FanDuel Value Plays – The Fantasy Sports Coach

FANDUEL QUICK PICKS FOR WEEK 8 NFL DFS

By Brian Quick

Hey Fanduelers, week 8 and the World Series is upon us. Let’s get right to it. Here are your FanDuel quick picks for tournament style contests.

PLAYER PICKS FOR WEEK 8

Quick Tip #1 – Todd Gurley – RB – Rams – $8100 – I am going to ride the Gurley train for as long as I can. I know in most tournaments Gurley was used in a ridiculous amount of lineups. That is annoying but if you don’t use him then you could be behind 50% plus of the people. I’m using him again this week as I expect him to dominate the 49ers. I also see the Rams Defense torturing Colin Kaepernick and the Rams running the ball a lot with a nice comfortable lead. Last week Gurley rushed for 128 yards with 2 TDs and even caught 4 passes for 35 yards. He can do it all and you should base your week 8 lineups around him for this is probably the last week you can buy him for under $9000.

Quick Tip #2 – Mike Evans – WR – Tampa Bay ($7800) – Finally, the Mike Evans week I’ve been waiting for all season. He’s here to stay and I like his price as it is about $1000 less than the top names. The Falcons should put up lots of points forcing the Bucs to throw a ton playing come from behind. Evans had 12 targets and 8 receptions for a total of 164 yards with a TD. I expect his targets to go up this week into DeAndre Hopkins territory. I can see him doing what Hopkins has done in all the weeks prior to this past week.

Quick Tip #3 Chris Johnson – RB – Arizona ($7300)
It is so painful to type Chris Johnson’s name here. I’m playing a game called “follow the RB who plays the Brown’s defense”. I would also suspect that many people won’t play Chris Johnson because it’s just so hard to believe he’s good again. So what you get is a RB that should dominate a terrible run defense on a team that should be up a lot of points and run a lot with the lead. Last week he registered 18 carries and gained 122 yards while adding one TD. I wonder if I have the stomach to keep him in my lineups through deadline time on Sunday.

Quick Tip #4 – Rams Defense – D – ($5100)
I’m gladly paying the $600 fare hike for the Rams D this weekend. They should have been $5100 last week and were not. They should be $5300 this week but I’m paying whatever it is. Many people will take the Falcons D, Cardinals D, or the Jets D (don’t do it). I think the Falcons/Bucs game is going to be one of those crazy divisional games with back and forth scoring. I think the Jets going out west after an emotional loss to the Pats is going to end badly for the Jets. I like the Cardinals D and think they are a safe play. Which brings us back to my favorite D..the Rams. I can’t wait until they sack Colin Kaepernick 7 times, force 3 fumbles, intercept 3 passes, and run back 2 punts. Last week’s 4 sacks, 4 forced fumbles with recoveries, and one DTD was good for 25 FanDuel points. Sign me up for a repeat performance.

Quick Tip #5 -TY Hilton ($7700) or Donte Moncreif ($6400)- WR – Colts – Wait until later in the week to find out which WR Panther stud cornerback Josh Norman will be covering and then choose the WR he’s not. Last week TY Hilton went 4-150, was targeted 15 times, had two monster catches for TDs while Moncreif had a quiet game until he salvaged his week by scoring a late TD. The Colts look bad, their running game is useless, so expect Andrew Luck to run around trying to make plays through the air.

THE LONGSHOTS

Below are 5 longshots that have a chance to hit this week along with a small blurb about each one and their Fanduel price. Adding any one of these guys is like adding a longshot into horse racing exacta or trifecta.

Charles Sims – RB – $5100 – If the Bucs/Falcons game goes as I see it the Bucs will be throwing a lot. Sims is their past catching back and he is quite productive at that. In a catch up situation, or even collecting garbage time points, I’m going to use Sims in a lineup or two this week. Before last week he had three weeks in a row of 12 plus points. Not bad for $5100.

Kendall Wright – WR – $5900 – Sure the Titans offense is dreadful, but have you seen the Texans defense?! The Texans have the look of a team that has completely given up. The Titans will have to pass after Hopkins catches his three TD passes and Wright could be a sneaky play. He did have a respectful 8 targets last weeks, 4-48, and a TD.

Khiry Robinson – RB – $5200- 14 carries and 2 TDs last week. I think the Giants are in trouble on the road this week with their ever disappearing run defense. The vulture will annoy you if you choose Ingram instead.

Marvin Jones – WR – $5400 – He seems real cheap at this price coming off of a 9 catch 12 target performance his last time out. He screws me every time I play him but that doesn’t mean he will screw you.

Duke Johnson – RB – $5800 – The Browns are going to be losing and Duke Johnson is going to be catching passes. He caught 7-73 last week so expect the same or better this week. If he can just squeeze out a TD somehow he’d be a great value for you.

FanDuel Quick Picks for NFL DFS Week 6

By Brian Quick

Hey Fanduelers, glad it has been a much quieter start to this week than last. I hope you didn’t all play Jamaal Charles and pick the Chiefs in your Suicide/Knockout pools like I did. Funny how I can get over the death of a family cat in three hours but I’m still upset about the destruction Charles did to my lineups and Knockout Pools two days later! Here is my weekly first look at some potential options and longshots for this week in FanDuel tournament style games. The purpose here is to provide you with some early impressions and then for you to investigate further as the week goes on.

PLAYER PICKS FOR WEEK 6

Quick Tip #1 – Cincinnati Bengals D/ST ($4700) – I always spend time thinking about defenses in FanDuel. As I’ve previously mentioned, every time I’ve been in the money my defense has kicked ass. Tyrod Taylor is expected to be out for the Bills this weekend which would leave EJ Manuel as their starting QB. Combine that with the shaky RB and WR situations and you have yourself a great defense in the making. The Bengals D has been getting to the QB so far this year with 15 sacks in the first 5 games. They should have a lead in this game which would force EJ Manuel into throwing the ball more which should provide the Bengals D ample opportunities to score points.

Quick Tip #2 – Danny Woodhead – RB – Chargers ($6000) – There’s no better feeling than having a player in your lineup that specializes in catching passes and seeing that said players team trailing big and trying to play catchup. If you’ve had DeAndre Hopkins this year in your lineups than you know exactly what I’m talking about. This week, on a short week, the Chargers will travel to Green Bay where they will be trailing early and often. Trying to play catch up, they will rely on Danny Woodhead. Last week, he was second on the Chargers in receiving yards totaling 66, with 5 catches. This week, I expect him to have season highs in targets, catches, and yards. If he can break one and get into the endzone the $6000 investment would be lucrative.

Quick Tip #3 Tom Brady – QB – Patriots ($9000)
Anyone can tell you to pick Tom Brady this week. I’d like to be that person who tells you to do so. I love the fact that it’s a nationally televised event with completely inflated balls. You know Tom Brady wants to take those inflated balls and throw 5 touchdown passes so the entire world can see that balls don’t matter. Andrew Luck’s return will only help matters as he should keep the Colts within enough range for Brady to keep on throwing.

Quick Tip #4 – CJ Anderson – RB – Denver ($6600)
To win big money you have to gamble, I mean, show your skill a little bit. CJ Anderson has done nothing all year. Last week, his 11 rushing attempts for 22 yards and 2 receptions for 18 yards hardly exudes confidence. Denver knows it needs to establish the running game and the Browns are terrible against the run. His price has dropped to a level where this week may be the time to throw him in one of your lineups. I will put him in a $5 tournament but probably won’t have the guts to put him in anything higher.

Quick Tip #5 – TY Hilton – WR – Colts – ($7400) – Make sure Andrew Luck is playing this week before you commit to Hilton. Those two have yet to have an explosive week and the table is set for this to be the week. Luck should be back in action, motivated, at home, in front of a national audience where he wants to perform much better than the last time he played the Pats. The last time Luck and Hilton played together TY had 94 receiving yards and 4 catches. This week, the Colts will have to keep pace with the Patriots so those numbers should both increase.

THE LONGSHOTS

Theo Riddick – RB – $5000 – A knock could be that he only plays on passing downs when the Lions are losing. Well, when aren’t the Lions losing? Last week he had 10 catches for 53 yards and a TD. Fumble connoisseur Ameer Abdullah will still be involved in the passing game but Riddick and a favorable Bears matchup could make you look really smart.

Marquess Wilson – WR – $5400 – 8 targets for 85 yards and a touchdown last week. He has the size to impersonate Alshon Jeffery and the favorable matchup vs. the woeful Lions. If Jeffery is out this week do not hesitate to use Wilson and spend elsewhere.

Dwayne Harris – WR – $5300- 6 receptions for 72 yards last week combined with Odell Beckham and Rueben Randle both nursing injuries makes for an interesting play. One tweak of the injury by either would mean an uptick in targets for Harris.

Brian Hoyer – QB – $6700 – Looking for this week’s Josh McCown? Perhaps it is Brian Hoyer coming off of a 24-31-312 slashline with 2 TDs vs. the Texans. Perhaps you will play him and Ryan Mallet is playing by the second quarter. High risk, high reward.

Javorius Allen – RB – $5100 – He had a nice big run last game and finished with 8 rushes for 58 yards. Monitor the health status of Justin Forsett and Lorenzo Taliaferro. If they are both out this week then you have some great value here at this price.

Part of me is tempted to use all of these longshots and field a lineup with $4000 left over. The one advantage to that would be that I would have players that are not used by other players in high percentages. The other part of me knows that I don’t have the guts to do it. I’ll toss all of these guys in a $1 tournament for the sake of experimentation and let you know how it turns out in next week’s article.

Thank you once again for taking the time to read this. Remember, this is early week advice, so make sure you read up as the week goes on and make necessary changes to your lineups before game times. Please follow me on twitter @QuickRotoTips and feel free to offer feedback or to blame me if you take some of my advice and it all goes terribly. Good Luck.