Minnesota Vikings @ Cincinnati Bengals doesn’t sound too glamorous, but they are both in a similar amount of disarray so this could be a good matchup. The Bengals are obviously without Joe Burrow and have four offensive linemen out or recovering from injuries! Five of the Vikings’ players are either out or dealing with injuries too, so finding DraftKings DFS bargains is a tough task, the only players who will score points aren’t cheap.
DraftKings Saturday Afternoon Bargains
The New Kid On The Block Pick – Chase Brown
Brown is the fourth most expensive running back in this DraftKings DFS game. He’s only averaging 3.7 points per game in DraftKings, but he averages 7.2 yards per touch! He’s averaging 14.5 yards per target in the 8 games he’s played this season. But he’s only he’s only catching 50% of those targets.
He racked up 105 yards from scrimmage last week against the Colts. And he’s had 20 touches of the ball in his last two games! The Vikings allow running backs to score 18.2 DraftKings DFS points per game, so Brown should continue his good form. He could even extend his touchdown streak to 2 games.
The Sneaky Consistent DraftKings DFS Pick – Brandon Powell
The Vikings offense was held to just 3 points by the Raiders last week. But they still won the game. Nick Mullens took over at QB after Josh Dobbs was sacked five times though. Presumably, Mullens starts this one. Justin Jefferson left the game in Las Vegas injured. So, with a new-ish QB, you can only imagine the Vikings offense will revolve around running the ball and short, quick passes.
Powell’s average depth of target in 2023 is 7.5 yards. That’s below T.J. Hockenson and makes him fourth amongst the Vikings receivers. He’s played in 13 games this season and he’s yet to drop a pass! And he’s averaging 10.76 yards per catch. In his last 9 games, Powell has caught 70.6% of his targets and he’s even run the ball 5 times. There will be 5 or 6 receivers who cost more than Powell on this DraftKings DFS slate.
The “Get Right Game” DraftKings DFS Pick – Ty Chandler
Now that everyone has seen his game tape Chandler isn’t having quite the impact he was in November, but he’s still a threat with the ball. He’s not technically a huge bargain, but two running backs cost more than him on DraftKings DFS this week. And if Alexander Mattison’s injury impacts his usage Chandler could see a lot of touches of the ball.
His 15 touches last week were a season high but he only averaged 2.8 yards per touch. He hasn’t scored a touchdown since Week 10. But the Bengals have conceded 11 touchdowns to running backs in 2023 so this would be a good game for Chandler to score a couple more.
The Best Matchup With The Bengals Defense Bargain Pick – Josh Oliver
Similarly, to Chandler, Oliver is a reasonable pick on DraftKings DFS this week because he’s healthier than some other options. Like most of the Vikings’ offense, he didn’t get much joy last week in Vegas. But he does have 5 catches in his last 3 games. He caught a touchdown against the Broncos in Week 11, that was before the Vikings ran out of steam.
The Bengals are allowing an average of 17.1 DraftKings DFS points per game in 2023, that figure leads the league.
The “Well, Why Not?” DraftKings DFS Pick – Johnny Mundt
Bearing in mind how bad the Bengals are at defending against tight ends. And how the Vikings have a new QB settling into their offense. And they will want to get the ball out of quickly and another Vikings tight end seems like a decent gamble. Mundt has caught all the passes they’ve thrown him in 2023 (all 6). And he’s averaging 8.2 yards per touch. If I were Kevin O’Connell I wouldn’t shy away from lining up with 3 tight ends on the field after one of my quarterbacks was sacked 5 times last week.
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