Week One may have been bad for Fantasy Football stars but there’s nothing better than a Week Two rebound. Who will those players be?
What a way to start off the season. A lot of high priced players got injured or just had an off week. Touchdowns were hard to come by but that is what makes daily fantasy fun. It’s a new week and it’s a fresh start for everyone. This is a good week to start players that had a bad first week because there will be a bias against them. Trust your gut and let me help you guys win some money.
Quarterbacks
Tom Brady ($7,900) @ New Orleans Saints:– I don’t care that he is the most expensive quarterback of the week, I am paying up for Tom Brady. The Saints defense just made Sam Bradford look like, well, Brady. Bradford put up 28.5 draft kings points and now the same defense is on a short week going against an angry New England Patriots team. Don’t over think this one. Brady will throw for over 300 yards and have four touchdowns — well worth the price this week.
Pairing up quarterbacks is something that I will mention every week and this week I am pairing Brady up with Rob Gronkowski ($6,900). Everyone will be looking at Brandin Cooks ($8,200) and I have no problem with going with a double stack. When it comes to a stack you want targets and touchdown upside and both offer that this week with Brady.
Aaron Rodgers ($7,400) @ Atlanta Falcons: This is the week to pay up for a quarterback. Aaron Rodgers put up 20.5 draft kings points against one of the league’s top defenses. Rodgers will have his way with this defense and it can easily be the highest scoring game of the week. The game is indoors and is against an average secondary at best. There’s no reason why he won’t finish as a top three scoring quarterback this week.
I am not buying into Randall Cobb getting 13 targets again this week. If there is a weakness in Seattle’s defense, it’s the slot cornerback. Davante Adams ($5,600) is the wide receiver to stack with Rodgers. He had Richard Sherman on him for most of the day and Desmond Trufant should shadow Jordy Nelson this week. He will be low-owned because of his poor week one performance but this is the time to add Adams because of his high upside.
Carson Palmer ($6,000) @ Indianapolis Colts: Carson Palmer was hot garbage on Sunday but he has a great matchup against the Colts. This is a play where a lot of the veteran players will make because of the poor week one performance. Plus, you will get him at a low ownership. Without David Johnson, the Cardinals will have to throw a ton this week. Stacking Palmer with Larry Fitzgerald ($6,500) is a high upside duo who will go lower owned because of last week’s dud.
Running Back
Ezekiel Elliot ($7,800) @ Denver Broncos: If the Dallas Cowboys want to win this game, they can’t allow Dak Prescott to throw against one of the top secondaries in the league in Denver. Elliot had 24 carries last week and he could receive a bigger workload this week. When you pay for a running back, you want one that will get carries and Elliot may lead the league in touches this week. The matchup against Denver will scare some people away but the way you attack this defense is on the ground.
Ty Montgomery ($5,800) @ Atlanta Falcons: No other running back was on the field for more of their team’s snaps then Ty Montgomery in week one. The Falcons gave up the most receiving yards to running backs last season. He will be on the field a bunch in a high scoring game. Montgomery will be highly owned but his upside this week and his good price make him a great play.
Jacquizz Rodgers ($4,400) vs Chicago Bears: When Jacquizz Rodgers got the starts last year when Doug Martin was hurt, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers fed him the ball. In his first three starts last year, he received 30, 26 and 19 rushes to go along with seven catches. If he gets the average of 25 rushes like last year, $4,400 is an absolute steal.
Alvin Kamara ($3,500) vs New England Patriots: This is a dart throw but I am thinking the Saints will be down in this game and will need to throw the ball. Kamara got seven carries to go with four receptions (on six targets) last week in a game in which they were down. New England’s defense is not good and Kamara can have a big game. At this price point, he doesn’t have to do much to return value and he was on the field more (50 percent of snaps) than Mark Ingram (26 snaps) and Adrian Peterson (nine snaps) last week. Low price with big upside this week.
Wide Receiver
Mike Evans ($7,700) vs Chicago Bears: There are two things I like to look at when choosing a wide receiver: targets and touchdown upside. Mike Evans led the league last year in targets and was second in touchdowns. $7,700 seems too cheap for this caliber of receiver. The Bears secondary shut down Julio Jones last week but trust me, Jameis Winston doesn’t care if Mike Evans is double or triple covered — he will throw it up to him.
Tyreek Hill ($6,200) vs Philadelphia Eagles: Tyreek Hill will run circles around the Philadelphia Eagles secondary. Alex Smith is finally throwing the ball downfield and there isn’t a cornerback on the Eagles roster who can keep up with Hill. The Chiefs will do anything to get him the ball, including a handful of rushes. He is a great tournament player every week and this week can be a repeat of his week one performance.
Demaryius Thomas ($5,900) vs Dallas Cowboys: Don’t let last week’s performance against the woeful New York Giants offense fool you — the Cowboys’ secondary is bad. The unit’s top corner, Orlando Scandrick, just had a plate put into his wrist and will miss this game. Thomas will receive double digit targets this week, and over the last two seasons, he has seen 41 red-zone targets. He is a good under the radar receiver who can have a big week.
Tight End
Rob Gronkowski ($6,900) @ New Orleans Saints: Gronkowski will have a big bounce back week. I usually don’t pay up at tight end but pairing him with Tom Brady is a great tournament play this week. No tight end has his upside and the Patriots will score 40 points this week. Don’t over think this. You should pay for the best tight end in NFL history this week.
Coby Fleener ($3,100) vs New England Patriots: If you can’t tell, I am stacking this game. Fleener will benefit, once again, from being down early. With Willie Snead being out this week (again), Fleener will continue to see five or more targets with good touchdown upside. Tight end — besides Gronk — is a gamble every week and Fleener is a cheap option with good upside.
Defenses
Baltimore Ravens ($3,700) vs Cleveland Browns: Baltimore’s defense will be a top three defense at the end of the year. Say what you want about Andy Dalton and the Bengals, but the Ravens defense shut them down and had four interceptions and five sacks. This will be another week where the Ravens defense gets you 15 plus points.
Jacksonville Jaguars ($3,100) vs Tennessee Titans: Jacksonville’s defense is no joke. Marcus Mariota looked average at best against a bad Oakland Raiders defense. Mariota has struggled in his career against good defenses and this week won’t be any different. For some reason, the price went down $600 after putting up 28 draft kings points in week one. Buy now on this defense, especially in season-long leagues.
