DraftKings GPP Domination Week 9

Slate Overview

Found Money

Week 9 offers more value plays than any other slate this season, and as a bonus, it should also be high-scoring. 

• 10 teams have an implied total of 23 points or more.
• Josh Allen, Joe Burrow, and Caleb Williams are playing in primetime or overseas, leaving Drake Maye's $7,000 salary as the highest at quarterback.
• Getting up to whichever quarterback you want is easy, but there is also extreme value at the position. Malik Willis is $5,100 vs. Detroit's league-worst pass defense, while Drew Lock is in play at the site minimum in a great defensive matchup of his own against the Cardinals in Seattle.
• Jonah Coleman is up $1,000 over last week, but still mispriced by about $700 against Carolina's leaky run defense. Ollie Gordon II, Tyler Allgeier, Rachaad White, and Devin Singletary join Coleman as workhorse running back value plays in the $5K range.
• Wide receiver is stacked at the top. Puka Nacua and Jaxon Smith-Njigba have huge salaries to match their scoring projections. CeeDee Lamb and Amon-Ra St. Brown are also set up for big games.
• Jahmyr Gibbs has finally hit a five-figure salary, but fitting him under the cap is possible, even if you play both Nacua and Smith-Njigba alongside him.

When a slate has this much value and so many high-projection plays, you should be more selective rather than more contrarian. Common roster construction is already going to branch off in several directions because there are so many good expensive receivers, cheap running backs, and playable quarterbacks. You don't need to use a 3%-owned player with a fragile projection just to make your lineup look different.

Instead, keep as much projection as possible and create leverage through how you fit your pieces together. Your lineup can include nothing but strong, reasonably popular plays and still separate from the field if your player combinations aren't commonly used together. Spending up at both running back spots, over-stacking, using a different pair of expensive receivers, or even leaving more salary on the table than usual can accomplish more on this slate than reaching for a low-owned player just to bring your lineup's overall ownership down.

Found money in a DraftKings GPP lineup is only useful if you can score enough points to make a deep run.

Top Game Environments

Targeting games where multiple players can hit their ceilings together reduces the number of things you need to get right to build a winning GPP lineup.

Games in bold indicate low projected ownership relative to favorable scoring conditions.

The Chalk: Identifying Common Roster Construction

Understanding how the field is most likely to construct lineups helps us build differently without fading top plays entirely and sacrificing too much projection.

QB: There won't be a single common roster construction this week, but our opponents' builds will be heavily influenced by how much they spend at quarterback. Dropping all the way to Drew Lock (or another $4,000 quarterback) creates room to spend heavily at both running back spots. Paying up to Patrick Mahomes II ($6,100) or Brock Purdy ($6,700), on the other hand, will almost certainly force one or both of Jonah Coleman ($5,300) and Devin Singletary ($4,600) into the lineup.

RB: Coleman and Singletary's ownership should outpace the other value options mentioned in the intro. It initially seemed impossible to fit Jahmyr Gibbs ($10,000) under the cap, but playing a min-priced quarterback and using a tight end at flex now allows you to comfortably jam both Gibbs and Christian McCaffrey ($8,000) into the same lineup.

WR: Those who spend down at quarterback and pair Gibbs with McCaffrey will still have room for a high-end wide receiver. Puka Nacua ($8,800) should lead the way thanks to his 41% target share and two touchdowns in two games without Davante Adams. Lineups built around running back value will have room for a second expensive receiver like CeeDee Lamb ($8,300) or Amon-Ra St. Brown ($8,100). Rosters of all types will need to save salary at least one wide receiver spot. Antonio Williams ($4,100) has gained the most steam with Terry McLaurin, Treylon Burks, and Dyami Brown out of the lineup for Washington.

TE: With Mike Evans (Achilles) ruled out, George Kittle ($6,000) might triple the ownership of the next closest tight end. Roster percentages at the position will be extremely flat after Kittle. Stars-and-scrubs lineups will frequently use a tight end at flex, where Greg Dulcich ($3,100) looks like a crowd favorite in a favorable matchup against Detroit. Intriguing rookie Eli Raridon ($3,500) is also appealing with Hunter Henry (foot) sidelined in a potentially high-scoring matchup against Green Bay.

Flip the Common Build: We're skipping it this week since there isn't one common build. Remember to think in terms of combinations, though. If your opponent settles on a particular value play, who are they using the savings to get up to? Once you have that answer, you can be selective and intentional about building differently without giving away too much projection.

Leverage Plays