Every week during the NFL season, I’ll be sharing my FanDuel cash game (50/50’s, Double Ups and Head to Head) line up. Cash games are a great way to build up your bankroll without as much risk as Guaranteed Prize Pool (GPP) tournaments.
For those unfamiliar with cash games, roster construction differs in some ways than GPPs. In GPPs, our line up needs to finish in the top 15% or so to simply cash, so we’re looking for those boom or bust players to roster with our studs, to stay under the salary cap. In cash games, we merely have to finish in the top 45-50% with a score of about 120, which usually gets us there, so we look to replace those boom or bust layers with much safer players, who may lack the high ceiling to help win a GPP who can be reasonably expected to return 2X value (if a player’s salary is $6,000, then we’d need him to score 12 fantasy points).
Before I get into my LU for the week, some general thoughts going into Week7:
- Always enter your cash LUs into at one GPP in case it goes off. My DraftKings cash LU scored a 217.5 and while the cash game profits were great, it also won me $350 in a $3 GPP.
- As you’ll see below, I’ll be underweight on the 55 point O/U Atlanta vs New England game. While I think it’s a good game to target in tournaments, it can go a variety of ways, so I don’t think too many of the players are safe for cash.
The blocks I like to check for my QB include a good match up with a bottom 10 pass defense, a high Vegas implied total and for him to be on the team that is the slight favorite. Â Ideally, we want a mobile QB, as those rushing yards provide a nice floor. Finally, check the weather reports for strong winds or torrential rains.
QB Dak Prescott ($8,400) Prescott is one of the safest cash game QBs in the NFL, scoring no fewer than 17.12 fantasy points on FanDuel this season. Sunday the Cowboys have a match up with the 26th ranked 49ers pass defense, which is allowing over 260 yards a game through the air.
At the RB position, I’m looking for most of the same blocks to check.  I’m also looking for a three down back, but they’re becoming rare and are usually expensive, so I often settle for a two down back (but not a committee RB) who also handles short yardage duties.
RB LeSean McCoy ($7,900) The Bills are coming off a bye (I like RBs coming off byes) and will be playing Tampa Bay. The Bills are favored by 3 against the Bucs, who may be without QB Jameis Winston. McCoy will be asked to shoulder much of the load with the Bills’ receiving corps depleted by injuries.
RB Adrian Peterson ($6,300) While I don’t expect the offensive explosion that occurred last week from Peterson, he faces an exploitable match up against 22nd ranked Rams run defense (why do Wade Phillips’ defenses always seem to struggle against the run?) The Cardinals want to limit the hits Carson Palmer is taking and Peterson should be fresh due to his light usage in New Orleans.
For WRs, I’m looking for the same things I’m looking for in my QB, but I’m looking for them to be slight underdogs. I also look for a receiver who’s the QBs #1 target. Targets lead to points, so the best way to ensure your receivers return value is to ensure they get plenty of opportunities. I also avoid rookies until they prove themselves. Coaches are conservative and a rookie has to earn the coach’s trust to make it onto the field and then earn the QB’s trust to start getting targets.
WR Mike Evans ($8,100) The Bills keep giving up big games to opposing #1 WRs (A.J. Green dropped a 7/189/1 line on them last week.) As I mentioned previously, the Bucs are a three-point underdog and will need Evans heavily involved if they’re going to keep up here.
WR Michael Thomas ($7,700) Thomas had a predictably bad game last week against Darius Slay and the Lions, but he should run wild against a leaky Packers’ secondary littered with injuries. The game features a 47.5 O/U and the Packers are ranked 19th against the pass.
WR Danny Amendola ($6,200) Amendola roasted Falcons slot corner Brian Poole for an 8/78/1 line in last year’s Super Bowl and Poole is actually ranked lower this season than he was last year. As I mentioned earlier, this game features the highest O/U on the slate and Amendola seems to be the one safe avenue to get exposure to this game.
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Statistics show that TEs on teams favored at home, with a Vegas implied total of 22 or more points have the best chance to return the highest value.
TE Jimmy Graham ($5,800) Graham’s time in Seattle really hasn’t gone as planned, with all the injuries he’s suffered, but coming out of the bye, he should be relatively healthy. Meanwhile, the Giants have allowed at least one TD to opposing TEs in every game this season.
Kickers are a crapshoot, but these four blocks will help tremendously: high Vegas total, favored to win (he’ll be more likely to kick 4th quarter FGs if the team is winning rather than be sitting on the bench, watching his team go for it on 4th down), playing at home and playing in a dome.
K Kai Forbath ($4,700) While this game doesn’t have a high Vegas total, with two pretty good defenses, it does set up nicely as a game where Forbath will be asked to kick multiple field goals.
Defenses aren’t that difficult. They score their point primarily with sacks, turnovers and defensive TDs. Therefore, I target teams with bad QBs and look for defenses with a strong pass rush and/or secondary. Bad QBs throw more interceptions and hold the ball longer, leading to more sacks.
DEF Minnesota Vikings ($4,700) As I mentioned earlier, this game has a low total and the Ravens offense is a mess right now. Raven’s QB Joe Flacco has thrown only 4 TDs versus 8 INTs and has a QB rating of 66, which is nearly 10 points lower than Jay Cutler and Brian Hoyer.
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