The Daily Dose: Week 14 FanDuel Starts
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Welcome to the Week 14 edition of The Daily Dose: FanDuel Starts Of The Week. Usually every Friday on The Fantasy Footballers Podcast, the guys welcome in Chris Meaney from the FNTSY Sports Network to deliver his top DFS picks of the week. Just like in Weeks 7,8 and 11, Week 14 has been granted by the Ballers to yours truly for another week of my top personal picks that could help you win and put some cash in your wallets this weekend. You can follow me on Twitter @brandontsanders. Even though The Daily Dose will not be featured on today’s podcast, please don’t miss out on Episode #324.
Quarterbacks
Ok, so I know most of you are gearing up for your fantasy playoffs that should have started this week or maybe even last week. But for those of you that side with me, and have had a brutal 2016 in fantasy, we gotta focus on the weekly winnings and see what we can do to win some money to soften the blow of not competing for that said fantasy championship. What better way to start collecting that cash than to find 3 pass-happy QBs that can put up some big numbers due to incredible late-season matchups.
Jameis Winston vs NO, $8,200
Jameis Winston continues to show up, and then he continues to fight and get things done. He still continues to lock in on his stud Mike Evans, and of course his upstart tight end, Cameron Brate. He found Brate late in the 4th quarter for a 12-yard scoring drive, which so happened to give the Buccaneers the victory they needed. Winston has now completed over 60 percent of his passes in five straight games, and his 9.33 YPA Sunday was his second-highest figure in that crazy category this season. He could be in for another busy day in Week 14, as the Buccaneers continue their playoff push in a home game tilt against the New Orleans Saints that could well prove to be a high-scoring affair with both teams not being the greatest on passing defense, and their offenses love to air that ball out.
Philip Rivers @ CAR, $8,000
If you haven’t figured out by Week 14 already, the Panthers passing defense is repugnant and currently ranks 30th overall. It’s just really gross. Guess who’s in town to face them this week? That’s right the gunslinger himself, ” Mr. Old Man Rivers.” Philp Rivers currently has 25 Passing TDs for the season so far, which currently puts him 4th overall between other quarterbacks. He also is 6th currently in passing yards with 3,353 for the season. Though he’s thrown a lot of interceptions this year, I expect that not to happen this time around. Rivers is a good play here and $200 cheaper than “Famous Jameis”. That’s always a plus when needing that last little bit of budget to get the right players in your FanDuel lineups.
Andy Dalton @ CLE, $7,700
Here’s the weekly “play this team against the Browns” alert. Dalton completed an impressive 74 percent of his passes for 10.7 yards per attempt while connecting with Tyler Eifert and Brandon LaFell for a pair of red zone touchdowns. It was Dalton’s second game of the season with over 300 passing yards and two touchdowns with no interceptions as well. Now he plays a much easier matchup against the winless Cleveland Browns. Even without A.J. Green and Gio Bernard, Dalton continues to get it done and find weapons like LaFell, Eifert, and rookie Tyler Boyd to keep moving the pylons. At a much better discount than the previous QBs mentioned, this is a great deal for a passer that is gonna have a good time on Sunday afternoon.
Running Backs
This week as temperatures in most places are dropping at a rapid pace to give us an early Christmas Winter Wonderland, but the competition at running back is heating up. Teams are making those pushes to make the wild card or secure their spot as division leaders. Let’s take a look at the 3 RBs chosen to help you win big money in Week 14.
DeMarco Murray vs DEN, $7,900
When most people think of the Denver defense, they think of the modern day Orange Crush, and most fantasy players will try to avoid this matchup if possible. I did exactly that last week when I sat Blake Bortles down. Needless to say, that was a wise decision. Yes, the Broncos are 1st against the pass, they are the “No Fly Zone” so you simply can’t can’t expect Murray to catch many passes or throw a touchdown like in recent weeks. Surprisingly, Denver has the 28th ranked run defense. That’s where DeMarco comes in. With his turf toe injury completely healed after a Week 13 bye week, Murray is looking to be the centerpiece in the gameplan. It’s a home game, and a full week to plan for the defending Super Bowl 50 champions could pay off here. He is discounted this week to $7,900 because of the stiff competition, so don’t be an afraid to play the contrarian and stash him in your lineup this week. And that’s coming from a diehard Broncos fan too!
Jeremy Hill @ CLE, $6,900
It’s time for the “Stack of the Week” and that honor belongs to one Jeremy Hill and Andy Dalton together for Week 14. Why? Because it’s the Browns they are facing. Even though Hill has been abysmal rushing with 1.4 YPC last week, he is still able to get over 20 carries per game and usually gets you one or two touchdowns. There is the talk of Rex Burkhead getting more carries and has earned that extra time on the field, but I feel this week is make or break for Jeremy Hill. If he can’t get the job done against the struggling and injured Browns defense, then he’s probably going to be reduced to a goal-line back, while Burkhead takes over the lead role. Let’s hope Hill can take advantage of his great opportunity in this matchup and goes off.
Thomas Rawls @ GB, $6,500
Rawls left the game early due to concerns about a possible concussion but eventually was able to finish the game. He did the majority of his work in the first half, collecting 103 yards thanks in part to touchdown runs of 8 and 45 yards. He showed insane lateral mobility and seems to be back to 100% from the injuries that have bothered him all season long, as he reached the 100-yard mark for the first time. Rawls’ huge game paralleled with an excellent performance from the offense as a whole unit, and his ability to do damage on the ground will be a big time factor for the Seahawks moving forward. While the Packers rank 9th overall against the rush, they have not been as dominant as of late against running backs as the stat line would show. For a great price here, Rawls is a must start in my opinion.
Wide Receivers
Mike Evans vs NO, $8,900
This beast of a man is in for the ideal matchup of his career as he gets to take on the 31st ranked passing defense of the New Orleans Saints. Yes, there will be a lot of your budget spent if you do decide to pair Evans with Winston this Sunday, but it may prove to be worth your investment as Mike Evans ranks 1st among WRs with 138 targets. Evans also ranks 2nd on the year in receiving TDs among wideouts with 10. Best believe Jameis is going to be looking for his guy to terrorize the Saints secondary and create mismatches all game long. The no-brainer choice, and well worth it folks.
Demaryius Thomas @ TEN, $6,900
This is DT’s first appearance on The Daily Dose this year but comes at the most opportune time as Thomas get quite a juicy matchup against the Titans’ 26th ranked pass defense. This has been a quiet year for Thomas’ standards and what he’s able to produce, but he is consistent. Both Trevor Siemian and the rookie Paxton Lynch depend on him heavily. For the 11th straight game, DT has collected at least 5 catches. He is currently at 799 receiving yards and is in jeopardy of not passing the 1,000 yards receiving marker which would be the first time since having Tim Tebow as the starting QB for the Broncos. The looks are there every week, and Demaryius towers over the Titans secondary. The discount is pretty sweet too, as $6,900 is bargain bin pricing for such an elite receiver as Thomas is.
Taylor Gabriel @ LA, $5,400
Who’s ready for the hottest of takes for this week?! Here he is in all of his glory, Mr. Taylor Gabriel. Let’s break it down on why he is an excellent choice for Week 14. During the last five games, Gabriel has served as a clear second choice in the passing attack to Julio Jones, going past 50 receiving yards four times and scoring five total touchdowns so far for the season. Overall, Gabriel has recorded 18 receptions on 24 targets for 315 yards receiving and three rushes for 51 yards during that time span. Because Mohamed Sanu is trending toward not playing this week and Julio Jones is tending to a turf toe injury, Gabriel may be the safest bet to score against a Rams defense that has allowed 171.8 yards receiving per game and 14 touchdowns to wideouts in 2016. Also, he is a super cheap option at $5,400, and would a make a great complimentary play to the stud wideouts like a Mike Evans, Dez Bryant, or an Antonio Brown.
Tight Ends
Time to get the all-purpose cleaner out, the cleaning gloves, and a mask on as we once again get to look at all the nice “barfy” Tight Ends, and try to pull 3 of them that will not be as stinky and can help compliment these other positions to help secure our wallets stay padded thanks to winning some cash prizes. Let’s see who we can polish up and get ready to help us out.
Tyler Eifert @ CLE, $6,700
You know why this pick is happening, we don’t have to continue stating the obvious reason for this week. So let’s look at some pointers and help with padding on why Tyler Eifert would be an excellent choice to help you in Week 14. Eifert experienced quite the drop in usage in a difficult matchup last week, but he was able to salvage his day from a fantasy perspective with a diving 13-yard touchdown grab in the 2nd quarter. He should be one of the more active pass catchers for the Bengals to go along with Brandon LaFell until A.J. Green returns to action, but Tyler Eifert’s value is derived from his red-zone usage, as was the case last week for sure. With three trips to the end zone under his belt in six games since returning from injury, he will be presented with a great matchup against the Browns who like we said, needs to be picked on each and every week to ensure we grab all of the FanDuel points possible.
Ladarius Green @ BUF, $5,800
Ladarius Green had a season-high six receptions on 11 targets for 110 yards and a touchdown in Sunday’s 24-14 win over the New York Giants. Head coach Mike Tomlin recently talked about Green having an increased role within the offense, and that came to fruition Sunday, as the very fast tight end by far had his best game as a Steeler. He’ll look to keep it going this week in Buffalo as his opportunities will continue to grow now that he is completely healthy and ready to contribute full-time. And for the discount compared to Eifert, you could easily sneak him in and even help with GPP tournament plays as well.
Cameron Brate vs NO, $5,600
The emerging supernova tight end posted his highest yardage total on the season, while also scoring for the fourth time in the last six games. His 12-yard scoring grab early in the fourth quarter proved to be the difference-maker in the game, and it solidified Brate’s role as one of Jameis Winston’s most trusted targets. With the discussion of no Adam Humphries or Cecil Shorts now, Brate could once again be the most important pass catcher behind Mike Evans in a game that could turn into a high-scoring battle. With the price, it’s easy to possibly stack all 3 Tampa Bay players and hope the bonanza proves to be true, and in turn helping you collect a pretty payday.
Defenses
With the main focus being on the players you submit into your lineups, we do need to make sure each defense we pick can stay consistent and either hold the 10 point value that it begins with, or try to add to that to give us the security we need to solidify a victory and rank high on the FanDuel boards. Let’s go with these 3 choices with ideal matchups overall and should be solid for Week 14.
Cincinnati Bengals @ CLE, $5,000
Denver Broncos @ TEN, $4,900
Houston Texans @ IND, $4,700
Be sure to stop by next week as we will have all new picks for Week 15! Remember to catch all of Episode # of The Fantasy Footballers Podcast. Thanks, and see all of you awesome DFS fans next week!
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