Daily Fantasy Football Best Bargains 2021: Week 9 Top DFS Values on DraftKings and FanDuel
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 and DraftKings that will let you splurge elsewhere. And remember, scoring is IMPORTANT. Here are Fanduel’s and DraftKings’ scoring systems.
Quarterbacks
Taysom Hill, Saints ($7,000/$5,500): Hill should earn his first start of the season this week, provided he can return from his concussion, and he will take over in a beautiful matchup, at home, vs. the Falcons. Atlanta has the NFL’s third-worst DVOA, and ranks 29th vs. the pass and 25th against the run per Football Outsiders. Hill isn’t a precise passer, so those juicy matchups help, and he offers very high upside as a rusher. If you’ve enjoyed the work of Jalen Hurts as a fantasy producer this season, you’ll get similar output at a cheaper price if you fire up Taysom Hill this week.
Baker Mayfield, Browns ($6,600/$5,400): Mayfield was a disaster vs. the Steelers last week, but prior to that he had thrown two touchdown passes in each of his previous two games. Mayfield has shown blowup potential in the past, and while that upside has been invisible in 2021, the Bengals have been fairly friendly this year to opposing passing attacks. Couple that with the raucous noise coming from Odell Beckham’s general vicinity, and there’s a bit of squeaky wheel potential in this important divisional matchup. Do I love Mayfield here? No. But if you’re determined to go super cheap, this is your best bet.
Running Backs
Myles Gaskin, Dolphins ($6,100/$5,800): Gaskin has seen better volume the past two weeks, largely putting his abysmal Week 4-6 stretch in the rearview. This week, he gets the Texans, an abominable defense who should be gashed by Gaskin, increasing the value of the 12-15 carries we can expect from him. Houston is even more vulnerable through the air, where Gaskin’s real value is. Yardage isn’t always a given for Gaskin, but it’ll be there this week and if he can score a TD or two you’re looking at RB1 upside.
Boston Scott, Eagles ($6,300/$5,200): Scott, not Kenneth Gainwell, appeared to be the leader of the Philly backfield with Miles Sanders on the shelf. He’s risky, because a hot hand approach could torpedo his usage in any given game, but he registered 12 carries for 60 yards last week and scored twice vs. Detroit. With that usage, and the potential for passing game usage as well, he should do well in another smash matchup vs. the Chargers. He’s at high risk of having touchdowns vulture, but he’ll likely give value on efficiency alone due to the Chargers’ poor run defense.
AJ Dillon, Packers ($5,200/$4,600): Dillon’s workload fluctuates a lot, so he has a low floor, but his ceiling is pretty high for a player at this low a cost. He has seen double-digit carries in three of the Packers’ last five games, and averaged at least 4.8 yards per attempt in all of them. Green Bay gets the Chiefs this week, the NFL’s fourth-worst run defense, and they could lean on a run-heavy approach as they did last week to keep their opponent’s high-octane offense off the field. If that’s the case, Dillon can offer good yardage and touchdown potential while you’ve probably splurged on expensive, blowup receivers.
Wide Receivers
Christian Kirk, Cardinals ($6,400/$5,300): Tennessee gives up 8.9 points per game to No. 2 receivers, and while A.J. Green might be considered Arizona’s “No. 2,” Kirk is easily the second-best receiver on the team. He has been graded as PFF’s No. 15 receiver this year, one spot behind DeAndre Hopkins, and 57 spots ahead of Green, who let the ball bounce off his head last week to seal the Cardinals’ fate. Kirk has seen five or more targets in each of his last four games, scored twice in that span, and caught at least four passes in all four games. His big play ability makes him a much more appealing option than Green.
Kadarius Toney, Giants ($5,700/$5,200): Toney was breaking out before getting hurt against the Rams, and he didn’t do much in his return vs. the Chiefs, a favorable matchup. But his talent is breathtaking, and he should be more involved with Sterling Shepard once again battling injury. The Las Vegas Raiders defense hasn’t been horrible, but it’s not exactly stout either and they don’t have a shutdown corner capable of erasing Toney. At this price, WR1 upside is extremely rare so it’s not an opportunity I’m going to be passing up.
Bryan Edwards, Raiders ($5,300/$4,100): Edwards has shown big play ability throughout the season, and now with Henry Ruggs off the team, Edwards should slot right into his role, which had seen increased volume. Averaging 19.2 yards per catch and 11.2 yards per target, an increased target share makes him incredibly appealing, especially vs. a soft Giants defense.
Tight Ends
Mike Gesicki, Dolphins ($6,500/$4,900): Gesicki is an absolute smash play vs. the Texans, who give up the fourth-most points per game to TEs and have the fourth-worst DVOA vs. the position. He’s seeing heavy target share for a TE, and has caught five or more passes in four of his last six games. Playing matchups is always a great idea at TE, but when the smash matchup is paired with actual elite talent, that’s magic.
Tyler Conklin, Vikings ($5,200/$3,000): Determined to go cheaper than Gesicki? Conklin has a nice matchup with the Ravens, who give up 8.6 points per game to TEs as opposed to Houston’s 8.7. The matchup is very similar, but you’re getting more than $1,000 off the price because Conklin has much more competition for targets. The floor is clearly lower, but lately he has seen an uptick in targets – 12 in the last two games – so he could return very nice value.
Hunter Henry, Patriots ($5,300/$4,000): Henry was finally kept out of the end zone last week, and his usefulness streak was snapped. We’ve also seen his targets dip again, as he’s see fewer than five targets in three straight games. I prefer Conklin, but the Panthers and Ravens are comparable matchups, and Henry has gotten it done more than Conklin on the season so he’s another viable, very cheap play.