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.
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 5)
Note: These rankings are only for the full Sunday/Monday FanDuel leagues, the Indianapolis Colts/Houston Texans Thursday is not part of these rankings.
Another note: the Carolina Panthers, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings and New York Jets are on bye this week.
Quarterback Top Plays
- Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks (8200 @ CIN) – The Bengals are 4-0 but have given up the sixth most passing yards per game through four weeks; even with the strong Seattle defense, I expect this game to have a good amount of offense and Wilson should have a big game.
- Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers (7500 v. PIT) – You will see a lot of Monday Night players on this article, Rivers being one of the best plays of the week against a subpar Steelers pass defense; the only danger here is that Michael Vick fails to generate points on the other side.
- Sam Bradford, Philadelphia Eagles (7500 v. NO) – Do not give up on the Eagles. Bradford busted out with a 270 yard, three touchdown day on only 28 pass attempts. A home date with the Saints should be a big one to keep building momentum.
Secondary Plays
- Tom Brady, New England Patriots (8800 @ DAL)
- Marcus Mariota, Tennessee Titans (7400 v. BUF)
- Jay Cutler, Chicago Bears (7400 @ KC)
Tournament Plays
- Derek Carr, Oakland Raiders (6700 v. DEN)
- Mike Vick, Pittsburgh Steelers (6500 @ SD)
- Kirk Cousins, Washington Redskins (6400 @ ATL)
Running Back Top Plays
- Le’Veon Bell, Pittsburgh Steelers (9000 @ SD) – Bell is a machine, and the Steelers have clearly decided to lean heavily on him with Roethlisberger out; a matchup against a soft San Diego front should lead to a big game on Monday Night.
- Devonta Freeman, Atlanta Falcons (7600 v. WSH) – Washington has a solid rush defense, but there is no way I am going to completely ignore Freeman after back-to-back three touchdown weeks.
- Todd Gurley, St. Louis Rams (6700 @ GB) – This game does not scream out, “St. Louis rushing attack”, but the Rams will try to slow this game down as much as they can and will learn heavily on Gurley early. The rookie is quickly proving the doubters wrong.
Secondary Plays
- Mark Ingram, New Orleans Saints (8000 @ PHI)
- Dion Lewis, New England Patriots (6900 @ DAL)
- Doug Martin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (6400 v. JAC)
Tournament Plays
- T.J. Yeldon, Jacksonville Jaguars (6600 @ TB)
- Matt Jones, Washington Redskins (6000 @ ATL)
- Duke Johnson, Cleveland Browns (5900 @ BAL)
Wide Receiver Top Plays
- Odell Beckham, New York Giants (9000 v. SF) – Leaning ODB over Julio this week due to the abysmal performances by the San Francisco slot corners. Over the past three weeks, they’ve given up 28 receptions for 428 yards and four touchdowns to Antonio Brown, Larry Fitzgerald and a Randall Cobb/Richard Rodgers combo.
- Keenan Allen, San Diego Chargers (7700 v. PIT) – Allen has been hot/cold every other week this season, this week is his turn for a big week; but more on the research side, a favorable matchup against the Steelers and the Chargers will likely be without Stevie Johnson and Malcom Floyd.
- Jordan Matthews, Philadelphia Eagles (6800 v. NO) – Matthews was not the leading receiver for the Eagles last week, but he saw by far and away the most targets on the team; with a home game against the Saints, I am looking for a break out game for Matthews.
Secondary Plays
- Julio Jones, Atlanta Falcons (9200 v. WSH)
- Brandin Cooks, New Orleans Saints (6800 @ PHI)
- Kendall Wright, Tennessee Titans (5900 v. BUF)
Tournament Plays
- Alshon Jeffery, Chicago Bears (7600 @ KC)
- Allen Robinson, Jacksonville Jaguars (6300 @ TB)
- Kamar Aiken, Baltimore Ravens (5800 v. CLE)
Tight End Top Plays
- Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots (8400 @ DAL) – Tight end is a vast wasteland this week, it is a huge price tag to pay, but make sure to have some exposure to Gronk this week.
- Owen Daniels, Denver Broncos (4900 @ OAK) – On the complete opposite end of the spectrum, Daniels can save you some cap and has been getting more involved in the pass game. The Raiders have been horrendous against tight ends this season.
Secondary Plays
- Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs (6500 v. CHI)
- Delanie Walker, Tennessee Titans (5400 v. BUF)
Tournament Plays
- Martellus Bennett, Chicago Bears (5900 @ KC)
- Charles Clay, Buffalo Bills (5700 @ TEN)
Kicker Top Plays
- Brandon McManus, Denver Broncos (5000 @ OAK) – There are a couple decent kicker values this week, but McManus is still one of the strongest plays on the board.
- Josh Lambo, San Diego Chargers (4500 v. PIT) – There should be a lot of offense in this game, but the Chargers have struggled to convert in the red zone, so Lambo should get a few field goal opportunities.
Secondary Plays
- Stephen Gostkowski, New England Patriots (5000 @ DAL)
- Matt Bryant, Atlanta Falcons (4800 v. WSH)
Tournament Plays
- Chandler Catanzaro, Arizona Cardinals (4900 @ DET)
- Cairo Santos, Kansas City Chiefs (4600 v. CHI)
Defense Top Plays
- Denver Broncos (4900 @ OAK) – Denver is by far and away the highest scoring defense in FanDuel, and with a game against the Raiders, I see no reason for them to continue their tear.
- Kansas City Chiefs (4600 v. CHI) – The Chiefs have had some devastating injuries in the secondary, but any time you get the Bears and Jay Cutler in a hostile environment, that defense is worth a long look.
Secondary Plays
- Green Bay Packers (4800 v. STL)
- Baltimore Ravens (4500 v. CLE)
Tournament Plays
- Atlanta Falcons (4500 v. WSH)
- New York Giants (4300 v. SF)
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