NFL DFS Bargain Bin: Week 6 Value Plays for DraftKings, FanDuel and Yahoo

October 17, 2021

Juan Carlos Blanco analyzes optimal DFS value plays for the Week 6 of the 2021 NFL season. These players are worth considering on FanDuel, DraftKings, and Yahoo daily fantasy sports games.

Welcome to the Week 6 Sunday slates edition of RotoBaller's NFL DFS Bargain Bin, where the goal is to touch on some potentially mis-priced players across the industry that find themselves in favorable match-ups and/or suddenly expanded roles.

Before we go NFL DFS Bargain Bin hunting, a few particulars about format and content:

• The nature of the beast with value plays is at least a modest amount (and sometimes substantially more) of risk. Therefore, the Bargain Bin may prove to be a bit more of a roller-coaster ride on some slates than your typical “tout” article!
• Naturally, that doesn’t mean there isn’t an upside to be had. All of these selections are therefore suitable for GPPs and can also often serve as solid cash game plays, while often helping you accommodate multiple higher-priced studs into your lineup.
• Typically, I’ll suggest players that are value-priced across three major DFS sites (DraftKings, FanDuel and Yahoo). However, there are certainly occasions where one or more site prices a player significantly lower than others. Whenever possible, I’ll typically at least note those players as an “XYZ site special.”
• This article is by no means intended to serve as an exhaustive list of all value options for the week. Rather, it’s meant to take a deeper dive into those I feel offer some of the best combinations of savings and upside.
• The goal is to recommend truly affordable players, as opposed to, say, a player priced just $300-$400 away from the highest-priced option at his position. I don’t have set-in-stone price limits in mind for each site, but I do consider legitimate affordability very important criteria.

With those housekeeping items out of the way, I’ll give you my thoughts on where there may be some value spots to exploit on the Week 6 Sunday slates!

Quarterback DFS Value Plays

Taylor Heinicke, WAS vs. KC | DK: $5,800, FD: $7,300, Yahoo: $28

Heinicke has proven to be quite the find for coach Ron Rivera, with the young signal-caller arguably playing well enough to keep the job once Ryan Fitzpatrick is recovered from his hip injury. The Old Dominion product is completing 64.2 percent of his passes and is averaging 7.6 yards per attempt while also averaging 5.1  yards per carry and posting a rushing touchdown on 25 attempts. Heinicke had multiple touchdown passes in three straight as well before seeing that streak snapped versus the tough Saints defense in Week 5.

However, Heinicke could well be primed for a bounce-back effort in Week 6, considering how porous the Chiefs defense has been as a whole. KC has allowed 296.4 passing yards per game and an AFC-high 13.2 yards per completion on a 67.5 percent completion rate. The Chiefs are also allowing passer ratings well over 100 in three different passing windows, seemingly giving Heinicke plenty to work with in terms of pass distribution. Moreover, his rushing upside should come in handy against a Chiefs defense that's allowed an NFL-high 236 rushing yards to quarterbacks, along with three rushing touchdowns.

Ben Roethlisberger, PIT vs. SEA | DK: $5,400, FD: $7,100, Yahoo: $23

Roethlisberger may have started his climb back to his usual level of production in the Week 5 win over the Broncos, but his salaries remain very reasonable. Big Ben was able to throw for 253 yards and two touchdowns without an interception, his first multi-score effort of the campaign. Although Pittsburgh lost JuJu Smith-Schuster to a shoulder injury in that contest, Roethlisberger will have Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool and James Washington available as his top three wideouts with all of them wrapping up the week free of injury designations, and he'll get a tantalizing home matchup versus a Seahawks defense that' s been challenged to slow down most quarterbacks this season.

Seattle checks in allowing the second-most passing yards per game (305.6) at a 67.0 percent completion rate and 11.8 yards per completion, both figures that are on the higher end of the spectrum leaguewide. Additionally, the Seahawks' primary weaknesses in terms of areas of the field where they've proven most vulnerable dovetail nicely with Big Ben's short-area style this season -- while Roethlisberger is averaging just 6.6 yards per attempt, Seattle has allowed passer ratings of over 100 and a total of seven passing touchdowns in the three short/intermediate passing windows.

ALSO CONSIDER: Carson Wentz, IND vs. HOU | DK: $5,400, FD: $6,700, Yahoo: $25

Running Back DFS Value Plays

Latavius Murray, BAL at LAC | DK: $5,700, FD: $5,800, Yahoo: $19

Murray has risk attached to be sure, considering he logged just six carries in the Week 5 Monday night thriller against the Colts. However, there was certainly game script at play in that drop in usage, and Murray had seen 18 carries just a week prior against the Broncos. Things could certainly play out differently this week against the Chargers, a team allowing an NFL-high 157.6 rushing yards per contest and an NFL-high 5.5 yards per carry to running backs. Murray has the ability to handle a 15-to-20-carry workload, and although there's naturally always a chance Lamar Jackson vultures some TD opportunities, the Bolts' susceptibility to opposing ground attacks leaves open the possibility of a bounce-back effort for Murray, who also got involved for the first time in the air attack versus Indy.

Devontae Booker, NYG vs. LAR | DK: $5,400, FD: $5,900, Yahoo: $12

Booker is set to draw the start Sunday with Saquon Barkley unsurprisingly ruled out of the contest due to his ankle injury. The journeyman was impressive in Week 5 emergency duty, notching both a rushing and receiving touchdown in the blowout loss to the Cowboys. Daniel Jones, Sterling Shepard and Kadarius Toney are all slated to suit up as well, so Booker shouldn't be facing a completely loaded box every time he takes a handoff. The Rams also come in displaying some vulnerability to the run, as they're allowing 117.2 rushing yards per game at 4.5 yards per carry while also yielding a 30-239-1 through the air to RBs as well. Booker is an accomplished receiver, leaving him well-equipped to exploit those weaknesses with what should be a starter's workload.

ALSO CONSIDER: Khalil Herbert, CHI vs. GB | DK: $4,600, FD: $5,500, Yahoo: $14

Wide Receiver DFS Value Plays

Diontae Johnson, PIT vs. SEA | DK: $6,700, FD: $7,400, Yahoo: $21

The Seahawks' ample weaknesses against the pass were already highlighted in Roethlisberger's entry, and in addition to those numbers, it's also worth noting Seattle has given up a 74-1,061-6 line to receivers specifically. Johnson's ability to get downfield also bodes well for Seattle's tendency to allow a high average distance on completions, as he's clocking a career-high 12.2 yards per reception and 8.2 yards per target while averaging just over nine targets per contest. He's also posted at least five receptions in three of his four games, including a pair of nine-grab tallies, making him a potentially rewarding value for those playing slates that include the Sunday night game.

Tee Higgins, CIN at DET | DK: $5,300, FD: $6,400, Yahoo: $20

Higgins could make for a lower-rostered tournament option after not making much of a splash in his return from injury last week. The second-year speedster posted a modest 5-32 line against the Packers, but he logged seven targets and played 46 snaps. Even if he just approximates that type of volume and just sees more of a downfield role, Higgins could offer a particularly strong return on his salaries. The matchup against the Lions certainly lines up well in that regard, as Detroit has allowed 291.0 passing yards per game and an NFL-high 13.7 yards per completion. The Lions are also giving up passer ratings well north of 100 in all three deep passing windows of the field, furthering supporting the notion Higgins could share some big chunk plays with Ja'Marr Chase in Week 6.

Van Jefferson, LAR at NYG | DK: $3,400, FD: $5,400, Yahoo: $11

Jefferson is another receiver that could be a bit off the radar due to an underwhelming Week 5, as the second-year wideout posted just one reception on four targets against the Seahawks. Nevertheless, Jefferson once again saw plenty of run as the No. 3 receiver (39 snaps), and just a game prior, he'd furnished a season-best 6-90-1 line against the Cardinals. Sunday, Jefferson gets a crack at a Giants defense that's allowed 270.2 passing yards per game and a 72.8 percent catch rate to receivers specifically. Jefferson is seeing a healthy 14.4-yard aDOT as well, and New York has given up passer ratings well north of 100 and 18.7 yards per completion in the three deep passing windows.

ALSO CONSIDER: Tyler Lockett, SEA at PIT | DK: $6,700, FD: $6,800, Yahoo: $21

Tight End DFS Value Plays

Hunter Henry, NE vs. DAL | DK: $3,900, FD: $5,600, Yahoo: $15

Henry proved to be an excellent value option in Week 5, posting 19.5 DK/16.5 FD/16.5 Yahoo points on the strength of a 6-75-1 line across 38 snaps. The pass-catching tight end is back in play in Week 6 against a Cowboys defense that's ball-hawked plenty against receivers but has given up a 27-330-3 line to TEs. Henry has seen no fewer than 37 snaps and as many as 52, and he sports an impressive 77.0 percent catch rate. That level of volume at his current salaries makes Henry, whose rapport with Mac Jones is clearly growing, one of the best potential fantasy-point-per-dollar values at the position.

Evan Engram, NYG vs. LAR | DK: $3,400, FD: $5,000, Yahoo: $13

While Sterling Shepard and Kadarius Toney project to be back for the Giants this week as mentioned earlier, Darius Slayton (hamstring) looks like a game-time decision and Kenny Golladay (knee) won't be available. Shepard should also see plenty of Jalen Ramsey's coverage, which all adds up to a potentially busy day for Engram, who's seen 14 targets over his first three games and logged a season-high 47 snaps in Week 5. The veteran could have opportunities to get downfield versus a Rams defense that's yielded a 29-332-1 line to tight ends and a 27-for-32, 257-yard, two-touchdown tally in the short/intermediate middle passing window, where Engram has recorded five of his 11 catches on the season thus far.

ALSO CONSIDER: Mark Andrews, BAL vs. LAC | DK: $5,200, FD: $6,300, Yahoo: $21

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