Every week, I’ll be presenting some of the best value plays of the week, for both Fanduel and DraftKings. If you’re going to enter a successful lineup, you’re going to need some good, lower priced players to offset the salaries of some of the high-priced studs, who get you the big numbers. I wouldn’t go completely overboard with these players, but one or two, sprinkled through your lineups, will make your salary money stretch a lot further.
It gets a little tougher here in Week 2 since the preseason bargain pricing has been adjusted, but there’s still some pretty good value here.
QB Trevor Siemian (FD $6,400 /DK $5,200) While there’s value here on FanDuel, this is a DraftKings special, as Siemian is priced only $200 above the QB minimum. After facing one of the NFL’s best defenses in Week 1, he’ll face one of the worst in Week 2. The Colts defense was gouged for 340 passing yards and 39 points by the Lions last week. Don’t expect Siemian to put up the 29.1 DK points Stafford scored, as the Broncos are built on defense and running, but he should still easily hit value.
QB Marcus Mariota (FD $7,500 /DK $6000) Speaking of Detroit, let’s take a good look at the QB they’ll be facing, after they gave up 35.5 FD points (385 yards and 4 TDs) to Andrew Luck. Mariota faced a tough Vikings defense and while not playing his best game, still managed to accumulate 17.7 FD points. This game features a 47 point O/U and the Lions are favored by 5, so game flow should be in Mariota’s favor as well.
RB T.J. Yeldon (FD $6,500/ DK $4,700) This pick hinges on the availability of Chris Ivory, so monitor his status if you’re considering playing Yeldon in your lineups. Against the Packers, Yeldon carried the ball 21 times and caught 4 passes on 6 targets. If Ivory is out again (as I expect he will be) Yeldon should be in line for the same sort of workload against the Chargers, who were ranked 31st against the run in 2015 by Football Outsiders.
RB Ryan Mathews (FD $6,300 /DK $5,800) A FanDuel special here, Mathews proved to be the clear bell cow runner for the Eagles in Week 1. With DeMarco Murray gone, Mathews carried the ball 22 times against the Browns for 77 yards and a TD. While the Browns run defense is nothing great, it actually gets easier for Mathews this week as he’ll run against a Bears run defense ranked dead last against the run in 2015 by Football Outsiders. Week 1 was just as bad for Chicago, as they were only 1 of 2 teams to allow a 100 rusher.
WR Tajae Sharpe (FD $6,000 /DK $4,100) It’s not often you can get a team’s clear #1 receiver so cheap (especially on DraftKings, where he almost a must start) but such is the case with Sharpe. He was targeted 11 times in Week 1, where he produced 7 catches for 76 yards. As with his QB Marcus Mariota, he should find the going much easier as he’ll take the field against the Detroit Lions. For the record, I think a Mariota/Sharpe GPP stack could work very well and allow you to roster some higher priced RBs and WRs.
WR Tyrell Williams (FD $5,400 /DK $3,700) With Keenan Allen lost for the year, a lot of potential targets are up for grabs on the pass happy Chargers team. While many will gravitate to Travis Benjamin, I prefer Williams as he’s more similar in stature to Allen (6’3″ and 215#) and cheaper as well. QB Philip Rivers targeted Williams 5 times (2 catches for 77 yards) after Allen went down, so he has some confidence in him. The game features a 47 point O/U and the Jaguars were ranked 31st against the pass last season.
TE Brent Celek (FD $4,800 /DK $2,600) Starter Zach Ertz is expected to miss a couple of games with a rib injury, so this opens the door for Celek. He’s set to match-up against a bad Bears defense, which was ranked 30th against opposing TEs in 2015 by Football Outsiders. Remember that TEs are a rookie QB’s best friend and Carson Wentz targeted Ertz 7 times before his injury late in the game.
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