Fan Duel Strategy Week 6: 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
Josh Rosen, Dolphins ($6,400): Rosen’s Dolphins are the opponent every team looks at like a snack, but for once, Rosen actually has a chance to do some damage against a weak opponent. Washington’s pass defense ranks a lowly 28th in the NFL, and if you’re aiming for a bargain QB with low ownership, Rosen may be the least owned starter on the platform this week. I’m not sure QB is the best place to hunt for bargains this season, but if you insist, Rosen has the ability to put in some work coming off a bye.
Running Backs
James Conner, Steelers ($6,600): Conner has been a fairly massive disappointment in 2019, as he was off the board in Round 1 of many drafts. His ownership is dwindling, but this is actually a great time to snap him up. The Chargers rank just 25th against the run this year, and Pittsburgh is severely depleted, and likely to force feed Conner the rock upward of 20 times on the ground. Pittsburgh will be without backup RB Jaylen Samuels and WR James Washington, and they’re also on their fourth-string QB (considering they traded away Josh Dobbs).Pittsburgh had been using Wildcat formations to spell Mason Rudolph, and that’ll probably be even more prevalent with Devlin Hodges under center. Conner isn’t the most talented back, nor is he in a “good” offense at the moment, but the sheer volume of touches he’ll see in the rushing and passing game
James White, Patriots ($6,000): The Giants defense has been horrendous against RBs in the passing game this year, ranking next-to-last ahead of only the Dolphins. White is probably the most reliable source of receptions in the entire league at the position, and he’ll be seeing heavy usage during a week of short preparation where he presents the biggest mismatch. White has not had a blowup game yet, but it’s most likely coming this week.
Adrian Peterson, Redskins ($5,300): Any Redskin who sees a reasonable number of touches per week can be played this week. I say this, because here I advocated for Chris Thompson. Peterson has an equally good chance of blowing up this week, because Miami’s gutted defense is porous to the point that it barely exists. With Jay Gruden gone, and Bill Callahan saying they don’t run it enough, it’s easy to surmise that AP is going to see 20+ carries as long as they don’t fall behind early.
Wide Receivers
Will Fuller, Texans ($6,600): Normally, I’m not one to advocate chasing points. Fuller’s volcanic eruption (14 receptions, 217 yards, 3 TDs) is not something you should ever expect, but he’s so talented that it can happen at any time. This week, the Texans are going to be keeping up with Pat Mahomes and the Chiefs, so we can expect Deshaun Watson to be letting it fly. This is probably a get-right game for DeAndre Hopkins, who hasn’t had a big game since Week 1, but the Chiefs are significantly worse against WR2s like Fuller than they are against WR1s per Football Outsiders. Therefore, Fuller is a nice play for the second week in a row.
Emmanuel Sanders, Broncos ($5,500): Sanders will be one of the sneakiest plays of the week because of everyone’s focus on how solid the Titans defense is. They may not realize that, like the Death Star, the Titans have a small but exploitable issue; they can’t defend slot receivers. Per Football Outsiders, Tennessee ranks dead last against slot receivers, even worse than the Dolphins or Cardinals. Sanders does the majority of his damage from the slot, and is coming off a rare dud. He was a Top 15 WR coming into Week 5, and he’ll probably be back in there once he tears up the Titans.
Terry McLaurin, Redskins ($6,400): McLaurin has been one of the best surprises of the season, and he was even serviceable against the Patriots’ monstrous defense. Now, he gets to face the Dolphins, who unsurprisingly rank dead last vs. No. 1 receivers. It’s difficult to envision the Dolphins not allowing McLaurin to have a huge game. Start him very, very comfortably.
Tight Ends
Austin Hooper, Falcons ($6,400): Hooper isn’t someone I should have to sell at this point. He’s the No. 1 TE in fantasy right now, seen six or more targets in every game this season, and gets one of the easiest possible matchups in the league (Cardinals). He’s easily my favorite TE this week.
Mark Andrews, Ravens ($6,300): Andrews had a lot of hype preseason, and so far he has lived up to it. Lamar Jackson has thrown it Andrews’ way seven times or more in every game this season, and he’s responded by scoring in three different games while turning in just one dud. He’s a little banged up so monitor his health status, but Football Outsiders ranks the Bengals as the second-worst defense against TEs ahead of only Miami. That’s a prime spot to fire up Andrews; the only reason I prefer Hooper is the guaranteed passing volume of Atlanta’s offense, vs. the Ravens’ run-heavy approach.
Jimmy Graham, Packers ($5,800): Hooper and Andrews will likely be heavily used this week, so if you want a higher-risk, but less used option, Graham is perfect. I doubt Aaron Jones is going to run for four touchdowns again, and with Davante Adams either out or playing through a toe injury, Graham remains the likeliest option for targets in the red zone. He’s typically touchdown-or-bust, but if Adams misses the game, he has a chance to lead the team in targets vs. a Lions defense that’s friendly to tight ends.