After a rather tilting main slate on Sunday, I was happy to have some success on the Sunday night showdown slate, so hopefully, you read yesterday's article and had some shares of Rex Burkhead, Willie Snead, and Jakobi Meyers in those lineups.
Week 10 of Monday Night Football brings us an NFC North matchup between the 5-4 Bears and the 3-5 Vikings. The Bears are 3.5 point underdogs at home despite having the better record as these teams have been heading in opposite directions lately with the Vikings winning two in a row and the Bears losers of three straight.
I will be providing you with daily fantasy football picks on FanDuel and DraftKings for the Monday Night Football slate on November 16th (Week 10). These lineups can vary from higher-priced players and elite options to lower-priced players and value picks on both DraftKings and FanDuel.
Featured Promo: For this week only, take 50% off any full-season or yearly Premium Pass on the site! Just enter discount code THANKS when checking out. Thanks for being a reader, and Happy Holidays! Sign Up Now!If you have any questions you can follow me on Twitter @ThunderDanDFS and fire away, or sign up for a premium RotoBaller NFL package and chat with myself and other NFL DFS analysts any time you'd like!
DFS Quarterbacks
Kirk Cousins (14,500 FD, 10,200 DK)
Nick Foles (13,500 FD, 9,800 DK)
With a 43.5 total, Vegas isn't expecting too many fireworks tonight and it's easy to see why. The Vikings love to pound the ball with Cook and the Bears offense has been struggling to move the ball and score pretty much all season.
Having said that, both QBs are in play here and I think you're going to want at least one of them in your lineup. Cousins has been incredibly efficient that last two weeks in Minnesota's wins but has attempted only 14 and 20 passes in those games as Minnesota led throughout both games and opted to keep running the ball. He'll face a Bears Defense that has been stingy against the pass, ranked fourth against the pass in DVOA and they've given up the fewest fantasy points to QBs this season.
At their price points, I prefer Foles who has a superior matchup against the Minnesota secondary and is likely going to have to throw the ball more tonight. The Vikings are 13th in pass DVOA but have allowed the seventh-most fantasy points to quarterbacks. Foles has attempted 39 or more passes in six straight weeks including 52 attempts last week in the loss to Tennesee.
Chicago will also be without their lead back David Montgomery, meaning they're less likely to try to establish a running game and will instead ask Foles to try to take advantage of the mismatches his receivers have over the Vikings secondary.
DFS Running Backs
Dalvin Cook (17,500 FD, 13,600 DK, 20,400 DK Captain)
Cordarrelle Patterson (8,000 FD, 5,200 DK)
Dalvin Cook has been nothing short of spectacular since returning from injury two weeks ago. He's piled up 369 rushing yards on 52 carries and an additional 109 yards receiving on four catches...and six touchdowns. That's crazy and it's likely going to lead to him being rostered by 90% or more of the competition tonight. You can always build one lineup where you fade him (in case he gets hurt or something) but the odds of him not being in the optimal lineup tonight are low. Fire him up in your captain/MVP slot tonight if you can afford him there (on DK) as he's got the highest floor/ceiling combo of any player on the slate.
I am well aware that Patterson isn't a running back, but I do think that the Bears will attempt to use him as one tonight with their only other option being Ryan Nall (zero carries and only six receptions all season) and two guys off the practice squad. Patterson is an explosive athlete and dangerous with the ball in space, which is likely how Chicago will try to scheme him the ball - on sweeps, screens, and swing passes. He's your best bet of the Chicago "backs" tonight I am not all that interested in guessing which other guys get touches.
DFS Wide Receivers
Allen Robinson (13,000 FD, 10,800 DK, 16,200 DK Captain)
Darnell Mooney (8,500 FD, 6,600 DK)
Anthony Miller (7,000 FD, 4,800 DK)
I am interested in all three of the Bears' receivers tonight, with Robinson being the obvious choice as a potential pivot off Cook at the captain/MVP slot. The Vikings secondary is banged up and has been giving up some big games to opposing passing attacks, even during their mini win streak. Robinson should draw Chris Jones, who has the worst rating of the three Vikings corners and is still the top option for Foles and one of the best players on the field.
Mooney has been getting more involved lately with 24 targets over the Bears' last three games. He's a dynamic rookie who has the ability to stretch the field and therefore has some big-play ability, too. Miller has 24 targets over that same stretch (four more than Robinson, interestingly enough) and operates in the slot for many of his snaps. He's cheaper than Mooney and should be slightly less rostered tonight, too. Stacking Foles with at least two pass-catchers is probably a good idea with how often we expect Chicago to pass tonight.
Adam Thielen (14,000 FD, 10,000 DK)
Thielen is expensive for a guy who has only eight catches over his last three games combined. However, we shouldn't discount him totally as rostering Cousins and Thielen together is one way to pivot off the highly-rostered builds of Cook with the Chicago passing game. He did catch seven touchdown passes in the Vikings' first six games before his recent slump.
DFS Tight Ends
Jimmy Graham (9,500 FD, 7,200 DK)
Kyle Rudolph (6,000 FD, 3,400 DK)
I like both tight ends tonight, it's too bad we didn't have one of them on the main slate yesterday where we had a dearth of options at the position. Graham continues to get looks in the red zone from Foles, making him a solid play even if his target share is relatively small.
Meanwhile, Rudolph could get more involved for the Vikings tonight as their other pass-catching TE Irv Smith is out. Rudolph serves as a blocker most of the time but is a capable receiver and red zone threat. He's a great value on both sites. The Bears have allowed the tenth-most points to the TE position and rostering Rudolph gives us some cheap exposure to the Vikings' passing game and some touchdown upside.
DFS Defense/Special Teams
Dan Bailey (9,000 FD, 4,000 DK)
Cairo Santos (8,500 FD, 3,800 DK)
Vikings D/ST (3,000 DK)
Bailey hasn't attempted a field goal in three weeks, as the Vikings have been efficient at getting in the end zone. This Bears' defense is tough, though, and I could see him getting more work tonight if some of Minnesota's drives stall inside the 30.
Santos is my preferred play if I choose to take a kicker. He's made a field goal in every game this season and has multiple field goals in four games.
On DraftKings where you can play defenses, I prefer the Vikings unit there for the cheap price of only 3k. While the Bears defense is a better unit, I see more opportunity for Minnesota here in terms of chances for sacks and interceptions as I expect Foles to have to throw it 40+ times again tonight.
That's all I got today, RotoBallers! Good luck in your contests and don't be afraid to shake things up as these single-game slates are full of variance!