Join the Footballguys Daily Update
Start your morning with our roundup of the most important stories in football - with the fantasy insight you need to make league-winning decisions. Delivered straight to your inbox, 100% free.
QUARTERBACKS
Drew Brees $9,200 - The Saints vs Cowboys game has the highest over/under total on the board at 53 points and the Saints are favored by 3 points. You want to consider rostering a few players from this game in your lineups and the safest options would be a Brees and Graham combo at QB/TE. The Cowboys have struggled all year with defending the pass and more importantly the TE position. This is one of the more obvious plays of the week and both Brees and Graham will likely be the highest percentage of owned players at their respective positions. You probably don't want to over think these two in cash games and playing it safe is the way to go.
Nick Foles $8,300 - Nick Foles has the most passing yards in the league through 3 weeks to go along with leading his team to a 3-0 record for the first time since 2004. The crazy part about Foles is that he hasn't been playing his best football yet but he still continues to pile up the stats. The Eagles can not get a running game going as their offensive line has been banged up and they have been forced to throw a lot more. The 49ers defense is not what it used to be and this game has potential to be another back and forth type that the Eagles are starting to get used to. Another added bonus is that Foles price continues to be in the middle of the field and he is easy to roster and build a solid lineup around.
Jay Cutler $8,100 - Just like the Eagles offense, the Bears also have lots of opportunities to succeed in the passing game. Jay Cutler has looked very good to start the 2014 season with 750 passing yards and a 8 to 2 touchdown to interception ratio. He has so many weapons in the passing game and can always look for his big options in the redzone with Marshall, Jeffery, and Bennett. He is also under priced at $8,100 and has the potential to be in a shoot out type of game against his division rivals the Packers.
Value Plays: Blake Bortles $6,500, Teddy Bridgewater $5,700
RUNNING BACKS
Le'Veon Bell $8,800 - The RB position looks very depleted this week with a lot of big names on bye or nursing injuries. Le'Veon Bell has been running extremly well to open the season averaging 5.9 yards per carry through 3 games. With the Steelers playing at home against a very bad Tampa Bay defense it would not be surprising to see them pound the ball with Bell 20+ times while also using him as an option in the passing game as he has 13 receptions for 146 additional yards this season. Bell is shaping up to be the safest option at the RB position this week but you will have to pay up to roster him on your team.
Matt Forte $8,600 - Forte has run the ball a modest 42 times for 136 yards to start the season but has added a little value with 19 receptions for 145 yards receiving. He has yet to find the endzone on the year and you would think that a divisional battle against the Packers would be just the cure for him as last year he torched the Packers carrying the ball 46 times for 235 rushing yards, 3 rushing touchdowns, 9 receptions, 101 receiving yards and 1 receiving touchdown. Don't over think Forte this weekend just because of his slow start to the season, the Bears are going to rely on him and feed him the ball often hoping for similar results to what he did last year against the Packers.
Donald Brown $6,300 - Although Brown may not of put up the biggest numbers with his heavy workload last week, it is safe to say he is in for bigger numbers this time around. Last week against the Bills he rushed 31 times for only 62 yards and caught another 5 passes for 27 yards. The biggest thing I take away from those numbers is that he touched the ball 36 total times in a single football game and now gets to do the same thing against a bad Jaguars run defense. He is a fantastic option at $6,300 to combo with a top tier RB such as Bell or Forte as mentioned above.
Value Plays: Darren McFadden $5,900, Khiry Robinson $4,900
WIDE RECEIVERS
Antonio Brown $8,400 - Brown has caught 22 passes for 296 yards and 3 touchdowns so far this season on 28 targets. Brown continues to be a top 5-10 WR range that often gets over looked by some of the bigger names at the WR position. a 7/100/1 statline seems like the normal for Brown these days and with a soft matchup against the Buccaneers who were just torched by Matt Ryan and Julio Jones you have to believe Brown is the safest WR on the board this weekend.
Jeremy Maclin $8,000 - Maclin is the only WR this year that has scored a touchdown in all 3 games to open up the season. He has been a favorite target of Nick Foles with 31 targets total and 16 receptions, 296 yards and 3 touchdowns. Maclin's price is now much higher at $8,000 and that alone could scare people off of playing him. In a big offensive matchup against the 49ers it seems as if Foles will be looking in Maclin's direction often once again and it is likely that he continues his success and finds the endzone for the 4th straight week.
Michael Crabtree $7,000 - I view Crabtree to do what Pierre Garcon did last week to the Eagles posting a 11/138/1 statline. The Eagles defense struggles at the LB position and Crabtree could take advantage of that with some quick throws and his great run after the catch ability. Crabtree is starting to get more involved in the 49ers offense and he himself caught 10 passes last week for 80 yards and a touchdown.
Brandin Cooks $6,200 - Cooks has showed a good chemistry with his all-star QB to open up his rookie season. There is going to be lots of room to work with on the field against the Cowboys defense and Brees will disect the defense and find the guy that is open and move the ball at will up and down the field. Cooks is a big part of that offense early in his career and with a potential high scoring game against the Cowboys he could be looking at 10+ targets.
Greg Jennings $5,400 - With rookie QB Teddy Bridgewater getting his first NFL start of his career, look for the Vikings to help him out with some basic play calling and relying on a veteran WR such as Jennings. Jennings is strictly a WR3 play but at a $5,400 price tag he is an intriguing risk/reward play. The Falcons secondary is not as good as what the Buccaneers made them out to be last week and with a home game and Bridgewater's first under center it makes you think that the Vikings will come out swinging in this game and actually put up some points. A cheap Bridgewater/Jennings combo might be worth a look in a GPP tournament.
Value Plays: Golden Tate $5,500, Torrey Smith $5,000
TIGHT ENDS
Jimmy Graham $8,200 - Graham is almost an automatic play for me based on price and matchup alone. He is the most valuable player in all of Fantasy Football in my opinion, as you can lock him in at the TE position and just move on to the other positions. We all saw what Delanie Walker did to the Cowboys two weeks ago, and one can only imagine what Graham will do this weekend. Get him into all your lineups and worry about the other positions.
Antonio Gates $5,800 - The TE Position is tough this week and there are not many options that you can trust after Graham. I would say just pay up for Graham and be done with the position and don't stress about finding any value at the position. That being said if you wanted to be different and try to swing for the fences at TE you might want to consider Gates at $5,800 against a Jaguars team that is not great against the covering the TE position.
Value Plays: Zach Ertz $5,600
KICKERS
Matt Bryant $5,200 - The Falcons showed that they still have one of the top offenses in the NFL last week as Matt Ryan moved his offense up and down the field at will against the Buccaneers. I expect a little more fight out of the Vikings this week and although Ryan will probably move the Falcons down the field the Vikings will counter and get them into some 4th down plays and force them to settle for a FG.
Shaun Suisham $4,900 - Suisham is priced under $5,000 and has a matchup against the Buccaneers who just gave the Falcons 56 points last week. Suisham should see at least 2-3 FG opportunities and hit his value very easily.
Value Play: Robbie Gould $4,600
DEFENSE
Carolina Panthers $5,600 - After the Steelers had their way with the Panthers last week, I see the Panthers defense getting back to their dominant self against a Ravens team that struggles on the offensive line and has little run game. I believe the Panthers shut down the run game completely and then only have to worry about Joe Flacco beating them with his arm. You have to like the Panthers odds in that matchup.
Value Plays: Detroit Lions $4,700
SUGGESTED ROSTER ($60,000) - Cash Games
- QB Drew Brees NO (at DAL) $9,200
- RB Le'Veon Bell PIT (vs TB) $8,800
- RB Matt Forte CHI (vs GB) $8,600
- WR Golden Tate DET (at NYJ) $5,500
- WR Greg Jennings MIN (vs ATL) $5,400
- WR Torrey Smith BAL (vs CAR) $5,000
- TE Jimmy Graham NO (at DAL) $8,200
- K Robbie Gould CHI (vs GB) $4,600
- D Detroit Lions (at NYJ) $4,700
