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 QBs and WRs on both FanDuel and DraftKings for Sunday and Monday. Finally, in the next article, the topic will center on RBs and TEs.
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 QUARTERBACKS
Aaron Rodgers (Primarily GPP; FD: $9600, DK: $8400). Rodgers is a quality quarterback on a team that is capable of scoring 30+ points on any given Sunday. This week, they travel to Miami to play the Dolphins, who are coming off a bye week and should be well-prepared for the Packers; Green Bay is giving up a lot of yardage on the year, so if the Dolphins capitalize, this game could turn into a shootout...which would make Rodgers a good GPP play because he will have low ownership at this hefty salary.
Nick Foles (Primarily GPP; FD: $8100, DK: $6800). The NY Giants are yielding 265 passing yards per game and they made Kirk Cousins look like Peyton Manning just a few weeks ago; the Giants will have their hands full against Nick Foles and the Eagles on Sunday Night Football because the Eagles can score in so many different ways. Likewise, the Eagles can give up points in so many different ways...this game will be all over 'Tips & Picks' this week because of the amount of scoring that is likely to occur. Everybody else will be on Eli, so Foles is the sneaky GPP play.
Tom Brady (GPP only; FD: $7900, DK: $6000). The Patriots have been an offensive disappointment this year, for sure, but do not count Tom Brady out just yet. Rob Gronkowski is finally healthy, as evidenced by his season-high number of snaps last week, and his return, alone, upgrades Tom Brady several notches. Brady's opponent, the Buffalo Bills, are stout against the run (2nd in the NFL), but are weak against the pass (20th in the NFL), which suggests that Brady will have to air it out to win this game in Buffalo; given his terrible season thus far, he will be less than 5% owned across all sites.
Blake Bortles (GPP only; FD: $6400, DK: $5700). Bortles is the bargain GPP play of the week at the QB position; at ~ $6K, he needs only to score 18+ points to reach value for GPP purposes, which is entirely possible against a Titans team that yielded nearly 300 yards and 3 touchdowns to Brian Hoyer a week ago. The Jags are reeling at the running back position, but Bortles has been reliable, completing 67% of his passes. If the Jags score points on Sunday, they will likely come through the affordable Bortles, who will make your GPP roster very unique.
CASH GAME QUARTERBACKS
Peyton Manning (Cash and GPP format; FD: $10,200, DK: $9400). In this column last week, I recommended Peyton Manning and said that I thought he would throw for 300 yards and 3 touchdowns--I was wrong...he threw for 476 yards and 4 touchdowns! He should be in store for another solid week against a Jets team that has a solid run defense, but is very weak in their secondary; with Montee Ball out, there is no need to lean too heavily on Ronnie Hillman to do much against that Jets' front seven, so we can fully expect Peyton to throw the ball 35 times. Peyton is model of consistency and should be given serious consideration for your cash game lineups for that very reason.
Matt Ryan (Cash and GPP format; FD: $8700, DK: $8600). Matty Ice is a different player in the Georgia Dome--his QB rating at home is 142.2 versus 72.8 when he is away from home. Against the Charles Tillman-less Bears, who have given up at least 20 points every game this season, Ryan should be able to throw at will to Julio Jones and Roddy White. Vegas projects this game as the highest-scoring game in the NFL this week, which means that there should be plenty of fantasy points for all involved.
Jay Cutler (Cash and GPP format; FD: $8500, DK: $8000). Cutler gets a sweet matchup against the poor Falcons' defense, who are rated 23rd against the pass and 28th against the run. Sure, Matt Forte will get his share of carries, but Forte should also catch 8 passes out of the backfield, which should pad Cutler's stats; with Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery finally getting healthy, Cutler could be in store for his biggest game of the year.
Eli Manning (Cash and GPP format; FD: $7200, DK: $7800). The Philadelphia Eagles have been kind to opposing quarterbacks; they have given up multiple passing touchdowns in every game this season to quarterbacks with far less weapons than Eli Manning (think Chad Henne and Austin Davis). Meanwhile, Eli finally looks like he is acclimating to his new offense, as he has thrown for 8 touchdowns and only 1 interception over his past three games. In a prime time battle between NFC East foes, look for these offenses to trade blows and Eli's salary (particularly on FanDuel) makes him very attractive for all daily games this weekend.
GPP WIDE RECEIVERS
Wes Welker (Primarily GPP; FD: $6800, DK: $5600). Peyton Manning got Demaryius Thomas involved last week, which was long overdue; meanwhile, Wes Welker has not caught a TD pass in 2014, despite receiving 9 targets in each of his two games. Welker always tends to be overshadowed by the Thomas' in Denver, but he was a big redzone target in 2013 and will continue to be so this year. Peyton has a tendency to go to his receivers in batches, which might mean that Welker's turn is this week against the porous Jets' secondary.
Antonio Brown (Primarily GPP; FD: $8900, DK: $7900) Brown could very well be a cash-game play this week, but I worry slightly about this game turning into a blowout where the passing game is not needed for four quarters. Ordinarily, Joe Haden covers Brown, which might make a person weary about rostering Brown in daily format, but Brown has owned Haden in their faceoffs; this week, Haden is questionable with a hip ailment, which could mean that Justin Gilbert would (try to) cover Brown--if that occurs, Brown could be in store for a monster day.
Brandon Marshall (Primarily GPP; FD: $7900, DK: $6300). Marshall is another guy who could be in the cash game category this week, if only we knew his true health status. Word coming out of Chicago now is that BMarsh's ankle injury was worse than originally reported and that he probably should have missed ~ 4 weeks to allow it to heal; instead, he toughed it out and his fantasy production suffered. If Marshall is finally healthy, as the media is reporting, he could finish the day with a 8-120-2 stat line against that dreadful Falcons' defense.
Roddy White (Primarily GPP; FD: $7200, DK: $4800). Julio Jones will be getting all the attention in the Bears' secondary and in daily circles on Sunday, which means that you should give serious consideration to Roddy White for your GPP lineups. Against the Vikings just two weeks ago, Roddy White received 14 targets, but only managed to catch 4 of them for 73 yards and a touchdown; if he gets similar action against the Bears in this barn-burner, White could be in store for a big, big fantasy day and nobody will have him because everybody is on the other receiver on that squad.
Mohamed Sanu (Primarily GPP; FD: $6000, DK: $5300). Now that AJ Green has been ruled 'out' from an injury sustained in practice earlier this week, Sanu is a borderlilne cash game play simply because he is the only viable option in the Bengals' passing game (Brandon Tate will start opposite Sanu). Over the past two weeks, Sanu has received 8 and 9 targets, respectively, and that was with AJ Green playing; thus, Sanu should see 10+ targets and could be in store for a touchdown against a Panthers' defense that has yielded 10 passing scores through their first five games.
CASH GAME WIDE RECEIVERS
Julio Jones (Cash & GPP format; FD: $9000, DK: $8400). Julio Jones is Roddy White on steroids in the daily world; Julio is averaging 5 more targets per game than Roddy and has 150% more receptions. Because of this, Jones' asking price is creeping to the upper echelon of WR salaries, but, given the juicy matchup, there is absolutely no reason that he cannot finish this game with 8 catches for 100+ yards and a TD, which would pay off that high salary.
Alshon Jeffery (Cash & GPP format; FD: $7700, DK: $6500). Ordinarily, Brandon Marshall is the player you want to roster for cash games of the Bears' receiving corps, but Jeffery appears to be the healthier receiver at the moment. Jeffery should see Robert Alford in coverage, who is allowing opposing quarterbacks to rate out at 114.0 against him (he has also given up 4 touchdowns in coverage thus far). With the high-scoring nature of this game, Jeffery's salary is reasonable for his expected fantasy return.
Golden Tate (Cash & GPP format; FD: $6400, DK: $6300). With Calvin Johnson hobbled, Golden Tate is averaging 10 targets and 100+ receiving yards per game; this week, Johnson is listed as doubtful, which means we can fire up Tate for our daily games, particularly because his salary is more than fair for his expected output. Against the Vikings, Tate may not have the easiest of times (Minny is 11th in the NFL against the pass), but his sheer volume almost necessitates him reaching value in cash game format.
Rueben Randle (Cash & GPP format; FD: $5900, DK: $4600). Rueben Randle is my favorite daily wide receiver this weekend. His price seems too cheap on both sites for a guy who has gotten three consecutive 10-target games, particularly given the matchup against the Eagles, who are practically giving away passing touchdowns on the year. One more thing: Who is the most targeted receiver in the NFL in the redzone in 2014? Rueben Randle.
Andrew Hawkins (Cash only; FD: $5300, DK: $4600). Andrew Hawkins is great cash game play this weekend against a Steelers' secondary that lost Ike Taylor a few weeks ago and has been struggling ever since. Hawkins is averaging over 10 targets per game and his salary remains depressed because he still has not managed to catch a TD pass; slotting him into your cash games gives you solid production at a low price and, more importantly, affords you the ability to upgrade your personnel at other positions. Roster him now because his price will jump after he scores his touchdown(s), which is/are coming soon.
