DraftKings CFL DFS Picks: Division Final Value Plays

DraftKings CFL DFS Picks: Division Final Value Plays

This article is part of our DraftKings CFL DFS Picks series.

Quarterback

Mike Reilly, EDM at CGY ($10,400): The Stampeders were essentially the stingiest defense against the pass this season, but that seemed to matter little to Reilly. He compiled 24.7, 24.64 and 28.16 fantasy points against them in three games, throwing for 320 and 461 yards in two of those contests and generating a 6:3 TD:INT ratio overall. Reilly hasn't scored less than 22.74 fantasy points in any game since Week 10 and also brings plenty of rushing upside, making him the clear-cut top play of the four quarterbacks on the slate. The Eskimos will certainly put the ball up plenty and are highly likely to have success when doing so, as they were ranked first in passing yards per game (331.8), third in pass attempts (673), third in completions (460) and first in average gain per pass (8.9 yards), quarterback rating (88.7) and pass efficiency (103.8).

Ricky Ray, TOR vs. SSK ($9,900): Ray racked up 30.54 and 24.14 fantasy points in two meetings versus the Roughriders in the regular season, throwing for a combined 727 yards and generating a 5:1 TD:INT ratio in those contests. He threw for no less than 330 yards in the last five games of the regular season as well, while the Roughriders gave up 27 passing touchdowns in 2017. Ray's price has also come down $300 from the final two weeks of the season, fortifying his already strong case.

Running Back

James Wilder, Jr., TOR vs. SSK ($7,900): Wilder was the CFL's most explosive back over the latter portion of the regular season, scoring between 23.1 and 41.7 fantasy points in five of the six games in which he was a clear-cut starter. One of the most impressive aspects of Wilder's skill set is his proficiency in the passing game, as evidenced by the fact that he posted at least six catches and between 67 and 91 receiving yards in all but one of the aforementioned contests. The Riders also gave up 96.3 rush yards per game on the season, as well as 23.1 fantasy points to Wilder in Week 16 on the strength of 161 total yards.

Marcus Thigpen, SSK at TOR ($5,800): Thigpen will once again serve as the lead back for the Finals round with Trent Richardson (lower body) and Cameron Marshall (knee) already ruled out for Sunday's contest. All Thigpen has done is score 22.95 and 27.8 fantasy points in his two games helming the Roughriders' backfield, and he's continued to hold down a job as a returner as well. He's found the end zone a total of three times in that pair of contests and is priced very reasonably for a matchup against an Argonauts defense that's allowed 17 rushing touchdowns, 5.3 yards per carry, the second-highest kick return average (23.5 yards) and five total return scores this season.

Wide Receiver/Slotback

Brandon Zylstra, EDM at CGY ($9,900): As alluded to earlier, Eskimos quarterback Mike Reilly has encountered great success versus the Stampeders despite their normally suffocating secondary, and Zylstra has been a big reason why. He scored 30.7, 31.7 and 22.1 fantasy points in his three meetings against Calgary this season, eclipsing the century mark in receiving yardage each time and logging a pair of touchdowns. He's also coming off a monster eight-catch, 156-yard, one-touchdown effort in the Semi-Final round that generated 32.6 fantasy points, and he eclipsed the 30-mark on four other occasions during the regular season as well. Zylstra led the CFL with 1,687 receiving yards during the regular season, and with the amount of pass attempts the Eskimos typically put up, he should see another high volume of targets Sunday.

DaVaris Daniels, CGY vs. EDM ($7,300): Daniels makes for an intriguing play against an Eskimos team that he enjoyed some success against in a pair of contests during the regular campaign. Edmonton allowed the third-highest completion percentage (69.0) in 2017, while Daniels posted a combined 11 receptions for 235 yards in two of his three contests versus the Eskimos. His production was undeniably inconsistent during the regular season, but he did score between 17.6 and 34.4 fantasy points in four contests, giving him the necessary upside for tournaments in the elimination showdown.

Duron Carter, SSK at TOR ($7,200): After doing a little moonlighting at cornerback at the tail end of the regular season, Carter returned to his customary receiver role in the Semi-Final win over the Redblacks, posting five receptions for 51 yards. It's worth noting that the Argonauts facilitated Carter's most productive fantasy day of the regular season back in Week 6, a game in which he racked up nine receptions for 131 yards and two touchdowns, leading to a season-best 38.85 points. He crossed the 30-mark on two other occasions as well and is arguably the Roughriders' best big-play threat, meaning he should be the recipient of plenty of targets from quarterback Kevin Glenn.

Team Defense

Toronto Argonauts vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders ($4,700): Although the Roughriders undoubtedly bring some firepower to the table as implied above in both Thigpen's and Carter's entries, Toronto still projects as an appealing defensive play on the two-game slate. The Argonauts' defense averaged 10.8 fantasy points in nine home games during the regular season on the strength of 29 sacks, seven interceptions, seven fumble recoveries, two safeties and three defensive touchdowns, allowing a modest average of 305.2 yards in those contests. The Argos also ranked second in net offensive yardage (329.3), average scrimmage plays (54.2) and opponent yards per play (6.1) allowed. Moreover, they tied the Stampeders for most sacks (50), while the Roughriders allowed the third-most sacks (44) in 2017.

The author(s) of this article may play in daily fantasy contests including – but not limited to – games that they have provided recommendations or advice on in this article. In the course of playing in these games using their personal accounts, it's possible that they will use players in their lineups or other strategies that differ from the recommendations they have provided above. The recommendations in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of RotoWire. Juan Carlos Blanco plays in daily fantasy contests using the following accounts: DraftKings: jcblanco22, FanDuel: jc_blanco22, DraftPot: jc_blanco22, FantasyDraft: jc_blanco22, OwnThePlay: jcblanco22.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juan Carlos Blanco
Winner of the FSWA 2016 Newcomer of the Year Award, Juan Carlos Blanco has been playing fantasy sports for over 20 years and covers NBA, MLB, NFL, CFL and Arena Football for Rotowire.com, including serving as the beat writer for teams in multiple sports. He has previously written for KFFL.com and remains an avid season-long and daily fantasy player in multiple sports as well.
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