Mike’s DK Player Grid 7.25

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

Mike’s DK Player Grid

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 vary slightly from my FanDuel Player Grid, which will be more direct in terms of which players I like. Enjoy!!

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 course you can find in our Marketplace. 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 ::

• Jonathan Taylor – JT is in the midst of a potentially historic running back season and has a terrific matchup against a poor run defense and fast-paced offense.
• Quinshon Judkins – Judkins is the workhorse for a team that is likely to run, run, run, and he is facing an incredibly bad Miami run defense.
• Saquon Barkley – The Eagles are struggling this season and the reality is that their dominant 2024 season was propelled by building their offense around Barkley. They are likely to try to get back to their roots here and Barkley’s ceiling is 35+ points.
• Jacory Croskey-Merritt – “Bill” also has a terrific matchup this week and just set a season high in snap rate and touches, while playing in the game with the highest projected total on the slate by far.
• Josh Jacobs – Over 30 DK points in consecutive games and the centerpiece of his team’s offense, playing in a game where his team is favored and expected to score points.
• Kimani Vidal – This is a back that has an explosive skill set and thrives in the passing game as well. His salary doesn’t represent the upside that he possesses in a strong offense and explosive game environment.

For The MME Crowd:: This week’s slate presents a wide-open running back situation, which leaves me open to playing more RBs than I would in a usual week and looking to build my rosters in specific ways around them. Here are a few of the “others” who make sense to me as a part of game stacks and/or strategy pieces.

• Breece Hall – Hall started the week projecting to be the highest-owned RB on the slate and basically everyone in the industry, in unison, said “easy fade!!” I suspect he will end up much lower-owned than expected, and the reality is that initial projection was probably where they were for a reason.
• Javonte Williams – We can’t ignore the workhorse running back playing in the game with by far the highest implied total on the slate. Javonte has a very high floor in this spot and has paths to multiple touchdowns and hitting the 100-yard bonus. If Williams is posting a big score, this game is almost certainly going wild.
• J.K. Dobbins – Dobbins has been extremely consistent outside of last week’s dud. The Broncos could smash the Giants this week, and New York’s 31st-ranked run defense could give us the high end of outcomes for Dobbins this week.
• Rhamondre Stevenson – The Patriots might really run it up on the Titans if they get the chance and Rhamondre appears to be their top choice at running back.

FANDUEL PLAYER GRID ::

Quarterback::

• Brock Purdy – Not including bonuses, Purdy had eight games of 20+ fantasy points in 2024 and nine such games in 2023. His salary of $6,600 this week at home is laughable, even if the matchup is moderately difficult.
• Jalen Hurts – Hurts led the slate in scoring from the QB position in Week 3 and has paths to doing so again this week. The best part about Hurts is that if he gets there we know who is coming with him. The cat might be out of the bag with the Eagles passing game and Tampa’s stout defensive front should encourage them to pass more as well.
• Caleb Williams – Caleb got there last week against Dallas and gets another great matchup against the Raiders in the dome this week. His underrated rushing upside adds to his floor and ceiling while he will be playing in a great game environment.

Running Back::

• Omarion Hampton – Don’t overthink it. Checks every box (talent/draft profile, volume, game environment, matchup) and is moderately priced. High floor and the potential for him to showcase a previously unseen ceiling. The Giants also have faced relatively mundane rushing offenses so far and this is the best rushing matchup the Chargers have seen, by far.
• Bucky Irving – Irving has at least four targets in every game, scoring just under 10 points per game through his receiving alone. He has yet to score a rushing touchdown or run for over 100 yards, which are both surely to happen at some point. Bucky had 29 opportunities last week as the Bucs need him to move the ball while their wide receivers are dealing with injuries. Finally, the Bucs get All-Pro tackle Tristan Wirfs back this week, which significantly improves Irving’s outlook.
• Kyren Williams – The Rams have the third-highest team total on the slate behind the Bills and Lions. Kyren is the workhorse RB and is priced in the mid-tier, while facing a defense that is solid but not elite.
• Christian McCaffrey – Another easy click, CMC is AVERAGING 11 targets per game. The workload is insane, and at some point, he is going to have a two or three touchdown game which will make him a must-have on that Sunday.
• Bijan Robinson – Simply an elite role and this team is at home in a solid matchup. People are down on them after they made a litany of mistakes in Week 3. The Falcons are 1-2 and need to get back on track. Bijan is going to be the focal point to an even greater degree than usual.
• Ashton Jeanty – The Raiders have not been able to get Jeanty going because of horrendous run blocking and giving up backfield penetration
• Salary Savers: TreVeyon Henderson, Cam Skattebo