Week 7 Thursday Night Showdown On DraftKings
Another Thursday Night Showdown with the Denver Broncos taking in the Cleveland Browns. Not gonna lie this one is ugly. It is ridiculous how many players are on the injury report.
The Broncos are coming off a divisional loss to the Raiders where they allowed Derek Carr to throw for 341 yards. Cleveland is coming off an embarrassing loss to the Cardinals where they were only able to put up two scores, one of which was a hail mary at the end of the first half. Even more concerning than back to back losses for Cleveland is the amount of injuries they’re dealing with.
With so many players missing practice or out for the Browns I will be leaning more on the Broncos side of the ball in this game. D’Ernest Johnson was the waiver wire pickup of the week. Add his low price and we have a recipe for him to be one of the higher owned players on the slate. I don’t mind using him in a lineup or two but will absolutely not use him as a captain. The Broncos have given up the fourth fewest yards on the ground through six weeks. If he plays I’m fading Noah Fant. He’s been up and down this season and I don’t trust him to be able to finish the game. Fading TEs in general, The Browns are top 10 and the Broncos are top three in points per game to the TE.
Injuries to Monitor
Kareem Hunt was forced to leave the game with a calf injury that will have him miss at least four to six weeks.
Nick Chubb missed Week 6 with a calf injury of his own and although we don’t know the extent of the injury, he will not suit up on a short week.
Baker Mayfield has been nursing a torn labrum in his left shoulder and dislocated it again in Week 6. He’s been fighting through the pain but was in a sling after the game. He will also miss this game.
Odell Beckham Jr left the game briefly with a shoulder injury of his own but was able to return. He’s a game time decision as well. He’s not exactly known for his toughness.
The Broncos were hopeful to get Jerry Jeudy back off of the IR but Vic Fangio said there’s a less than 50% chance that Jeudy plays. He’ll be out for this game.
Teddy Bridgewater is dealing with a foot injury and has been limited at practice. Fangio does expect him to play but he is listed as questionable.
Noah Fant is also dealing with a foot injury and is listed as questionable.
Spread
Reminder that you want your Showdown lineups on DraftKings to tell a story on how the game will play out. The lineup should be heavily correlated while trying to be different since there’s a limited player pool to choose from. Let’s get into the best plays.
Captains/Flex
Sutton is the clear number one WR until Jeudy comes back. He’s had double digit targets in three of his last five games, with 25 total in the last two games. The Browns have given up the third most TDs through the air with 14 so far. Sutton also leads the league with 887 air yards.
Bridgewater is coming off his best game of the year from a yardage and TD standpoint, throwing for 334 yards and three scores. The Browns have given up 14 TDs through the air, eight in the last two weeks. Sutton or Teddy are the two best plays on the slate and should be paired together.
Obviously Peoples Jones can’t go for 100 yards and two scores every week but he was trending in the right direction prior to last weeks performance. In week 5, he had six targets resulting in five catches for 70 yards. The Browns have nobody on offense so 8 targets the floor for DPJ.
The Rest
Can the Broncos just trade Gordon to the Ravens already. They obviously need another washed up RB. Williams is clearly better than Gordon despite the 50/50 split. The Browns have only given up 87 rush yards a game so we’re playing Williams and Gordon hoping for a TD. In a game where we’re scrounging for plays their TD equity is worth a stab.
With no Jeudy and banged up Fant Patrick is a great value at this price. Patrick has averaged seven targets over the last three weeks. He’s also scored in half of his games.
I actually like Keenum more than an injured Baker. In 2019 Keenum threw multiple TDs in four of his eight starts and had a 65 percent completion rate.
Felton has not played much to this point so there isn’t much data to go on. He is more of a pass catcher than traditional running back. He’s had multiple catches in four of six games this year and scored a TD in Week 2.
Higgins put up a nice zero points last week but did play 62 percent of snaps. He’ll be relied upon more this week with the amount of injuries the Browns are dealing with. He’s averaged five targets the last three weeks.
If you’re looking for salary savings you can do worse than Shwartz. He had three targets last week. He has a 20.58 average depth of target and could pay off his salary by connecting on one deep ball.
I tend to shy away from Kickers and defense but this game is gross and both kickers and defenses are viable plays in this game. Not in the same lineup but worth a sprinkle in lineups.
