Most DFS players have jobs and other responsibilities that prevent them from being able to put in the time to go deep into every matchup and historical trend. Even in a weekly sport such as football, very few of us have the hours to put in in order to roster a lineup that represents the pinnacle of our research ability. These realities make deconstructing the lineups of previous winners an invaluable tool.

In the DraftKings Millionaire Maker, we have previously deconstructed the value points at each position that have been achieved by the winners and from that research developed target value returns to aim for by position. The winners of the previous 2015 editions of the MM have averaged value payouts as follows:

Using our knowledge in terms of target returns, with ‘value’ representing the number of fantasy points returned per $1k of DK salary, we can get a better idea of how many players on a weekly basis can be expected to hit the target as well as what salary range is bearing fruit. Let’s start with the most important position on the field:

Please note that we have slightly lowered our goal value at each position to capture players who fit under the spirit of the law, so to speak. We see that the QB position is stingy most weeks in yielding the 5x value we want from them. In fact, 22% of the total number who have hit value came in Week 13. The most apparent conclusion is that we aren’t getting value from the elite QBs despite the good number they might put up. The majority of value has come cheap; this is not a position to spend up on.

Looking at the Running Backs, we get into the issue of multiple roster-slotted positions. DraftKings affords the flexibility to use either a third RB or a fourth WR in the Flex position, so knowing which is more likely to return value is, well, pretty valuable. Again we see the big game hunters at the RB position do not return the big value. It is a position, along with WR, where with the top priced guys, you are paying for a high floor. If you can find value at your RB2 and other positions, the best play is often taking that Adrian Peterson-type and the rock solid foundation he assures. But as the numbers in the table show, if you’re rostering the stud RB, you’d better shoot for some high ceiling/potential low floor roster-mates.

For the purposes of breaking down the WR position, we are shooting for a 4.45 value overall, but at the high end of the salary spectrum we merely want 4.0 value. The weekly average winning value at the position is spread out over either three or four WR on a given week, and in the wide range of WR salaries, the high priced receiver who hits 4x will be more than good enough to mix with some lower salary, higher value upside mates.

We see that, on average, we should expect that 4x return from the stud WRs about once per week, so from that handful choose wisely. Overall, we are faced with an average of almost 14 value qualifiers at WR per week, so in the spirit of our time constraint theme, here is a spot where there is a little more meat on the bone and you can hit on a good play with a little less deep digging.

As we turn to the TE position, we see that the couple of top salary guys aren’t great value plays. You can feel comfortable rolling your cheap option here, as the winning model is with you.

As we conclude by looking at everyone’s favorite roster decision, the defense/special teams, the tight range of salary from top to bottom merits a breakdown into only two categories of salary. A seasonal average of five teams per week have hit 5x value, so, again, here is a spot where you can go with a good matchup and allocate your time to tougher calls.

Take what you’ve learned and head to DraftKings, where you can get a 100% up to $600 first-time deposit bonus.