FanDuel Studs and Duds of Week 10
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Welcome to the tenth edition of Studs & Duds! You may be familiar with The Fantasy Footballers’ Studs and Duds segment. This will take a closer look at who shined and who disappointed specifically in pricing and scoring the week before. If you’re new to DFS all together, read the The Beginner’s Guide To FanDuel DFS. First, we’ll take a look at the Expensive Studs; guys who were worth the big bucks. Second, the Value Studs; guys you got at a decent price, good value. Third, I’ll highlight the Super Bargain Studs; guys who were studs in a big way at little cost to you. Then, last and least, we’ll look at the Duds; guys who really disappointed relative to their cost.
All prices and point totals are from FanDuel.
Expensive Studs
RB Ezekiel Elliott vs PIT. $8900, 39.9 pts.
-2 receptions, 95 receiving yards, 114 rushing yards, 3 TD
Not matter how much you may hate the Dallas Cowboys, you have to admire what Elliot is doing. The rookie RB not only leads the league in rushing yards but became only the 3rd player in NFL history to rush for over 1,000 yards in his first 9 games. He’s the type of player that you tell all those youngsters that you were lucky enough to watch him as a rookie. As long as nothing comes out of his NFL investigation, he’s in consideration for my FanDuel lineup every single week. Pull the trigger on his $8700 salary this week against Baltimore.
QB Ben Roethlisberger vs DAL $7800, 28.4 pts.
-408 passing yards, 3 passing touchdowns
Roethlisberger did his best Dan Marino impression, scoring one of his touchdowns on a fake spike to Antonio Brown late in the fourth quarter. He seems to be recovered from his knee surgery and back to his old gunslinging self. He takes on the Cleveland Browns who are the third-worst fantasy defense against QBs so his hot streak should continue next week. At $8400, I’m looking to stack him with either Antonio Brown or Le’Veon Bell as the team should have a field day.
RB Le’Veon Bell vs DAL, $8100, 29.9 pts.
-9 receptions, 77 receiving yards, 57 rushing yards, 2 TD
If the connection between Big Ben and Antonio Brown is like butter melting on a freshly baked biscuit then Bell is the chocolate sauce slowly coating your ice cream. He seemed to be all over the place on Sunday, finding the end zone while lined up at WR and another on the ground. Bell isn’t putting up the mind blowing rushing yards like he was two years ago but the team is relying on him just as much. He’ll have a high ownership percentage in big tournaments as he should run wild all over Cleveland. I’m using him this week because his $9100 price tag ain’t no thang.
RB David Johnson vs SF, $9000, 24.6 pts.
-5 receptions, 46 receiving yards, 55 rushing yards, 2 TD
QB Aaron Rodgers vs TEN, $9000, 27.5 pts.
-371 passing yards, 27 rushing yards, 2 passing TD, 1 rushing TD, 2 INT
Value Studs
QB Russell Wilson vs NE, $7400, 26.52 pts.
-348 passing yards, 6 rushing yards, 3 passing TD
Why’d you have to play us like that, Russ? After an awful first half of the season, the resurgence of Wilson seems to be in full effect as he threw for 3 more touchdowns in Foxborough. The Seahawks haven’t had an RB rush for more than 70 yards since Week 2, so naturally, they’ve had to rely on Wilson’s arm more. Remember when he was the sit of the week all those weeks last year? Well, here is his fantasy scoring from Weeks 11-17: 31, 44, 39, 41, 31, 25, 26. We’ve seen him do it before but keep in mind that Philadelphia has only allowed 2 QBs to score more than 20 fantasy points all season. Won’t fault anyone for playing him at $7400 this week, I just love him a little more the week after against Tampa Bay.
RB LeGarrette Blount vs SEA, $6400, 24.9 pts.
-69 rushing yards, 3 TD
In every game the New England Patriots have scored at least 1 touchdown this season, do you know who’s scored in each of those games? LeGarrette freaking Blount. He ran for 3 more touchdowns on Sunday night, adding to his league-leading total of 12. Playing for arguably the best offense in football, the goal line opportunities aren’t going anywhere. Like most fantasy experts, I love, love, love Blount this weekend against San Francisco’s horrendous run defense. His $900 price jump shows that FanDuel knows we all love him too. Chances are he will be highly used in big tournaments but I’m getting him into at least one of my lineups.
WR Tyrell Williams vs MIA, $5900, 21 pts.
-5 receptions, 125 receiving yards, 1 TD
As I talked about last week with Michael Thomas, Williams is a guy that could provide high upside every week. He’s seemed to emerge as the Chargers number 1, leading the team in receptions, yards, and is tied for second in touchdowns. In his last four games not against Denver, he has 447 yards and 3 touchdowns, catching 23 of his 34 targets. His quarterback is also 3rd in the league in passing yards so the volume will continue to be there. After his Week 11 bye, the schedule becomes extremely favorable with matchups against Tampa Bay, Oakland, and Cleveland. I like Williams moving forward, especially if his price remains in the low $6000s.
WR Stefon Diggs vs WAS, $6700, 22,9 points
-13 receptions, 164 yards
WR Willie Snead vs DEN, $6400, 19.2 pts.
-5 receptions, 47 receiving yards, 2 TD
QB Marcus Mariota vs GB, $6400, 28.6 pts.
-295 passing yards, 8 rushing yards, 4 passing TD
Super Bargain Studs
RB Ryan Mathews vs ATL, $5500, 28.9 pts.
-2 receptions, 102 rushing yards, 30 receiving yards, 2 TD
Verified or not, this was the Mathews that Mike loved heading into the season. After multiple reports of Darren Sproles taking over, Mathews exploded for his best game of the season. His 19 carries were his highest since Week 1 and only second game over 15. Despite the bounce back performance, I can’t recommend him with any confidence at $5500 in Seattle but it gives us a week to see if the Eagles continue to stick with him.
RB C.J. Prosise vs NE, $4700, 18.8 pts.
-7 receptions, 87 yards, 66 rushing yards
It was safe to say that it was the Notre Dame product’s backfield on Sunday night against New England. Not only did he lead the team with 17 carries to Christine Michael’s 5, but he was second on the team with 7 targets, hauling in every single one. Prosise’s 3.8 yards per carry wasn’t stunning by any means but he looked great out of the backfield catching the ball. He has a tough matchup this week against PHI but if reports state that he’ll remain the starter it’ll be hard to pass him up at $4900 this week. It’s almost impossible to get an RB with 20 plus touches under $5000 but there’s a chance with Prosise.
DEF Miami Dolphins vs SD, $4500, 17 pts.
-24 points allowed, 4 INT, 1 TD, 3 sacks
Now, you might be thinking, “Defense? What is this guy thinking?” Well, what I’m thinking is the Dolphins defense could be a nice play the next few weeks. In their last 3 games, they’ve racked up 10 sacks, 6 INTs, and 1 TD . They take on either Case Keenum (ranked 32nd out of 32 qualified QBs in QBR) or rookie Jared Goff, followed by the 49ers. They get a small price jump at $4800 but could still be an under the radar play.
TE Cameron Brate vs CHI, $5400, 17.9 pts.
-7 receptions, 84 receiving yards, 1 TD
RB Bilal Powell vs LA, $5400, 18.4 pts.
-7 receptions, 52 receiving yards, 37 rushing yards, 1 TD
Duds
RB/WR Ty Montgomery vs TEN, $6200, 3 pts.
-2 receptions, 11 receiving yards, 9 rushing yards
Just when we started to get excited about Montgomery, Packers head coach Mike McCarthy had to come and ruin the party. It was the James Starks show on Sunday while Montgomery mostly watched from the sidelines. Starks out snapped, out carried, and out targeted Montgomery. You have to assume that if Starks is healthy, he’ll be the feature back due to familiarity with the team. Unfortunately, it’ll be hard to trust Montgomery moving forward and is extremely risky at $5200 against Washington this week.
RB Todd Gurley vs NYJ, $7000, 7.7 pts.
-1 reception, 8 receiving yards, 64 rushing yards
While scrolling through my Twitter on Sunday, Scott Barrett tweeted something that made me sad. “Todd Gurley has 155 carries and zero runs of 20 or more yards. Benny Cunningham has 14 carries and two runs of 20 or more yards.” Want more sad news? Gurley has yet to have 100 rushing yards in a game after 4 straight 100 yard games to start his career last year. His price continues to plummet coming in at $6700 this week. The Dolphins are middle of the road when it comes to run defense but the Rams are still one of the lowest scoring teams in the NFL.
QB Matt Ryan vs PHI, $8600, 12.7 pts.
-267 passing yards, 1 passing TD, 1 INT
Much like last week, this is your weekly “Don’t trip chocolate chip,” as Ryan should find his old self after the bye. As mentioned before, Eagles have been one of the best defenses against quarterbacks. Ryan has been fantastic this season, leading the league in yards and tied for the lead in touchdowns. After a tough matchup against the Arizona Cardinals in Week 12, I like him the rest of the way.
TE Jordan Reed vs MIN, $7000, 5.1 pts.
-2 receptions, 41 yards
TE Greg Olsen vs KC, $7200, 6.4 pts.
-5 receptions, 39 receiving yards
RB Carlos Hyde vs ARI, $6800, 1.4 pts.
-14 rushing yards
QB Tom Brady vs SEA, $8300, 11.3 pts.
-316 passing yards, 1 INT
WR Randall Cobb vs TEN, $6600, 5.1 pts
-4 receptions, 31 receiving yards
TE Rob Gronkowski vs SEA, $8000, 7.1 pts.
-3 reception, 56 receiving yards
The new prices are already out for Week 11!
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