Fan Duel Strategy Week 7: Best Bargains At Each Position

The best way to cash on weekly fantasy football sites is to load up on as many stars with good matchups as possible. Due to budget restraints, however, fantasy players must sacrifice other positions to nab the stars they want.

Here, you'll find the top bargains at each position on FanDuel that will let you splurge elsewhere. And remember, scoring is IMPORTANT. Here is FanDuel’s scoring system.

The bargains are listed in the order I like them.

Quarterbacks

Gardner Minshew, Jaguars ($6,900): Forgive Minshew for his dud last week, as he was up against one of the NFL’s best defenses through six weeks (Saints). Prior to that, he’s been as safe as they come, with some upside for big yards in the right matchup; he threw 44 times vs. the Panthers in Week 5, racking up 374 yards and two touchdowns. Minshew has also been careful with the football, throwing only two interceptions all year. All in all, his ceiling is a bit low, but he’s consistently delivered 200ish yards and two touchdowns each week. Consider this week vs. Cincinnati a chance to have the big yards and the two scores.

Ryan Tannehill, Titans ($6,400): Tannehill is not a talent I believe in as a season-long guy, but he has shown the ability to blow up over the years with the Dolphins, and in Tennessee he does have talent. A.J. Brown is a future star at WR, and Corey Davis is a high first round pick who might be a bust, or might’ve just been hampered by Marcus Mariota. A cake matchup with the Chargers, plus this low price make him appealing as a bargain. His upside is probably low-end Top 12 QB this week, but that’s not bad at $6,400.

Running Backs

Joe Mixon, Bengals ($6,100): Mixon carries risk because of the Bengals’ horrific offensive line, but the Jaguars are the actual worst run defense in football per Football Outsiders, so Mixon should be able to deliver. Prior to last week’s disaster, he had been reliably producing 60ish yards with steady work. He actually took advantage of the Cardinals in Week 5 for 93 yards, and eclipsed 100 yards from scrimmage thanks to a 16-yard catch. If he ever gets blocking, Mixon can really go off and this is, to this point, statistically the best matchup possible.

Carlos Hyde, Texans ($6,300): Hyde isn’t sexy, but he is a workhorse. He’s carried the rock 20 or more times three times this season, including back-to-back weeks. In those weeks he rushed for 60 yards and a TD vs. Atlanta, and 116 yards and a touchdown vs. Kansas City. The Colts have one of the four worst run defenses in football, so Week 7 is another prime opportunity to enjoy Houston leaning on Hyde. You’ll probably get at least one touchdown out of him.

Mark Walton, Dolphins ($4,900): Walton is very speculative and risky, but he’s at a very low cost and he will not be on many DFS rosters. With Miami tanking, younger players are getting opportunities to prove themselves, and Walton has cracked the RB rotation and supplanted Kalen Ballage. He’s rushed six times in each of the last two games, and should see an increase against a Buffalo defense that ranks fourth in the NFL against the pass. They rank just 24th vs. the run though, which gives hope that Walton may potentially be able to rip off a huge play or two. Miami’s only hope of moving the chains against the Bills is on the ground, so Walton may have a mini-breakout effort for less than $5,000.

Wide Receivers

Larry Fitzgerald, Cardinals ($5,600): Fitz has cooled off significantly since the first two weeks of the season, but his targets have remained high, and his yardage consistent, if underwhelming. Great matchups can get players on track, and that’s exactly what the Giants are for Fitz. Whether he is utilized as a primary outside receiver, or out of the slot, the Giants can’t defend either role. Combine that with Arizona’s furious pace of play, and there’s your recipe for a Week 7 fantasy MVP. He’s probably my favorite FanDuel play of the week.

D.K. Metcalf, Seahawks ($6,200): Metcalf has been a very up-and-down fantasy option, but I do believe he’ll find some consistency with TE Will Dissly going down for the year. Russell Wilson has to throw to someone other than Tyler Lockett on occasion, and Metcalf has the huge frame and explosiveness to assist Wilson on tough throws. Right now, Metcalf has been used as a deep threat (10.8 yards per target), but if they open up the route tree for him a bit his raw talent can take over and make him very dangerous. Plus, the Redskins rank dead effing last against No. 2 receivers, so Metcalf might explode.

Cole Beasley, Bills ($5,600): Forget Week 5 vs. Tennessee, where Beasley saw just three targets, catching them all for 21 yards. He’s a target hound, and he’s going to be open constantly vs. the Dolphins’ dead secondary. I expect Beasley to return to double-digit targets, and probably flirt with 100 yards. He also hasn’t found the end zone yet in 2019, so he’s due. He will be your WR3 this week, but perform like a WR2.

Allen Lazard, Packers ($4,500): Who? Allen Lazard burst into our consciousness Monday night with four catches, 75 yards and a TD in relief of injured Geronimo Allison. He easily looked better in this game than Marquez Valdez-Scantling or Allison have all year, and is my best bet for Aaron Rodgers’ WR1 until Davante Adams returns. With a cake matchup against Oakland on the slate, at Lambeau Field, Lazard is a total steal at this price and a nice little stack with Rodgers, who costs $7,600.

Tight Ends

Hunter Henry, Chargers ($5,700): Tennessee ranks 24th against TEs, and Henry came back from injury and immediately set fire to the Steelers to the tune of eight receptions, 100 yards and two touchdowns. It won’t always be like that for Henry, but he figures to be the second-most targeted pass catcher in this offense behind only Keenan Allen.

Luke Willson, Seahawks ($4,500): Willson is taking over for breakout TE Will Dissly in Seattle, so we know the role can breed success. Willson has been there before and has familiarity with the offense which is good. He also didn’t break out  while he was in Seattle, catching passes from Russell Wilson, so it might be a situation where we know what we have and it isn’t fantasy relevant. The Redskins rank 26th against the position, so Week 7 will go a long way toward fantasy owners finding out what his outlook is rest of season.