NFL

5 DraftKings Bargains for Week 14

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DeShaun Watson, QB, Houston Texans

DraftKings Price: $5,200

Projected Points: 22.66

Projected Value (points per $1,000): 3.84

We have some pretty interesting options at quarterback this week, but Deshaun Watson might be in one of the best spots on the slate. He’s very affordable this week and saw a $200 price drop -- placing him well below $6,000 -- unrelated to performance.

Still at a middle of the pack price, fantasy players may draw to Lamar Jackson at $5,700 and Josh Allen at $5,500 for their rushing ability and perceived matchups. While it is true that they have great rushing floors, Watson has been showing his own set of wheels in the past few weeks. He’s had six or more attempts in three of the last four games, rushing for 30 yards or more in those games. That’s essentially hitting the 300-yard passing bonus on DraftKings.

It can’t be denied that Watson has a higher passing ceiling as well. While the fantasy community will mention that we haven’t seen the upside from Allen and Jackson, we know for a fact that -- at worst -- Watson can eclipse 200 passing yards with the ability to hit over 300 with multiple passing touchdowns. Let’s not forget four of the first five weeks, in which he was well into the bonus territory until he suffered his rib injury in Week 6.

The combination of pace and high implied total also brings intrigue to Watson. The Indianapolis Colts are still the fastest team in the league in terms of Football Outsiders’ pace statistics, ranking first in seconds per play. The Texans are not as quick but still come into the top half of the league. While this is not the highest projected total, according to the oddsmakers -- currently a 49.0 over/under on FanDuel Sportsbook -- this game may fly under the radar as its further down the list, but the total is still fairly high.

The amount of pass attempts and the Texans' trend toward a run-heavy approach -- 57.8% over their last four games -- is definitely a concern. The Texans haven’t faced a murderers' row of opposing quarterbacks, though, so with Andrew Luck on the opposite side of the field though there’s promise for a shootout. The game should keep it close, as indicated by the 4.5-point spread in Houston's favor.