The Daily Dose: Week 6 FanDuel Starts
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Welcome to the Week 6 edition of The Daily Dose: FanDuel Starts of The Week. Every Friday on The Fantasy Footballers Podcast, the guys welcome Chris Meaney from the FNTSY Sports Network to deliver his top DFS picks of the week. Here I’ll summarize Chris’ picks and give you some bonus picks of my own. You can follow Chris on Twitter @chrismeaney and myself @brandontsanders. Don’t miss all of Episode #286 , and you can also jump straight to The Daily Dose segment on YouTube.
Quarterbacks
This week Chris really points out that in Week 6, sticking to your guns and paying up for a big time QB is worth it and could pay off big this week. We take a look at 5 big names in the NFL at the passing position for options.
Tom Brady vs CIN, $9,000
Tom Brady had a superior “welcome back” party last week against the Cleveland Browns going for 4 touchdowns, the majority of those going to Martellus Bennett. He has a much harder opponent in the Bengals this week, but that shouldn’t stop Brady from putting on another clinic and continue to be in playoff form much earlier that anticipated. Worth the budget amount you’ll drop on him in Week 6 for sure!
Drew Brees vs CAR, $8,500
The Carolina Panthers are struggling in their secondary. The clear mistake of letting Josh Norman walk in the offseason and the rotating door of rookies trying to fill the void has proven to be kryptonite for their defense. Enter the gunslinger Drew Brees who at home plays lights out, and can easily drop 300 yards when playing in the big dome. Brees has so many targets to pass to and now even has a very crafty Fullback in veteran John Kuhn. Pay up big and let Drew Brees “do his thing”.
Russell Wilson vs ATL, $8,400
A very sneaky tourney play, but a solid choice at the same time is a fully healthy Russell Wilson coming out of a bye week. With the connection to Jimmy Graham in full swing the past few weeks, and the “Woke One” himself Christine Michael holding down the fort well in the backfield with the absence of Thomas Rawls, Wilson could look to his receivers in Doug Baldwin and Tyler Lockett for some help in the passing game this weekend against Atlanta who has gotten better, but still ranks high as worst pass defenses in the league.
Blake Bortles @ CHI, $7,800
Blake Bortles has a great matchup this weekend yet again as the Jaguars travel to Chicago to take on the Bears. A game that could be “bonanza” potential and a shootout, Bortles always seems to have those one or two interceptions. The great thing is he puts up so many yards in passing and running the football, and can usually find either Allen Robinson or Allen Hurns for a couple TDs that you really can’t afford not to play Bortles. Chicago is coming along with their defense but still has a lot to prove, and Chris believes Blake is going to get it done and use those weaknesses to line your pockets this weekend.
Carson Wentz @ WAS, $6,700
A very good option for your budget this week is the rookie Carson Wentz. He has a killer matchup against the Redskins that will not be playing Josh Norman this week due to injury. Wentz has been impressive and calm in the pocket in his inaugural year as the play caller for the Eagles. He has also built up quite the chemistry with Jordan Matthews and Zach Ertz, as well as toss some passes to Darren Sproles who continues to be lightning fast and get the football down the field quickly. Look for Wentz and the Eagles to bully around the home team this weekend and for Wentz to be a great budget play as well.
Running Backs
We got a pretty good spread this week from Chris who has some very consistent and safe RB plays, as well as some solid choices for GPP PPR. Here are 6 choices he gives to get in your lineups in Week 6.
DeMarco Murray vs CLE, $8,800
We are seeing a bit more of the dominant DeMarco Murray that we saw in his career season with the Cowboys. Already for the year, Murray has accumulated 461 rushing yards, 24 receptions, 3 touchdowns, and 5.0 yards per carry. He continues to trend up with the lion share of the carries to the point the Tennessee Titans may need to rename themselves to the “Tennessee DeMarco Murray’s” here shortly. He plays the 0-5 Browns this week, so paying up in the budget for Murray is a very safe bet he will rack up those numbers for you and assure you a leg up in the RB department.
Lamar Miller vs IND, $7,900
We all thought by this point that Lamar Miller would be the Number 1 RB in fantasy by now and have some of the biggest stat lines we have seen in recent history when it comes to fantasy football. Though he hasn’t been terrible at all and still averages 3.7 yards per carry, he just hasn’t had that breakout game yet. This could be the week as he faces the Mash unit of the Indianapolis Colts, who honestly has a hard time stopping any offense in the league right now. If Miller can make the comeback and turn it around, we think it has to be this week to get that ball rolling. He is also not as high for pricing this week and also considered contrarian since everyone is still down on Lamar for the mediocre performance so far in 2016.
Jamaal Charles @ OAK, $7,100
What we are hearing out of the Chiefs camp is Jamaal Charles is 110% and revving up and ready to go this weekend. If this is the case then they will get him out there early and often prove that statement and to see what he can do. The Kansas City Chiefs needs a big win coming out of the bye week and they face the Oakland Raiders who are 4-1, however barely scraped by the past 3 games to get that record. If anyone could torch the Raiders on the ground game it would be Charles. At $7,100, it’s a great price tag and good opportunity even in GPP play considering he’s been out with an injury the first of the season.
Mark Ingram vs CAR, $6,700
Right before the bye week, Mark Ingram caught his first TD for the season. They keyword there is “caught”. Seems as John Kuhn was sniping away all the running TDs from Ingram, Mark was very much involved in the passing game which is fantastic for FanDuel scoring. He continues to do well averaging 4.1 yards a carry and has a total of 54 attempts at rushing so far this season. Carolina can’t stop much of the passing game, so if they shut Ingram down running, he’s still a viable threat out of the backfield and can help you out this week. The $6,700 price tag is also very tempting for you to snatch him up on your roster.
Ryan Mathews @ WAS, $6,500
Even though the Eagles have said they plan on using the majority of their RBs during the course of the game, Ryan Mathews is still getting the majority of those opportunities. Yes, he hasn’t scored a TD since he went off for 2 of them against the Bears on 9/19 of this year, but he got 11 carries last week, and the week he did score those 2 TDs, he only had 9 carries against Chicago. At this price point and the juicy matchup ahead against the Redskins, it’s hard to ignore that Ryan Mathews is a very crafty play this weekend and could pay off for you on the cheap.
James White vs CIN, $5,700
With Tom Brady back under center, the value of all the pass catchers in New England has skyrocketed. One of those being the very shifty and quick pass catching back in James White. Even though news of Dion Lewis possibly being ready to go in the next couple weeks is a concern for James White, that doesn’t stop him from making an impact this week against a suspect Bengals team that is having a hard time stopping the passing game. At a very low price, having James White can also mean you can pay up for the safe and big names this week as well.
Wide Receivers
It seems each week we always have so many tasty selections at Wide Receiver mainly because we always seem to find incredibly awesome matchups and advantages. This week Mr. Meaney wants you to take advantage of those and expose them to make sure everyone is winning some money this week. So let’s see who has the best opportunity of ahead of them.
Allen Robinson @ CHI, $8,600
He is the second highest priced WR this week for FanDuel, but don’t let that get in your way. The Jaguars are back to air it out yet again and Bortles has been locked onto Allen Robinson near the end zone the past few weeks. In London, he found Robinson for a TD, and the week before found his there for 2 more touchdowns. Needless to say, the connection is still very much alive in Jacksonville, and Robinson should be played in all formats.
Kelvin Benjamin @ NO, $7,800
Alright, we get it Chris, you have a big time fantasy man crush on KB. But I see why he’s picking Benjamin this week. They are playing the Saints in what we think is the game of the week and a high potential for “bonanza” and both teams just letting the points add up, especially since both defenses are lacking. A bounceback week seems to be in the works for Kelvin as Cam Newton returns to the lineup, and will look for KB and Greg Olson to get the ball down the field quickly.
Doug Baldwin vs ATL, $7,600
The Falcons are heading to a very tough environment and they face the Seattle Seahawks and their 12th man of the crowd. Even though the Atlanta secondary had a good showing last week against the Denver Broncos, that doesn’t mean they are elite just yet. They still have given up a ton of fantasy points to opposing teams over the 5-week span. Doug Baldwin is the clear WR1 in Seattle, and with a healthy Russell Wilson who can now get out of the pocket faster and extend plays, he could easily find Baldwin ready down the field for a big strike. At a bit more of a discount compared to the other two receivers listed so far, he is a very safe play this week.
All 3 of the New Orleans Saints WRs vs CAR:
Brandin Cooks, $7,500, Willie Snead, $7,000, Michael Thomas, $5,400
All of these guys have a huge opportunity this week to really show up and show off. Brandin Cooks and Willie Snead obviously will need to be paid up for, but a great tourney or big cash game play is Michael Thomas, the rookie from Ohio State. If targeted like he has been, for $5,400, you could really stand out against your opponents in trying to win the big money or prize pools. All of these guys would be a fantastic start in Week 6.
Kamar Aiken @ NYG, $5,700
With Steve Smith Sr out with an injury for Week 6, the former WR1 in 2o15 for the Ravens is ready to take the helm once again against a Giants team that hasn’t seemed to find their identity yet on defense. Aiken had 944 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns just last season. Seems like a lifetime ago and a lot of people have forgotten what Kamar is capable of. Use that to your advantage in all formats for this week. He is also a very nice cheap play if you wanna pay up higher at the QB position.
Chris Hogan vs CIN, $5,600
Just like what we discussed with James White, all passing targets have moved up the ranks with Tom Brady returning to action. Chris Hogan has benefitted probably the most as he is the true outside wide receiver on the team and with his nickname being “Seven Eleven” because he’s always open. He went off just last week for 114 yards. Look for that trend to continue. Oh, by the way, he’s $100 dollars cheaper than Kamar Aiken. If you pair these two, you can really stack a lineup around the QB and RB positions this week.
Tight Ends
Alright, another week of sludging through the “blah” position of 2016 in the Tight Ends. Chris Meaney wanted us to focus on one game in particular for the TE spot that could pay off and find some gems for this week.
Zach Ertz @ WAS, $5,400
It seems as though the Washington Redskins are trending in a way where TEs just seem to find a way to put up yardage against them. Just last week the Ravens were able to get 87 yards receiving and a TD against the Redskins defense when it comes to the TE position. In Week 2, the Cowboys were also able to get 80 yards against the Redskins defense at TE. Zach Ertz is a very talented player and could prove to be the x-factor in this game and really show up big. He is one of the higher priced TEs this week for FanDuel but may be worth it against these Redskins.
Niles Paul vs PHI, $4,500
On the other side of the coin is this game, we have a big time opportunity for Niles Paul, who’s name was a big more known a few years ago before Rule 86 Jordan Reed took over the show there in the nation’s capital. With it being possible that Reed might not be able to play, Niles Paul has a chance to resurface as a big time production player for Captain Kirk Cousins. With the bare minimum price tag for Paul, this is a very awesome play for GPP this week!
Defenses
Since we don’t have our auto-picks this week in Minnesota being on a bye week, and Denver already played in the Thursday night game, we have to find some new options. Chris thinks these two teams can prove to be an asset for you and do well against their opponents.
Pittsburgh Steelers @ MIA, $4,800
Tennessee Titans vs CLE, $4,700
Brandon’s Picks
Continuing on with Week 6, and having 5 weeks to look at how each team is starting to play and the trends that come along with it, let’s see if we can use that to our advantage this week and pick out some more solid choices to help you win some money to put back in your pockets this weekend.
QB: Brian Hoyer vs JAX, $7,000
Really loving this matchup between the two teams, and especially excited to see Brian Hoyer find these new guys like Cameron Meredith, and the veterans like Eddie Royal stepping up in the absence of Kevin White on IR and Alshon Jeffery still struggling with injuries. If Hoyer keeps this up, it’s his team to run, likely ending the Jay Cutler show in Chicago. Look for Hoyer to do well against a Jacksonville team still trying to mesh with one another this season.
RB: Christine Michael vs ATL, $7,400
Already with over 63 carries, with 290 yards on the ground and 2 touchdowns in 2016, Michael has stepped up in a big way in carrying the workload for the Seattle Seahawks. He is also very active in the passing game collecting over 12 receptions for this season as well. He has a great matchup versus the Atlanta Falcons, and we can rest assure he will be adding to these stats come Sunday.
WR: Davante Adams vs DAL, $5,400
It seems recently the “stinky cheese” Davante Adams isn’t very stinky at all. He’s been a target of Aaron Rodgers and now has back to back touchdowns in the past two games. That puts him at 3 TDs in 5 weeks. Not bad for a WR who fell off the face of the Earth last year when he was supposed to be so highly hyped. We may have been just a year off, but the threat of Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb being in the lineup has given Adams great opportunity to beat his coverage and be available for an end zone strike. This is why he’s my contrarian pick of the week and my choice to play in all GPP and tourney formats.
TE: Jesse James @ MIA, $5,400
My TE for the week is “The Outlaw” Jesse James who has been on a role the past couple of weeks grabbing a TD in both games against the Jets and the Chiefs. Last week he had his biggest production of averaging 7.2 yards per catch. I would stay in the flames and play James this week as it’s possible Ladarius Green may return the lineup before long, so it’s wise to get in on the action while it is still going on and take advantage of the matchup against the Miami Dolphins.
Defense: Buffalo Bills vs SF, $4,800
I agree with Chris this week, play it safe and stick to the best matchups. San Francisco is having to fly all the way east with a new QB starting in the controversial Colin Kaepernick. I believe this a no brainer here.
Be sure to stop by next week as we’ll have brand new picks for you in Week 7. Don’t forget to catch all of Episode #286 of The Fantasy Footballers Podcast. See you next week DFS fans!
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