NFL DFS Value Plays: Week 18 (2021)

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Week 18 is upon us. The end of the regular season, but fear not, I will continue my value column into the playoffs. We haven’t quite decided what it will look like yet since there will be games on Saturday and Sunday, but rest assured, I will be trying to find those diamond in the rough players for you. But first, Week 18…

Quarterback

DraftKings

Tyler Huntley (BAL)  $5,700 vs. PIT
Huntley wasn’t very good last week against the Rams, failing to throw for a touchdown, but he still had over 50 yards rushing, and that’s why you roster him. Pittsburgh’s pass defense ranks in the middle of the pack in DVOA but near the bottom in rush DVOA. Huntley should once again have 50-plus rushing yards. He just needs to find the endzone with his legs or through the air to pay off his salary.

Honorable Mention: Jordan Love (GB) $5,500 @ DET

FanDuel

Jordan Love (GB) $5,500 @ DET
Packers have already secured the No. 1 seed and the first-round bye, they have nothing to play for and no reason to play Aaron Rodgers for more than a few snaps, if at all. That leaves Love, who looked good in relief last week when the game got out of hand. Playing against the Lions, who rank 29th in pass DVOA, should allow Love to put up some decent fantasy points at his price.

Honorable Mention: Tyler Huntley (BAL) $7,000 vs. PIT

Running Back

DraftKings

Samaje Perine (CIN) $5,300 @ CLE
Perine has been good in relief of Mixon in the past, like in Week 5 when Mixon was limited to only 28 percent of the snaps with an ankle injury. Perine had 83 total yards, four catches, and a touchdown — good for 18.3 Draftkings points. The Browns are 20th in rush DVOA and have given up an average of 19 DK points over their last four games to running backs (per Rotogrinders.com).

Ke’Shawn Vaughn (TB) $5,300 vs. CAR
Ronald Jones hasn’t practiced yet this week and is looking more on the doubtful side of his questionable tag on the injury report. With Leonard Fournette on IR, that leaves Vaughn and Le’Veon Bell as the only healthy running backs. Vaughn has 30 rushing attempts over his last two games, the most he has had in a two-game span in his career. The Panthers are middle of the pack in rush DVOA at 17, but they have given up an average of nearly 22 DK points over their last four games.

Honorable Mention: Elijah Mitchell (SF) $6,000 @ LAR

FanDuel

Ke’Shawn Vaughn (TB) $5,900 vs. CAR
See above

Wide Receiver

DraftKings

A.J. Green (CIN) $5,400 vs. SEA
Green has a couple of incentives within reach, including a 250k bonus if he gets another 75 yards. He has another 250k coming his way if he can get 10 receptions. The reception bonus might be a little out of reach, but he just had 74 yards in last week’s game, so 75 yards is not out of the question. The Seahawks have given up the seventh-most points to wide receivers over the last four weeks and rank 27th in pass DVOA.

Cyril Grayson (TB) $4,400 vs. CAR
Unless you have been living under a rock, you know that Antonio Brown is no longer a Buc, opening the door for Grayson to step into a larger role. He took full advantage of that opportunity last week when he caught six of eight targets for 81 yards and a game-winning touchdown.

Honorable Mention: Antoine Wesley (ARI) $4,100 vs. SEA

FanDuel

Allen Robinson (CHI) $5,500 @ MIN
Robinson saw six targets last week, and even though he didn’t do much with them, it was nice to see him somewhat involved in the offense. Robinson is playing on the franchise tag, and this will be his last opportunity to show his value if he were to hit the open market. His quarterback situation is still less than ideal, but if you were to take a shot on anyone this week, why not a guy we know is talented, just held back by the offense.

Gabriel Davis (BUF) $5,200 vs. NYJ
If you have been reading my column all season, you may already know about my love affair with Gabe Davis. How this guy hasn’t been more involved this season is beyond me. Anytime he has been given the chance, he has come through. This week against a lowly Jets squad, Davis could finish the season off with a flurry. Emmanuel Sanders still isn’t practicing, and even if he does play, Davis has overtaken him in the pecking order.

Tight End

DraftKings

John Bates (WAS) $3,000 @ NYG
Finding a value tight end was hard this week. I settled on Bates. He isn’t the greatest option but forced to choose, I’d go with him. Neither of these teams has anything to play for except pride, but if Ricky Seals-Jones misses this game, which seems likely, Bates will get all the volume in a tight-end friendly offense.

FanDuel

Hayden Hurst (ATL) $4,800 vs. NO
If Kyle Pitts misses this game, Hurst, who was recently taken off the reserve/COVID list, could see a decent amount of work in the passing game. Hurst is in no way on the level of Kyle Pitts, but he has proven to be a red-zone threat in the past, and, at $4,800, a touchdown is all you really need from him.

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