Fan Duel Strategy Week 13: 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
Kyle Allen, Panthers ($7,200): Allen is more than the $6,600 average I try to keep with, but starting QBs simply are very rarely found at that price, and the ones who are tend to be unplayable. Allen is not a great quarterback in real life or fantasy, but he has proven he is capable of big games. Washington’s defense is an opportunity for him to stay hot –256 yards, three touchdowns in New Orleans last week – and the option of throwing to RB Christian McCaffery really elevates his floor in a matchup like this. You just need to hope that CMC doesn’t monopolize all the scoring through rushing touchdowns.
Andy Dalton, Bengals ($6,000): Dalton was named the starter after the prices were locked in, and while he’s generally in the basket of borderline unplayable QBs, the Jets pass defense gives him a punchers chance at a Top 15 finish. The Jets are murderous against the run, so Joe Mixon is unlikely to do anything. The Gang Green matchup may have factored into the decision to restore Dalton to starter, because they’ll need to throw to have any prayer of moving the football. Dalton has thrown at least 36 passes in every game he’s played in 2019, so on volume alone I think he has a fairly high floor in Week 13.
Running Backs
Phillip Lindsay, Broncos ($6,300): Lindsay is getting discounted after two straight weeks of strong volume, but just okay output. He remains one of the most purely talented running backs in the NFL, and the Chargers enter Week 13 as one of the six worst rush defenses in football. If Lindsay continues to see a high workload, it’s only a matter of time before he unleashes an RB1 performance and that could be this week. The matchup, and Denver’s awful QB situation, simply scream high usage.
Benny Snell Jr., Steelers ($6,100): Staying with the volume angle, Snell is in line for another heavy usage game against the Browns, who rank 22nd vs. the run per Football Outsiders. Pittsburgh has turned to Devlin Hodges at QB, which means there’s going to be an overreliance on the running game and defense in this one. Jaylen Samuels caps Snell’s upside because he will be in on third downs and basically all passing situations, but Snell still saw 21 carries last week. More of the same is to follow until James Conner returns.
Derrius Guice, Redskins ($5,400): Guice has yet to see more than 10 carries in a game in his career, and he’s currently sharing some of his work with Adrian Peterson. However, this week Guice can make his limited work count against the second-worst rushing defense in football. Dwayne Haskins under center means the ‘Skins need to run the ball a lot. While Peterson is going to get his work, he doesn’t have the big play ability of Guice, nor the receiving upside. I expect Guice to be closer to 15 touches in this game than 10, and the matchup means he’ll have opportunity to get into RB2 territory.
Wide Receivers
Alshon Jeffery, Eagles ($6,500): Pay attention to injury updates, but if Jeffery can return this week he’ll be headed for a blowup game. The Eagles have sorely missed him, and with the numerous injuries dotting this roster, Carson Wentz is likely to hyper target the big man upon his return. Add to that a juicy matchup with the Dolphins, and Week 13 could be the week that the Eagles cure all that ails them.
Jamison Crowder, Jets ($6,300): Crowder was inexplicably silent last week in what should’ve been a blowup matchup with the Raiders at MetLife Stadium. No worries, though, because Crowder gets another soft matchup in Cincinnati, against a defense that ranks 22nd against slot receivers. Prior to last week’s dud, Crowder had 76 or more yards and a touchdown in three straight games. Plus, Sam Darnold is hotter than all get-out, so his pass catchers are going to be desirable against weak defenses.
Tyler Boyd, Bengals ($6,000): On the other side, the Bengals may chuck it upward of 50 times in this game. The Jets could jump them from the opening kick, as they’ve been lights out to start games this year. They also have the second-best run defense in football, so going in the Bengals know establishing Mixon is probably a dead end. That leaves Boyd to be a target hound, and he thankfully has Andy Dalton back rather than Ryan Finley, one of the worst starting QBs in recent memory. Boyd has still managed to be somewhat useful even despite Finley, but he creeps back into the WR2 discussion with Dalton throwing.
Tight Ends
Evan Engram, Giants ($6,400): Engram is a blowup candidate if he plays, but you’ll need to really keep an eye on him this week because his status is extremely iffy. Should he suit up, Green Bay ranks just 25th vs. TEs this year, and WR Golden Tate may be out with a concussion. Sans Tate, expect an active Engram to lead the team in targets, or at worst be neck-and-neck with Sterling Shepard.
Ryan Griffin, Jets ($5,600): Griffin has just been fun as hell during these cushy Jets matchups, and Cincinnati is the worst yet against TEs (31st per Football Outsiders). When the Jets near the red zone, they seem more comfortable with Darnold throwing than trying to move the pile with Le’Veon Bell; it’s weird, but makes some sense if you’ve watched this offensive line. I fully expect Griffin to score at least once this week, and to be closer to 50-60 yards than the 13 he put up against Oakland.
Greg Olsen, Panthers ($5,100): Olsen is a safer play than Griffin, because his matchup is about as good, and he’s more central to the Panthers offense than Griffin is to the Jets. But I’d rather play Griffin because he has much higher touchdown upside. Olsen does cost $5,000 less though, so if you need to shave those dollars to fit in a higher-end skill player, this is an area where you can save that quiche without a ton of drop off.