Week 13 was wild. You’re wild. Let’s get wild and look at some salary risers and fallers ahead of Week 14. Sweet.
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Notable Salary Risers/Fallers
| Name | Week 15 Salary | Week 16 Salary | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Name | Week 15 Salary | Week 16 Salary | Difference |
| Le'Veon Bell | $4,200 | $5,800 | $1,600 |
| Tony Pollard | $5,200 | $6,500 | $1,300 |
| Jalen Hurts | $5,900 | $7,000 | $1,100 |
| David Johnson | $5,100 | $6,100 | $1,000 |
| Greg Ward | $3,000 | $4,000 | $1,000 |
| Ryan Griffin | $4,000 | $2,500 | -$1,500 |
| Rams | $4,500 | $3,100 | -$1,400 |
| DK Metcalf | $8,600 | $7,800 | -$800 |
| Amari Cooper | $6,400 | $5,700 | -$700 |
Keke Coutee ($5,000), Houston Texans at Chicago Bears
Week 13 Salary: $3,500 ($1,500 increase)
Coutee receives the massive jump in salary after solidifying his new, expanded role in the Texans offense. With Will Fuller watching from home for the rest of the season, Coutee drew nine targets against the Colts, making eight catches for 141 (!) yards and 25.1 DKFP. As you’d imagine, these all set new season-highs for Coutee, although he only needed to surpass a three-game sample. Nonetheless, it was good to see Coutee be as busy as he was, which is hopefully a sign of things to come.
Continuing the trend when he’s been active, Coutee spent most of his time in the slot, a role he’s logged 64% of his total snaps in. With that in mind, we can expect coverage against Bears CB Buster Skrine, who, shocking no one, has not been good. Skrine has been targeted against 65 times and has allowed 51 receptions (78.5% catch rate) for an average of 11.1 YPR with four touchdowns scored. Drawing this matchup — with the hope that Coutee is garnering a 25% target share like he did last week — puts him in a great spot. This bump in salary doesn’t bother me in the least, feel free to fire away once again.
David Montgomery ($6,500), Chicago Bears vs. Houston Texans
Week 13 Salary: $5,500 ($1,000 increase)
Staying in the same game, Montgomery also sees one of the biggest jumps in salary, going up $1K. The Montgomery chalk week hit and I was left in the dust overthinking it. It was right in front of all of us, as a matchup against the Lions is just what the doctor orders when you want a running back to do his thing. Montgomery responded with 72 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 17 carries, while adding 39 receiving yards on four catches. At just $5.5K, Montgomery rewarded everyone but me with 27.1 DKFP. I was the idiot who took Derrick Henry and his stone hands in a game where Titans got blown out. Awesome.
If you thought Montgomery was popular last week, be prepared for another week of that. The Texans are ANOTHER putrid run defense, lining Montgomery up for his third-straight week of a mouthwatering matchup. Against the Packers and Lions, Montgomery logged 175 rushing yards on 28 carries (6.2 YPC, ya dig) and 79 receiving yards on nine receptions with three total touchdowns. Now he faces a Texans run “defense” that allows an average of 33.4 DKFP, 139 rushing and 46 receiving yards per game. Like, really? With Montgomery averaging 36.1% of the total team touches with Mitch Trubisky ($5,600) under center, this is another spot to pay for him.
Dolphins D/ST ($2,800), Kansas City Chiefs at Miami Dolphins
Week 13 Salary: $4,400 ($1,600 decrease)
So, I usually don’t talk about a defense/special team play in this article but this is such a massive drop in salary that I felt compelled to write it up (if you made it this far, you’re at least interested).
I get that the matchup against the Chiefs is daunting. I mean this is an offense averaging 30.8 points per game, trailing only the Packers (31.6) in that realm. With that said, this is also a defense/special teams unit that’s scored 14.0 DKFP in back-to-back games, which was against the Bengals and Jets to be fair. However, I think the massive drop in salary and perceived matchup can be used to our advantage.
It’s not as if Patrick Mahomes ($8,100) isn’t under pressure. He’s been in that situation on 32.4% of his total drop backs, leading to 15 sacks and an adjusted completion percentage of 64.3%. Mahomes is coming off a game against the Broncos, who have a similarly ranked pass rush, and had him under pressure on 34% of his drop backs. The Dolphins have been getting to opposing quarterbacks and have 31 sacks on the season and nine of the past two weeks. Is this a MUST play? Absolutely not. However, I think taking a huge discount on a D/ST that has overall been very productive and logging six games with at least 12.0 DKFP is worth a peek.
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