Underdog released the Prime Time Palooza contest with a $10 price point, 3,384 entries and $4.5k top prize. It is the same format as the Main Slate contest but with only 3 drafters instead of 6 (constant shift from 4 to 3). For this week, we get Dolphins (-3) traveling to Los Angeles to take on the Chargers with a 55 (!!!) o/u on Sunday Night and the Patriots (-1) traveling to Arizona to take on the Cardinals with a 43.5 o/u on Monday Night.
Reminder that you can also user our FREE Rankings for Underdog Fantasy Battle Royale “Showdown” tournaments to help aid in your drafts alongside this article. They are updated for every new slate each week (3x per week).
Let’s dig in.
Draft Strategy for Week 14 Sunday + Monday Night Football Underdog Fantasy Battle Royale
The main takeaway from looking at this slate is that the slate will be won through the FLEX position as there are plenty of elite options. With it only being a 2-game slate, spiked performances will vault you up the leaderboard, especially lower owned plays. It is fairly simple to get different on this slate. The Sunday game may be a bit faster with the Dolphins being 1st in PROE the last 4 weeks and Chargers 5th. The Monday night game will be a about average if not a bit slower than normal with both the Cardinals and Patriots around league average at PROE the last 4 weeks (15th and 13th respectively).
These contests have been shuffling between 3 and 4 man drafts, for this slate we get 3-man drafts. The teams have some top-heavy talent so it is hard to find a team you don’t like. However, it will be important to SCROLL DOWN to get different. You need to be comfortable getting uncomfortable and sacrifice some projection.
With the significant change to 3 person drafts, it personally makes me deprioritize the QB position. Kyler Murray, Tua Tagovailoa, and Justin Herbert all come with very similar floor/ceiling combos. Kyler is the only one that comes with a raised floor due to his rushing upside. Since all three options are in the borderline elite category, it causes me to wait almost entirely on QB unless I am super-stacking a team. After them, Mac Jones should all struggle to top 250 passing yards and multiple passing TDs. Mac will be very low owned in the contest, so drafting him and exceeding expectations is an easy path to the top of the leaderboard. Both the Patriots and Cardinals have generated pressure at elite rates, 3rd and 1st, leading to an increased scramble rate for Kyler and a downgrade overall for Mac.
For pass catchers, the ownership will naturally condense around DeAndre Hopkins, Keenan Allen, Tyreek Hill, Jaylen Waddle, Mike Williams, Jakobi Meyers and Marquise Brown. Josh Palmer will move back to the WR3 role with Williams healthy, but would slot into that down-field threat in scenarios Williams is not 100%. He has immense upside at lower ownership. Trent Sherfield only plays around 60% of snaps, but is the clear WR3 for the Dolphins. He has explosive play ability (shown last week on a 75-yard TD on the first play of the game). For the Cardinals, Rondale Moore has already been ruled out and Greg Dortch appears ready to reenter the lineup after missing last week. It will be interesting to see who becomes the primary WR3 between Dortch, Robbie Anderson, and AJ Green. My money would be on Dortch who has played an integral role for the Cardinals this season. The Patriots continue to run a rotation with their WRs. Although, when healthy the one staple seems to be DeVante Parker and Jakobi Meyers in 2WR sets. Nelson Agholor, Tyquan Thornton, and Kendrick Bourne are all risky FLEX plays but all carry big-play ability. Thornton remains my favorite of the bunch as he is a rookie and ran a 4.21 40 at the combine. The Patriots have tried to get creative and give him the ball in space to showcase that game-breaking speed.
On the RB end, Austin Ekeler, Rhamondre Stevenson, and James Conner headline the slate. They all come with 100+ yards and 2-TD upside. Damien Harris is battling another injury and is doubtful. Rhamondre should play nearly every play. His receiving and rushing floor in that scenario is as safe as it comes. Raheem Mostert and Jeff Wilson both carry similar upside but Mike McDaniel has been riding the hot hand recently. This increases their variability significantly reducing their reliability. Mostert got the bulk of the work last week but Wilson still maintained the goal-line role. Therefore, Wilson is my preference of the two.
The TE slate is TD or bust. Most of the ownership will fall on Gerald Everett, Mike Gesicki, and Trey McBride as all 3 are the primary receiving TEs. They are serviceable pass catchers with little competition behind them. Both Patriots TEs, Hunter Henry and Jonnu Smith are interesting as the Cardinals are a pass-funnel to the TE position. They could see increased volume.
Top Plays for Underdog Fantasy Battle Royale Drafts
- DeAndre Hopkins – Top 5 WR since he returned from suspension.
- Austin Ekeler – Passing game floor with a goal-line role that is unmatched in the NFL.
- Rhamondre Stevenson – Damien Harris is doubtful.
Players That Could Differentiate Your Lineup
- Hunter Henry- Cardinals are a TE funnel
- Mac Jones – Low-owned QB.
- Greg Dortch – Consistent pass-catcher
- Josh Palmer – I don’t expect his role to be massively reduced with Mike Williams back.
