Welcome to another season of Daily Fantasy Football; these articles will focus on games being played at FanDuel. Each week I will highlight some of my preferred plays of the week, plus some deeper “Tournament” plays, who will be decent options to mix in for the larger field tournaments in an effort to differentiate your lineup from the similar higher owned lineup options.
FanDuel Week 6 Picks
For those of you who are not familiar with the format at FanDuel, here is a quick primer:
- Scoring: Half PPR with 4 point Pass Touchdowns, -1 for Interceptions and -2 for Fumbles Lost.
- Lineups: 1 Quarterback (QB), 2 Running Backs (RB), 3 Wide Receivers (WR), 1 Tight End (TE), 1 Kicker (K), and 1 Defense (D).
- Salary Cap: 60,000 with player salaries ranging from 4,000 to approximately 10,000 in any given week.
Different from some of the other sites, there is a smaller range of salaries from the top to bottom players, so rather than a “Stars & Scrubs” approach as many will take on certain sites, on FanDuel you are better off looking for value in the midrange and avoiding the bottom end players unless a clear value play emerges.
Note: These rankings are only for the full Sunday/Monday FanDuel leagues, the Atlanta Falcons/New Orleans Saints Thursday game is not part of these rankings.
Another note: the Dallas Cowboys, Oakland Raiders, St. Louis Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are on bye this week.
Quarterback Top Plays
- Tom Brady, New England Patriots (9000 @ IND) – Those that bought into the notion that Tom Brady was going to hold a grudge against everyone who gave him flak for Deflategate are cashing in nicely up to this point; look for a big performance on Sunday Night against the Colts.
- Carson Palmer, Arizona Cardinals (8000 @ PIT) – Palmer draws a nice matchup in what should be a decent offensive game, weather permitting; look for Palmer to get University of Pittsburgh alum, Larry Fitzgerald, involved early and often against a porous Steelers secondary.
- Sam Bradford, Philadelphia Eagles (7700 v. NYG) – Those who have stayed the course with the Eagles, have earned some dividends over the past few weeks; look for Bradford to continue to roll in what is typically a high scoring divisional matchup against the Giants.
Secondary Plays
- Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers (9300 v. SD)
- Andy Dalton, Cincinnati Bengals (7600 @ BUF)
- Marcus Mariota, Tennessee Titans (7200 v. MIA)
Tournament Plays
- Eli Manning, New York Giants (7800 @ PHI – check injury status of Odell Beckham Jr.)
- Ryan Fitzpatrick, New York Jets (6900 v. WSH)
- Brian Hoyer, Houston Texans (6700 @ JAC)
Running Back Top Plays
- Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings (8900 v. KC) – With the loss of Jamaal Charles, the Chiefs may struggle to adjust for a few weeks, leaving the Vikings to be in control at home this week; Peterson should get a lot of touches this week if the game flows that way.
- Eddie Lacy, Green Bay Packers (7300 v. SD) – Lacy has struggled this year, but for this price it looks as it is a good spot to get going with San Diego possessing a terrible run defense and a game the Packers should get an early lead.
- Shane Vereen, New York Giants (5600 @ PHI) – Vereen finally got involved in the Giants’ offense last week and helped the Giants win a big game on Sunday Night; for the price I think Vereen has another heavy usage game and if he finds the end zone at least once, he will provide big value.
Secondary Plays
- Arian Foster, Houston Texans (8500 @ JAC)
- Dion Lewis, New England Patriots (7200 @ IND)
- LeGarrette Blount, New England Patriots (6500 @ IND)
Tournament Plays
- Matt Forte, Chicago Bears (8400 @ DET)
- Lamar Miller, Miami Dolphins (6400 @ TEN)
- Charcandrick West, Kansas City Chiefs (6200 @ MIN)
Wide Receiver Top Plays
- Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions (8200 v. CHI) – The price tag for Calvin has bottomed out and with a home game against the Bears this week, look for Stafford to get back on track and use his favorite weapon early and often.
- Julian Edelman, New England Patriots (7900 @ IND) – Vontae Davis is a shut down corner, but he rarely works in the slot, so this is a spot you can exploit the Patriots when you have a weapon out of that position – Edelman currently exemplifies that definition.
- Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals (7500 @ PIT) – As I noted in the Carson Palmer write up, I like the Cardinals to give Larry Fitzgerald a big workload in what will surely be his last trip to Pittsburgh as a professional football player..
Secondary Plays
- DeAndre Hopkins, Houston Texans (8500 @ JAC)
- Randall Cobb, Green Bay Packers (8100 v. SD)
- Jordan Matthews, Philadelphia Eagles (6600 v. NYG)
Tournament Plays
- J. Green, Cincinnati Bengals (8100 @ BUF)
- Keenan Allen, San Diego Chargers (7700 @ GB)
- John Brown, Arizona Cardinals (6100 @ PIT)
Tight End Top Plays
- Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots (8200 @ IND) – Gronk burnt a lot of people last week, but I expect the Patriots to put 30-plus points this week, so there are many spots to attack on their offense.
- Richard Rodgers, Green Bay Packers (5100 v. GB) – The Chargers are notoriously bad against tight ends, and Aaron Rodgers is notoriously good at home; look for a touchdown out of Richard Rodgers this week with four or five catches for 40 to 50 yards, which will make for a good value.
Secondary Plays
- Martellus Bennett, Chicago Bears (5800 @ DET)
- Antonio Gates, San Diego Chargers (5500 @ GB)
Tournament Plays
- Greg Olsen, Carolina Panthers (6300 @ SEA)
- Delanie Walker, Tennessee Titans (5400 v. MIA)
Kicker Top Plays
- Stephen Gostkowski, New England Patriots (5100 @ IND) – There are not a lot of values at kicker this week, so look for kickers in some high scoring games..
- Caleb Sturgis, Philadelphia Eagles (4900 v. NYG) – There should be a lot of offense in this game, but the Giants can buckle down at times, so Sturgis could steal a few field goal attempts.
Secondary Plays
- Brandon McManus, Denver Broncos (4800 @ CLE)
- Blair Walsh, Minnesota Vikings (4600 v. KC)
Tournament Plays
- Chandler Catanzaro, Arizona Cardinals (4800 @ PIT)
- Chris Boswell, Pittsburgh Steelers (4500 v. ARI)
Defense Top Plays
- Denver Broncos (5000 @ CLE) – Josh McCown has been on a tear recently, but he has not seen a defense like Denver; I expect a few turnovers, a handful of sacks and a potential return touchdown.
- Minnesota Vikings (4500 v. KC) – This is probably the best value play on the board, with Jamaal Charles out for the season, the Chiefs will struggle to find an identity; the Vikings should benefit.
Secondary Plays
- New York Jets (4800 v. WSH)
- Green Bay Packers (4800 v. SD)
Tournament Plays
- Seattle Seahawks (5000 v. CAR)
- Tennessee Titans (4100 v. MIA)
Main Photo:
