal with it will overpower the drink.
- This isn’t a drop-and-chug boilermaker. Like I said above, it’s a sipper. Chilling the liquors beforehand will allow the drink to stay colder longer, as you won’t be adding room-temperature liquor to cold ale.
Check out the full Week 7 DFS Cocktail Hour Video on the Official FSAN YouTube Channel on this week’s episode of Operation Domination.