One of the reasons the Rams have been successful this season is that they haven’t suffered as many injuries as most. And that’s only fair given how many starters they lost last season. Last week they only had 12 players dealing with injuries. That makes picking DraftKings DFS bargains a fairly simple affair. The Rams were even able to rest some of their more important stars as they traveled to Santa Clara to pip the 9ers by a single point. San Francisco had checked out for their Bye week a little early.
The other reason is Sean McVay has been working with a plethora of youngsters. All good coaches love teaching as much as they love game plans. And if you’re a rookie you’ll be equal parts in awe and delighted to be working with a coach who won a Super Bowl less than two years ago. PFF highlights 14 rookies who have been invaluable for the Rams this season. But those youngsters now face something not many of them will have seen before, a playoff game.
And what a playoff game, they’re off to Detroit to meet Dan Campbell’s Lions team. Not many Detroit Lions have playoff experience either mind you, so this is going to be fascinating. For their part, the Lions had 19 players recovering from injury at the last count. Dan Campbell didn’t take the pragmatic approach last week, he kept most of his important players on the field against the Vikings. Jared Goff and the offensive line played all the snaps. And Sam LaPorta and Kalif Raymond suffered what seemed to be significant injuries.
Super Wildcard Weekend DraftKings DFS Bargains for Rams at Lions
The Guy Who Could Win The Game DraftKings DFS Pick – Josh Reynolds
He costs $5,000 on this week’s DraftKings DFS Captains Showdown slate and if LaPorta and Raymond are dealing with their injuries Reynolds could see even more snaps than he did last week. And he played 88% of the snaps in Minnesota. He hadn’t played that many all season, in fact, he hadn’t played that many since 2021! He caught 5 of his 7 targets against the Vikings and ended the game with 44 receiving yards. That was the most targets he’s seen this season, equaling his Week 1 performance against the Chiefs.
This week he seems set to line up opposite Akhello Witherspoon who is having some season. Even though the Rams are ranked as the 8th worst defense against receivers he’s only allowing 48.1% of passes thrown his way to be completed. He also leads the Rams with 3 interceptions. But he has conceded 5 touchdowns and allows 14.8 yards per completion.
Reynolds and Witherspoon do have history, way back in 2018 when Reynolds was a Ram and Witherspoon was with the 49ers. In the first meeting that season Reynolds only caught 1 pass (he only saw 1 target) but it went for 19 yards! The second time the teams played Reynolds caught 4 of his 7 targets and 2 of them were touchdowns!
The Next Man Up Pick – James Mitchell
Mitchell is just $2,400 and if Sam LaPorta is still recovering from his bone bruise, he’ll be very important for Jared Goff. He only caught 1 pass against the Vikings, but he only saw 1 target. It was a 24-yard reception though. And he played 81% of the Lions snaps.
The Rams have the 4th worst defense against the tight end position this season. Only the Broncos have conceded more touchdowns to the tight end position. During the regular season, they allowed 12 yards per reception to tight ends and 13.6 DraftKings DFS points per game to the position.
The Back Just In Time DraftKings DFS Pick – Brock Wright
On that basis, Wright has a really good chance of racking up some DraftKings DFS points this week. And he costs just $2,000 on the DraftKings DFS Captains Showdown. Wright suffered a hip injury but should be back this week. Wright has caught 13 of the 14 targets he’s seen this season and he’s averaging 7 yards per touch.
The Not A Bargain, But Actually A Bargain Pick – Demarcus Robinson
He’s technically not a bargain because he costs $5,400 on this week’s DraftKings DFS Captains Showdown slate. But he is a sort of bargain because he averages 11.1 DraftKings DFS points per game when he catches passes. And he’s caught passes in 8 of his last 9 games. The only game he didn’t catch a pass in was last week when Carson Wentz started at QB.
This week he’ll line up opposite Kendle Vildor and he’s allowing 15.4 yards per completion this season. And he’s conceded 2 touchdowns, Robinson has caught 4 scoring passes in his 9 games this season.
The Real Bargain With A High Ceiling DraftKings DFS Pick – Tutu Atwell
He’s a Rams receiver who is an actual bargain at $3,400 on this DraftKings DFS Captain’s Showdown slate. There’s just one problem, since Demarcus Robinson returned to the lineup in Week 9 Atwell has only caught 11 passes. He caught 13 passes in the first two games of the season. So, it’ll take a major change in the Rams game plan to get Atwell more involved. It would be really exciting to see McVay’s Rams line up with an empty backfield and 5 receivers. Spreading the offense out might cause the Lions some problems, but it would also cause Matt Stafford some problems with the Lions’ pass rush. The Rams aren’t going to Detroit to entertain, they’re going there to win.
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