NFL

FanDuel Single-Game Daily Fantasy Football Helper: Week 13 Monday Night

Thomas Vecchio  —  @Tom_Vecchio1 Dec 2nd, 2019
Can Russell Wilson continue his strong season in the MVP spot of your DFS lineup tonight? Who else should you look at for tonight's single-game format?

The Minnesota Vikings are on the road to take on the Seattle Seahawks in a matchup with plenty of NFC playoff implications.

For those unfamiliar, single-game slates feature five flex spots with identical scoring to the main slate. However, kickers are included in these contests, and there is an "MVP" roster slot. The MVP receives 1.5-times his total fantasy points, making this spot crucial.

Bookmakers currently have the home Seahawks as -2.5-point favorites with the over/under set at 49.5, setting us up for a close and high-scoring game. Currently, the public is somewhat split on this game, as only 42% of the bets are on the over, according to oddsFire.

MVP Considerations

Russell Wilson ($15,500) - Not only is Wilson a candidate for MVP in the NFL, but he is a solid choice for the MVP spot in your lineup. He comes with our highest projection of the night, sitting at 22.2 FanDuel points. That is what we've come to expect from him this season, despite having under 250 yards and just one touchdown in each of his last two games. The Vikings come into this game allowing 17.0 FanDuel points per game to opposing quarterbacks, which is 13th in the league.

If this game trends towards the over, expect Wilson to have a larger role in the offense, since the Vikings are only allowing 16.5 FanDuel points per game to running backs -- the fifth-lowest in the league. Minnesota is very tough against the run, presenting a difficult matchup for Chris Carson, putting the offense in the hands of Wilson tonight.

Kirk Cousins ($15,000) - There is always talk of Cousins performances in primetime games, but the truth is that this is a solid matchup to attack. The Seahawks are allowing 18.1 FanDuel points per game to quarterbacks, giving Cousins an opening to buck that primetime trend. Cousins is projected for 18.3 FanDuel points -- nearly four points lower than Wilson -- but shouldn't be as highly owned in the MVP spot compared to Wilson.

If the Vikings do fall behind as they are projected, the offensive path through the air is more lenient compared to the ground, since the Seahawks are only allowing 19.4 FanDuel points per game to running backs -- 11th-lowest in the league. Oddly enough, both teams set up somewhat the same, with stronger rush defenses that should lead to each opposing offense passing the ball more.

Tyler Lockett ($11,500) - For as good as the Vikings are against the rush, the same cannot be said about their pass defense because, oh boy, is it bad. The Vikings are allowing 33.1 FanDuel points per game to opposing wide receivers, the fourth-most in the league. It's a pass funnel defense, making this a prime spot for Lockett.

Over the past two weeks, Lockett has been bad -- really bad. Now, he was hobbled by a leg issue but played two full games where he only saw 6 targets, 4 receptions, 64 yards, and no touchdowns. He has certainly burned a few people's DFS lineups over the past few weeks, which is exactly the reason I like him for the MVP spot. If no one else wants to roster Lockett in the MVP spot, then you should be interested in doing so. Lockett has flashed 25-30 points upside this season and can bring that out versus this weak pass defense.

Value Plays

Kyle Rudolph ($9,500) - With Adam Thielen being ruled out for the third straight game, Kyle Rudolph should continue to have a larger role within the passing offense. Over the past two games, Rudolph has 10 targets -- his most in any two-game stretch this season -- along with 9 receptions and 3 touchdowns. The touchdowns are always going to be variable, but the targets are more important, since this is a very soft matchup.

The Seahawks are allowing the fourth-most FanDuel points per game -- 12.6 -- to tight ends this season, giving Rudolph an opening to continue his strong set of games.

Bisi Johnson ($7,500) - Another Vikings player to have an increased role in the offense lately is Bisi Johnson, who is very cheap tonight. He has played on 71% of the snaps or higher in five straight games and has turned that into four or more targets in three of those games. Johnson is their number two receiver behind Stefon Diggs now that Thielen is out, so there is inherent value for a player being on the field that much. The Seahawks are right near the league average when it comes to points allowed per game to opposing wide receivers -- 28.5 -- which should allow Johnson enough upside to reach or exceed value tonight.

Jacob Hollister ($8,500) - In each of the past two weeks, Hollister has played on the third-most offensive snaps and has seen the second-most targets for the Seahawks. That's very interesting considering Hollister is the fifth-most expensive position player for Seattle tonight but appears to have a much larger role than his salary indicates. Also, over these past two weeks, the Seahawks as a team have a grand total of three red zone targets. Guess what? All three of those red zone targets have gone to Hollister, according to NFLSavant. His salary does not accurately reflect his offensive usage, making him a clear value play tonight.