The Saints at Rams might seem like a bizarre primetime game and that’s because it is. But the Saints are in the thick of the NFC South race while a Rams win would position them nicely behind the Cowboys in the race for an NFC Wild Card spot. Both teams come into this game on the back of wins in Week 15. The Rams cruised to an 8-point win against the Commanders. And the Saints won against the Giants after Tommy DeVito looked more like Danny DeVito in the Superdome. The Saints’ erratic offense led by the king of erratic offense, Derek Carr, means there aren’t many bargains to be had there. But Sean McVay’s natural flair on offense means the Rams’ have some DraftKings DFS gems.
DraftKings DFS Bargains For Thursday Night Football
The “He’s Back?” DraftKings DFS Pick – Jimmy Graham
The resurrection of a 37-year-old tight end who has never looked the same outside New Orleans is almost complete. He’s caught six passes in 2023 and three of them have been touchdowns. In his last three games, Graham has scored the same number of touchdowns as CeeDee Lamb. It’s not very often you’ll see those two mentioned in the same sentence. Graham costs $1,600 on this DraftKings DFS slate too, which is not exactly CeeDee Lamb money.
Only the Broncos have allowed more touchdown receptions by tight ends in 2023. So, Graham has an excellent chance to extend his scoring streak.
The Trending Upward DraftKings DFS Pick – Pick – Lynn Bowden Jr.
He was the Saints’ leading target last week alongside Kamara. With no Olave or Thomas playing, Bowden led the receiving corps. But with Olave likely to come back from his ankle injury he should jump straight back to the top. Even with Olave, Bowden should still see some targets, and he’s carried the ball in two of the last five games.
Bowden is averaging 8.1 yards per touch this season and he should be lining up opposite Quentin Lake in this game. Lake has allowed 66.7% of the passes thrown his way to be completed. And he’s allowing 8.4 yards per catch (and that’s pretty good) so Bowden should get at least a few yards. He’s only $3,000 on the DraftKings DFS Captains Showdown slate. That’s good value for a player who has averaged 6.8 points in his last two games.
The Other Tight End DraftKings DFS Pick – Foster Moreau
He’s obviously not Jimmy Graham, but Moreau also saw five targets last week. On a team that considers Taysom Hill a tight end it’s very difficult to know what exactly their depth chart looks like for that position. But Moreau has caught 85.7% of his targets this season. And he’s seen nine targets in his last three games.
He is yet to catch a touchdown this season, but he is averaging 9.1 yards per touch. And given the Rams’ struggles with tight ends in the red zone this could be the week for Moreau. He’s worth $2,000 in DraftKings DFS this week.
The Rams Secret Weapon Pick – Demarcus Robinson
Everyone talks about the Chiefs missing Tyreek Hill, but Robinson has a better catch rate than five of the receivers in Kansas City where he played for six years. Robinson missed the first seven games of the season but has caught 14 passes in the last six games, three of which were scoring passes. It’s tricky to pick a Rams receiver who isn’t Cooper Kupp or Puka Nacua but Robinson is averaging 14.7 yards per touch. He’s even run the ball once, for 23 yards. Robinson will cost $5,400 on DraftKings DFS this week. That is technically a bit expensive for a true bargain, but it’s $5,600 cheaper than Cooper Kupp.
Robinson should line up opposite Paulson Adebo this week. Adebo does have four interceptions this season and he’s only allowing 56.55 of passes to be completed. But he has allowed 324 air yards and that’s 36 more than any other Saints’ defender. Robinson will fancy his chances of beating him on deep routes. Like Graham, he could extend his scoring streak to four games.
The Real Outsider Pick – Davis Allen
There are DraftKings DFS bargains and then there’s Davis Allen. There won’t be many players cheaper than him this week. Allen has only dropped one pass all season, but they’ve only thrown seven in his direction. That’s why he costs $2,200 on the DraftKings DFS Captains Showdown slate.
Allen’s usage has taken off in the last two games, he’s caught 5 of his 6 targets and he’s averaging 12.8 yards per touch in those games. He might not put up huge numbers, but for $500 any points are good. And he’ll allow you to load up on the running backs on this DraftKings DFS slate.
Main Photo: Stephen Lew – USA Today Sports
