I play about 60% of my action in ‘cash games’ each week. Cash games refer to any match that pays out approximately 50% of the field, such as head-to-head, double up or 50/50. I try to get as much head-to-head action as possible every week and supplement that with other cash games.

Every week I review my cash game lineup here. Sometimes I lose, but hopefully I win more often. Anyway, I’ll post it here and give you my thought process.

The key to this slate was figuring out the RB position. I thought there were literally eight viable options on DraftKings, ranging from Cam Akers ($5,300) to Saquon Barkley ($8,000). Once we decided how much capital to invest at RB, the rest of the team would fall into place.

MY MUST PLAY
* Tank Dell (out, ribs) earned 17% of targets during the first three weeks. His replacement with dusty WR3s like Robert Woods and John Metchie meant an increased expected target share for Nico Collins and Stefon Diggs. We also had Joe Mixon (ankle) out, which could very well allow the Texans to lean more into the pass. Add in a matchup with a Jaguars pass defense that ranks 7th in our DvP stats, and we had a stone cold lock in Nico.

* In Week 3, we saw Andy Dalton step in and immediately execute Dave Canales’ passing attack at an extremely high level. In that game, Diontae Johnson saw 14 targets for a 38% share. I didn’t think Diontae would smell 40% again, but his price was strangely only $5600. Even with Adam Thielen (hamstring) out and the Bengals defense leaking a lot. A classic cash game must, especially when looking at the projection. We had examined Diontae for his groin injury, and he was still our best salary-adjusted WR value on the slate.

MY WILL IS AT PLAY
*I thought there were only three QBs in play for money on DraftKings: Kyler MurrayJayden Daniels and Justin Fields. I liked them in that order, and wasn’t about to force one. You’ll notice that all three are elite runners, but the playing environment and defensive matchups for Kyler and Jayden were elite.

Ultimately, I thought Kyler would beat Jayden. Kyler was home, the commanders were on a short week/long road trip, Austin Ekeler was away. So in this setup I just happened to have the extra $300 to go to Kyler. On FanDuel I played Daniels, which was $600 cheaper there.

*I mentioned the RB situation at the top. As I noted during Last Minute Livestream on Sunday morning, before full-PPR DraftKings I decided I wanted to use more of my capital at the WR position. That meant jamming Rashee Rice about point WR options like Tre Tucker and Greg Dortch. It also meant taking the cheap volume at RB.

I would have preferred Chuba Hubbard to Cam Akers. Considering the way Chuba was used in Andy Dalton’s first start, plus the way he’s played the last two seasons and the matchup… He’s been pretty solid. I thought Akers was doing well, but the Texans had four RBs active and Akers hasn’t played well in the NFL since 2022.

Naje Harris also was ticketed for a 15-touch floor against a decimated Colts team, with Jaylen Warren (knee) out. Obviously, I don’t like playing Najee, who doesn’t provide explosive ability and passing-game role with Justin Fields under center. I went for a full fade on Najee in tournaments. But at just $5600, the volume was too much to ignore.

The most difficult point for me was the last. I watched teams like Jordan Mason, Bijan Robinson, Breece Hall and Brian Robinson. Ultimately, I didn’t think it was worth moving a few pieces to get from Brian Robinson to Mason. With Austin Ekeler (concussion) out, I expected Robinson to see an uptick in both carries and targets in the best playing environment on the slate.

Note that during the half PPR FanDuel at RB I took the opposite approach. I played Bijan and Breece there and saved some money at WR instead.

*I know that Dallas Goedert (no AJ Brown or Devonta Smith) and Brock Bowers (no Davante Adams or Michael Mayer) were both strong. But on DraftKings, I rarely want to sacrifice WR firepower for the shaky floor/ceiling combinations at tight end. So I had no problem kicking it off with the pass-catching option Elijah Higginswho came on for Trey McBride (out, concussion). We couldn’t set up a much better matchup or playing environment for a point TE.

* When the week started, I wanted to play the Raiders D/ST against a broken Browns offense that was missing both their tackles and standout RG Wyatt Teller. But then the Raiders lost pocket artist Maxx Crosby and their best offensive player, Davante Adams.

So the three D/STs I was willing to play cash were Steelers ($3300), Texans ($3000) and Falcons ($2600). I rarely/never switch teams for D/ST, I’m always willing to take the cheapest viable option.

Results week 4
I got extremely lucky when I ran into two D/ST touchdowns from the Falcons. I was very unlucky when I lost Rashee Rice midway through the first quarter and got airballed. Of course, luck is going to play a big role in a 1-lei sample, which is why it’s so important to focus on the process and game selection.

I was happy with my decision to take advantage of the cheap RB volume on DraftKings this week, which allowed me to get 62 touches for a combined amount of $17,400. It clearly helped that both Breece Hall and Bijan Robinson underperformed.