The New Orleans Saints will play host to the Jacksonville Jaguars tonight on TNF. With fantasy glory and a hefty $1,000,000 (ONE MILLION DOLLARS!) on the line, it’s now more crucial than ever to assemble a winning DraftKings lineup that can dominate the competition. This article offers DFS picks insights on who should take the coveted captain slot, which core player should anchor your player pool, a value gem that can boost your salary cap flexibility, a sleeper pick with breakout potential, and one player to steer clear of – the dreaded bust. Get ready for an interesting DFS showdown on TNF.
*Disclaimer: These picks have been constructed with the mindset of building a single lineup. When building large field/multi-entry tournaments, if the player sees the field you’ll want to have a piece of him somewhere, my “busts” included.*
TNF DFS PICKS
Captain
Calvin Ridley
DraftKings Captain Salary- $12,600
There are a ton of viable fantasy options playing on TNF. I usually don’t have any problem paying up for the highest salaried player in my captain slot if I believe that he can return the value. While I do believe in Alvin Kamara, his salary is just a bit too high for me here, only because there are other players that I want to roster. With Kamara in my captain slot, I’d be severely limiting my options. In this case, I need a player who should be highly involved, has big play potential, and has a reasonable salary. At $12,600 in your captain slot, Calvin Ridley fits the bill.
“Look at his legs!” 😂😂😂
I asked Calvin Ridley about #Jaguars RB Travis Etienne and how good he is at breaking tackles, making players miss: pic.twitter.com/XtvwSJ8tAZ
— Demetrius Harvey (@Demetrius82) October 11, 2023
Ridley’s involvement has not waivered much this season. His season low in targets (2) came in Week 4 against Atlanta. Apart from that, Ridley has been one of Trevor Lawrence‘s go-to targets. Ridley will be coasting into TNF with two straight games of 8 targets. On paper, the Saints DST looks like a daunting matchup. In reality, it’s a team that gave up two passing scores to the Texans last week and allowed Chris Godwin to go over 100 yards in Week 4. Calvin could be in for a big night as long as the targets keep coming his way.
Core Play
Alvin Kamara
DraftKings Salary- $10,400
Since his return from suspension, Alvin Kamara has been a blessing for the New Orleans Saints offense. Thankfully, Derek Carr knows just how to use him. In his return to action in Week 4, Kamara caught a ridiculous 13 passes on 14 targets. He only gained 33 yards, but on DraftKings where each catch is worth one point, you weren’t complaining. He’d cool down the following week with just 3 receptions on the same amount of targets, but heated right back with 7 catches this past week at Houston.
Last week against the Indianapolis Colts, the Jaguars DST allowed 11 running back receptions! They let Zack Moss catch six passes for 38 yards. In addition to that they gave up five catches and 46 yards to Jonathan Taylor. If this is any indicator of what is in store for tonight, then Kamara should have a fantastic TNF performance.
Value
Evan Engram
DraftKings Salary- $5,800
The pricing on this one is odd indeed. I spent much longer scrolling in search for Evan Engram than I thought I would have to. At $5,800 Evan Engram provides a much-needed salary relief at no cost to production. Engram has been a consistent target for Trevor Lawrence. In fact, he’s been targeted at least seven times in every game this season but one. He has at least eight targets in four of six weeks this year. On the sour side, Engram has yet to find the end zone, which is the only reason I could make the argument for him being so cheap.
Evan Engram had to admire his hand after this crazy catch. @EazyEngram
📺: #INDvsJAX on CBS
📱: Stream on #NFLPlus https://t.co/B4mQvLOt8O pic.twitter.com/akTnr5X6ZB— NFL (@NFL) October 15, 2023
Engram’s matchup is looking pretty attackable as well. At least past tight ends have had success against this defense this season. Dalton Shultz put up a 4-61-1 line, Cade Otton went for 3-13-1 and Luke Musgrave dropped 6-49-0 on them. So while the Saints DST may not look like the most favorable matchup (10th-best DST against TE), it’s certainly nothing to steer away from. Engram will probably be a popular TNF salary relief play tonight on DraftKings.
Sleeper
Brandon McManus
DraftKings Salary- $4,800
Evan Engram is almost cheap enough to fall into sleeper territory, but his projected ownership doesn’t quite fit the bill. Kickers are usually fairly owned as well, but in this case, I believe that Brandon McManus can anchor your TNF lineups. McManus has three games this season in which he has scored 10 or more DraftKings points. He put up 10 DK points in Week 2, 14 points in Week 4, and 17 points his last time out. McManus has plenty of leg to make the long kicks. He’s currently sitting on a season-long 56-yard field goal. DraftKings awards kickers 5 points for any FG that is 50 yards or longer, so rostering Brandon could pay off big.
TNF Bust
Trevor Lawrence
DraftKings Salary- $9,600
I had to cut Brandon McManus’ cameo a little short. I had to do it because I was about to start rambling on about Trevor Lawrence. Good ole’ T-Law. While he’s by far not the worst quarterback, Trevor Lawrence has been less than stellar this season. This is not to say that Lawrence is not playing good football. For all intents and purposes, he is. It just isn’t translating into fantasy production. The main reason that I love McManus tonight is due to Lawrence’s struggles in the red zone. Lawrence’s completion percentage of 47.7% is currently the eighth worst among quarterbacks who have at least 10 red zone passing attempts.
I don’t love predicting QBs to bust. Especially not mobile ones. One thing that saves Lawrence is the fact that he does have a solid rushing floor. He is averaging 24.5 rushing yards a game which could technically turn a mediocre 16-point performance into the 18-point minimum that you’re looking for out of a quarterback. But with Travis Etienne and the running game at full blast, I don’t see Lawrence getting the passing volume on TNF he’d need to pay off his price tag.
Week 7 Rankings: Quarterback | Running Back | Wide Receiver | Tight End |