DFS: Debate Team - Danny Amendola vs. Stevie Johnson

Each week, two of theScore's DFS experts weigh in on a contentious daily fantasy topic. This week: is Danny Amendola or Stevie Johnson the better Week 11 value play?

Josh Wegman: Danny Amendola of the New England Patriots is easily the best value play at wide receiver for Week 11. He will comfortably fill the void left by Julian Edelman after he suffered a broken bone in his foot in Week 10 against the Giants.

Edelman was injured late in the first quarter of that matchup and it allowed Amendola to step in and snag a season-high 10 passes. He has the skill set to put up "Edelman-like" numbers as long as Tom Brady is under center.​

Many DFS players might expect Brandon LaFell to benefit - and while he may in time, it won't be this week against the Bills.

Buffalo's cornerback duo of Ronald Darby and Stephon Gilmore are one of the best in the league. They rank fifth and 16th, respectively, among CBs according to Pro Football Focus.

Luckily for Amendola, Darby and Gilmore will be covering outside receivers LaFell and Aaron Dobson. Amendola will have a cushy matchup in the slot against Nickell Robey and/or Leodis McKelvin.

Josh Ghatak: If you're looking for a matchup to exploit, Stevie Johnson is your man. Kansas City is giving up a whopping amount of fantasy points to the WR position, even if you don't play PPR.

Do not mess with a Patriots offense that always does the unexpected. Johnson provides guaranteed value and is even fit for cash and GPP games unlike Amendola - whos statistical appeal is one big cash game format.

In a full point PPR league with standard scoring, Kansas City has given up absolutely crazy numbers. Here's a look at some of the Chiefs' worst performances against opposing pass defenses:

I believe your matchup argument has completely backfired on you.

Josh Wegman: Kansas City's pass defense has struggled as a whole, there's no denying that. However, the play of rookie CB Marcus Peters has opened many eyes and has him in the conversation for defensive rookie of the year.

Going up against Hopkins, Thomas and Cobb is a challenge for any corner, let alone a rookie in his first three games. The past two weeks he's held Thomas to 7-71-0 and Calvin Johnson to 5-85-0. The kid is coming around.

Johnson is nowhere near the caliber of receiver of those mentioned above. He may be No. 1 on the WR depth chart with Keenan Allen and Malcom Floyd injured, but he's still the third option in the passing game.

Last week without Allen and Floyd, Johnson still gained the third amount of receiving yards behind scat back Danny Woodhead and tight end Antonio Gates.

New England's offense may be unpredictable for fantasy players, but one thing is for sure - they're going to pass the ball around against Buffalo. In Week 2 against the Bills, Brady threw the ball a staggering 59 times, while handing off to a running back only 10 times.

Edelman had 11 catches for 97 yards and two TDs in that game. Since Edelman became relevant in 2013, he's averaging nine catches, 83 yards and a touchdown against the Bills. There's no reason why Amendola can't put up that kind of stat line in an identical role.

Josh Ghatak: Holding Thomas to a stat line of seven catches for 71 yards with a mixture of dead-arm Peyton Manning and unproven Brock Osweiler is not that impressive.

Furthermore, Johnson and Lions QB Matthew Stafford have struggled this year so a line of five catches for 85 yards is somewhat respectable. And since you were happy to note Amendola's PPR appeal earlier, 12 catches in two games for Thomas and Johnson bodes well for Stevie Johnson's PPR appeal as he saw 10 targets last game.

As the WR1, it is safe to assume Johnson will see a healthy amount of targets but the 'X factor' will be his role in the deep passing game. Without Allen or Floyd, who knows what San Diego will do downfield but at least Johnson will be in the conversation.

Josh Wegman: As a die-hard Buffalo Bills fan and the owner of a Stevie Johnson jersey, I know he has zero big-play ability. He's a solid underneath, possession receiver with an unorthodox route-running technique, but he won't wow you with his 4.6 speed downfield.

I'm not saying Amendola is a red-zone threat, either, but the volume of targets he'll receive will be bigger than Johnson's. Rob Gronkowski is obviously the focal point of the offense, but Amendola will receive far and away the second most targets for New England in Week 11.

As far as game flow goes, this could very well be another 40-32 game as it was in Week 2. Compare that to a combined score of 42-27 in favor of the Chiefs in their previous two meetings with San Diego, it's a no brainer to take Amendola. The Chiefs will run the ball all day long and chew clock vs. San Diego's defense - who allow the most fantasy points to running backs - and give Philip Rivers and Co. little time to get things done.

Rivers has been known to always spread the ball out, therefore minimizing the fantasy impact of his number one receivers. For such a good quarterback, he hasn't had a receiver post 1,100 yards since Vincent Jackson in 2011. He's always been great at taking what the defense gives him, and I expect the Chiefs to double team Johnson or Gates most of the time.

Josh Ghatak: Rivers is a legitimate fantasy quarterback as he sits fifth in QB fantasy scoring. Though Brady has been the best fantasy QB, he has recently lost two of the options that earned him that title

It's not unreasonable to expect some regression from not only the best QB of all time but also the best looking QB of all time, a fact just as irrelevant in fantasy football as Tom Brady's QB status.

Finally, your attempt to predict game flow is almost as laughable as trying to predict the offensive production of the New England offense. If you were able to predict game flow, I urge to spend your paycheck betting the lines.

Trust in the matchup and Kansas City's proven inability to stop wide receivers. That's what fantasy football is about.