I hope you’re not tired of the NFC West on Sunday Night Football. Though we were initially supposed to be seeing the Buccaneers and Raiders clash in primetime on NBC this weekend, COVID concerns forced the NFL’s hand. They needed to make sure we all had something to watch at 8 p.m. ET, so, a week after Rams-49ers, we’ll all witness the other two teams in the division square off. Fortunately, these are probably the two of the most watchable squads currently in the league.
Let’s dive in and break it all down from a Showdown perspective.
Set your DraftKings fantasy football lineups here: NFL $800K Sunday Night Showdown [$200K to 1st] (SEA vs ARI)
SHOWDOWN STRATEGY
Captain’s Picks
Kyler Murray ($18,000 CP) - Look, I’m not exactly going out on a limb in suggesting that Murray is going to be a very solid fantasy asset in this contest, but QBs of the sophomore’s archetype are especially valuable in the Showdown format. Honestly, aside from maybe Lamar Jackson, there isn’t a quarterback in the NFL that owns a bigger share of their team’s own offensive game plan than Murray. While the Cardinals might have only a 53.9% pass ratio through six weeks, Murray has been involved in 76.2% of Arizona’s offensive touchdowns (16-of-21). He leads all pivots in rushing attempts (51), rushing yards (370), rushing touchdowns (6) and overall PPR fantasy points scored (166.5). Heck, it’s not even all about volume with Murray, as Russell Wilson ($12,800) is the lone man averaging more points per drop back than the Oklahoma product’s 0.72. Going up against a Seattle defense that’s conceding the most DKFP per week to the position, Murray’s viability is a layup.
DK Metcalf ($15,300 CP) - Metcalf in the Captain’s spot is a bit of a salary compromise. While you’d love to get the aforementioned Wilson at 1.5x value, his price tag is astronomical. In contrast, Metcalf clocks in nearly $4K less expensive, but almost just as consistent a DFS asset. Yes, it helps when you find yourself in an offensive structure that’s averaging a league-best 33.8 points per game and scoring 82.6% of its touchdowns through the air; yet Metcalf’s impressed in a vacuum, registering 21.3 DKFP per contest and producing 13.8 yards per target — the second-most of any player with 30-plus targets to their name. Surprisingly, the Cardinals are actually surrendering the fewest yards per attempt to opposing WRs (7.1); however, those types of stats matter less when the opposition happens to be a duo like Metcalf and Wilson.
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FLEX Plays
Chris Carson ($9,000) - It’s not like Arizona’s played poorly against running backs so far this season, though the case could be made that they haven’t exactly faced many notable ones. No, this is simply a recommendation that acknowledges just how great Carson has been and how fair his price tag continues to be. The veteran’s exceeded 19.0 DKFP in four of his five games in 2020 — with the lone disappointing performance coming in the game he left injured versus the Cowboys. Carson’s also posted at least three catches every time he’s taken the field this season, with his 21 total receptions through Week 5 sitting fifth among all RBs. Plus, on top of all that, Carson’s handled 76.9% of Seattle’s red zone rushing workload, which equates out to the highest volume share in that situation in the NFC.
Christian Kirk ($6,400) - Though it’s easy to forget about Kirk with someone like DeAndre Hopkins ($10,800) garnering a target on a whopping 27% of his routes, the 23-year-old doesn’t really need a whole lot of volume to be successful. Kirk is, as we say in the business, a “home run threat.” If you didn’t know that last weekend, you know it know after Kirk economically turned his two receptions against Dallas into two touchdowns and 86 yards. In fact, Kirk enters Week 7 as one of six wideouts with at least 20 targets and an aDOT of over 17.0 yards. At 3.95 PPR points per touch, only Preston Williams and Metcalf have been more efficient WRs in a fantasy setting. That all seems relevant in a matchup with a Seahawks secondary that’s hemorrhaging 7.7 yards per opponent pass attempt.
Chase Edmonds ($4,000) - Edmonds isn’t a lock to do anything in Sunday’s contest — despite averaging a decent 36.8% snap share — however, in a particular script, the backup RB could find himself in the optimum build. Maybe Edmonds’ role is in some jeopardy after Kenyan Drake ($7,000) got his groove back on Monday Night Football, but it would appear that the former fourth-round pick is the more pass-oriented asset in Arizona’s backfield. In fact, Edmonds is third on the Cardinals in targets (25) and receptions (19), while Drake has just 22 receiving yards to his name through six games. If you’re going with Metcalf, Wilson or Carson in the Captain’s spot and are in essence predicting a Seattle victory, Edmonds is a sneaky and cost-effective way to bring back such a lineup construction.
Fades
Kenyan Drake ($7,000) - I already outlined some of my Drake hesitation above, but it all basically boils down to script. There’s a reason the Seahawks are conceding the seventh-fewest DKFP to opposing RBs. There’s a reason opponents are registering the seventh-fewest rushing yards per game against this team (100.8). Seattle will get you in a hole and force you to throw your way out of it. Granted, we did see Minnesota flip this scenario on it’s head the last time we saw the Seahawks; however, for the season, opponents are running the ball on just 34.4% of offensive plays when playing Seattle — the second lowest ratio in the NFL. If Drake’s not going to be apart of the passing attack, he might quickly lose his touches in this matchup.
THE OUTCOME
Regardless of outcome, this should simply be an exciting game between two of the most versatile quarterbacks in all of football. Still, I think I’m going to have to side with Russell Wilson and a Seahawks squad that’s coming off their bye in a matchup with a Cardinals team on a short week. Sometimes, life’s just not fair. Plus, for all the talk of the 12th Man in Seattle, the Seahawks are 7-1 ATS in their past eight road games against opponents above .500. They’ll beat you anywhere.
Final Score: Seattle 34, Arizona 27
Set your DraftKings fantasy football lineups here: NFL $800K Sunday Night Showdown [$200K to 1st] (SEA vs ARI)
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user (my username is theglt13) and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above.