Mike’s FD Player Grid 1.25

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

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 with the mindset being to find the best plays with big ceilings. Low ownership is a bonus, but not a must. 

Quarterback::

• Trevor Lawrence – Jaguars double stacks with Lawrence plus two of Brian Thomas Jr., Travis Hunter, and Brenton Strange will be a staple of my lineups this week. I also like the idea of including Etienne with one of the WRs because of his ability in the receiving game.
• Jayden Daniels – We have plenty of salary this week and Daniels is the only one of the “Big 4” QBs on the slate. Sometimes it is that simple.
• Kyler Murray – Initially, I did not have Murray on this list, but then I did the other positions. If I am high on Conner, MHJ, and McBride, then it seems only logical that Murray should also be in some of my lineups.
• Joe Burrow – The Bengals have an elite combination of a very poor defense and an elite passing game. Their offensive line is a concern, but this is one of the only weeks where you can comfortably fit in a “Burrow Double” with Chase and Higgins.
• Salary Savers: Daniel Jones, Brock Purdy, Michael Penix Jr. 

Running Back::

• Jahmyr Gibbs –  Gibbs is arguably the best running back in the league and is fully healthy and fresh in a huge game for Week 1. I expect the Lions new offensive coordinator to ride his best player. In a week where we can easily afford Gibbs and he is projecting for single-digit ownership, that is enough for me.
• Ashton Jeanty – He is wildly mispriced for his role and talent. The matchup isn’t great, but if it was, then he would just be 40% owned. Don’t overthink it. We probably won’t get this salary again for a few years.
• Jonathan Taylor – JT ended 2024 on a heater and has been saved from the Anthony Richardson experience to start 2025. He should have a massive workload in a good matchup and carries a middling salary for his ceiling.
• Bijan Robinson – Another “don’t overthink it” guy, Bijan is the engine of this offense and provides both a high floor and ceiling. There are some concerns about the loss of the Falcons best offensive lineman, but if they can’t run, then I would just expect his receiving volume to rise as a result. We can afford him, so play him.
• Chase Brown – Should start the year with the massive workhorse role he ended 2024 with. Matchup isn’t the best (Cleveland’s defense should at least start out the year playing well), but the salary is way off here relative to Brown’s floor/ceiling combination.
• James Conner – The “concerns” around Conner are about durability over the course of the season. For this week, he should have his normal bell cow role in what appears likely to be an above-average matchup.
• **Christian McCaffrey** – I may or may not end up playing CMC, depending on the reports around his status/health after being limited in Thursday’s practice (Editor’s note: CMC did not practice on Friday but said his injury was “nothing serious”. Your guess is as good as ours here.) There is a chance he is fine and the concern created by him showing up on the injury report just gives us a nice ownership discount.

Wide Reciever::