While traditional fantasy football formats have dominated the landscape, managers can find numerous ways to play the game they love. Underdog Pick’em contests allow managers to put their player projection skills to the test by predicting player stat lines.
With Week 6 of the NFL season upon us, here are the top Underdog Pick’em plays for Sunday Night Football between the Dallas Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles.
Top Underdog Pick’em Plays for Sunday Night Football
Underdog Pick’ems allow fantasy managers to predict stat lines and fantasy point totals for almost all fantasy-relevant players. Here, the more selections you add to your entry, the higher the payout.
The levels are two players for 3x, three for 6x, four for 10x, and finally, five for 20x, progressing with each additional pick’em you add to your entry.
Dallas Goedert Higher Than 44.5 Receiving Yards
Of these two teams, the only tight end I would consider targeting in Underdog Pick’ems is Dallas Goedert, who enters with a 44.5-yard projection. Give me all the Goerdert on Sunday Night Football.
Through five weeks, Goedert is sixth in target share (19.1%), 12th in target/route rate, and second in yards per route run (1.83). Amongst all TEs with at least ten targets, he is first in yards after the catch (280) and YAC/reception (11.7).
Dallas has allowed the fourth-fewest yards, but who have they played? None of Cameron Brate, Hayden Hurst, Logan Thomas, Daniel Bellinger, and Tyler Higbee come anywhere close to the level of Goedert or mean as much to their offense as he does. I’ll gladly take the higher on his Underdog projection.
A.J. Brown Higher Than 69.5 Receiving Yards
Although Trevon Diggs has done a better job of managing risk vs. reward, you can still pick up yards against him. A.J. Brown has been the alpha the Eagles brought him in to be. He’s 18th in YAC/reception, fifth in overall yards after the catch, eighth in target share (29.4%), and third in air yard share (43.4%).
MORE: Eagles vs. Cowboys DFS Lineup
While he did have a down week against Arizona, he has four straight games of five or more receptions and 69 or more yards. Brown feasts against zone coverage thanks to his after-the-catch skills, and it just so happens Dallas runs zone with their corners on roughly 75% of their defensive snaps.
The Eagles aren’t 5-0 without him and won’t be 6-0 without him, either. Brown’s receiving yard projection will be most of my Underdog NFL Pick’ems for Sunday Night Football.
Tony Pollard Higher Than 2.0 Receptions
If I am being honest, I don’t love a ton of the Cowboys’ projections on Underdog. In fairness, that is a credit to them for leaving us with difficult choices. The one I do feel good about is Tony Pollard and the higher on his 2.0 receptions.
Over the last three games, Pollard has averaged 41.6% of the snaps with ten touches and 66.4 total yards with a 31.6% route rate during the previous three weeks.
While his receptions have tailed off in the last few weeks, Ezekiel Elliott is little more than an early-down RB, with Pollard sitting with a 21% target per route run rate and a 53% snap rate in two-minute drills. With the Cowboys needing explosive plays, I look for Pollard to be that player for them on Sunday night.
Cooper Rush Lower Than 13.55 Fantasy Points
Full credit to Cooper Rush for righting the ship with Dak Prescott shelved with a thumb injury. But the magic is starting to run out. Rush has been a solid QB2 for fantasy, finishing as the QB20, QB23, and QB13 before bottoming out as the QB31 last week — all the while averaging 11.9 PPR per game since Week 2. Rush topped out at over 17 just once and faces a daunting task.
Philly is no joke defensively and feasts on QBs. They’ve allowed the lowest yards per attempt, the fourth-fewest fantasy points per game (10.97), sixth-lowest EPA per drop back, and the ninth-lowest success rate per dropback.
They’ve also picked off QBs just as many times as they have surrendered a passing touchdown (6). Throw in the lack of mobility, and Rush is not someone I would have in fantasy.
I’ll be on the lower for his 13.55 fantasy points, as I don’t see garbage time being a factor to salvage his night.