QUARTERBACKS
Marcus Mariota – Mariota I like as a low owned play with upside this week.
DeShaun Watson (DraftKings mainly) – A good play especially at $5100 on DraftKings. He will be somewhat popular after a good outing at New England last week. I love quarterbacks that can get points running the ball as well as passing.
Carson Palmer – Since David Johnson went down, Palmer has had two excellent games passing the ball. He threw the ball 48 times last week versus the Cowboys. I doubt he throws that much regularly, but they will have to rely more on the passing game now.
HIGH RISK/HIGH REWARD
Tyrod Taylor – Taylor is another low-priced quarterback with running ability. At only $5300, he can easily hit 3X which would be 16 points. He had a good game last week versus a tough Denver defense. He was 20 for 26 for 213 yards and two touchdowns. With limited offensive weapons on the Bills, if they are going to keep the game close versus Atlanta they need Taylor to be the man.
Other QBs in play – Matt Ryan, Dak Prescott, Russell Wilson (Fanduel main), Tom Brady
Value QBs – DeShaun Watson, Tyrod Taylor, Trevor Siemian
RUNNING BACKS
Devonte Freeman – I love both running backs in the Atlanta/Buffalo game. The Falcons seem committed to Freeman being the lead back. He is averaging 17 carries and two receptions a game and has scored four touchdowns. If Atlanta is leading, he will run the ball. If Atlanta is trailing, he will catch the ball. Fire him up in all formats.
LeSean McCoy – McCoy is the other running back I love in this game. He is my favorite running back play of the week. We all know how the Falcons struggle against running backs catching the ball out of the backfield. McCoy is one of the best at doing just that. He has caught 18 of his 20 targets through the first three games. That is nearly seven targets, six receptions and 44 yards a game. That’s a ten-point floor right there. Unfortunately, sometimes he gets taken out in goal line situations. Last week it backfired for the Bills, and I expect him to see some goal line work this week.
Ezekiel Elliott – Zeke will be one of, if not the most popular running back play of the week. He bounced back nicely on national television after a horrendous outing in Denver. Recency bias is real in DFS and people will be all on board this week. He should have another big game versus the Rams at home.
HIGH RISK/HIGH REWARD
Mike Gillislee – I think New England gets up early versus the Panthers and lean on Gillislee in the second half. Cam Newton is struggling, and should do so again trying to keep up with Brady and the Pats. Look for Gillislee to get in the end zone and eat some clock late in the game. However, this is the Patriots we are talking about, so who knows if James White gets used more or they just throw the ball all day. Hence, why he is in the high risk/high reward category this week.
Other RBs in play – L. Bell, C.J. Anderson, D. Cook, C. McCaffrey
Value RBs – J. Mixon, W. Smallwood, T. Riddick, B. Powell
WIDE RECEIVERS
Julio Jones – This is the week Julio breaks out and finally gets in the end zone. The Bills have a tough defense, so I don’t think it will be a cake walk. However, he exploded last year in week 4 and maybe he just needs to get warmed up. Unfortunately, he has only two red-zone targets this season. Fortunately, he doesn’t need to be in the red zone to score. A long touchdown this week is definitely a possibility.
Dez Bryant – Bryant has had some tough matchups to start the season and still has performed admirably. He gets a much easier matchup this week against a Rams defense that just got torched by Brian Hoyer of all people. If not playing Zeke, Dez paired with Prescott is a good stack this week.
Larry Fitzgerald – After two subpar weeks to start the year, Fitz had a huge bounce back week against the Cowboys. He was targeted 15 times, catching 13 balls for 149 yards and a touchdown scoring almost 37 DK points. He gets the 49ers defense who were just shredded by Jared Goff, Sammy Watkins and the Rams. Look for another big game from the old man this week versus San Francisco.
HIGH RISK/HIGH REWARD
Brandin Cooks – Once again New England is in a situation they should dominate. They were supposed to do that last week and we were off Cooks. I could see Cooks having a big game early, and then the Patriots run the ball. He finally got on the same page as Brady last week and will look to build on that.
Other WRs in play – M. Evans, E. Sanders, D. Thomas, K. Allen, A. Thielen
Value WRs – T. Benjamin, M. Goodwin, J. Matthews, E. Decker, Ty. Williams, C. Kupp
TIGHT ENDS
Charles Clay – Clay has been Tyrod Taylors main target outside of McCoy. He had six catches last week for 39 yards and a touchdown. That is two of three games he has reached 15 DraftKings points. He has a good matchup against the Falcons on Sunday and I should get to that 15 points again.
Kyle Rudolph – This week he should finally break out. Look for Diggs to be slowed down.
Evan Engram – Has at least four catches and 40 yards in each of the first three games.
HIGH RISK/HIGH REWARD
Rob Gronkowski – Same reason he is risk as Brandin Cooks. Also, super expensive on Fanduel
Other TEs in play – E. Ebron, D. Walker, J. Cook
Value TEs – C. Brate, J. James, T. Kroft
DEFENSE
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Browns – Should be the chalk defense of the week. These are still the Browns they are facing.
Seattle Seahawks vs. Colts (Fanduel) – Will be one of the chalk defenses on Fanduel main slate, as they should be versus the Colts.
Jacksonville Jaguars vs. Jets – I discussed streaming defenses versus the Jets last week. The Dolphins didn’t get it done, but the Jaguars are a better overall defense. Jacksonville has really improved their personal on defense this year and it has showed so far. Look for them to tee off against New York.
HIGH RISK/HIGH REWARD
New York Jets – As bad as the Jets are, they are still facing Blake Bortles. Shout out to my boy Patio Joe for pointing this out to me. “It is still Blake Bortles” he said. Yes, yes, it is. He doesn’t get the friendly confines of playing in London this week, where he seems to elevate his game. The Jets are inexpensive option that could get a pick six versus Blake.
Other Defenses in play – Arizona Cardinals, Tennessee Titans
Value Defenses – Jets, Chargers
KICKERS
Pick one that fits your lineup. Who the heck knows. If I must… Phil Dawson is min price at $4500. Usually pick kickers from games with good weather or in domes. and with high over/unders. Some I like this week are Matt Bryant as usual, Dan Bailey, and Justin Tucker’s price has dropped some. That should be a close game so Chris Boswell is in play as well.
