NFL FanDuel Diamonds in the Rough

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If you’ve played daily fantasy sports before, you realize that it’s all about fitting players under the salary cap. In part one of this article I examined some of the players I thought were overpriced on Fan Duel. While some of these players are very good, I felt that they’re far too expensive for the production they’ll provide, so I’ll be avoiding (or fading) them.

In part two today, I’ll be looking at the other side of the coin, the players I feel are underpriced. Not all of these players are cheap, I just think they have very good potential to out-perform their salaries. These are the players I’ll be targeting in Week 1 on Fan Duel.

As with the previous article, keep in mind that this will change as players are injured in pre-season and position battles are won and lost.

 

Quarterbacks

Aaron Rodgers ($9,700) Wait, what; the most expensive quarterback on the board a bargain? Bear with me here. Rogers was the #2 fantasy QB last season averaging 22.3 Fan Duel points per game. He has a tremendous Week 1 match-up against a bad Bears defense and if you played last season, you’ll know he won’t be priced under $10K again.

Carson Palmer ($7,700) Palmer is the Rodney Dangerfield of fantasy football, he gets no respect. Despite averaging 17.6 fpts per game last season in his six games, he’s the 16^th most expensive QB on the Sunday – Monday slate. Palmer is provides reliable production and is a great cash game play, even though he lacks the upside for GPPs.

Honorable Mention: Sam Bradford ($7,500), Alex Smith ($6,600)

 

Running Backs

 Eddie Lacy ($8,500) Lacy is in a similar as Rogers. Lacy came on as one of the best running backs in the second half of the season last year, establishing himself as Green Bay’s bell cow back. He faces a great match-up against Chicago’s 21^st rated run defense and it’s doubtful you’ll see his salary this low again.

Joseph Randle ($6,900) Darren McFadden, who was signed to compete with Randle, is already in mid-season form; he’s injured. Randle gained 6.8 yards per carry backing up DeMarco Murray last season, while McFadden averaged 3.4. We don’t expect Randle to average that as a starter, but he gets to run behind the #1 ranked line in the NFL and McFadden appears to be done.

Honorable Mention: Latavius Murray ($7,400), Rashad Jennings ($6,600)

 

Wide Receivers

DeAndre Hopkins ($7,800) DeAndre Hopkins had a nice rookie campaign last year, catching 76 passes for 1210 yards and six TDs. He did this while being the second wide receiver on the team behind Andre Johnson. Johnson is gone now and Hopkins is “the man” in Houston and as such, should see a nice bump in targets.

Jordan Matthews ($6,800) Matthews is in a similar situation as Hopkins. He also had a nice rookie season and now is sure to see some of the departed Jeremy Maclin’s production (1318 yards and 10TDs) in the Eagles dynamic offense. In a match-up against Atlanta in Week 1, Matthews will be in the majority of my line ups.

Charles Johnson ($5,600) Minnesota Offensive Coordinator Norv Turner called Johnson “far and away our best receiver.” During the second half of 2014, he certainly was their best receiver. This season Adrian Peterson is back to pull safeties into the box and Mike Wallace was signed to play opposite Johnson. He’s dirt cheap and in a great position to contribute.

Honorable Mention: Victor Cruz ($6,300), Brandon Cooks ($7,400), Marquess Wilson ($4,500)

 

Tight Ends

Greg Olsen ($5,900) Greg Olsen was one of the few tight ends in the NFL who had more targets than his team’s second wide receiver. He had 122 targets last season as Can Newton’s second favorite receiver, catching 84 of them for 1,008 yards. Those are good wide receiver numbers and he’s priced a full $1000 below Jimmy Graham, who only got two more targets but 119 fewer yards last season.

Honorable Mention: Julius Thomas ($5,600), Austin Seferian-Jenkins ($4,700)

 

 

Kickers

Dan Bailey ($5,000) Let’s make this simple. Dan Bailey is one of the best kickers in football, making 25 of 29 field goal attempts last season. He has a 55 yard range, kicks indoors and plays for a team with a prolific offense.

Honorable Mention: Cody Parkey ($5,000)

 

Defenses

New York Jets ($4,400) Last season the Jets were ranked 11^th against the run but 24^th versus the pass. They drafted the best defensive lineman in the draft and signed Darrrelle Revis and Antonio Cromartie. In other words, they have a chance to be borderline elite and are facing the Browns offense in Week 1.

Honorable Mention: Arizona Cardinals ($4,300)

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