Week 10 Flex Targets DraftKings 2017

By Armando Marsal
Armando Marsal
Using the flex position wisely can allow you to differentiate and create unique lineups. Every week calls for different situations, sometimes pricing favors having a receiver at the flex, while other times it favors having a running back. Then there are weeks where playing two tight ends makes sense. It is really dependent on how you construct your rosters, but as usual, I will talk about players from each position that can be plugged into your flex spot.

Running Back

Jordan Howard $6,100 vs. Green Bay Packers
Howard’s production has been spotty this season, but his volume has remained consistent, averaging 22 touches per game. He draws a nice matchup against the Packers who are allowing 104.9 rushing yards per game and have surrendered six rushing touchdowns. They have also given up 40 receptions for 320 yards and three touchdowns to opposing backs. The Bears are 5.5 point favorites, which is a good sign that the game script will favor Howard. He is averaging nearly three more fantasy points per game in home games and has scored three of his four touchdowns in Chicago. All the boxes check off for Howard this week, including his fair price.

Carlos Hyde $6,300 vs. New York Giants
I am considering going back to the well with Hyde this week and I do not view it chasing points even though his price has increased $1,100 from last week after a strong performance. Hyde gets a very nice matchup against a Giants defense that was giving up over 100 rushing yards per game in their first five, then got two favorable matchups and held the opposing running backs to 80 or fewer yards, but last week when they faced another quality back they got torched. Hyde is no Todd Gurley, but he is a talented back and continues to see a nice volume regardless of game script. He is averaging 6.3 targets per game for the season, but 8.5 targets per game in his last four. In addition to the volume, Hyde has been efficient and in a favorable matchup, should produce quality numbers.

Wide Receiver

DeSean Jackson $4,900 at New York Jets
Jackson comes at a really discounted price since these salaries were done before the Mike Evans news came out. In addition, Jackson draws a favorable matchup against the Jets who have given up 108 receptions for 1,290 receiving yards and 11 receiving touchdowns to wide outs, with a 60 percent catch rate. He is expected to line up against Morris Claiborne, who Jackson has a 20 percent advantage rating against, per Pro Football Focus. With Evans out, there are 9.3 targets to distribute in this offense, so we could see Jackson see a boost in targets and he already averages 6.9 targets per game. He has a lot of upside for a player at this price and finds himself in a good spot, so there is plenty to like.

Sterling Shepard $5,500 at San Francisco 49ers
Shepard returned last week after missing two games and led the team in receptions, while tying for the most receiving yards. He also received nine targets which accounted for 25 percent of the Giants target share in Week 9. This week, he gets a very nice matchup against K'Waun Williams who grades out very poorly on Pro Football Focus and a matchup that Shepard has a 42 percent advantage rating in, one of the better ones this week. The 49ers are giving up 151.1 receiving yards per game, with a 59 percent catch rate and have surrendered nine receiving touchdowns to the position, at least one in all but one game. Shepard has shown in the past that when the opportunity is there, he can be efficient and execute. This one of those matchups that he should be able to take advantage of.

Tight End

Kyle Rudolph $4,600 at Washington Redskins
Rudolph is fresh off of a bye week and steps into a nice matchup. The Redskins have given up 47 receptions for a league high 637 receiving yards and four touchdowns to opposing tight ends. Prior to the Vikings bye week, Rudolph had received at least seven targets in four consecutive games, averaging eight targets per game during that stretch. He also accounts for 32 percent of the Vikings red zone targets, which could be a reason that he scored twice in those four games. Rudolph has been a tad more consistent in recent games and I would not be surprised to see that carry over into this week.

Good luck to all this week. If you have any questions feel free to reach out to me on the Twitter machine: @Armando_Marsal