Mike’s Player Grid 10.23

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

• Joe Mixon – The Texans defense is solid, but not necessarily elite. Joe Burrow has the Bengals offense rolling and they should score points. Tee Higgins is out and Ja’Marr Chase is a little banged up. The biggest games by Bengals running backs last season came when at least one of Cinci’s star WRs was sidelined. 
• Bijan Robinson – Elite talent and matchup at a discounted price. The game environment has sneaky shootout potential. Arthur Smith can give us a 40-point game from Bijan whenever he is ready to do so.
• Alexander Mattison – Should be a feature back with Cam Akers out of the mix and the Saints matchup isn’t as tough as perceived. Mattison is already involved in the passing game and near the goal line. The presence of Josh Dobbs as a running threat should help efficiency as well.
• Travis Etienne – Four straight games over 20 Draftkings points. An elite workload at a relatively affordable price. The 49ers are another team whose name seems daunting but who have given up some solid production to RBs this year.
• Aaron Jones – The Packers season is teetering on the brink and Jones is their best hope of pulling off a road upset. Jones touched the ball 24 times in Week 9 and, barring injury, another 20-25 touches this week seems highly likely.

tier 2 (the big spenders)

• Tony Pollard, Austin Ekeler, CMC – All of these guys rate out extremely well in my “Checking the Boxes” process. This week I am heavily prioritizing the higher-priced wide receivers, however, so the high salaries of these three make them tougher for me to justify. Pollard is my favorite of the group as he has the lowest salary and best matchup. My biggest concern with him is blowout potential like we saw two weeks ago in the Rams game. Ekeler has an elite ceiling in a potential shootout with the Lions. CMC is the hardest sell of the bunch for me as he only has one 30+ point game on the season but is the highest-priced player on the slate.

Salary Savers