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NFL DFS Showdown SZN 2023: Lions vs. Packers

Welcome to this edition of the NFL DFS Showdown SZN breakdown. The aim of this post is to look at the best players to build around and constructions to focus on for the night's NFL DFS showdown contests on Draftkings. We run the new Showdown Contest simulations to see what differences we can find in projected ownership and likely exposure. Likewise, we take into account the whole lineup's projection and ownership.

Main Points:

  • David Montgomery looks slightly overvalued at the FLEX but well undervalued at captain, assuming ownership projections are accurate.
  • The most duplicated builds will have a combo of Amon-Ra St.Brown, a QB, and David Montgomery, so look to avoid combos like that without more extreme leverage added.
  • Building for a low scoring affair without QBs involved is a unique way to approach the slate, and seems like a solid path to leverage Montgomery ownership

For conversation and game theory on the charts with updated ownership distributions as well as the top ownership lineups, jump in the Paydirt discord! Free with this link: https://discord.gg/mQ6u5dfawF

Captain ownership distributions

The most valuable captain tonight is David Montgomery, who looks a bit undervalued by the indsutry at the position. His projected ownership at the position is around 10%, but his exposure in the contest sims is almost 16%. He offers the most positive leverage at the moment, but there’s not a lot of room for that leverage if he gets more popular up to lock.

On the other side of the table is Jared Goff, who looks to be the most overvalued captain. His exposures in contest winners is just 11% while his projected ownership is around 18%. While he is still one of the most valuable captains, there’s going to be leverage gained by avoiding him in single entry and three max contests.

FLEX ownership distributions

By far the most valuable FLEX option tonight is Amon-Ra St.Brown with an exposure – projected ownership of almost +32%. His exposure of 75% in contest winners is a step above anyone else on the slate, and gives a lot of room even if projected ownership is low on him overall. While he doesn’t make a very good captain because of price, he represents a terrific FLEX play that is likely undervalued even at high ownership.

In terms of the most negative value added, we have three players separated from the rest: AJ Dillon, Christian Watson, and Romeo Doubs. One obvious note is all three of these players are Packers! In fact, four of the five players offering the worst negative leverage are from Green Bay. This represents a clear path in terms of game flow and roster construction when building with leans and stacks.

Some other notes on optimization exposures and projected ownership:

  • There are no free squares tonight. The most valuable player overall is Amon-Ra St.Brown, but he by no means represents a free square considering the DET touchdown distributions and possible gameflow differences
  • Both DET running backs are in play here, and playing them together is an interesting large field tactic
  • Both defenses and both kickers are appropriately valued

Duplication projections and DFS lineups to avoid

Here is a sample of the lineups in terms of highest ownership from the contest simulations. To clarify, you should avoid playing these lineups in large field GPPs tonight:

We see a lot of kicker captains here along with a couple Packers DST captains as well. After that, we get a handful of Laporta followed by both QBs. Interestingly enough, we don’t see much Amon-Ra St.Brown, which is mostly a function of price but does represent an interesting spot to be different.

In the FLEX there is a very clear combo to avoid: St.Brown, a QB, and David Montgomery. Both iterations of St.Brown/Love/Montgomery and St.Brown/Goff/Montgomery will be heavily owned, and if you add Josh Reynolds to that you are looking at heavy duplication. Avoiding these combos or introducing extreme leverage to them in the remaining spots is important.

In terms of unique roster paths, going with a no QB build is really interesting. Neither of these teams wants to push the pace which could easily result in a lower scoring game. The pass catchers and RBs can get there in that environment while both QBs fail to score enough in raw points to make winning lineups.

One other quick call out: I think Kalif Raymond is a really strong play tonight in GPPs. Last week he eclipsed Marvin Jones in snap count and routes and is looking well undervalued tonight based on an increasing role.

DFS Showdown SZN: Final Thoughts

This is a great showdown slate with good pricing and a lot of interesting directions to go based on two relatively flat offenses. There are going to be a lot of people that build lineups based on median expectations that miss out on a lot of ceiling because of the way these players eat into production of one another. One spot that people will likely mess up is playing Montgomery and Goff together in GPPs, where it’s unlikely both get there based on gamescripts. The biggest edge tonight is likely choosing the correct gameflow and building towards it rather than building the highest median expectation team.

There are two feasible paths to build: A high scoring game, where DET falls behind and is forced to catch up, or a lower scoring grinder where neither team is able to capitalize quickly and trade scores up to a 21-17 win. A high scoring game likely necessitates Jordan Love and Amon-Ra St.Brown, where a low scoring game is built around David Montgomery and no QBs. My current lean is a 4-2 DET build for a low scoring gamescript, but I think a 3-3 with both QBs is great too.

Some players that look overvalued:

  • AJ Dillon
  • Jared Goff (CPT)
  • Christian Watson (FLEX)

Some players that look undervalued:

  • David Montgomery (CPT)
  • Amon-Ra St.Brown (FLEX)
  • Kalif Raymond (Loins play)

Good luck and bink a unique


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NFL DFS 2023 Week 3 Monday Main and Showdowns writeup

Welcome to the Paydirt NFL DFS main slate breakdown! This article will go over some of the most important aspects of the NFL DFS main slate. It'll typically include things like team totals, popular plays, and important stacks. The content of this is mostly geared towards Draftkings but is plenty applicable to Fanduel as well. Likewise, this article goes over the slate based on the range of outcomes models for NFL found here at Paydirt, so if you are interested in the same data we use, grab a subscription today!


For conversation and game theory on the charts with updated ownership distributions as well as the top 20 predicted dupes, jump in the Paydirt discord! Free with this link: https://discord.gg/mQ6u5dfawF

NFL DFS Monday main slate breakdown:

Highest projected ownership

  • Joe Mixon projecting as huge chalk mostly because it's hard to spend your salary cap is pretty interesting condidering how bad the Bengals offense could possibly be tonight.
  • PHI looks like the most heavily overowned team on the slate by a longshot based on the contest sims.
  • Nowhere in site are TB options, which goes well in line with the contest sims finding them incredibly undervalued.

Overall slate notes

  • I mentioned the contest sims a couple times up above, and they have a clear stand on the slate with TB being the most undervalued option and PHI being the most overvalued.
  • In fact, Jalen Hurts is the worst play on the slate in that regard, which is obviously a bit of a hot take overall.
  • The Bengals will either have a half health Joe Burrow or a backup QB, both of which hurt the efficiency of this lineup overall and make them the worst option from a median standpoint in both the main slate and showdown contests.
  • The highest leverage option on the slate tonight is actually Rachaad White, so using him as much as you feel comfortable is advised.
  • It’s always fun when the field is heavily exposed to one side and the models here have the complete opposite take. The interesting part overall is that you can still get exposure to the PHI side of things so long as you use a heavier lean to the TB options. LAR stacks make a lot of sense as well, and locking in Puka with an insane role is necessary. The biggest thing tonight is trying to avoid all CIN options outside of the cheap ones. Outside of that, mix and match with leans towards TB and LAR and you are good to go.

TB vs. PHI showdown:

Captain exposures

Flex exposures

  • Similarly to what was written about the main slate, we see TB being the much higher value side to back in this showdown than the PHI side.
  • Jalen Hurts makes for the best captain, but Rachaad White and Mike Evans make for the most valuable FLEX options
  • In terms of dupe potential, I don’t think you’ll have to worry about much overall.

This showdown is pretty spread out even with two offenses with relatively condensed targetshares. The reason for that is the pricing is, all things considered, really good and it forces you to focus on only a select couple of high end options while leaving out other important ones.

The contest sims have a clear lean towards TB here and I agree with it. I think a 2-4 with Hurts in the captain slot is really interesting and gives you plenty of upside and ways to win while avoiding a handful of the PHI options. Likewise, a 4-2 with Either Baker or White at captain and Hurts in the FLEX makes a lot of sense as well.

LAR vs. CIN showdown:

Captain exposures

Flex exposures

This showdown is really straight forward and I don’t think you have to dig too far into the sims or models to build for it. Puka is a lock in every lineup you make. He can be captain or Flex it doesn’t really matter all that much, but you need to use him. Likewise, CIN is not healthy and Burrow is either going to play and be limited or be inactive with a backup taking his place. The only options you should consider from CIN are Ja’Marr Chase (an alpha) or Tyler Boyd (cheap). The best way to build is a 5-1 with LAR lean or a 4-2 with Chase and Boyd if you feel like CIN will be able to move the ball somewhat effectively.


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NFL DFS Showdown SZN 2023: Raiders vs. Steelers

Welcome to this edition of the NFL DFS Showdown SZN breakdown. The aim of this post is to look at the best players to build around and constructions to focus on for the night's NFL DFS showdown contests on Draftkings. We run the new Showdown Contest simulations to see what differences we can find in projected ownership and likely exposure. Likewise, we take into account the whole lineup's projection and ownership.

Main Points:

  • Najee Harris sucks but he also does not quite suck as bad as the field thinks, so he makes a worthwhile captain
  • The defenses and kickers look like they will lead to high dupe counts, so try to avoid using multiple of them in your GPP builds
  • This is one of the most wide open showdowns we have had, if you don’t feel comfortable with your lineup you are on the right track

For conversation and game theory on the charts with updated ownership distributions as well as the top ownership lineups, jump in the Paydirt discord! Free with this link: https://discord.gg/mQ6u5dfawF

Captain ownership distributions

I will be very clear: I am unhappy about these results. Najee Harris sucks. I do not want to use him. But he does offer the most leverage at captain based on the difference in exposure and projected ownership at the position. It’s just all very disappointing. On the other side, Jimmy Garoppolo offers the most negative leverage as a CPT on this slate. His projected ownership at the slot is almost 19% while his exposure there is just 11%.

FLEX ownership distributions

The highest leverage offered in the FLEX spot goes to Jakobi Meyers, followed by Josh Jacobs. Both project for modest ownership in this slot and have high exposure rates. Meyers specifically has some great expected fantasy point metrics and Josh Jacobs has one of the best roles of any RB in fantasy, so this isn’t really surprising. Meanwhile, Pat Friermuth and both defensives offer the most negative leverage. Once again, this is disappointing, as it means we should be playing for a relatively high scoring affair between these two wet towel teams.

Some other notes on optimization exposures and projected ownership:

  • There are no free squares tonight, in fact this is one of the more wide open slates we have seen so far this year
  • There’s some interesting ways to build using both PIT running backs considering Kenny Pickett throws like an overweight 6th grader
  • Both kickers offer some slight leverage overall, making them more valuable than either DST

Duplication projections and DFS lineups to avoid

Here is a sample of the lineups in terms of highest ownership from the contest simulations. To clarify, you should avoid playing these lineups in large field GPPs tonight:

The vast majority of lineups with a high dupe chance are going to be Davante Adams, one of the kickers, or the fucking DST. This may end up being the fishiest showdown slate of all time if a heavily duped lineup ends up winning.  The most dupe-prone combo is going to be a FLEX trio of Adams, Garoppolo, and Pickett with Josh Jacobs a premier piece as well. I think the biggest edge for this showdown is just to play a lineup that wins when these teams actually score points. Most people will be building with the kickers and DST and probably Josh Jacobs, so playing things that neutralize DST and Kickers gives the most leverage.

That said, Maybe the best way to beat the field is by using no RBs at all? Look to these teams to score points through the air and maximize your correlation to the points scored. Josh Jacobs with Jimmy G might be an exception here, but using either of Warren or Najee with Pickett is likely wasted EV.

DFS Showdown SZN: Final Thoughts

This is actually a really tough showdown once you get into the ways to beat the field. There are some gross ways, like Najee Harris captain, that let you pass the field with a more common win condition while getting direct leverage over more popular pieces. On the other hand, there are ways that feel less gross, like stacking the passing game, but go against what these teams are most likely to do. Both options are valid in terms of showdown, and there are no great answers in terms of maintaining upside while building apart from the field.

As of now, I see two main paths that I am likely to follow: Najee Harris captain with a Pickett fade, leaning towards a 4-2 PIT stack, or a 3-3 gamestack with a 4-2 LV lean since I think their offense is more condensed. Either way it’s hard to feel great about building either. Very fun!

Some players that look overvalued:

  • Defenses and Kickers
  • Jimmy G (Cpt)
  • Pat Freiermuth

Some players that look undervalued:

  • Passing stacks
  • Najee Harris (CPT)
  • Josh Jacobs

Good luck and bink a unique


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NFL DFS 2023 Week 3 Thoughts and Notes

Welcome to the Paydirt NFL DFS main slate breakdown! This article will go over some of the most important aspects of the NFL DFS main slate. It'll typically include things like team totals, popular plays, and important stacks. The content of this is mostly geared towards Draftkings but is plenty applicable to Fanduel as well. Likewise, this article goes over the slate based on the range of outcomes models for NFL found here at Paydirt, so if you are interested in the same data we use, grab a subscription today!


For conversation and game theory on the charts with updated ownership distributions as well as the top 20 predicted dupes, jump in the Paydirt discord! Free with this link: https://discord.gg/mQ6u5dfawF

NFL DFS main slate breakdown:

Team stats, rates, and touchdown projections

  • Highest team total on the slate is KC at 30.25, lowest is ARI at 15
  • Highest pass TD projection is KC at 2.64, highest rush TD total is DAL at 1.32
  • Highest dropback projection is MIN at 41.75, highest rush attempt projection is DAL at 31.64

There are a handful of teams here that are interesting and a handful that look like pretty bad trending plays. There’s been a lot of chatter on CHI (17.75 team total) and HOU (18.00 team total) and typically it’s bad to play teams in those positions. HOU, for instance, will likely have considerably more ownership than a stack like NE who has a higher team total based entirely on garbage time heroics the last two weeks. Some rushing spots that look good that people aren’t really gravitating towards are BAL (8 point home favorites against a bad IND team) and MIA (chalk is on the passing attack, not Mostert).

Highest projected ownership

  • Joshua Kelley chalk again is, uhh, interesting?
  • Kirk Cousins as big chalk always, always works out perfectly right?
  • Jerome Ford not being chalk is a good opportunity to leverage.

Joshua Kelley chalk is bad. His usage was better last week but if an RB isn’t getting a passing role in the LAC offense they are just wildly TD dependent. Tony Pollard looks like some great chalk, as does Jahmyr Gibbs, but I’m interested to see how people fit them with Justin Jefferson and Tyreek Hill chalk. My guess is people are going to use 2-TE builds to make it work, which feels bad. Would prefer one of Jefferson/Tyreek and paying up at RB to make the FLEX a higher upside fill. The other important piece today is Zack Moss, who has seen his ownership projection drop considerably. He’s one of the best plays on the slate.

Overall slate notes

  • Based on ownership, I think that Ford should end up being underowned and Joshua Kelley well overowned. Sticking with RB notes, I would say that Zack Moss is probably the best play on the slate considering ownership, price, and upside of role.
  • As far as stacks go, I just don’t think I can see myself landing on HOU stacks or CHI stacks. Both are looking like they’ll get a good amount more ownership than advertised to fit Tyreek and Justin Jefferson together in GPPs. I prefer paying up for the high end stacks and especially prefer gamestacking the MIN/LAC game. I don’t think that will be a low owned route, so be reticent of that in larger fields.
  • As far as cash games go, there are actually quite a few routes. You can either pay down at RB and TE and fit Jefferson and Tyreek (my preference) or you can pay for Pollard with them and punt everything else. I don’t think that there is a one size fits all in cash this week at all.

NFL DFS Cash Game Core:

(Added after 12pm EST)

This core of players will help you build a strong foundation in cash games. While it is best to use all these players, it's not a requirement. Generally, you'll want to focus on the QB, RB, and TEs listed.

QB – Kirk Cousins
RB – Jerome Ford
RB – Joshua Kelley
WR – Christian Kirk
WR – Justin Jefferson
TE – Durham Smythe
DST – Bills

NFL DFS GPP Core:

(Added after 10am EST)

This core of players will help you build in priorities to your stacks. Likewise, it's worth noting that the wide receivers and tight ends listed are meant to be in addition to your chosen stacks.

QB – Justin Herbert, Tua, Josh Allen
RB – Jerome Ford, Zack Moss, Jahmyr Gibbs
WR – Justin Jefferson, Calvin Ridley, River Cracraft
TE – Travis Kelce, Durham Smythe, Dalton Kincaid
DST – Whoever you want


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Paydirt NFL DFS Play Action Week 3

Welcome to the NFL DFS Play Action here at Paydirt! This is going to be a weekly article aimed at giving thoughts and notes on the 5 highest-owned players and potential pivots. This article is used with the projections models here at Paydirt (Found here), but it will still be valuable even as a one-off piece of content. While the focus is on Draftkings, the content is applicable to Fanduel as well.

Chalk DFS Plays:

  • Jerome Ford (26.73%)
  • Justin Jefferson (25.17%)
  • Keenan Allen (19.32%)
  • Kenneth Walker III (17.09%)
  • Nico Collins (16.98%)

For conversation and game theory on the charts with updated ownership distributions as well as the top ownership lineups, jump in the Paydirt discord! Free with this link: https://discord.gg/mQ6u5dfawF

Jerome Ford

Jerome Ford is expected to be the highest owned player on the slate after a gruesome injury ended Nick Chubb's season. Despite there being several pivot options, none of them are at the RB position. Therefore, if going with a cheap RB construction you'll likely want to just eat the chalk. However, if it is the Flex spot you can get different by playing similarly priced receivers.

Justin Jefferson

Jefferson stands alone this week. Given the constraints of within +/- $300 salary and +/- 3 points of median projection, there is no pivot to Jefferson. That said, Tyreek Hill is within a point of median projection of meeting the pivot requirements so he would be the option.

Keenan Allen

Keenan Allen sits atop his price range, but unlike Jefferson there are some viable pivots. Amon-Ra and CeeDee Lamb have similar median projections and Top Finish% to Allen at a fraction of the ownership. Bijan Robinson can also be considered but has a lower ceiling.

Kenneth Walker III

Kenneth Walker looks like pretty bad chalk this week. James Cook and James Conner look like similar plays with significantly less ownership. Furthermore, Raheem Mostert rates as the clear top play in this range and psition

Nico Collins

Nico Collins doesn't necessarily rate poorly, however, there are several guys with better projections. Terry McLaurin, Jordan Addison, Zay Flowers, and Michael Thomas not only project higher than Nico, but have higher ceilings and Top Finish% as well.

DFS Play Action: Final Thoughts

Jerome Ford and Keenan Allen are more roster dependent plays. If your build calls for a cheap RB you should probably just play Ford. However, if it's a cheap Flex option there are pivots available. Similarly, Keenan Allen can be plugged in to lower-owned roster builds but pivot if you're playing other high-owned players. Lastly, Jordan Addison can give you some 2 for 1 differentiation. Not only is Addison a pivot off of Nico Collins, but he's also direct leverage off of Justin Jefferson.

Good luck and let's bake some bread!


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  • Use actionable metrics based on leverage that help you identify mistakes the field is making and leverage them for your own success.
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NFL DFS Showdown SZN 2023: Giants vs. 49ers

Welcome to this edition of the NFL DFS Showdown SZN breakdown. The aim of this post is to look at the best players to build around and constructions to focus on for the night's NFL DFS showdown contests on Draftkings. We run the new Showdown Contest simulations to see what differences we can find in projected ownership and likely exposure. Likewise, we take into account the whole lineup's projection and ownership.

Main Points:

  • The biggest point of leverage tonight is Ray-Ray the Bay=Bay over Ronnie “Rookie” Bell in GPPs
  • Try to avoid using the combo of CMC, Jones, Deebo, and Purdy
  • Get ready to tilt some weird touchdowns between two teams that have a lot of depth and few bellcows

For conversation and game theory on the charts with updated ownership distributions as well as the top ownership lineups, jump in the Paydirt discord! Free with this link: https://discord.gg/mQ6u5dfawF

Captain ownership distributions

The best edge offered at CPT in the contest simulations is George Kittle, who is projected at just 5% captain ownership but has an 11% exposure rate in optimals. This number may close up with the news on Brandon Aiyuk being out, but it’s unlikely Kittle is higher than 10% owned at this slot. The biggest negative leverage goes to Brock Purdy at -6.45% leverage gained here. His optimality rate is still okay at 12.20% but he is being overvalued with a projected ownership at captain of 18.65%. This is a situation where you’ll want to rerun the contest sims closer to lock after final updates to make sure the ownerships here haven’t shifted considerably after the Aiyuk news.

FLEX ownership distributions

Christian McCaffrey offers the most edge at FLEX, with an optimal exposure rate of 81.70% against a projected FLEX ownership of around 56%. The key takeaway with McCaffrey is that he makes for a better FLEX than CPT, but he’s going to be in your lineup either way. The largest negative edge found is on Parris Campbell at -5%, but there are a handful of options in that range. The one that probably matters the most is the 49ers DST, which has a projected ownership of 12.70% and is probably projected too low, which makes them conservatively overvalued and possible the worst play on the slate.

Some other notes on optimization exposures and projected ownership:

  • Free square is Christian McCaffrey. Don’t need to overthink it outside of the largest field GPPs, where you could fade for Elijah Mitchell if you felt inclined.
  • Ronnie Bell is already creeping up in ownership, but people are ignoring Ray-Ray McCloud III at the same price point in the same situation. He makes for a fantastic large field GPP pivot.
  • There’s not enough ownership on either kicker in the FLEX, which usually means the public is stacking for a higher scoring game.

Duplication projections and DFS lineups to avoid

Here is a sample of the lineups in terms of highest ownership from the contest simulations. To clarify, you should avoid playing these lineups in large field GPPs tonight:

The lineups most likely to be duped are utilizing a mid-priced captain along with a clear 4-man combo: McCaffrey, Daniel Jones, Deebo Samuel, and Brock Purdy. There’s enough value on the slate that you can fit all the studs together, so the easiest way to reduce duplication is simply avoid the full combo. The most high leverage way of doing this is to avoid Brock Purdy, who is an overvalued play at FLEX based on the contest sims. You could also use a Giants player in the captain, as the vast majority of the captains in high probability dupes are 49ers players.

The two most realistic ways to avoid duplication and have a strong ROI tonight are: Play towards a Giants victory with a 4-2 NYG lean or avoid Brock Purdy and/or Deebo Samuel. An interesting way to play the slate is with George Kittle captain and Christian McCaffrey in the FLEX with strong NYG options ins an offset 2-4.

DFS Showdown SZN: Final Thoughts

I’m interested to see what happens with the Ronnie Bell situation. He filled in last week with no Aiyuk and had 18% of the snaps ran but had no targets and is a late round rookie. Meanwhile McCloud had a targets per route run of around 13% (moderate) in 2022 and could feasibly see as many snaps as Ronnie Bell. There seems to be a considerably strong opportunity to pivot off the Ronnie Bell chalk and get massive leverage in GPPs in a really simple way. That said, both of them could suck, we could get nothing for the pivot, and have Arbys on speed dial.

Regardless, there’s a lot of value to be had on this slate in terms of both roster construction differences as well as value choices. Even with an 85% owned CMC to be had you’ll be able to fill in the blanks with a lot of unique directions. So long as you don’t play the super obvious 4-man combo of CMC, Jones, Deebo, and Purdy you can build a lot of strong lineups a lot of different ways.

Some players that look overvalued:

  • Ronnie Bell (probably)
  • Brock Purdy (CPT)
  • 49ers DST

Some players that look undervalued:

  • George Kittle (CPT)
  • Ray-Ray McCloud III
  • Giants 4-2 builds

Good luck and bink a unique


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  • Make decisions using a players full range of outcomes, not just their median projection.
  • Use actionable metrics based on leverage that help you identify mistakes the field is making and leverage them for your own success.
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  • Jump in the Paydirt community discord and join conversations around your favorites sports all day, every day, for free.

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NFL DFS Showdown SZN 2023: Dolphins vs. Patriots

Welcome to this edition of the NFL DFS Showdown SZN breakdown. The aim of this post is to look at the best players to build around and constructions to focus on for the night's NFL DFS showdown contests on Draftkings. We run the new Showdown Contest simulations to see what differences we can find in projected ownership and likely exposure. Likewise, we take into account the whole lineup's projection and ownership.

Main Points:

  • The captain offering the most leverage is DeVante Parker, while the most leverage offered on the slate is Tyreek in the FLEX
  • Building with a lean towards the Patriots is a straightforward way to use Tyreek in more unique ways
  • Avoiding the combo of Tua, Rhamondre, and Tyreek in the FLEX will help considerably with your dupe management

For conversation and game theory on the charts with updated ownership distributions as well as the top ownership lineups, jump in the Paydirt discord! Free with this link: https://discord.gg/mQ6u5dfawF

Captain ownership distributions

The highest exposures in the contest simulations go to Rhamondre Stevenson and Mac Jones, but the highest leverage belongs to DeVante Parker. His exposure of 10% is considerably higher than his projected captain ownership of under 2%. This makes him a premium captain option on a slate that should have very condensed ownership at the high price points. On the other side of this table is Tyreek Hill, who has the worst leverage offered at captain with a -7% rate of exposures minus projected ownership.

FLEX ownership distributions

Where Tyreek lacks at captain leverage, he makes up for greatly at FLEX leverage. He offers by far the most leverage on the slate at a 30% mark here, as the field is overvaluing his captain value and undervaluing his FLEX usage. Rhamondre Stevenson comes in second in terms of leverage gained with an exposure minus projected ownership of just under 20%. The largest negative leverage offered at FLEX is Kendrick Bourne, making him a worthwhile fade in GPPs.

Some other notes on optimization exposures and projected ownership:

  • There’s not really a free square on this slate, but Tyreek Hill is pretty close. He should be locked into the majority of your lineups at FLEX.
  • As we typically see with top heavy showdown slates, lots of cheap players project as underowned, so leaning into the uncertainty to take advantage of the studs works here.

The Patriots defense appears appropriately valued, but the Dolphins defense is overvalued. It sets up well for a Patriots 4-2 lean.

Duplication projections and DFS lineups to avoid

Here is a sample of the lineups in terms of highest ownership from the contest simulations. To clarify, you should avoid playing these lineups in large field GPPs tonight:

The lineups with some of the highest projected ownership follow the typical pattern of a top heavy showdown: cheap captains and jamming in the studs. We see a handful of kicker captains with Jason Sanders, along with some Mac Jones and DeVante Parker. In the FLEX, we see three main pieces: Tua, Tyreek, and Rhamondre Stevenson. This offers multiple interesting leverage points in GPPs, as avoiding that 3-man combo is going to help your dupe count immensely. Going with Jaylen Waddle instead of Tyreek or Tua, for instance, is a way to manage duplications while maintaining solid upside.

Especially considering the opportunity cost of using Tua and Tyreek together, it makes a lot of sense to fade Tua for Waddle and hope for a Patriots gamescript that controls the ball and limits upside.

DFS Showdown SZN: Final Thoughts

This game has kind of an odd vibe. The Dolphins are a high octane offense, but they have a very clear gameplan, which Bellichick has made a career of shutting down. On the other side, the Patriots are a team without a true identity early in the season, and the Dolphins defense looked good in week one against a better Chargers offense. My guess is that people just put all their eggs in the Tua/Tyreek basket and largely ignore Waddle and Mostert as viable upside options.

A build focused on the Dolphins win through the run game and a fade of Tua is one of my favorite ways to attack. The other more obvious route is a shootout that leans 4-2 towards the Patriots with Devante Parker at captain.

Some players that look overvalued:

  • Kendrick Bourne
  • Tyreek Hill (captain)
  • Dolphins DST

Some players that look undervalued:

  • DeVante Parker (CPT)
  • Jaylen Waddle
  • Patriots stacks

Good luck and bink a unique


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Paydirt NFL DFS Play Action Week 2

Welcome to the NFL DFS Play Action here at Paydirt! This is going to be a weekly article aimed at giving thoughts and notes on the 5 highest-owned players and potential pivots. This article is used with the projections models here at Paydirt (Found here), but it will still be valuable even as a one-off piece of content. While the focus is on Draftkings, the content is applicable to Fanduel as well.

Chalk DFS Plays:

  • Calvin Ridley (20.09%)
  • Puka Nacua (19.06%)
  • Davante Adams (17.17%)
  • James Conner (16.09%)
  • Amon-Ra St. Brown (16.73%)

For conversation and game theory on the charts with updated ownership distributions as well as the top ownership lineups, jump in the Paydirt discord! Free with this link: https://discord.gg/mQ6u5dfawF

Calvin Ridley

Calvin Ridley will be popular for a 2nd week in a row after exploding in week 1. However, there are a few strong GPP pivots to consider. At the receiver position, DK Metcalf is in the 2nd highest projected total game and will be minimally owned. Additionally, Keenan Allen will be about half as owed as Ridley and Austin Ekeler is doubtful for LAC. At the FLEX, Tony Pollard is another pivot you can go to.

Puka Nacua

Puka seemingly came out of nowhere in week 1 doing his best Cooper Kupp impression. However, he's far from a lock this week. Zay Flowers looks like a strong pivot especially considering Mark Andrews is still banged up. Furthermore, Marquis Brown is a two for one pivot off of both Puka and James Conner. Lastly, while not the same position Tyler Higbee does provide direct leverage.

Davante Adams

Davante Adams presents an interesting scenario. While there are several pivots, all of them will be similarly owned. Additionally, the team stacks containing those pivots will be significantly higher owned. The move in GPPs may be to either play a Raiders stack, or play Josh Allen with Davante Adams in place of Diggs.

James Conner

If we ignore Daniel Jones, there's only one skill position pivot to Conner and they don't offer much of an ownership discount. That said, Conner is likely a fine chalk piece to have in your lineups.

Amon-Ra St. Brown

Amon-Ra looks like pretty solid chalk this week. Not only is there only one pivot with a higher Top Finish%, but that pivot is almost equally as high owned. However, one way to include the sun god while being different would be to include him with a Seahawks stack.

DFS Play Action: Final Thoughts

Of the five highest projected owned players Calvin Ridley and Puka Nacua look like the clearest fades. Conversely, James Conner and Amon-Ra look like the strongest chalk. Lastly, Davante Adams is probably fine but it would be best to avoid playing him with other chalk pieces.

Good luck and let's bake some bread!


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NFL DFS Showdown SZN 2023: Vikings vs. Eagles

Welcome to this edition of the NFL DFS Showdown SZN breakdown. The aim of this post is to look at the best players to build around and constructions to focus on for the night's NFL DFS showdown contests on Draftkings. We run the new Showdown Contest simulations to see what differences we can find in projected ownership and likely exposure. Likewise, we take into account the whole lineup's projection and ownership.

Main Points:

  • The best captain on the slate is Kirk Cousins, and the best FLEX is Justin Jefferson, making for a clear path in roster construction
  • The most overowned combination will be Hurts, Brown, and Jefferson, so playing just 2/3 of them helps lower uniques
  • Playing for a PHI loss and MIN win gamescript is probably best in large field GPPs

For conversation and game theory on the charts with updated ownership distributions as well as the top ownership lineups, jump in the Paydirt discord! Free with this link: https://discord.gg/mQ6u5dfawF

Captain ownership distributions

Captain exposures for tonight are valued appropriately based on the projected ownership. The best leverage we gain on the field is on Kirk Cousins at captain, with his exposures in the contest winners at 21.10% and his projected ownership at captain 17.92%. On the other end of the spectrum is A.J. Brown, who projects for 9.85% ownership at the position with just 5.50% exposure. Your money will likely not be made with who you choose at captain tonight!

FLEX ownership distributions

When we look at FLEX exposures, we have a couple very strong options in terms of leverage and only a couple negative values. The best leverage on the slate goes to Justin Jefferson with an exposure of 70% in the winners and projected at just 37% ownership. This gives a lot of room if the projected ownership is low on him to still offer positive leverage. The other big value in terms of leverage gained is on Jalen Hurts. His FLEX exposures are 79% while his projected ownership there is just 59%.

Granted, Both of these players will be highly owned, but a lot of people will be looking to use them at captain. Using both in the FLEX offers an interesting angle to the slate.

Some other notes on optimization exposures and projected ownership:

  • The free square today is going to be Jalen Hurts, you are just playing him and moving along
  • Devonta Smith is the largest negative leverage at FLEX, followed by lots of PHI players, which speaks to them being the overvalued stack
  • Both defenses are appropriately owned based on projection, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see the Eagles DST come in around 15-20% based on recency bias

Duplication projections and DFS lineups to avoid

Here is a sample of the lineups in terms of highest ownership from the contest simulations. To clarify, you should avoid playing these lineups in large field GPPs tonight:

The highest owned lineups tonight are mostly cheap players at captain while jamming in all of the expensive options in the FLEX. Rashaad Penny, who is starting, will likely demand a lot of ownership across the board. Jalen Hurts, Justin Jefferson, A.J. Brown, and DeVona Smith are all exceptionally popular in the highest projected ownership lineups, so avoiding that combination will help lower dupes. One other big observation is the lack of Kirk Cousins, who looks like one of the best differentiation points on the slate.

One thing we don’t see any of is Alexander Mattison captain, which could be fruitful considering his CPT leverage is neutral and his expected fantasy points last week were respectable regardless of lackluster results.

DFS Showdown SZN: Final Thoughts

The assumption in this game is going to be that the Eagles DST gets to Cousins early and often thus lowering his potential. Likewise, people think that primetime Kirk Cousins sucks, so they will naturally be lower on him than he deserves. A full out MIN 5-1 combo seems like it would make a lot of sense here, considering PHI players grade out as overvalued and Cousins looks like the most undervalued captain.

If you do choose to go with a PHI 4-2 or 5-1, look to be different with Quez Watkins or using multiple running backs. That side will be more popular than the MIN side, so you have to think a little harder about how to lower dupes.

Some players that look overvalued:

  • A.J. Brown
  • Eagles DST (Assuming higher ownership than projected)
  • Rashaad Penny

Some players that look undervalued:

  • Kirk Cousins (both CPT and FLEX)
  • Justin Jefferson (FLEX)
  • Alexander Mattison (CPT)

Good luck and bink a unique!


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  • Make decisions using a players full range of outcomes, not just their median projection.
  • Use actionable metrics based on leverage that help you identify mistakes the field is making and leverage them for your own success.
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  • Jump in the Paydirt community discord and join conversations around your favorites sports all day, every day, for free.

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NFL DFS Showdown SZN 2023: Bills vs. Jets

Welcome to this edition of the NFL DFS Showdown SZN breakdown. The aim of this post is to look at the best players to build around and constructions to focus on for the night's NFL DFS showdown contests on Draftkings. We run the new Showdown Contest simulations to see what differences we can find in projected ownership and likely exposure. Likewise, we take into account the whole lineup's projection and ownership.

Main Points:

  • Aaron Rodgers is about to be real bummed about switching conferences
  • Stefon Diggs is going to be undervalued tonight as a FLEX option, you should take advantage
  • Avoid general combos with Deonte Harty if you play him, or just fade all together, but he’s the biggest decision you’ll make

For conversation and game theory on the charts with updated ownership distributions as well as the top ownership lineups, jump in the Paydirt discord! Free with this link: https://discord.gg/mQ6u5dfawF

Captain ownership distributions

Captain exposures and ownerships are very efficient tonight, with no one better or worse than 6% off the projected ownership in terms of exposures. Greg Zuerlein (NYJ kicker) and Stefon Diggs both offer the most positive leverage at captain, with their edge gained being 5.50% and 4.77% respectively. On the other hand, Josh Allen and Aaron Rodgers offer the least leverage at -6.62% and -4.84% even at relatively high exposures.

FLEX ownership distributions

Turning to the FLEX view, we see a lot of the same, but with a clear value on the field. Stefon Diggs is projecting for modest ownership tonight at 33% in the FLEX, but the exposures have him at nearly 59%. He has a wild 25% edge here. Even if ownership projections are low, it's unlikely he ends up 60% here and should be a priority in the FLEX. Towards the bottom we have a very popular play in Deonte Harty, who offers incredible value but appears to be overvalued even farther.

Some other notes on optimization exposures and projected ownership:

  • The free square today is going to be Josh Allen, even if he offers a touch of negative value overall
  • Deonte Harty being overvalued in interesting and will offer a large amount of leverage to those who avoid him though both direct and indirect leverage
  • Both kickers offer good positive leverage based on their exposures, so plugging them in with negative leverage counterparts can help even things out

Duplication projections and DFS lineups to avoid

Here is a sample of the lineups in terms of highest ownership from the contest simulations. To clarify, you should avoid playing these lineups in large field GPPs tonight:

Of a sampling of the highest owned optimals for tonight, there are four players in every single lineup: Josh Allen, Stefon diggs, Garrett Wilson, and Deonte Harty. You do get some Aaron Rodgers, but he appears to be the “odd stud out”. Based on the exposures and leverage tables above, it would make the most sense to get away from Harty tonight. It will help you manage duplicates without much opportunity cost.

So long as you avoid that combo of players though, you'll be looking good in terms of dupe counts. Likewise, using Diggs at captain is a high upside route towards lower dupes.

DFS Showdown SZN: Final Thoughts

You should mostly just continue to be worried about usage and biases. The biggest piece to this showdown is what to do with Deonte Harty. You can play him in unique ways, like playing him at captain or playing him without Josh Allen, but he doesn’t project as a super valuable piece in the contest sims and the opportunity cost is high. My lean is fading, but you gotta do what you gotta do, boo boo.

Some players that look overvalued:

  • Deonte Harty
  • Josh Allen (but like, you should play him)
  • Aaron Rodgers

Some players that look undervalued:

  • Stefon Diggs (FLEX)
  • Greg Zuerlein (CPT)
  • Allen Lazard (CPT)

Good luck and bink a unique!


Powerful tools for every sport

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  • Make decisions using a players full range of outcomes, not just their median projection.
  • Use actionable metrics based on leverage that help you identify mistakes the field is making and leverage them for your own success.
  • Have access to experts in the field along with coaching opportunities to build your process.
  • Jump in the Paydirt community discord and join conversations around your favorites sports all day, every day, for free.

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