Daily Fantasy Sports: Week 16 NFL Tips and StrategyHere's A Look At The Best Plays This Week On FantasyDraft |
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The second week of the FantasyDraft experience proved to be a lot smoother than week one. They’re back this weekend with two $50k guarantees — the Gunslinger and the War Room — that sport a $25 buy-in and $12,500 in added money for each contest. They also have the $10 buy-in $15k guaranteed Grinder.
This week there are four different days with NFL games to watch. However, most of the contests on FantasyDraft being run are for the Sunday-Monday games, so I will be focusing on those games for the players I’m suggesting.
As always, I’ll try to point out a high priced, mid tier and value option at each position.
Quarterback
Drew Brees ($16,800) – All the stars you could ever hope for if you’re looking to play Drew Brees in fantasy have aligned this weekend. Home? Check. Favorite? Check. Big total? Check. To top it all off, he gets this Atlanta defense that is barely NFL caliber at this point.
Tony Romo ($15,400) – In one of the other high total games of this weekend, the Cowboys are 3-point favorites at home against the Colts. Given Demarco Murray’s questionable status for this game after breaking a bone in his hand last week, it appears that odds makers trust Romo to perform at a high level.
Johnny Manziel ($8,900) – Last week, Manziel turned in one of the worst quarterback performances any of us have ever seen. I still believe that his physical tools can lead to strong fantasy value, so I’m recommending him here again. Carolina has a much softer defense than Cincinatti. And one game is one game. I wouldn’t use Manziel in 50/50 contests, but he’s certainly worth another shot in tournaments.
Running Back
Eddie Lacy ($14,600) – Let’s not get it twisted, Le’Veon Bell is the man. Right now he’s handily the top option at running back and everyone knows it. So I’m choosing Lacy as another high priced option to keep an eye on. The Packers are heavy favorites against a Tampa Bay squad who is missing their top run defender, Gerald McCoy. Tampa wasn’t a good run defense while McCoy was there. Now they’re just ripe for the picking.
Fred Jackson ($11,600) – Sometimes you just have to stick to your guns. I’ve been on the Jackson train since he came back from injury, and even though the results haven’t been great, I’m back on. He’s playing a great percentage of snaps and gets a lot of work in both the running and passing games. Buffalo is favored in this game and I think Jackson has a great chance to have a very solid outing.
Joseph Randle ($8,300) – Most people, Jerry Jones aside, believe Demarco Murray will be sitting this one out. If that’s the case, his backup Joseph Randle is a good bet to give you something similar to Murray’s production for about 60 percent of the cost. Lance Dunbar could be in the mix for Dallas if Murray misses the game, but Randle stands to be the biggest benefactor and should be a staple in your DFS lineups.
Wide Receiver
Calvin Johnson ($15,500) – The Bears flat out can’t cover anyone right now. I’m not even sure they’re trying. Megatron is coming off a pretty lousy game last week against a sneaky good Minnesota defense. Also, many other wide receivers in his price range have prime matchups. To me, this all makes Calvin a great tournament option because he will likely have low ownership and the potential for tournament winning upside.
Brandon Lafell ($12,600) – It feels like Brandon Lafell has been around forever. When he was with Carolina, it always felt like he was on the verge of breaking out and never did. For that reason, I’ve been slow to come around on him this year as a legitimately good option to use in fantasy. Well it’s hard to deny any longer, and this matchup with the Jets is a good spot for him to keep rolling.
Marques Colston ($8,000) – Sometimes you see a salary that just makes you scratch your head in confusion. Here’s one with Colston. The guy has double-digit PPR points in four straight games since the Brandin Cooks injury and is one of Drew Brees’ favorite redzone targets. For $8,000? I don’t get it.
Tight Ends
Rob Gronkowski ($13,800) – I’m making it clear that I refuse to write about any other top tight end as long as this freak is healthy and playing. Find a way to get him in your lineups if you like things like fantasy points and money.
Dwayne Allen ($11,800) – One of Andrew Luck’s top redzone options, Allen is getting healthy after the ankle injury he suffered a few weeks ago. Being a Luck redzone option has a ton of fantasy value in and of itself. Allen also faces a Dallas team that has had its struggles with tight ends this year in one of the highest projected scoring games of the week.
Charles Clay ($7,800) – Clay is just so solid at a position full of question marks. Ryan Tannehill doesn’t like to attempt many difficult throws throughout the course of a game, so that leaves Clay to work underneath and see a high volume of catchable targets. Clay is my second favorite tight end on FantasyDraft this weekend to Gronk because of the cap savings he allows you.
Defenses
The Bills, Lions, Dolphins and Ravens are four of your top five priced options for a reason. All should provide a solid return if you can afford them. For a mid-priced option, I like the Rams. My favorite defense of the week though is the Panthers, who get to face Johnny Manziel at home and cost just $800 above the minimum on FantasyDraft. Just to be clear, my favorite thing about them is the price. I’m always looking to find a solid defense option for cheap, and here is one.
As the NFL season comes to a close, one major thing to monitor is the motivation of different teams. Many teams are already eliminated from playoff contention. Others need wins in desperate ways. These motivations will really alter how you should view players from a fantasy perspective. Already this week the Bears have made the interesting (idiotic? crazy? weird?) decision to start Jimmy Clausen at quarterback. This has an effect on everyone in that offense, and is probably a situation to just avoid. My point is, these are the situations you want to be wary of and let others deal with. If you align yourself with teams looking to win, you’ll be in a better spot to do the same.
Find me on Twitter @IanJ300 with any questions.
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