Cracking DraftKings

The Fade: DraftKings Wild Card Weekend 

With only four games on the docket, Wild Card weekend can seem like a breeze at first glance. While it's certainly much more manageable than a full slate of games, it can be anything but a breeze to put together a lineup capable of making some noise in a GPP. A limited player pool will lead to plenty of overlap among lineups as the 'must-plays' and 'can't miss' players are readily apparent to everyone, making it all the more difficult to create a lineup that stands out from the crowd.

Even on this limited slate, we'll have to take a pass on some of the week's chalk plays and replace them with some lower owned players with comparable upside to give our lineups a fighting chance. It can be pretty tough to fade some of the top plays of the week with such a limited player pool, but the good news is we don't have to fade them all. Players that you have your heart set on should certainly take up residence in your lineups while you seek out some uniqueness elsewhere.

This week's edition of The Fade walks through all four of this weekend's Wild Card games to point out the players who will be on the short list for lineup consideration of many DFSers. Here's a sneak peek at our breakdown of the week's projected most popular quarterbacks:

QUARTERBACKS

Ben Roethlisberger, $7,200

It’s neck-and-neck between the week’s two most expensive quarterbacks for the top fade candidate spot, but we’ll give the nod to Ben Roethlisberger over Russell Wilson by a nose. The high-powered Steelers offense is one of the most attractive targets for DFS purposes due to their ability to accumulate a plethora of yardage and points. As mentioned earlier, the absence of DeAngelo Williams may actually result in an increase in interest for Roethlisberger, who will be expected to be in full-on air it out mode to compensate for the uncertainty at running back. Roethlisberger looks tough to pass on at first glance, but if we dig into the two previous meetings with the Bengals we’ll find that he’s only thrown for one score versus four picks. He may very well deliver a much better return this Saturday Night, but if we’re looking for a spot to separate our lineups from the pack, quarterback is always a great place to start.

Other QB’s That Deserve Fade Consideration

Russell Wilson, $7,000: The allure of a repeat of Week 13’s 34.06-point outing against these same Vikings will be a little too much to pass on for many DFSers this weekend.

Kirk Cousins, $5,900: Cousins is on a roll and comes in at a very reasonable price, which will inspire many to click the plus sign next to his name while finalizing lineups.      

You can check out the rest of this week's top fade candidates here.