Week 9 Game Scripts to Target in Daily Fantasy Football
New Orleans Saints vs. Los Angeles Rams
Over/Under: 60.00
Saints Implied Team Total: 31.00
Rams Implied Team Total: 29.00
Fade this game at your own risk. This is about as high of an over/under as we'll ever see, so you'll need to hammer this game when setting lineups. The New Orleans Saints rank second in the NFL in scoring, and the Los Angeles Rams rank third. Giddy up.
Alvin Kamara, RB, New Orleans Saints
FanDuel Price: $8,000
This is as cheap as Alvin Kamara's price has been all year, which is exciting in this potential shootout. Excluding a Week 5 outlier, in which it seems Sean Payton wanted to rest Kamara's knee heading into the team's bye, Kamara has been out-snapping, out-carrying and out-targeting Mark Ingram ($7,400). The Rams, meanwhile, have allowed the ninth-most receptions to running backs. Albeit in a small sample, Kamara averages six more points per game when the total is 53 or higher. He ranks ninth in the league with six targets inside the 10-yard-line. Get in now before his price rises again.
Cooper Kupp, WR, Los Angeles Rams
FanDuel Price: $6,800
Just about everyone is a viable play in this game. This is, of course, assuming Cooper Kupp returns from his knee injury, but he is simply the cheapest viable attachment to the Rams' explosive offense. He had cleared nine targets in three of five games before his knee injury and may go under-owned just by virtue of not being usable the previous two weeks. Amazingly, despite missing (essentially) the last three games, Kupp still leads the team with seven targets inside the 10, good for eighth in the league. Adam Thielen ($8,900) was only the latest example of slot receivers ripping up the Saints.
Others to Consider
I really like running the above stack back with Tre'Quan Smith ($5,100). Smith's Week 8 line looks low, but game script meant Drew Brees only threw for 120 passing yards. Smith still played 77% of the team's offensive snaps, second among Saints receivers, and appears locked in to the number-three role in this passing attack. No team has allowed more completions of 40 or more yards than the Rams have this season.
After that, it's really all about parsing through who you can affordably fit into your rosters. At home, I'd much rather play Drew Brees ($8,400) than Jared Goff (also $8,400) even if the matchup is better for Goff. Brees is always someone to bet on at home and we've seen the Rams give up usable weeks to lesser quarterbacks.
Marcus Peters' elite ball skills have made him overrated as a cover corner, and teams have begun exploiting this weakness with Aqib Talib (ankle) still out. That makes Michael Thomas ($8,600) a solid play, but he's tougher to stomach with a lower target share over the Saints' previous four games.
The better plays are on the Rams' side, where Robert Woods ($7,600) and Brandin Cooks ($7,500) are more affordable. Woods is a great pivot off Kupp and a must-play if Kupp can't go as he'll move into the slot the most. This is a revenge game for Cooks, but he figures to see the most of Marshon Lattimore.
Last, but certainly not least, is our fantasy god Todd Gurley, who's priced all the way up at $11,200. Of course, the price is warranted as Gurley has now hit 28-plus points in four straight games with no signs of slowing down. This is arguably his toughest matchup yet, on the road against a defense that ranks eighth against the run, per numberFire's models. This isn't saying to bet against Gurley, but it's worth noting he hasn't faced a tough matchup in a while.
