Looking back at last week, we successfully predicted outbursts from the Seattle Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons game stack, Mitchell Trubisky, and Anthony Miller. However, there were some that we got wrong, which will happen from time to time. Nonetheless, Week 1 is a thing of the past, we are already on to Week 2 of the NFL season.
Let’s start by saying, any picks used or mentioned for cash games can be played in tournaments. That’s an important thing to know and can sometimes get confused whenever the two are mentioned separately. For that reason, I’ve tried to avoid mentioning my cash game plays for this article.
There’s merit to using or fading certain players in tournaments, whether it be ownership expectations, bust potential, etc. But, as I said earlier, just about all of the cash game plays are viable for tournaments. If you’d like to see Cash Game Plays, you can check that out here. With that said, let’s get to some other picks for tournaments. Getting a mixture of popular and lower owned players could be the best way to go.
Quarterback
Aaron Rodgers ($6,900 DK, $7,900 FD)
We saw what Trubisky was able to do against the Detroit Lions last week, what’s there not to like about Rodgers here? He’s expected to be low-owned again, and that’s a mistake.
Deshaun Watson ($6,400 DK, $7,900 FD)
Lamar Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens won’t have any trouble putting up points against the Houston Texans defense. That means Watson could be playing from behind and forced to air it out to keep pace. A talented quarterback currently sitting at less than five percent projected ownership; take it.
Other Options: Tom Brady, Matthew Stafford, any Cash game QB
Running Back
Dalvin Cook ($7,600 DK, $8,800 FD)
Cook is good, he’s heavily involved in the offense, and projected to be low-owned. Plain and simple.
Austin Ekeler ($6,500 DK, $6,900 FD)
Ekeler made an appearance in my GPP column a week ago, and while he didn’t quite pay off, he’s in a good spot again here. It was good to see him get the bulk of the carries, rushing for 4.42 yards per last week. However, he wasn’t used in the passing game, with only one target. Expect that to change today. The Kansas City Chiefs allowed the fourth-most DK points per game to opposing running backs last season, and David Johnson was able to have a solid showing on opening night.
Other Options: David Montgomery, Aaron Jones, Melvin Gordon, any Cash Game RB
Wide Receiver
Allen Robinson ($6,400 DK, $7,000 FD)
It’s been a long week in Chicago. Bears upper management and Robinson can’t seem to get on the same page as far as an extension goes. That led to a huge uproar from Bears Twitter, including teammates, all pining for the team to #ExtendAllenRobinson. There were trade rumors, there was drama, so why should you like him? The squeaky wheel gets the grease. A-Rob will get fed today and show why he deserves a nice extension.
Tyreek Hill ($7,500 DK, $8,000 FD)
Hill coming in at low ownership is never a good thing for DFS players fading him. The Cheetah averages over eight targets per game the last two seasons, and he has that nickname for a reason. He’s more than capable of breaking a huge play or two today, especially when Patrick Mahomes is under center.
Other Options: JuJu Smith-Schuster, D.J. Moore, Will Fuller, Parris Campbell, any Cash Game WR
Tight End
Hunter Henry ($5,100 DK, $6,100 FD)
I like this pick, mainly because you don’t hear much chatter about him from many DFS analysts. When healthy, Henry is a beast. If you think the Kansas City Chiefs will continue their onslaught of the league against the Los Angeles Chargers, the Bolts should be playing catch up. In an effort to neutralize the big plays, the defense should focus more of their attention on Mike Williams and Keenan Allen.
The safer man, Henry, could be where they feel okay with giving up some grabs and yards. Henry led the team with three red zone targets in Week 1. The Chiefs tied for 30th in receptions allowed to the tight end position a year ago, and allowed a perfect four catches on four targets, including a touchdown to tight ends in the Thursday Night opener. Henry is set up to be a slick under-the-radar play.
Jonnu Smith ($4,200 DK, $4,900 FD)
Smith is expected to come in at a lot less ownership than teammate Corey Davis. For that reason, he’s a prime leverage candidate and remains just as capable of getting end zone targets. Last season, Smith had only one fewer red zone target than the team leader, A.J. Brown. With Brown out of action for this game, Smith will be Ryan Tannehill’s go-to guy in scoring situations.
Other Options: Dallas Goedert, Tyler Higbee, Evan Engram, any Cash Game TE
Game Stacks
ATL vs DAL
This game is on the radar of just about everyone. With a 53.5 points total, courtesy of Jazz Sportsbook, it’s the highest points total on the board and has the potential to blow the doors off of that number. Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, and CeeDee Lamb are all in play for the Dallas Cowboys. For the Atlanta Falcons, Matt Ryan, Julio Jones, Calvin Ridley, Russell Gage, and a sprinkle of Todd Gurley are viable. Obviously, you don’t want to put all of these guys in the same lineup, but getting a mixture of them should do the trick. The Falcons let Russell Wilson complete 88.6 percent of his passes in Week 1 for 322 yards and four touchdowns. Meanwhile, Ryan threw for 450 yards. A shootout is the most likely scenario here, fade at your own peril.
CAR vs TB
An angry Tom Brady taking on a team that is not very good with some explosive weapons on offense sets up for a positive game script and game stack situation. For the Bucs, Brady, Mike Evans, Ronald Jones, Scotty Miller, O.J. Howard, and Rob Gronkowski are all options. And on the Carolina Panthers’ side, Christian McCaffrey is always an option. Along with CMC, Moore, Robby Anderson, and Curtis Samuel can be used.
Dart Throws
When we are trying to hit the bullseye that is a first-place finish in a large field tournament, taking a stab on a risky player with extremely low ownership isn’t the worst strategy. Just don’t jab all of these guys into one lineup.
RB James Robinson ($4,400 DK, $5,300 FD)
I will continue banging the drum for this kid until he hits paydirt and his salary increases. Even then, I’ll still have some shares. He was on the field for 68 percent of his team’s offensive snaps and flashed some of the reasons why the coaching staff is high on him. He also received 100 percent of the carries out of the team’s running backs last week; the only running back in the league to have the feat.
WR Braxton Berrios ($3,000 DK, $4,500 FD)
Who? Yeah, I don’t know. But he is set to be the New York Jets’ main slot man, taking over for the injured Jamison Crowder. Sam Darnold looked Crowder’s way early and often last week, racking up 115 yards and a touchdown on seven catches and 13 targets.
TE Jordan Reed ($2,600 DK, $4,800 FD)
Who else do the San Francisco 49ers have to throw the ball to? Their offense is very much a guessing game, but we do know that Jimmy Garoppolo likes throwing to his tight end George Kittle an awful lot. Reed and Jimmy G were a perfect two for two on passes last week, let’s see if that trend continues in a spot where he could see an uptick in volume with Kittle out.
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