NFL DFS Value Plays: Week 15 Bargain Bin for DraftKings, FanDuel, Yahoo Includes Tua Tagovailoa, Rico Dowdle, Amari Cooper, more

Welcome to the Week 15 main slate edition of RotoBaller's NFL DFS Bargain Bin for the 2024 NFL season, where the goal is to touch on some potentially mispriced players across the industry who find themselves in favorable matchups and/or suddenly expanded roles.

Each week, I’ll give you my thoughts on where there may be some value spots to exploit. On this 15th main slate of the 2024 campaign, I'm glad to report that value-salary players are abundant on Yahoo, FanDuel, and DraftKings.

In addition to offering multiple candidates at each position, I'll list at least one more player to consider, along with some site-specific value plays when applicable.

NFL DFS Bargain Bin Intro

Before we go NFL DFS Bargain Bin hunting, here are a few particulars about format and content.

The nature of the beast with value plays is at least a modest amount (and sometimes substantially more) of risk. Therefore, the Bargain Bin may be a bit more of a roller-coaster ride on some slates than your typical “tout” article!

Naturally, that doesn’t mean there isn’t an upside to be had. All of these selections are, therefore, suitable for GPPs and can also often serve as solid cash-game plays while often helping you accommodate multiple higher-priced studs into your lineup.

Typically, I’ll suggest players who are value-priced across three major DFS sites (DraftKings, FanDuel, and Yahoo). However, there are certainly occasions where one or more sites price a player significantly lower than others. Whenever possible, I’ll typically at least note those players as an “XYZ site special.”

This article is by no means intended to serve as an exhaustive list of all value options for the week. Rather, it’s meant to take a deeper dive into those I feel offer some of the best combinations of savings and upside.

The goal is to recommend truly affordable players, as opposed to say a player priced just $300-$400 away from the highest-priced option at his position. I don’t have set-in-stone price limits in mind for each site, but I do consider legitimate affordability a very important criterion.

Quarterback DFS Value Plays

Tua Tagovailoa, MIA at HOU | DK: $6,100, FD: $8,300, Yahoo: $31      

Tua has come a long way since his Week 2 concussion, a development that invited speculation over whether his career might be over. The 2020 first-round pick has instead roared back to post three straight 300-yard games and complete 76.0 percent of his passes with a 15:1 TD:INT over the seven games since his return.

Tagovailoa has proven capable of winning games with both modest and high pass volume, and he's put up between 36 and 47 pass attempts in his last four contests. He's now going to battle in a critical game for Miami against a Texans team that's consistently faced some of the highest pass rates of any team due to their ability to shut down the run, an aspect the Dolphins are already struggling with.

We don’t deserve Tua Tagovailoa pic.twitter.com/9Z6FkzAhma

— VBS (@VBSofficial_) December 8, 2024

Aaron Rodgers, NYJ at JAX | DK: $5,400, FD: $7,100, Yahoo: $23

Rodgers, and the Jets as a whole, have been a study in underachievement this season, but the future Hall of Famer just went toe to toe with Tagovailoa in a Week 14 game that offered a reminder he's still capable of delivering on his very modest salaries. Rodgers put up a season-high 339 yards with a touchdown, a performance that netted 20.6 DK/FD points and 17.6 Yahoo points.

The signal-caller also has four multiple-TD games in the last six contests, as well as a 10:1 TD:INT over that same span. He's now in position to stay in rhythm and possibly deliver another very strong return on investment against a Jaguars team that's been very porous against the pass all season, with only an inaccurate and inconsistent quarterback like Will Levis proving incapable of taking advantage.

ALSO CONSIDER:

• Bryce Young, CAR vs. DAL | DK: $5,300, FD: $6,800, Yahoo: $25

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— Scott (@scottd923) September 25, 2023

Running Back DFS Value Plays

Rico Dowdle, DAL at CAR | DK: $6,100, FD: $7,100, Yahoo: $26           

Dowdle is finally getting a chance to work as a true lead back, and he's done anything but squander the opportunity. The four-year veteran heads into Week 15 with back-to-back 100-yard efforts, and he also garnered 86 rushing yards three games ago against the Commanders.

Dowdle also is a steady presence in the passing game, as he's drawn multiple targets in 10 of 12 games this season and boasts a 33-205-3 receiving line. Despite the short week, there shouldn't be any hesitation in Dowdle continuing to see a heavy workload, especially against a Panthers team that's been among the most vulnerable in the league to the run all season while bein gashed by multiple backs.

Rico Dowdle had 40+ rushing yards over expected (RYOE) for the second-straight game last night. He's now 269 yards away from his first 1,000-yard season.

He needs to average just under 68 yards per game the rest of the way to do it. pic.twitter.com/sbGvJe3ZqH

— Joseph Hoyt (@JoeJHoyt) December 10, 2024

Rhamondre Stevenson, NE at ARI | DK: $5,900, FD: $6,600, Yahoo: $24

Stevenson's production has seen some significant fluctuations this season, but the fourth-year back has proven capable of delivering over 20 fantasy points on DK and FD on multiple occasions. Stevenson has at least 73 rushing yards in three of the last four games as well, as well as three- and four-catch tallies within his last three contests.

Moreover, the versatile back has a massive red-zone presence, having logged 48 touches in that part of the field through 12 games. The Cardinals have not been a consistent defense this season and were just trampled by the Seahawks' Zach Charbonnet in Week 14, which brightens Stevenson's prospects even further.

ALSO CONSIDER:

• Brian Robinson Jr., WAS at NO | DK: $6,200, FD: $7,300, Yahoo: $27
• Kendre Miller, NO vs. WAS | DK: $4,500, FD: $4,900, Yahoo: $11

Wide Receiver DFS Value Plays  

Jaylen Waddle, MIA at HOU | DK: $6,000, FD: $6,200, Yahoo: $26             

Waddle is nursing a hamstring injury heading into Friday, but he should be available in his usual No. 2 role Sunday. The 2021 first-round pick has come on over the last three games after a mostly disappointing season, posting a 21-296-1 line on 25 targets in his last three contests.

As mentioned in Tagovailoa's entry, the Dolphins have been going especially pass-heavy in recent games, and with C.J. Stroud and the potent Texans offense on the other side of the field Sunday, that approach should persist.

Happy Birthday Jaylen Waddle, yesterdays performance was special ‼️🐧

- 8 Rec
- 144 YDS
- 18 YPC
- TD pic.twitter.com/7gLNFGtIhY

— Bobby Shouse (@B_Shousejr) November 25, 2024

Adam Thielen, CAR vs. DAL | DK: $5,400, FD: $6,100, Yahoo: $25

Thielen is clearly all the way back from the hamstring injury that necessitated a seven-game stint on IR, and he's been an integral part of Bryce Young's emergence in recent weeks. Thielen boasts a 17-201-1 line on 21 targets over the last pair of contests, scoring 23.9 and 22.2 DK points in those games.

The reliable veteran has been wreaking havoc out of the slot, and as such, he should be able to avoid the coverage of Tre'Von Diggs and DaRon Bland for the most part.

Amari Cooper, BUF at DET | DK: $5,300, FD: $5,900, Yahoo: $21

Cooper carried similarly modest salaries into the Week 14 showdown against the Rams, and he fell just short of a 100-yard bonus on DK with a 6-95 line that netted 15.5 DK/12.5 FD and Yahoo points. Cooper drew a whopping 14 targets from Josh Allen, and his salaries still remain extremely reasonable for his upside.

The Lions have been a pass-funnel defense all season as well despite numerous injuries in their front seven, and Cooper and Kelly may finally have started to develop some strong chemistry after Cooper was forced to miss two games before the Week 13 bye due to a wrist injury following his trade from the Browns.

ALSO CONSIDER:

• Tank Dell, HOU vs. MIA | DK: $5,400, FD: $6,100, Yahoo: $21

Tight End DFS Value Plays   

Zach Ertz, WAS at NO | DK: $4,000, FD: $5,200, Yahoo: $19     

Ertz has been a hit in his DC digs this season, turning back the clock on his way to a 52-501-4 line over his first 13 games. The veteran tight end's reception and receiving yardage totals are both his best since the 2021 season, and Ertz is on pace to finish with his best numbers since he posted an 88-916-6 line in his penultimate Eagles campaign in 2019. Ertz is already averaging just under six targets per game, and he could be in line for even more work beginning Sunday now that Noah Brown is out for the season with a kidney injury.

Is it a sneaky 🥷🏻 week for the fantasy gatekeeper Zach Ertz this week⁉️

Week 11-14 7️⃣.5️⃣ Targets per game‼️
TD in 3 straight games!
5️⃣ receptions per game‼️

Are you starting him with the utmost confidence this week⁉️pic.twitter.com/mVR3cxMIS2

— PlayerProfiler NFL (@Profiler_NFL) December 12, 2024

Jake Ferguson, DAL at CAR | DK: $3,800, FD: $5,400, Yahoo: $16

Ferguson made his return from a two-game absence due to a concussion in Week 14 against the Bengals and produced a 3-32 line on six targets over 45 snaps. Ferguson could be even more involved in Week 15 against a Panthers team that's been giving every team it faces fits lately, but that's also been highly vulnerable to tight ends. Ferguson already has four double-digit DK-point totals in 10 games this season, and his salaries are likely to start creeping upward from where they are now down the stretch.

ALSO CONSIDER:

• Dalton Schultz, HOU vs. MIA | DK: $3,300, FD: $5,300, Yahoo: $15
• Stone Smartt, LAC vs. TB | DK: $2,600, FD: $4,500, Yahoo: $10

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