4 DraftKings Bargains for the Wild Card Round
Vyncint Smith, WR, Houston Texans
DraftKings Price: $3,200
Projected Points: 1.33
Projected Value (points per $1,000): 4.24
Who is Vyncint Smith you might ask? He's another player experiencing a role change late into the season. In Week 16, the Houston Texans lost a key receiver in Demaryius Thomas late in the game, which pushed the rookie into the lineup. The Texans played Week 17 with incentive to win their finale to lock in their playoff seeding, and Smith played 84% of the snaps and accounted for five targets.
The 22 year-old rookie was an undrafted free agent after the 2018 draft. Despite being undrafted, he has superb athletic measurable, having four out of five Player Profiler workout metrics in the 79th percentile or better. The Limestone College product should be playing a large amount of snaps come Saturday. With a 6'2" frame, he’s more suitable opposite of DeAndre Hopkins than any of the receivers on the current roster.
The Texans may have Keke Coutee back for the first time in weeks, but he may not see the full complement of snaps. DeAndre Carter has been the primary slot receiver for the time Coutee has missed, so both could be interchanging snaps in the slot. Instead of playing whack-a-mole with the slot receiver in the offense, it seems like Smith will be the candidate to be a top-two receiver. Smith also out-snapped both receivers in Week 17.
Will Fuller was the known deep threat for the Texans offense, and it appears that they prefer Smith in that role. In four games played, his average depth of target was no lower than 7.8. In fact, four of his nine targets on the season have come more than 15 yards downfield. Last week was the first game in which he saw targets inside 10 air yards. Smith's deep presence will allow him to outscore his projection.
In a game with the highest over/under -- 49 points, names such as Hopkins and T.Y. Hilton will be the chalk at receiver. Periphery options like Smith will provide uniqueness in lineups to differentiate yourself from the crowd.
