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 differential your lineup from the similar higher owned lineup options.
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.
FANDUEL WEEKLY PICKS (WEEK 10)
Note: These rankings are only for the full Sunday/Monday FanDuel leagues, the Buffalo Bills/New York Jets Thursday game is not part of these rankings.
Another note: the Atlanta Falcons, Indianapolis Colts, San Diego Chargers, and San Francisco 49ers are on bye this week.
Quarterback Top Plays
- Tom Brady, New England Patriots (9100 @ NYG) – This seems like a cop-out of sorts, but a game against the hated Giants is not only a payback opportunity, but it is a matchup against a bad defense that Brady should exploit.
- Blake Bortles, Jacksonville Jaguars (7800 @ BAL) – Bortles has showed incredible improvement in year two of his NFL career; with a road game against a poor Baltimore pass defense offers some ample chances for fantasy points..
Secondary Plays
- Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers (8200 @ TEN)
- Kirk Cousins, Washington Redskins (6500 v. NO)
Tournament Plays
- Eli Manning, New York Giants (7400 v. NE)
- Matt Cassel, Dallas Cowboys (6300 @ TB)
Running Back Top Plays
- Todd Gurley, St. Louis Rams (9200 v. CHI) – It is pretty clear that Gurley is right there with Adrian Peterson as the best running back in the league already; with a home game against a tired Bears team, look for the Rams to feed Gurley often, he should score multiple times.
- DeAngelo Williams, Pittsburgh Steelers (7600 v. CLE) – The Bengals were not able to establish a great ground game against the Browns last week, but that does not mean the Cleveland rush defense has improved – look for DeAngelo to gash the Browns this week.
- James Starks, Green Bay Packers (6000 @ DET) – Detroit has given up 14 rushing touchdowns in eight games so far this season; while I did not interpret the comments by Packers coach Mike McCarthy as Starks being the “sole” running back, this price and opportunity is tough to ignore
Secondary Plays
- Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings (8600 @ OAK)
- DeMarco Murray, Philadelphia Eagles (7700 v. MIA)
- LeGarrette Blount, New England Patriots (6900 @ NYG)
Tournament Plays
- Mark Ingram, New Orleans Saints (7500 @ WSH)
- Charcandrick West, Kansas City Chiefs (6400 @ DEN)
- Giovani Bernard, Cincinnati Bengals (6300 v. HOU)
Wide Receiver Top Plays
- Allen Robinson, Jacksonville Jaguars (7500 @ BAL) – Robinson may not provide the most value at wide receiver, but with Allen Hurns dinged up and a game against a bad Ravens pass defense, I think he ends up pushing some of the big boys for the top score of the week at the position.
- Pierre Garcon, Washington Redskins (6400 v. NO) – Until further notice, make sure you have exposure to any decent receiver playing against the New Orleans Saints.
- Kamar Aiken, Baltimore Ravens (5400 v. JAC) – Probably the best overall value play at any position this week is Aiken; taking over the top targeted receiver spot for the Ravens against a poor pass defense in Jacksonville should lead to a big day for Aiken.
Secondary Plays
- Julian Edelman, New England Patriots (8000 @ NYG)
- Jordan Matthews, Philadelphia Eagles (6600 v. MIA)
- Brandon LaFell, New England Patriots (6200 @ NYG)
Tournament Plays
- Odell Beckham Jr., New York Giants (8800 v. NE)
- Jarvis Landry, Miami Dolphins (7000 @ PHI)
- Travis Benjamin, Cleveland Browns (5700 @ PIT – only if Johnny Manziel starts)
Tight End Top Plays
- Jimmy Graham, Seattle Seahawks (6000 v. ARI) – Graham has been one of the bigger fantasy disappointments this year, but call this one a hunch with a Sunday Night game against a tough division rival in Arizona who has had issues over the past few years defending the tight end.
- Jordan Reed, Washington Redskins (5800 v. NO) – Make sure you have some exposure to Reed this week with a home game against the horrendous New Orleans defense.
Secondary Plays
- Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots (8000 @ NYG)
- Benjamin Watson, New Orleans Saints (5500 @ WSH)
Tournament Plays
- Zach Ertz, Philadelphia Eagles (5000 v. MIA)
- Kyle Rudolph, Minnesota Vikings (4700 @ OAK)
Kicker Top Plays
- Brandon McManus, Denver Broncos (4800 v. KC) – Kansas City is not the best match up for a kicker this year, but McManus at home for 4800 looks like a juicy value to me.
- Greg Zuerlein, St. Louis Rams (4500 v. CHI) – This seems like a poor salary listing to me, this should be a game St. Louis controls and they will likely settle for some field goals on certain drives just to extend their lead.
Secondary Plays
- Dan Bailey, Dallas Cowboys (4600 @ TB)
- Chris Boswell, Pittsburgh Steelers (4500 v. CLE)
Tournament Plays
- Connor Barth, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4800 v. DAL)
- Mike Nugent, Cincinnati Bengals (4600 v. HOU)
Defense Top Plays
- Louis Rams (5400 v. CHI) – I do not like any low priced defense options this week, so just go with whoever you feel is the best team, for me that is St. Louis against the Bears who are coming off a West Coast Monday Night game and are one day short on prep.
- Pittsburgh Steelers (4600 v. CLE) – This is about the best value play I can find on the board, the Steelers have not overwhelmed on defense, but they have had decent games at times; a home game versus Johnny Manziel can be a profitable one for a defense..
Secondary Plays
- Denver Broncos (5200 v. KC)
- Green Bay Packers (4900 v. DET)
Tournament Plays
- Philadelphia Eagles (4700 v. MIA)
- Carolina Panthers (4700 @ TEN)
