Contrarian means opposing or rejecting popular opinion, going against the current practice. Being a contrarian in fantasy football is difficult because it's not chalk as the DFS kids would call it today. Risk is involved, but it could be a league-winning selection. Contrarian is where the big money is made within DFS, especially in large tournaments, because you'll submit more unique lineups than your competitors.
Mix one or two of these players within a lineup to maximize individuality.
Do not create your entire lineup based on the contrarian picks below.
Key for charts:
- Player = recommended contrarian play
- Opponent = Home or away and the opponent
- FD Roster % = This week's FanDuel roster percentages
- FD Salary = FanDuel salary to roster the player
- DK Roster % = This week's DraftKings roster percentages
- DK Salary = DraftKings salary to roster the player
CONTRARIAN QUARTERBACKS
Nick Mullens’ start last week resulted in throwing for over 300 yards and two TDs against a Bengals defense allowing the tenth-most fantasy points to QBs. Mullens earned the start again this week and will face a Lions defense allowing the third-most fantasy points to QBs. The Lions will be without starting CB Jerry Jacobs on Sunday and will have to rely on Kindle Vildor, who was one of the worst starting CBs in the NFL over previous seasons. Justin Jefferson increased his snap share from 18% to 96% in his return from injury. Mullens should only improve his rapport with Jefferson and the rest of the offense as he continues to take more reps as the starter in practice and games.
Gardner Minshew has averaged 255 passing yards over the last four games as he’s leading the Colts to a potential playoff birth. Minshew is averaging two passing TDs over his last three games. Despite a concussion last week, Michael Pittman is likely to play on Sunday and Jonathan Taylor is returning from an injury should create betting play-action opportunities for Minshew. The Falcons' pass defense is middle of the road among the NFL but allows the sixth-most fantasy points to QBs. Minshew is on a hot streak with his full assortment of weapons in a very important game against a Falcons team that is kind of unraveling to end the season.
Tua Tagovailoa has only thrown one TD pass in the last two games combined, but one of those games was against the best pass defense in the NFL. One of the biggest factors in his dip in production was Tyreek Hill’s ankle injury. Hill practiced this week and looks like he will play. Hill and Waddle allow Tua to have big games no matter the opponent. He’ll face the Cowboys this week, who are the seventh-best pass defense, but allow the 18th most fantasy points to QBs.
Jared Goff rebounded last week to throw for five TDs after struggling for a few games. The Lions have lots of motivation to finish out the year strong to win the division and potentially earn the top playoff seed in the NFC. Detroit will play Minnesota in two of the last three games and the Vikings love to blitz. We don’t know how Detroit and Goff will react to this new Vikings defense, but it will be fun to monitor. I’m expecting either a big game from Goff or a big disappointment. Vikings CB Byron Murphy will not be playing on Sunday.
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