Mike’s Player Grid 11.23

Mike Johnson (MJohnson86) has racked up nearly $500,000 in DFS profit as an NFL tournament player with success in all styles of contests

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Welcome back to my (Mjohnson86) Player Grid. The format will vary slightly from JM’s Player Grid, as we each see things slightly differently and play in slightly different contests, but should complement his thoughts and content very well for those looking to build their lineups for the week. The format of this article will likely evolve as the season progresses but should provide a lot of value. Enjoy!!

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The Core

This is a list of players that stand out to me at each position from using my “Checking the Boxes” criteria outlined in my Checking The Boxes course. This list is a starting point, from which I build out lineups using game theory and roster construction concepts (which we will also touch on) with the mindset being to find the best plays with big ceilings. Low ownership is a bonus, but not a must. This section will focus primarily on three positions – running back, tight end, and defense – as the other two positions (quarterback and wide receiver) tend to have more dependent tendencies which I try to attack from other angles (which we will get into in the other sections). I like all of these plays on all sites, unless otherwise noted:

Running Back ::

Tier 1

• Dolphins RBs – Everything depends on the De’Von Achane news to determine exactly how we play this, but the Dolphins have the highest implied team total on the slate and should almost certainly put up production on the ground in this matchup. The Raiders aren’t a “terrible” run defense, but they are close, and the Dolphins scheme has shown what it can do in the right spot. Raheem Mostert and De’Von Achane are both squarely in play…..with Mostert a near-lock if Achane isn’t activated.
• Tony Pollard – It’s been a ridiculously frustrating season for Pollard, but he’s still likely to see somewhere in the 15-20 touch range in a near-perfect matchup. The Panthers run defense has been awful this year when facing teams who have legitimate passing threats that don’t let them sell out.
• Austin Ekeler – Elite talent and matchup. The Packers just let Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren both have good days against them and now face an explosive Chargers team with a superstar at running back.
• Jahmyr Gibbs – There was some fear around David Montgomery’s return for how the Lions would use Gibbs, but it appears the cat is out of the bag for good in Detroit. Gibbs is so explosive and is likely to get 15-20 touches weekly going forward. 

tier 2

• James Cook – The Bills running game ranks 4th in the league in DVOA and the Jets are attacked more easily on the ground than through the air. The Bills season is on the brink and Cook is their best RB, time to take the training wheels off.
• Aaron Jones – The Chargers run defense just got obliterated by the Lions in Week 10. Obviously, the Packers offense isn’t the same animal, but Jones is an explosive player in the right spots and has 26 and 19 opportunities in his last two games.
• CMC – Honestly, I’m not a huge fan of paying up at RB and CMC’s salary is such that most weeks I’m fine just fading him and living with it if he does find a way to a 40-pointer. This week will probably be the same, but I can’t in good conscience not mention him when he has a good chance to lead the position in scoring.

Salary Savers