Cracking DraftKings Week 5

Sunday Morning Update

Check back each Sunday Morning for an update on the Primary Cash Lineup and final lineup thoughts.

Week 4 Results- Loss: 1-3

There were a lot of mistakes made in Week 4. Nothing worse than starting the day with Josh Allen and he fails to get to 20 DraftKings points, only to follow it up with four snowflake icons as Jeremiyah Love (injured), Garrett Wilson, Dontayvion Wicks, and Kalif Raymond all struggled mightily combining for just 19.6 DraftKings points between the four of them.

This was a week where if you’re going to be wrong, you might as well be completely wrong. The reality was that the decision to fade T.J. Hockenson essentially doomed the lineup from the start, as Hockenson was 70% rostered and had 27.9 DraftKings points while being priced at just $3,300. Meanwhile, pulling Ken Walker III on Sunday Morning did not help matters as he finished with 33.9 DraftKings points while being very under-owned and may have helped save the day if I had not taken him out of that lineup.

One big lesson learned from Week 4, is that I’m pushing the pause button on Christian McCaffrey. He’s averaging almost 10 touches less per game than what he did last season, and without that elite volume of touches he’s just not worth the high-cost that his salary remains at. He should be about $1,000 cheaper if he’s only going to see 16-17 touches per game at this point. There may be a point where I jump back in, but for now, at his $8k+ range he really needs to be in the 21-23 touches at minimum to be in consideration due to his lack of explosivity when it comes to the 50+ yard run potential.

Injury Creates Opportunity

A lot of injuries to factor in for Week 5.

• Kyle Monangai ruled out for Week 5. This should put D’Andre Swift near the top of the board this week despite him being benched last week for fumbling.
• The Commanders wide receivers are a mess. Stefon Diggs is out with a hamstring injury, while Terry McLaurin is questionable with a hamstring. If McLaurin plays, he’s an interesting piece this week as Jayden Daniels returns to the lineup.
• Ashton Jeanty is questionable with a hamstring injury as he did not practice on Friday. This will be one to watch throughout the weekend as if he were to miss, Mike Washington Jr. is close to minimum price.
• Breece Hall remains out this week. Braelon Allen did not have the best game last week, but was on the field for 94% of snaps. If he’s on the field for 94% again this week in a game that the Jets are favored, his usage should increase.
• The Chargers receiving unit has major issues. Quentin Johnston is out with a chest injury, while Ladd McConkey is questionable with a foot issue. If McConkey were to miss, Tre’ Harris jumps as a top value play on this slate.
• Not an injury, but Marvin Harrison Jr. will be inactive due to a pending trade. It was announced on Saturday morning that he will be traded, and while the destination is unknown, the Cardinals feel good enough to move on from the 2024 fourth-overall pick. Even though Harrison has done very little this season, it is still a major bump up for Michael Wilson and Trey McBride. The reason for this is that it should raise the floor of both players and solidify Wilson’s elite target volume.

Week 5 Strategy: Jahmyr Gibbs Dilemma