Welcome to Monkey Knife Fight. Monkey Knife Fight is one of the more intriguing entrants in the DFS arena. Instead of the traditional salary cap based contests, Monkey Knife Fight allows DFS players to put their fantasy football knowledge and predictive powers to the test.
They offer fantasy point and stat-based contests. Perhaps the most appealing of all of their offerings is the ‘More or Less’ contests. In these contests, you can choose whether a player will fall above or below totals for a preset combination of two to 10 players. Your win probability obviously goes down with the more players you add, but you receive an increased payout multiplier in exchange.
Since Monkey Knife Fight’s fantasy point and stat-based totals are dynamic, meaning the total, total type, and pairings change throughout the week, it is important to search for favorable and advantageous total pairings to exploit on a daily basis. Ideally, when choosing a total pairing, you want to feel extremely confident on one of the totals and feel strongly enough about the other total to proceed. This week we will take a look at two of the ‘More’ options that stood out the most for Week 18. Note that these are not locked in pairings, and may no longer be offered by the time you log in to make your picks.
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Plays of the week
Mike Evans (WR – TB): 62.5 receiving yards
Mike Evans was elite in Week 17 as Tom Brady found him again and again as the two made the annual late-season push to ensure he crossed the 1,000 receiving yard barrier. Evans exploded with 10 receptions, 207 receiving yards, and three touchdowns and should maintain a heavy target workload for the season finale. Brady and Evans have shown that they are gearing up for the playoffs, and with one of the top corners in the league on the other side, expect the pair not to shy away from testing the young star. Tampa Bay will be facing off against an Atlanta Falcons team that has A.J. Terrell but has allowed 15 different receivers to hit at least 63 receiving yards this season. Eight of those receivers cleared 90 receiving yards, putting Evans in an excellent position to hit the More if he plays a full complement of snaps.
That ‘if’ is a big one, however. The Buccaneers have nothing to play for in Week 18 and probably would be better off resting their starters for the full game so as not to expose them to injury. If Evans doesn’t play, Evans picks would result in no action and the multiplier being reduced. With that said, the Buccaneers have been bad enough this year that Tampa Bay will likely want their starters out there for at least a few drives. Head coach Todd Bowles has indicated that he will play the starters but did not commit to playing them all game. The suggestion here is to hold off on punching this one in until we get some additional clarity regarding the Bucs intentions for this weekend. Tap the More if the Buccaneers intend to play their starters into the second half.
Prediction: More
A.J. Brown (WR – PHI): 79.5 receiving yards
A.J. Brown at just 79.5 receiving yards seems like a late holiday gift from the folks over at MonkeyKnifeFight. However, looks can be deceiving. Yes, Brown has been on a tear and has topped 90 receiving yards in four of his last five games. Yes, Jalen Hurts will be back for an all-important Week 18 affair that will determine the number one seed as well as the NFC East divisional crown. However, their opponents, the New York Giants, will be resting the bulk of their starters for Week 18. They have already locked up a playoff spot and will be playing on the road regardless, potentially against these same Philadelphia Eagles. This should be a good thing, right? Not exactly. If the Eagles fly ahead early, it could mean an early trip to the showers for Hurts, Brown, Miles Sanders, and the Eagles veteran players. This means there is a high degree of risk, and that is likely baked into the lower-than-expected total of 79.5. The lean here is still on the More as the Eagles will likely want at least a 21 point lead before resting players. This should give Hurts and Brown ample opportunity to hook up for 80 or more receiving yards. In a week fraught with uncertainty over player snap counts, this looks like one of the ‘safer’ plays.
Prediction: More
Turn $5 into $1,000+ at Monkey Knife Fight this weekend!
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Raju Byfield is a featured writer for FantasyPros. For more from Raju, check out his profile and follow him @FantasyContext.