Mike Johnson (MJohnson86) has racked up nearly $500,000 in DFS profit as an NFL tournament player with success in all styles of contests
The whole idea behind this piece of content is that it is unique. Specific content and strategies for the “non-main slate” contests are very rare in the DFS industry and most players who enter them are casual players or doing so on a whim after their main slate entries have had things go wrong and they want something to root for or to chase their losses during the late games. Edges are getting harder and harder to find in DFS as information gets better, projections get sharper, and the field gets more experienced. These smaller slates present a clear opportunity for an advantage for those who focus on them, as most players will just take their thoughts from the main slate and approach these lineups the same way, without considering how much having seven to nine fewer games (depending on the week) changes the strategy. The biggest win of my career came on an “Afternoon Only” slate in January of 2021, and I once again posted the highest score of the “Afternoon Only” slate in Week 15 of 2024, while being in contention late into the slate several times each season. I hope to share some of my insights on the format to help you attack this niche corner of NFL DFS, and have OWS flags littering the leaderboards on this awesome slate.
This is only a three game slate, but man does it profile as a fun one. All three games have high profile players and spots where we could see tons of scoring. The three highest priced wide receivers on the main slate all play within this three game window, while three of the six highest projected running backs are also available. Bringing it all home, the three highest priced tight ends on the main slate are available within the late window. This creates a situation where decisions must be made, and there will be more ways to be unique than we usually get on such a small slate. Another angle to consider here is the fact that with all of these games having such good outlooks and the main slate only being ten games, there is a reasonable chance that a lineup made entirely of players from the Afternoon Only slate will post a score that can win a main slate contest. This is a great way to naturally differentiate a lineup and condense your player pool, which is often a struggle.
Quarterback is always an important position, but that importance goes to another level on these small slates. There are two main reasons for this. First, on average, QBs obviously score the most points of any position and we can only start one of them. Second, as noted above, correlation is even more important as the slates get smaller and there are fewer scoring opportunities to go around. By choosing the right quarterback, you are also increasing the chances that you are right at two other positions. Again, the shorter slate condenses the scoring across all lineups, making each position more vital to separating and giving yourself a chance to win. This is why quarterback strategy has its own section:
