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For the uninitiated, playing daily games on sites like FanDuel and DraftKings can be an enjoyable experience, but equally sobering is the fact that season-long knowledge does not always translate to success in the daily space.  FootballGuys will bring you a series of value- and strategic-based selections from a number of seasoned daily veterans throughout the NFL season.  Herein is another edition of “tipandpick’s Tips and Picks,” where we will examine the salaries of the RBs and TEs on both FanDuel and DraftKings for Sunday and Monday. 

Below you will find a list of recommended players for either GPPs or cash games (sometimes both).  GPP players generally have high-upside, but are too risky for cash games; cash game players are consistent with high fantasy floors.  In some instances, the value (based on salary) for a player is so strong, he may fall into both categories…let’s have a look.

GPP TIGHT ENDS

Travis Kelce (Primarily GPP; FD: $4900, DK: $3700).  If Kelce could just learn how to block, he would be on the cash game TE list every week; he is uber-talented, but lacks the ability to block, which limits his snaps.  When he is in the game, however, he becomes the best downfield receiver the Chiefs currently have on their roster.  Last week, he saw increased time over Week #1, which might indicate that Andy Reid recognizes that he has to get him more involved in the gamescript, particularly with Jamaal Charles ailing from a high ankle sprain.  If that upward trend continues, Kelce is the type of player that could win a GPP for you.

Dwayne Allen (GPP only; FD: $5200, DK: $4600).  Dwayne Allen gets the sweetest matchup of all tight ends this week when he lines up against the Jags.  Jacksonville has given up touchdowns to both Zach Ertz and Niles Paul in their first two games, indicating that they are unable to cover talented tight ends.  While Allen is not a high-volume target receiver, his large frame makes him a nice target in the endzone, which is something that the Colts generally lack.  Allen provides nice upside as a GPP selection this weekend.

Martellus Bennett (Primarily GPP; FD: $6000, DK: $5200).  Alshon Jeffery is still not right and Brandon Marshall hasn’t practiced all week; while both will likely play on Sunday, the only true healthy receiver on this squad is the “Black Unicorn.”  I recommended him here last week and he was targeted 8 times, connecting for 3 catches for 37 yards and a touchdown.  This week, the Bears get the Jets, who are good up front and terrible deeper in their defense; if Bennett can sneak behind those linebackers, he could be in store for a big day.

CASH GAME TIGHT ENDS

Greg Olsen (Cash format; FD: $6100, DK: $5600).  Olsen is leading the Panthers in targets this year and faces a Steelers squad that allowed two touchdowns to TE Owen Daniels last week.  Olsen is continually under-owned in daily format, is reasonably priced, and has a high enough floor for cash games to make him a serious consideration.

Jimmy Graham (Cash and GPP format; FD: $8400, DK: $8000).  Jimmy may stay in this section all season; he was here last week and rewarded you with 29 points on FanDuel and 37 points on DraftKings.  This week, his salary goes up a bit, which is a bit unnerving, but Graham is a WR, so he might just be worth it. 

Larry Donnell (Cash format; FD: $4900, DK: $4000).  Donnell has burst onto the scene this year and is leading the Giants in pass targets through the first two games.  Eli has looked nothing short of terrible thus far, but Donnell is a big target that is close enough to the line of scrimmage to gain Eli’s trust.  Until Eli can establish that he is willing to extend the field (he has only thrown 1 completion past 20 yards all season), it would appear that Donnell is Eli’s safety valve, making him an attractive option at a fair salary.

Niles Paul (GPP & Cash format; FD: $5000, DK: $5800).  It appears that Jordan Reed may miss this week’s game again, which would mean that Niles Paul becomes the beneficiary.  In a similar situation last week, Paul saw 11 targets and caught eight of them for 99 yards (and a touchdown); Kirk Cousins was looking to Paul early and often…there is no reason to believe that Paul will not be a priority target again this week in a game projected to have a fair degree of scoring.  Paul looks more attractive on FanDuel than DraftKings when considering their comparative salaries.

GPP RUNNING BACKS

Khiry Robinson (Primarily GPP; FD: $4700, DK: $3900) and Pierre Thomas (Primarily GPP; FD: $6300, DK: $4900).  Mark Ingram was looking good in the lead RB role for the Saints until he broke his hand last week and now will require 4 weeks to recuperate from that injury.  Khiry Robinson and Pierre Thomas look to benefit from that injury by sharing increased carries; Robinson will likely get the goalline touches and is the back that can carry the larger load, should Payton decide to give it to him.  As 14-point favorites, the Saints running backs may get a healthy dose of carries in the second half.  Edge to Robinson on FanDuel and Thomas on DraftKings.

Jeremy Hill (GPP Only; FD: $4900, DK: $4000).  Hue Jackson likes to run the ball.  Last week, he said he was going to try to get the ball into the LSU rookie Hill’s hand more often and he did—Hill finished the day with 15 carries for 74 yards and a touchdown (plus 2-22 receiving).  If that trend continues, Hill offers some nice upside in games where the Bengals are favored and the running game will be featured, as is the case this weekend against Tennessee.  The Titans gave up 220 yards rushing to the Cowboys last week, which is an indication of what Gio Bernard and Jeremy Hill could do this Sunday.

Jonathan Stewart (GPP only; FD: $5100, DK: $4000) OR DeAngelo Williams (GPP only; FD: $5700, DK: $3500).  I really want a piece of the Panthers running game against this porous Steeler front seven; Pittsburgh has the worst run defense in the league and could allow major fantasy points for one of these cheap running backs on Sunday night…but therein lies the problem:  Sunday night.  Williams is currently questionable for this weekend after missing last Sunday’s game with a hamstring injury; if he sits, you have to take a “0” on FanDuel, but you can switch to Stewart on DraftKings IF you leave enough excess salary to pay Stewart’s higher pricetag ($500).  Meanwhile, Mike Tolbert is waiting in the wings ready to vulture your touchdowns.  I list these guys here because either one of them could have huge nights and will be very low owned because of all this confusion…but that could be a huge difference-maker in GPP’s, particularly because they are so inexpensive.  Roster at your own risk.

Rashad Jennings (Primarily GPP format; FD: $6400, DK: $5400).  Sometimes you have to trust what the statistics are telling you; in this case, I was surprised to see that Houston’s defense is giving up nearly 6 yards per carry through the first two games…and their opponents were Washington and Oakland, neither of which boasts a powerhouse running back.  With Eli Manning’s struggles, Tom Coughlin may elect to give the ball to Jennings 20+ times to gauge whether or not he can keep pace with the 6 yards per carry statistic—if he does, he easily reaches value and is likely not on a lot of your opponents’ rosters. 

CASH GAME RUNNING BACKS

DeMarco Murray (Cash & GPP format; FD: $8700, DK: $7900).  Murray has looked nothing short of spectacular in his first two games of the season.  He leads the league in rushing (285 yards) and gets a matchup against a Rams’ front seven that has been dreadful against the run, despite lofty expectations entering the season.  The Cowboys will look to involve Murray early and often in both phases of the game.  There is no reason to believe that he will not finish the day with 100 yards on the ground and a touchdown plus a few receptions for another 20+ yards.

Lesean McCoy (Cash & GPP format; FD: $9200, DK: $7800).  By Lesean McCoy standards, he has had a relatively quiet start to the season.  His yards per carry are down slightly, but his performance has been overshadowed because of the Eagles being forced to chase points in both of their games.  In Week #1, they had to lean heavily on the passing game to catch up to the Jags after trailing by two TD’s in the first half; last week, they trailed the Colts 20-6 deep into the third quarter before turning on the offense in the fourth quarter.  With Darren Sproles’ electric moves, it seems that some people have forgotten how good McCoy actually is…I have not forgotten and fully expect a big Sunday from McCoy this week.  His price on DraftKings is just too cheap.

Steven Ridley (Cash & GPP format; FD: $6200, DK: $4700).  Ridley is my favorite cash game play this week.  Barring an early fumble (and the consequent wrath of Belichick), Ridley should see a workload similar to what he saw last week in the blowout victory over the Vikings (25 carries).  If it’s possible, the Raiders have a worse running defense than the Vikings, so Ridley’s upside is immense and his floor would appear to be 80 yards rushing and a touchdown, which more than pays off his salary on both sites.  Book it.

Giovani Bernard (Cash format; FD: $8500, DK: $7300).  Bernard gets a repeat appearance in the ‘cash games’ section of this article again this week after he amassed ~ 25 points on both major sites last week.  Because of that performance, Bernard’s salary increases fairly dramatically on both sites, but he is seeing enough action in Hue Jackson’s offense to pay off that higher salary.  As was mentioned above in the Jeremy Hill blurb, the Titans’ run defense looked horrid last week against the Cowboys; if they run the same personnel and effort out there this week, Bernard should have another solid week.

For last-minute advice, player decisions, and injury news on Sunday morning, tune into the “NFL Gameday” webcast at 11:30 AM (EST) on RotoGrinders Live, where John “tipandpick” Lee, Al “Al_Smizzle” Zeidenfeld, and Dan “DB730” Back will analyze all NFL Week #1 games.   You can find the webcast at:  https://rotogrinders.com/live.  All other daily fantasy questions can be directed to John’s Twitter page at: https://twitter.com/tipandpick

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