Sunday's NFL showdown is a single game, HOU @ LAC, with a $50,000 salary cap and a captain slot that scores 1.5x points at 1.5x salary. The slate locks Sun 11/8 at 4:05 p.m. ET (1:05 p.m. PT).
Our model's top projected plays start with HOU. Nico Collins costs $11,200 and carries a ceiling of 28.5, the highest on the board. C.J. Stroud is $10,000 with a 26.9 ceiling and a DraftKings average of 20.1, the best average among the top plays. On the LAC side, Justin Herbert is $9,000 with a 24.9 ceiling and a DraftKings average of 11.7.
The value is where this slate gets interesting. Tank Dell is only $3,000 and still shows a ceiling of 17.6, which is a lot of upside for the price. Ka'imi Fairbairn costs $5,200 with a 21.5 ceiling, and Omarion Hampton at $6,800 shows a 20.3 ceiling. Quentin Johnston is $6,400 with a 17.9 ceiling. Ladd McConkey is the pricey option in that group at $8,400, with a 17.3 ceiling.
Roster construction will be shaped by the status tags. David Montgomery, Brenen Thompson and Cade Stover are tagged OUT. Trey Lance, Graham Mertz, David Njoku, Alec Ingold and British Brooks carry the IR tag. We have no ownership figures for this slate, so there is no read on where the crowd will land.
Our model's top lineup uses $49,600 of the $50,000 cap. It puts Collins at captain for $16,800, then fills the flex spots with Herbert at $9,000, Kimani Vidal at $5,800, Dalton Schultz at $3,600, Stroud at $10,000 and Tre' Harris at $4,400. Pairing both quarterbacks with cheaper skill players is how it fits the top-end salaries under the cap.
Lock is Sun 11/8 at 4:05 p.m. ET.
Follow @numeric_dfs on X.