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 NFL WEEK 14
Note: These rankings are only for the full Sunday/Monday FanDuel leagues, the Thursday Night game between the Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals is not part of these rankings.
Quarterback Top Plays
- Jameis Winston, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7800 v. NO) – You will notice a theme in this article, and it begins right here with Jameis Winston against the epically bad New Orleans pass defense; fire up as many weapons and combinations of those weapons as you can.
- Brock Osweiler, Denver Broncos (6900 v. OAK) – In the past seven games, only one opposing quarterback has failed to score more than 20 FanDuel points against the Raiders, and that was Teddy Bridgewater in a game where Adrian Peterson rushed for 203 yards and the Vikings had a Kick Off Return score; with all the Denver running backs ailing, look for Osweiler to have a solid day.
Secondary Plays
- Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers (9200 v. ATL)
- Andy Dalton, Cincinnati Bengals (8200 v. PIT)
Tournament Plays
- Tyrod Taylor, Buffalo Bills (7500 @ PHI)
- Brian Hoyer, Houston Texans (7000 v. NE)
Running Back Top Plays
- LeSean McCoy, Buffalo Bills (7900 @ PHI) – The good old “Revenge Game”; McCoy has been one of the better backs in the league this year, he should be able to do some damage to an Eagles team that is bound to have a letdown this week.
- Shaun Draughn, San Francisco 49ers (6500 @ CLE) – One of the stronger value plays over the past month, Draughn found the end zone against the Bears; he now draws one of the best rushing match ups in the league with a game against the Cleveland Browns.
- J. Yeldon, Jacksonville Jaguars (6400 v. IND) – The Colts have been poor against the run recently, allowing 322 yards on 60 carries (5.37 yards per carry) over the past three weeks. Look for the Jaguars to try to slow down the game and keep their below average pass defense off the field.
Secondary Plays
- Doug Martin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8000 v. NOC)
- Eddie Lacy, Green Bay Packers (6200 v. DAL)
- J. Spillers, New Orleans Saints (4800 @ TB)
Tournament Plays
- Jonathan Stewart, Carolina Panthers (7200 v. ATL)
- Giovani Bernard, Cincinnati Bengals (5700 v. PIT)
- Ryan Mathews, Philadelphia Eagles (4700 v. BUF)
Wide Receiver Top Plays
- J. Green, Cincinnati Bengals (8500 v. CIN) – Green went for 118 yards on 11 receptions with a touchdown in the first game against Pittsburgh, while he typically is better on the road, this game looks to be headed towards a shootout game flow; I like Green as the week’s top wide receiver.
- Demaryius Thomas, Denver Broncos (7700 v. OAK) – I highlighted the deficiencies of the Oakland pass defense in my snippet about Brock Osweiler above; so naturally, his number one target should be a nice option this week.
- Sammy Watkins, Buffalo Bills (7200 @ PHI) – Watkins is a wide receiver I have never put my faith in due to his inconsistency, but his play recently has been nothing short of amazing; with a road game against the Eagles, there is a good shot at a big game this weekend.
Secondary Plays
- Mike Evans, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (8000 v. NO) / Vincent Jackson, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6800 v. NO) – hard to choose here, best bet is to stack or split multiple lineups.
- Alshon Jeffery, Chicago Bears (7500 v. WSH)
- DeVante Parker, Miami Dolphins (5900 v. NYG)
Tournament Plays
- Y. Hilton, Indianapolis Colts (7000 @ JAC)
- Allen Hurns, Jacksonville Jaguars (6600 v. IND)
- DeVante Parker, Miami Dolphins (5900 v. NYG)
Tight End Top Plays
- Austin Seferian-Jenkins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5500 v. NO) – I like Olsen & Kelce, but I think Seferian-Jenkins gets going this week against one of the worst pass defenses of this generation.
- Zach Miller, Chicago Bears (4900 v. WSH) – If you want to try to save a few more bucks, Miller is you guy; Martellus Bennett was put on IR this week and the Redskins can be beaten through the air.
Secondary Plays
- Greg Olsen, Carolina Panthers (6600 v. ATL)
- Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs (6000 @ OAK)
Tournament Plays
- Zach Ertz, Philadelphia Eagles (5000 v. BUF)
- Luke Willson, Seattle Seahawks (4800 @ BAL)
Kicker Top Plays
- Brandon McManus, Denver Broncos (5000 v. OAK) – There are a fair amount of solid kicker value plays this week, but McManus still makes for a nice value at home against the Raiders.
- Cairo Santos, Kansas City Chiefs (4700 v. SD) – My top kicker value of the week, a home game against the same Charger team he recorded a pair of field goals and three extra points.
Secondary Plays
- Connor Barth, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4600 v. NO)
- Adam Vinatieri, Indianapolis Colts (4600 @ JAC)
Tournament Plays
- Graham Gano, Carolina Panthers (4900 v. ATL)
- Jason Myers, Jacksonville Jaguars (4600 v. IND)
Defense Top Plays
- Seattle Seahawks (5300 @ BAL) – There are no bargain basement defense fliers this week, so I will be spending at the position; top option is anyone facing Matt Schaub or Jimmy Clausen, since it looks like Schaub may miss the game.
- Kansas City Chiefs (4800 v. SD) – The Chiefs have playing some inspired defense over the past two months; a home date against the struggling Chargers should be a nice option this week.
Secondary Plays
- Denver Broncos (5400 v. OAK)
- Detroit Lions (4700 @ STL)
Tournament Plays
- Green Bay Packers (4800 v. DAL)
- Miami Dolphins (4600 v. NYG)
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