Week 15 Thursday Night Showdown on DraftKings
Chargers vs Raiders Draftkings Showdown
Showdown Captain mode is a DraftKings tournament where you have $50,000 to create a lineup using 6 players from a standalone single game. One of those players will be your captain. The captain costs 1.5 times their salary and will accumulate 1.5 times the points. As with every slate, GAME THEORY IS INCREDIBLY IMPORTANT. Even more so in Showdown, you want your lineup to tell a story of how the game will go. There are a lot of options based on how you see the game going but ALWAYS make sure there’s correlation between your players.
Chargers @ Raiders
Spread: LV -3.5
Over/Under: 34.5
Injuries to Monitor
Justin Herbert fractured his index finger and will be out for the remainder of the season.
Keenan Allen has a heel injury and will not play in this game.
Gerald Everett has a hip injury that has kept him out of practice and is questionable.
Josh Jacobs left Sunday’s game with a quad injury
Breakdown
Not gonna lie I’m starting to hate Thursdays. The Los Angeles Chargers head to Vegas to face the Raiders on Thursday Night Football. Loser will be in last place in the AFC West.
As of writing this there’s still A LOT up in the air. Mainly the status of Josh Jacobs but also it’s currently unknown whether Aiden O’Connell or Jimmy Garoppolo will be the starter.
The Chargers are in shambles after losing five games in a row and scoring a combined 23 points over the last three weeks. Now add a broken finger to their star QB and it’s UGLY. They’ve played slightly better defensively during the losing streak but it doesn’t matter when they can’t score points.
The Raiders are coming off a thrilling 0-3 loss to the Vikings. They’re on a losing streak of their own losing three games in a row. Four of their five wins have come at home.
This game could be lower scoring so I think both defenses and kickers are in play. I prefer the Chargers defense especially if Crosby is out. Either way I’ll play the defenses sparingly and prefer the Kickers a little more.
If Garoppolo goes I will definitely be heavier on the Raiders receivers and actually prefer Meyers over Adams in that scenario. If it’s O’Connell I’d lean Adams. You can play both receivers together but I worry about the upside. I will definitely use very little of the Vegas QBs. I’m under the impression that Jacobs sits. If he does end up playing I will play him and use him at Captain.
On the Chargers side it’s obviously Ekeler. He should be relied upon heavily. O think you can pair him with Stick and I like Palmer the most among LA pass catchers. I do think Quentin Johnston could be a good fit with Clark but don’t know if I want to risk him at Captain.
Captain/Flex
Davante Adams $16,800/$11,200
Adams has double digit targets and at least six receptions in three of his last four games. He has a 31.7% target share which is 5th highest in the league. The yardage totals and TDs have been lacking and keeping down his overall ceiling but he doesn’t need his historical ceiling to pay off in this one.
Austin Ekeler $16,500/$11,000
Ekeler hasn’t looked great but was much better last week and even showed some quickness. He averaged over five yards a carry and scored a rushing TD while adding five catches for 49 yards. On the season he’s averaging 17.2 touches per game. Vegas has allowed the 7th most points to opposing RBs.
Jakobi Meyers $12,900/$8,600
Meyers has been an integral part of this offense and has a 21% target share this year. He was much better when Garoppolo was under center. If Jimmy G is starting I’ll absolutely use Meyers at Captain if its O’Connell I’ll only play him at flex.
Josh Palmer $9,300/$6,200
Palmer has been activated off the IR and could be eased back into playing time but with how inept this WR corp has been his presence is needed. In the four games prior to the one where he was injured, Palmer averaged 7.25 targets and 81.5 yards.
Flex
Aiden O’Connell $9,600
Jimmy Garoppolo $9,000
As crazy as it sounds I don’t think I look at these two very differently as far as being playable themselves. I’m not crazy about either of them in this matchup but will sprinkle in whoever the starter is. It’s possible if it’s O’Connell he gets replaced at some point. With that being said I do think it affects the WRs quite a bit and will go much heavier on both Adams and Meyers if Garoppolo starts.
Easton Stick $9,400
Stick is an absolute wild card here but deserves to be played. After a shaky start entering the game, Stick looked much better as the game went on. By no means is he Justin Herbert but he does have some arm strength and is actually pretty fast for a QB. We don’t know who his preferred target will be so I’ll pair him with a few different Chargers receivers in lineups.
Zhamir White $3,000
I personally don’t think White is that good, but neither is the Chargers defense. If Jacobs is out he’ll get a good amount of work and is way to cheap considering the workload.
Quentin Johnston $5,400
Johnston is coming off his best game of his young career with 91 yards. 57 of those yards came on one pass late in the game. The big play upside does exist but he’s been wildly inconsistent. Stick could be a good fit for him and he’s a boom bust mid range option.
Gerald Everett $5,200
Everett has at least four catches and 40 yards in three straight games. That’s basically what your hoping for with the possibility of a TD.
Josh Kelley $6,800
Kelley has been less involved recently but its possible that the Chargers go a little more run heavy with Stick at QB. I’m not expecting much from him but he should see a few carries, a couple targets and maybe a chance at a goaline carry.
Hunter Renfrow $4,000
Renfrow hasn’t been anything special but at this price in this game he could actually be a good play. He doesn’t have a ceiling but definitely has a safe floor. In his last three games he’s averaging four catches and 42 yards. You’d be happy with that at this salary and of he happened to score a TD he smashes.
Amber Abdullah $4,800
Abdullah will get a good amount of the passing work here. He should come away with a couple catches and some yards but I wouldn’t expect much unless he can break a long one.
Michael Mayer $3,200
Donald Parham $2,800
Two typical low end tight end options. They’ll see a few targets and you probably need a TD for them to pay off. Mayer probably has a higher ceiling in the reception department while Parham has a slightly higher chance at a TD.
Jalen Guyton $1,400
Guyton only has one reception in each of his last three games. He could see an uptick in routes with Allen out and does have some big play upside.
Tre Tucker $1,200
Tucker is rarely involved. He has had a couple games with some long catches. I don’t know of it’s worth the salary savings with a lack of top tier pay up options on this slate.
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