FanDuel Daily Fantasy Football Helper: Week 15 Monday Night (Eagles at Seahawks)

Humbled by a pair of blowout losses -- albeit against stiff competition -- the Philadelphia Eagles will look to get on track tonight versus the Seattle Seahawks. The visiting Eagles are 3.5-point favorites, and the game's over/under comes in at 45.0 points, per the NFL odds at FanDuel Sportsbook.

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.

FanDuel Research's Brandon Gdula has done a deep dive on single-game strategy, and numberFire has projections if you select the game from the slate tab. It's worth checking out both before making your lineups.

MVP Candidates

Jalen Hurts ($17,000) is coming off his worst fantasy performance of the year, yet still comfortably enters as the QB2 in FanDuel points per game. A virtual lock to punch it in when the Eagles get near the goal line, he leads the position with 12 rushing scores. Seattle is 19th in schedule-adjusted pass defense, per numberFire, so he should have an easier time getting the job done through the air, too.

numberFire's model projects Hurts for nearly nine points more than any other player tonight. His inevitable popularity is his only downside as an MVP play. It's worth noting Hurts is technically questionable with an illness, and while he's expected to play, double-check his status later in the day.

A.J. Brown ($15,500), DeVonta Smith ($12,500), and D'Andre Swift ($12,000) continue to be the other top Eagles players.

Brown is the WR4 in FanDuel points per game, and he boasts absurd usage across the board with a 32.4% target share, 46.3% air yards share, 40.5% red zone target share, and 50.0% end zone target share. The Seahawks have coughed up the fifth-most FanDuel points per game to WRs. Brown is a no-brainer MVP if you're passing up Hurts.

Smith is less likely to blow up for a huge fantasy score, but he gets a good chunk of looks as the second option, owning a 24.2% target share and 35.3% air yards share.

Negative game scripts have hurt Swift the last two weeks, but this is a good spot for him to bounce back with a normal workload. Not only is Philadelphia a road favorite, but Seattle is 29th in adjusted rush defense, and they've given up the 5th-most FanDuel points per game to RBs. Dating back to Week 2, Swift has averaged 14.6 rushes and 3.6 targets per game. However, as always, Hurts vultures a ton of goal-line touchdowns, which gives Swift a tougher path to posting a slate-best score.

For the Seahawks, Drew Lock ($13,000) is expected to draw another start, as Geno Smith is reportedly a longshot to play. Lock scored 17.3 FanDuel points against a tough San Francisco 49ers defense in Week 14, and while he did throw two picks, this is a far easier matchup against an Eagles team that's allowed the most FanDuel points per game to quarterbacks. That's enough to put him play as a fairly appealing MVP choice.

D.K. Metcalf ($14,500) leads Seattle in target share (23.8%), air yards share (44.3%), red zone target share (38.2%), and end zone target share (48.3%). The Eagles have also given up the most FanDuel points per game to wideouts, so even with Lock under center, this is still a great spot to lock in Metcalf as an MVP who shouldn't be overly popular.

Flex Breakdown

Tyler Lockett ($10,000) has borderline MVP potential if you're making a lot of lineups but is otherwise probably better utilized as a flex. He's second behind Metcalf with a 22.2% target share and 30.9% air yards share this season. numberFire's model projects him for roughly seven targets.

With Kenneth Walker III ($11,000) returning from a two-game absence in Week 14, we're back to a split backfield between him and Zach Charbonnet ($9,500). Walker held the edge in snaps last week (58.2% to 40.0%) while logging eight carries and five targets; Charbonnet finished with nine rushes and one target.

Walker has the better projection of the two, but this could be closer to an even split than we would like. While the Eagles haven't allowed a ton of fantasy points to RBs, that's more due to a lack of rushing volume against them, as numberFire actually has them at 28th in adjusted rush defense.

Jaxon Smith-Njigba ($8,000) is Seattle's number-three wideout, putting him in the mix as a value play. He has a 17.9% target share but a lackluster 13.5% air yards share tends to keep his yardage down. He's maxed out at 63 yards (twice) this season, so he'll probably need a touchdown to crack the optimal lineup.

The Seahawks rotate their tight ends, which makes things a bit messy. But if you're choosing one, Noah Fant ($7,500) tends to lead the group in snaps and routes. In Week 14, he had a 63.6% snap rate and 57.1% route rate. He's yet to score a touchdown this year, though, which has held him to single-digit FanDuel points in every game.

Back to the Eagles, Dallas Goedert ($9,000) is a far more intriguing tight end to roster. In his return last week, Goedert ran 92.9% of the routes, so it's safe to say he's healthy. Effectively Philadelphia's third option, he's earned an 18.1% target share when healthy and projects for just under six targets.

Running back Kenneth Gainwell ($8,000) has seen an uptick in snaps the past two weeks, but it's led to just a modest bump in opportunities, and his snaps ought to drop back down in a non-blowout. He's a fringe play in case he happens to luck into a touchdown, but that's about it.

With Brown, Smith, and Goedert hogging targets, there isn't much left for the complementary Eagles pass-catchers. In Week 14, Quez Watkins ($7,000) led the remaining wide receivers with a 45.1% snap rate and 42.9% route rate, but he was held without a target.

The projected game environment doesn't seem like a big boost to kickers, and neither defense is especially appealing, either. Philadelphia's Jake Elliott ($8,500) projects quite well, though, and if this offense bounces back, we could see him get his fair share of chances. At the beginning of the season, Elliott scored 18 FanDuel points twice.

Interested in playing NFL DFS? Head over to FanDuel’s daily fantasy football lobby to see all the offerings for this week's slates.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.