If the prospect of watching the Titans and Steelers on Thursday Night doesn’t fill you with joy, then you’re a sagacious person. But the DraftKings DFS Captains Showdown slate is here to liven proceedings up a bit, with so many players missing who is going to be the surprise points scorer this week?
Even if both teams were fully fit this would be a bit of a tough watch in prime time, unless you’re a fan of old-school defensive slobberknockers. But we’re about halfway through the NFL so the injuries are starting to mount up.
Last week the Steelers had 13 players who were dealing with injuries and that was before they lost Kenny Pickett in the game against the Jaguars. The Titans are hardly fighting fit either mind you, in Week 8 they had 17 players receiving treatment, so this is going to be a war of attrition more than a game of football.
DraftKings Thursday Night Bargains
The “Next Man Up” DraftKings DFS Pick – Connor Heyward
Only Diontae Johnson and Najee Harriss recorded more receiving yards for the Steelers than Heyward did in Week 8. And $2,800 on the DraftKings DFS slate he definitely fits the bargain category. With Pat Freiermuth out for at least three more weeks Heyward figures to be the Steelers’ first-choice tight end, so he could well improve on last week’s five catches.
The Titans have allowed an average of 9 points per game to tight ends and last week three different Falcons tight ends caught passes in Tennessee.
The “Best Matchup” DraftKings DFS Pick – Nick Westbrook-Ikhine
At $3,400 on this week’s DraftKings DFS Captains Showdown slate, Westbrook-Ikhine is on the more expensive side. But he’s one of the more dependable options available and with DeAndre Hopkins recovering from an injury Westbrook-Ikhine could be an important part of the Titans lineup.
He will probably end up lining up opposite Chandon Sullivan in the slot, or maybe against Damontae Kazee. They’ve only defended 29 passes this season, allowing 17 completions. Between them they have conceded 224 receiving yards, so if Westbrook-Ikhine can get open he’ll get plenty of yards after the catch,
Only four teams have allowed more points per game to receivers than the Steelers this season.
The “Sneaky Number One Option” – Chigoziem Okonkwo
Nobody caught more passes from Will Levis than Okonkwo. Well, technically Derrick Henry and DeAndre Hopkins caught the same number. But nobody caught more. And Okonkwo even got a chance to run the ball. Levis might not start again this week as the Titans seem to have more of a pitching rotation than a quarterback depth chart, but even if he doesn’t Okonkwo will be an important part of their lineup.
In his last three games, he has seen 19 targets and hauled in 11 of them. The Titans could do with getting him into space though, if they want him to run the ball and catch it, they must recognize his explosive ability. The Steelers are allowing 9.2 DraftKings points per game against tight ends, last week Evan Engram led the Jaguars with 88 yards and a 100% catch rate.
Okonkwo costs $4,200 on the DraftKings DFS Captains Showdown slate this week.
The “All Upside” DraftKings DFS Pick – Tyjae Spears
He may be currently “limited” by an ankle issue, but the Titans have two running backs on IR and Derrick Henry is also dealing with an injury. So, Spears figures to feature somehow or another.
He saw 4 targets last week, the same as Henry and Spears ran for 27 yards on his three rushing attempts. His 6 yards per touch in Week 8 wasn’t as impressive as his 12.6 yards the week before but it’s still not to be sniffed at. There’s definitely a bit of Travis Etienne about the way Spears runs and Etienne gave the Steelers fits last week. Etienne caught three passes for 70 yards and ran for 79 more. If the Titans need a change of pace Spears will go off.
At $5,400 on this week’s DraftKings DFS Captains Showdown slate, he’s the fourth most expensive running back and an absolute bargain.
The Biggest DraftKings DFS Bargain Of The Week – Kyle Phillips
The bargain of all bargains this week is Phillips, he’s only $800! There’s a reason for that though, he’s only got 30 receiving yards all season. He’s actually behind Westbrook-Ikhine on the depth chart, so Phillips definitely has limited opportunities to impress.
But here’s the thing, in the last two games he’s caught 80% of his targets. He caught all three of his targets in Week 8 and on a short week with a travel day, the Titans won’t have much time to change the offense this week. Phillips should see more than the 26% of the offensive snaps he did last week.
Main Photo Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-USA TODAY Sports
