Mike’s Player Grid 9.23

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

• Jonathan Taylor – The Panthers run defense has been absolutely abysmal. They technically had their best performance of the year last week but that was largely due to the Texans being completely incapable of running the ball. The Colts have a very good offensive line and rank 4th in rushing offense DVOA, while Taylor is immensely talented. If you’re worried about his workload split with Zack Moss then you should probably play Moss because someone is likely to have a huge day here.
• D’Andre Swift – The lead runner on a top-3 offense, Swift can get it done in multiple ways. His weighted opportunity counts over the last four games are 22, 21, 38, and 29. The Eagles appear to be limiting Jalen Hurts running the ball a bit, which also raises Swift’s floor and ceiling.
• Aaron Jones – The Packers offense needs a spark, desperately, and according to his coach Jones is “ready to be cut loose”. After weighted opportunity (carries + 2*targets) counts of 17 and 18 the last two weeks, Jones could easily get in the 25 range this week in a great matchup at low ownership.
• Bijan Robinson – Simply too talented for his price tag. I believe he will have a breakout game soon and this week the Falcons are without Drake London and facing a team without their quarterback.

tier 2

• Alvin Kamara, Saquon Barkley, and Josh Jacobs – All of these guys rate out extremely well in my “Checking the Boxes” process. Kamara and Barkley are likely to lead the slate in opportunities and Jacobs could also return to a massive role this week. All three are also in above-average to great matchups. Really the only reason I don’t have these three listed in “Tier 1” is because of their respective price tags. If you’re building a lineup that has the salary to spend up at running back, then these guys are all equal to or above the guys listed in the first tier.

Salary Savers