FanDuel Studs and Duds of Week 2
Welcome to the second 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 FanDuel 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. Not on FanDuel? Sign up with our special offer to get 5 free entries and try it out…
Expensive Studs
QB Cam Newton vs. SF, $9,000, 30.8 pts.
-353 passing yards, 4 passing touchdowns, 37 rush yards
Newton looked like his 2015 MVP self after having a field day in the Carolina Panthers’ first home game of the season. Throwing touchdowns to three different receivers, he utilized all parts of the offense. With running back Jonathan Stewart likely to miss a few weeks, there’s a good chance the team relies more on Newton’s arm. After a tough Week 3 matchup with the Minnesota Vikings, feel free to pay the price for Newton against the cake matchups of 3 straight NFC South teams.
WR DeAndre Hopkins vs KC, $8,000, 17.30 pts.
-7 receptions, 113 yards, 1 TD
Doesn’t matter who’s throwing him the ball, Hopkins seems to deliver week in and week out. Catching a touchdown for the second week in a row, he gained over 100 yards for the first time this season. Many were worried about the play of Osweiler and the added weapons around him but Hopkins has proved that he’s too talented not to get the ball to. He is someone who will quietly be worth the big bucks all year.
TE Greg Olsen vs SF, $7600, 20.7 pts.
-5 receptions, 122 receiving yards, 1 TD
Normally needing volume to put up the big numbers, Olsen benefitted from busted coverage and took a pass 78 yards to the house. He’s still one of the most reliable TEs in football. Many worried wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin would take away volume but these last two weeks show that there’s enough to go around. Olsen will have a high floor all year with a chance to explode like he did this week.
WR Julio Jones, $9300, 19.1 pts.
-5 receptions, 106 receiving yards, 1 TD
QB Carson Palmer, $8200, 24.32 pts.
-308 passing yards, 3 TDs
Value Studs
QB Matt Ryan vs OAK, $7,900, 28.8 pts.
-394 passing yards, 3 passing TDs
Who would have thought that after two weeks, Ryan would be the top-scoring fantasy quarterback? Shredding the Oakland Raider defense, Ryan continued to stay hot, finishing as the number 2 quarterback this week. Next week he travels to New Orleans on Monday night, a matchup known for a ridiculous amount of points. Use him with full confidence next week, but shy away from him for the following weeks as he has three tough matchups in a row.
WR Stefon Diggs vs GB, $6500, 28.7
-9 receptions, 182 receiving yards, 1 TD
The people who still didn’t know who Stefon Diggs was got to watch him put on a show Sunday Night in the inaugural game at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Leading the team with 11 targets, it’s clear that he and quarterback Sam Bradford already have chemistry. His small breakout last year will be nothing compared to his breakout this season. If Adrian Peterson misses any time, Diggs volume will only go up. Use him now as his price won’t stay cheap for long.
WR Kelvin Benjamin, $7500, 26.3 pts.
-7 receptions, 108 receiving yards, 2 TD
RB Melvin Gordon, $6600, 19.5 pts.
-3 receptions, 18 receiving yards, 102 rushing yards, 1 TD
RB LaGarrette Blount, $6000, 18.3 pts.
-123 rushing yards, 1 TD
RB DeMarco Murray, $7400, 18 pts.
-7 receptions, 56 receiving yards, 89 rushing yards
Super Bargain Studs
RB Isaiah Crowell vs BAL, $5,800, 21.3 pts.
-133 rushing yards, 13 receiving yards, 1 TD
Bursting through the defense, Crowell gained 85 of his 133 yards on a touchdown run in the first quarter. Owners were expecting an even bigger day as he gained just 47 yards on his next 17 carries but nonetheless were happy with the bargain play. With quarterback Josh McCown on the shelf for multiple weeks, it’s hard to see this offense being able to move the ball as well as they have.
RB Giovani Bernard vs PIT, $5,500, 20.2 pts
-9 receptions, 100 receiving yards, 17 rushing yards, 1 TD
After being almost irrelevant in Week 1 against the New York Jets, Bernard shined as the game script was in his favor. Between playing from behind and the inability to get wide receiver A.J. Green involved, the team had no choice to feed Bernard with dump-off passes. He had a team-high 11 targets and had the teams’ only touchdown. When the team is projected to play catch up all game, Bernard could be a sneaky play in daily games.
TE Martellus Bennett vs MIA, $5500, 19.9 pts.
-5 receptions, 114 receiving yards, 1 TD
Adding 100 yards and a touchdown to his Week 1 total of 14 receiving yards, Bennett broke out and became an important part of the offense as many thought he would. The former Chicago Bear was extremely efficient with his targets, catching 5 of only 6. Now that the New England Patriots are in quarterback limbo, it’s tough to trust Bennett until Tom Brady returns.
WR Travis Benjamin, $6100, 26.4 pts.
-6 receptions, 115 receiving yards, 2 TD
WR Mike Wallace, $6100, 18.1 pts.
–4 receptions, 41 receiving yards, 2 TD
Duds
RB Todd Gurley vs SEA, $8400, 7.5 pts.
-51 rushing yards, 1 receptions, 19 receiving yards
Unlike the next two featured in this section, I am actually worried about Gurley moving forward. For the second week in a row, he’s yet to achieve more than 2.8 YPC. He rushed for 47 yards Week 1, and just 51 yards Week 2. This offense is looking horrific. Stay far away from Gurley in any daily format until he seems to turn it around.
WR A.J. Green v PIT, $8900, 4.8 pts.
-2 receptions, 38 receiving yards
It seems like the Pittsburgh Steelers had one thing in mind on Sunday, and that was they weren’t going to let A.J. Green beat them. They sure met that goal after effectively shutting down the star wide receiver all game. Whether it was double coverage or safety help, the team threw everything they had at Green. He has a tough matchup next week, but Green should bounce back and have a stellar season.
WR Antonio Brown vs CIN, $9200, 5.9 pts.
-3 receptions, 32 receiving yards
As soon as I say “Never hesitate to put Brown into your lineup,” he goes and drops a stinker. Much like the Pittsburgh Steelers wanted to stop A.J. Green, the Cincinnati Bengals weren’t going to let Brown run wild either. Held to just 3 receptions, this is easily one of Brown’s worst games in recent memory. This will definitely be an outlier on his season, he should be back to form next week.
QB Andrew Luck, $8500, 11.1 pts.
-197 passing yards, 22 rushing yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
RB Adrian Peterson, $8200, 3.6 pts.
–1 reception, 7 receiving yards, 19 rushing yards
QB Eli Manning, $8100, 12.3 pts.
-368 passing yards, 1 fumble
The new prices are already out for Week 3!
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