Thursday Night Football Showdown GPP Picks for DraftKings and FanDuel 9-17
Grab a cup of coffee and let’s dive into my Monday Night Football GPP picks for the main slate on DraftKings and Fanduel. Be sure to subscribe to get in-depth analysis, Study Hubs, tiered rankings, player pools, and $20 of FantasyCruncher credit monthly for Ronin members! I’m going to highlight plays that have tournament winning upside. We have a showdown slate to kick off week 2. Let’s get into it.
Cincinnati Bengals @ Cleveland Browns O/U 43.5 CLE -6
Cincinnati Bengals
The Bengals offense is led by number 1 overall pick Joe Burrow and he has plenty of weapons at his disposal. In 2019, the Browns defense ranked 18th in pass defense efficiency and 30th in rush defense efficiency. I’m going to prioritize Joe Mixon in this spot. Mixon was heavily involved in the offense in week 1 receiving 19 carries and 2 targets. If he gets that same volume, he should have a great day.
For the passing game, I am going to stick with A.J. Green, Tyler Boyd, and John Ross. A.J. Green was the recipient of 9 targets in limited snaps in week 1. I expect Green to get upwards of 10 targets if the Bengals are losing and forced to rely on the passing game. I am going to be stacking Joe Burrow with multiple pass catchers if I fade Mixon. On DraftKings, I am going to have Mixon or one of the pass catchers in the captain spot. On FanDuel, I’ll either have Mixon or Burrow in the MVP spot.
Cleveland Browns
The Browns offense looked rough in week 1 but, they were facing a tough Ravens defense and get a better matchup against the Bengals defense this week. The Bengals defense ranked 29th in pass defense efficiency and 28th in rush defense efficiency in 2019. Teams took what they wanted from this Bengals defense and I don’t anticipate Cleveland struggling to score in this spot. The running game is tricky. It’s unclear what the split between Kareem Hunt and Nick Chubb is going to look like, My theory is that Hunt will be in when they are more focused on the passing game and Chubb will be in when they have a ground and pound approach. It’s smart to use game theory here. If you think Cleveland has a lead early, toss Chubb in there and toss Gunt in if you think Cleveland trails most of the game. I like running Chubb in the captain or MVP spot more than Hunt.
For the passing game, I’ll be stacking Baker Mayfield with two of Odell Beckham Jr., Jarvis Landry (watch injury news on him), and Austin Hooper. If Landry is out, I’d expect Rashad Higgins to get some looks. I’m going to be most focused on the Mayfield to Beckham connection in this spot. We know Odell has a ceiling of 200 yards with multiple touchdowns. 10 targets last week could be a sign of good things to come for Odell. Odell Beckham Jr. will be my priority captain from the Browns on DraftKings. For FanDuel, I’ll either have Mayfield or Chubb at the MVP spot.
See ya in discord,
TMay
