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 Week 13 Picks
Note: These rankings are only for the full Sunday/Monday FanDuel leagues, the Thursday Night game between the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions is not part of these rankings.
Quarterback Top Plays
- Cam Newton, Carolina Panthers (9000 @ NO) – Tough call between Cam and Brady for the top quarterback spot this week, but with the injuries to the Patriots pass targets, I will roll with Cam against the Saints in the dome. Cam has been amazing this season, but there could be a special game brewing this Sunday.
- Derek Carr, Oakland Raiders (7700 v. KC) – Kansas City has improved their defense in recent weeks, but they are still susceptible to being beaten through the air, and the loss of Justin Houston will not help the pass rush of the Chiefs.
Secondary Plays
- Tom Brady, New England Patriots (9400 v. PHI)
- Ryan Fitzpatrick, New York Jets (7500 @ NYG)
Tournament Plays
- Ryan Tannehill, Miami Dolphins (7300 v. BAL)
- Marcus Mariota, Tennessee Titans (7100 v. JAC)
Running Back Top Plays
- Doug Martin, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (7600 v. ATL) – There are a lot of value options at running back this week, but many are in two-headed backfields, so with my top spot I am going with a surefire top option at home against a poor rush defense.
- Jonathan Stewart, Carolina Panthers (7200 @ NO) – Cam is my top quarterback choice of the week, but there should be a ton of stats available for Stewart to put up a big line, especially with his recent use as a receiver near the goal line.
- Shaun Draughn, San Francisco 49ers (5900 @ CHI) – This is not a great matchup for Draughn with the Bears playing some inspired football recently. However, Draughn never leaves the field and is becoming a pass catching monster out of the backfield, the volume should be here to provide plenty of value for 5900.
Secondary Plays
- C.J. Anderson, Denver Broncos (6800 @ SD)
- Jeremy Hill, Cincinnati Bengals (6600 @ CLE)
- David Johnson, Arizona Bengals (5900 @ STL)
Tournament Plays
- Darren McFadden, Dallas Cowboys (7300 @ WSH)
- Thomas Rawls, Seattle Seahawks (7000 @ MIN)
- Javorius Allen, Baltimore Ravens (6800 @ MIA)
Wide Receiver Top Plays
- DeAndre Hopkins, Houston Texans (8900 @ BUF) – Hopkins was a victim of game flow last week, with Houston getting out to a quick lead and succeeding in sitting on the lead, while the Saints were unable to get back into the game. This week on the road, Buffalo should be able to keep the game closer and the Bills were torched by Jeremy Maclin last week.
- Jeremy Maclin, Kansas City Chiefs (6500 @ OAK) – Speak of the devil, Maclin represents the best value on the board this week at wide receiver. 6500 is 25th in the salary rankings, but Maclin looks like a top 10-15 guys to me right now and has a favorable matchup against the Raiders.
- DeVante Parker, Miami Dolphins (5200 v. BAL) – A foot injury stalled Parker’s development this year, but last week showed what kind of talent he can be. With Rishard Matthews out for the season, Parker jumps into the starting lineup, drawing second tier coverage as teams worry about Jarvis Landry.
Secondary Plays
- Allen Robinson, Jacksonville Jaguars (8000 @ TEN)
- Jarvis Landry, Miami Dolphins (7400 v. BAL)
- Eric Decker, New York Jets (7200 @ NYG)
Tournament Plays
- Alshon Jeffery, Chicago Bears (7700 v. SF)
- T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis Colts (7300 @ PIT)
- Amari Cooper, Oakland Raiders (7000 v. KC)
Tight End Top Plays
- Greg Olsen, Carolina Panthers (6600 @ NO) – If I like Cam this week, I kind of have to like Greg Olsen too. New Orleans is poor at all phases of defense, so fire up the best tight end in the game (when Gronkowski is out).
- Scott Chandler, New England Patriots (5300 v. PHI) – If there weren’t a fair amount of decent tight end options tonight, Chandler might be 60% owned; but I still expect Chandler to be the highest owned tight end this week if Gronkowski is officially out.
Secondary Plays
- Travis Kelce, Kansas City Chiefs (6200 @ OAK)
- Vance McDonald, San Francisco 49ers (4900 @ CHI)
Tournament Plays
- Delanie Walker, Tennessee Titans (6000 @ TEN)
- Luke Willson, Seattle Seahawks (4800 @ MIN)
Kicker Top Plays
- Brandon McManus, Denver Broncos (4800 @ SD) – There do not appear to be many decent cheap kicking options this week, so look to spend a little extra here this week. Even though this is not the standard Denver Broncos offense, McManus against the Chargers is a great kicking matchup.
- Cairo Santos, Kansas City Chiefs (4800 @ OAK) – Santos has been one of the better scoring kickers in the league over the past month; I expect that to continue against the Raiders this week.
Secondary Plays
- Graham Gano, Carolina Panthers (5000 @ NO)
- Connor Barth, Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4700 v. ATL)
Tournament Plays
- Mike Nugent, Cincinnati Bengals (4900 @ CLE)
- Sebastian Janikowski, Oakland Raiders (4600 v. KC)
Defense Top Plays
- Cincinnati Bengals (5100 @ CLE) – Fire up any fantasy defense against the Browns for the rest of the year. That should be a solid strategy.
- New England Patriots (4800 v. PHI) – The Eagles appear to have mailed in the season, all but quitting on head coach Chip Kelly. With a likely New England lead in the game flow, look for a lot of sacks and interception chances.
Secondary Plays
- Denver Broncos (5300 @ SD)
- Tennessee Titans (4400 v. JAC)
Tournament Plays
- Miami Dolphins (4500 v. BAL)
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4200 v. ATL)
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