Hopefully you were fortunate enough to swap out LeSean McCoy for Jamaal Charles in your daily fantasy football lineups last weekend. If not, you may have scored 140 points in a futile effort last weekend like I did with last week’s lineup.
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Quarterbacks
Jay Cutler @ PHI ($8,000)
Cutler showed some early rust last week, starting 8-14 for 104 yards and two interceptions on the Bears’ opening three drives, but got back to his smokin’ ways immediately after. After that start, Cutler went 14-17 for 161 yards and three scores on his way to a top 12 performance. This week he gets an Eagles defense that has allowed 250 plus passing yards to every opposing quarterback except Eli Manning (Daily Satan) and Matt Stafford (in a blizzhurricane). Fresh off of allowing Matt Cassell to post 30 points and 382 passing yards, the Eagles D should help Cutler meeting value under the higher priced tier of Daily quarterbacks.
Ryan Fitzpatrick @ JAC ($7,700)
If you’re in need of freeing up a couple of bucks, Fitzpatrick comes in just under Cutler and can very likely score in the same neighborhood of points just by putting on his uniform Sunday. The Jaguars have been one of the better defenses versus the run the past six weeks (92 yards per game) but still severely struggle on the back end. Six of the past seven weeks they’ve allowed over 20 points to the quarterback position (including Fitzpatrick himself).  If you’re hesitant on Fitzpatrick, just look at his mind boggling splits when he has Delanie Walker in the lineup.
Kirk Cousins vs DAL ($7,000)
I’m not all in on Cousins this week with the slight price hike and would very much rather play the two guys above him if given the right fit, but he comes in as a solid option if you need a decent floor. His play significantly dropped off in the second half last week, completing 16-25 passes for 133 yards with one TD and two picks (85 yards and the TD came on the final drive of the game). Dallas is a sieve versus the run, which makes another 45 pass attempts unlikely, but the Cowboys have allowed four touchdown passes in three of their past five games, and to consecutive back up quarterbacks.
Wildcard Play: Mike Glennon @ STL ($6,300)
Glennon still gets little love outside of XN’s own, Sal Stefanile, but has been a solid floor option all season. He’s thrown for at least two touchdowns in seven of his 11 starts with 15 fantasy points in seven. The Rams secondary has been more than giving over the past five weeks, allowing 250 plus yards to all five quarterbacks and 350 plus to three of those five. For those who think Bobby Rainey is the best Buc to play this weekend, the Rams are allowing only 69.8 rushing yards per game over their past five, so volume could work in Glennon’s favor if they continue that trend.
Running Backs
LeSean McCoy ($9,700) will be in plenty of lineups of this weekend, including mine, so we won’t focus on him heavily. This is a great week for mid-level backs as a few run into favorable matchups, so mix and match your personal favorites.
Le’Veon Bell @ GB ($7,700)
Over the past three weeks, Bell is third in touches (72) and receptions (17), while fourth in yards from scrimmage (323) out of all NFL backs. For the season he’s up to 22 touches per game for 94 total yards per game. He should eclipse both numbers with ease as the Packers are allowing 156.8 yards per game on the ground over their past eight, and seven individual rushers to hit 90 yards rushing. Sprinkle in Bell’s pass catching use and he’s a top option this weekend.
Frank Gore vs ATL ($6,300)
Gore has been a fantasy bore the past six weeks, reaching double-digit points only once, scoring only once, and topping 100 yards only once (all in three different games, too). His carries are down to 16 per game over that stretch as opposed to 18.3 over the first eight weeks. He still had 22 carries last week however and San Francisco should have no issue ramming it down the throats of Atlanta. The Falcons have allowed 11 straight teams to rush for 100 plus yards, giving up an average of 145.7 yards rushing since week three.
Alfred Morris vs DAL ($6,000)
Part of the reason I’m not super high on Cousins is I’m expecting Morris to be featured as heavily as he’s been all season. Dallas is allowing 149.4 yards rushing on the road, second most in the league (Chicago – 177.7 YPG), and have allowed five 100 yard rushers over their past six games. Morris hasn’t had 20 touches in a game since week 11, and his lack of receiving involvement (seven catches all year) provide some trepidation, but at his cost, he’s a great buy.
Wildcard Play: Jordan Todman vs TEN ($5,800)
Through 13 weeks, Maurice Jones-Drew’s season highs in a given game were 23 attempts, 103 yards rushing and 60 yards receiving. In one start, Todman carried 25 times for 109 yards and added 44 yards receiving. With Cecil Shorts now done for the season, Todman will be the focal point again if MJD misses a second consecutive game. Tennessee is more vulnerable on the ground than through the air, allowing the tenth most rushing yards (1,427), third most receiving yards (777) and 19 combined scores to opposing running backs this season.
Wide Receivers
It’s a great weekend for top flight wideouts. The majority of the top tier are phenomenal paper plays , so I want to try and fit two of them in if I can this weekend and pair them up with a boom or bust, cheap third receiver.
Alshon Jeffery @ PHI ($8,000)
Have no fear in riding with Jeffery if you’re choosing a Chicago wideout to pair with Cutler.  There’s a slight exaggeration on just how much Cutler favors Marshall over him. With Cutler, Jeffery averages 9.8 targets per game (Marshall 10.4), which is still plenty enough for a player as talented as he is to feast on fantasy production. The Eagles also give up the most receiving yards to non-team leading wideouts at 146.3 yards per game and he’s just too big for Cary Williams or Bradley Fletcher to contain.
Eric Decker @ HOU ($7,200)
Wes Welker is expected to be held out again this weekend, creating maybe more of an opportunity for Decker, who ran his most routes from the slot this season (31) last week. Although, San Diego played keep away with the Bronco offense last week, don’t anticipate Houston to be able to do the same. Decker has been hot, seeing the most targets of all Denver receivers (29) over the past three weeks and has five scores. He’s passed Demaryius Thomas on the season now in yards per target (9.9) and has clicked with Peyton Manning on the deep ball, catching all seven targets of over 20 yards in the air over the past three weeks per Pro Football Focus.
Rueben Randle @ DET ($4,500)
Randle has played more than 40 snaps in a game only once since week 5, but that will change this week as Victor Cruz is being shut down for the season. Yes, he’s still attached to the flaming stack of garbage that is the Giants offense. Yes, he’s still attached to the flaming stack of garbage that is Daily Satan’s arm. But Randle leads the Giants in touchdown receptions this season (6) and comes in so cheaply with a prime matchup, that I’ll take the bait at basement cost if it means that I can add A.J. Green into my DFS corps. The Lions have been shredded by wideouts all season long, allowing 16 wide receivers to post top 24 weeks. At his cost, only a colossal egg would prevent Randle from returning value.
Wildcard Play: Rod Streater @ SD ($5,500)
In the five games since Matt McGloin has become the starter in Oakland, Streater has averaged five catches on eight targets for 85 yards per game. He’s seen eight or more targets in four of those games while eclipsing 80 yards in three to go with two touchdowns. Despite holding Denver down last week, the Chargers are still a favorable play. Coming into that game they had allowed an 80 yard receiver in five straight and Streater touched them up 56 yards and a score with Terrelle Pryor in the first matchup.
Tight Ends
Jason Witten @ WAS ($6,300)
Witten already has scored the same amount of touchdowns (eight) that he has in the past two seasons combined. His catches are way down this year however, at 4.2 per game, his lowest total since 2006 and still needs 197 yards to notch his seventh consecutive 900 yard receiving season. Washington has been accommodating to tight ends, allowing five touchdowns and top 12 weeks to the position over their past seven games.
Delanie Walker @ JAC ($5,200)
Walker will be a staple in lineups once again this week and could be your stacking solution for Fitzpatrick instead of Kendall Wright. He’s averaged 14.1 fantasy points over his past four full games and is still only the 12th highest tight end in terms of salary this weekend. Jacksonville has allowed five tight ends to reach 50 receiving yards and another four to score over the past seven weeks, including Walker putting up a 4-62-1 line in week 10.
Ryan Griffin vs DEN ($4,500)
Owen Daniels and Garrett Graham have already been declared out, meaning Griffin will once again handle all the snaps he can this weekend. He played on every offensive snap last weekend, catching all six of his targets for 62 yards. Denver has allowed eight top 12 tight ends this season (tied for second most in the league) and should force Houston into a pass heavy game script. Griffin is a great non-punt option for those who want to punt tight end salary.
Wildcard Play: Joseph Fauria vs NYG ($4,500)
Fauria has played over 20 snaps in just two games this season, and the most he’s played in a game is 31 (vs CLE). Brandon Pettigrew is expected to miss this Sunday as he’s been on crutches all week nursing an ankle injury, opening the door for Fauria to see the field a ton this weekend. Fauria is already the most heavily targeted Lion inside the 10-yard line, catching five of those 11 targets for touchdowns. For good measure, the Giants are the team tied with Denver for allowing eight top 12 tight ends this year.
My Lineups
|
$60K |
|
|
Ryan Fitzpatrick |
$7,700 |
|
LeSean McCoy |
$9,700 |
|
Alfred Morris |
$6,000 |
|
A.J. Green |
$8,600 |
|
Alshon Jeffery |
$8,000 |
|
Rueben Randle |
$4,500 |
|
Delanie Walker |
$5,200 |
|
Mike Nugent |
$5,000 |
|
Miami DST |
$5,100 |
|
$55K |
|
|
Kirk Cousins |
$7,000 |
|
Jordan Todman |
$5,800 |
|
Le’Veon Bell |
$7,700 |
|
Pierre Garcon |
$7,300 |
|
Eric Decker |
$7,200 |
|
Rueben Randle |
$4,500 |
|
Delanie Walker |
$5,200 |
|
Mike Nugent |
$5,000 |
|
Miami DST |
$5,100 |
*Stats used were provided from ProFootballFocus, Pro-Football-Reference, NFLData.com.
