QUARTERBACKS
Peyton Manning $10,000 - 8 out of 11 games so far this year Manning has thrown for at least 3 touchdowns and in Week 2 against the Chiefs he also threw for 3 touchdowns. If you are looking for a near sure thing at QB to give you a 20+ fantasy performance this week it has to be Peyton Manning. He obviously comes with a huge price tag at $10,000 but that is actually cheaper than you could have got him all last season.
Drew Brees $9,000 - Brees seems to have took a step back from being considered in the same category as Manning, Rodgers, and Luck but when you look at his numbers so far this season he is still averaging over 300 passing yards a game to go along with 2 touchdowns. Over the past 5 games he has scored 3 touchdowns in 3 of those and has been playing desperate football as the Saints have been fighting for their playoff lives. They draw a tough matchup against a Steelers team that is coming off a bye and should have a good game plan ready but look for them to stop the Saints running game and allowing Brees and the passing game to have their shots down the field. If the Steelers happen to get an early lead it could be the Drew Brees air show in the second half.
Ryan Tannehill $8,600 - Tannehill seems a bit over priced at his $8,600 salary which puts him as the 6th highest priced QB on FanDuel this week. The thing is he might just be worth that price as he is coming off a 4 touchdown performance against the Broncos on the road and now gets a matchup against the Jets who arguable have one of the worst secondary's in all of football. With the high price it will also sway others away onto the bigger name QB's for just a few hundred dollars more and might give you a nice advantage with having a lower owned Tannehill for the Monday Night Prime Time game.
Value Plays: Ben Roethlisberger $8,300, Philip Rivers $7,900
RUNNING BACKS
Le'Veon Bell $9,200 - After his 33-carry, 204-yard rushing performance against the Titans in Week 11, it is hard to not vault Bell as the top RB in the league right up there with DeMarco Murray. To make things even better for Bell, this week he is coming off a bye week and should be well rested against a Saints defense who just played on Monday Night and got rolled over by Justin Forsett for 182 yards on the ground and 2 touchdowns. It will be hard to not pay up for Bell this week as he is easily the top RB option on the board and has his best rushing matchup of the season lined up against the Saints.
Rashad Jennings $7,100 - Jennings looks to be back on track after his injury that saw him miss 4 games. He has 507 rushing yards to go along with 2 touchdowns and 23 receptions for 185 additional receiving yards in the 7 games that he has been healthy this season. In a matchup against the Jaguars defense look for the Giants to use Jennings early and often and pound the ball between the tackles. At $7,100 Jennings makes for a very solid RB2 this week with borderline RB1 upside.
Justin Forsett $7,600 - Forsett was a monster last week for the Ravens as he torched the Saints for 182 yards and 2 touchdowns. The Ravens are playing classic hardnosed football relying on a solid run game and falling back on their defense. Don't look for things to change at all this week as they have a home matchup against the Chargers and will look to stick to what they do best and a 20+ carry day for Forsett is almost an afterthought.
Tre Mason $6,000 - Mason is a cheap option this week if you are looking to save a little money as he comes in with a nice home matchup against the Raiders and could be in for a heavier workload then what he has seen in previous games. Over the past 4 games he has seen 78 carries for 286 yards and has looked to be the main back in the offense and this is an offense that likes to rely on the running game. Look for him to approach 20 carries against the Raiders and maybe find the endzone for the second time this season.
Value Plays: Bishop Sankey $5,700
WIDE RECEIVERS
AJ Green $9,000 - Coming off a game where he was targeted 16 times and had 12 receptions for 121 yards you have to think Green is in a prime position to put up similar numbers against a Buccaneers defense that has been giving yards at will to opposing offenses all season. Green has a great shot at reaching the endzone also as he has only 4 touchdowns in 8 games played so far this season but has been very dominate over the past 2 games with a total statline of 18/248/1.
Mike Wallace $7,100 - If you are looking for a QB/WR stack this week I would have to suggest that the Tannehill/Wallace combo looks the best to me. Surprisingly Wallace now has 7 touchdowns on the season despite only catching 48 passes so far. Break that down and out of every 7 catches he makes one of those goes for a touchdown. Wallace might not give you the big yardage every game as he has yet to hit 100 yards receiving on the season but he is one of the best bets at WR to get into the endzone this week against a very bad New York Jets defense.
Rueben Randle $6,700 - With the recent explosion from fellow WR teammate Odell Beckham it might be hard to even look in Rueben Randle's direction at this point. Defenses are going to start double teaming Beckham and Randle is going to get some more open looks and is going to have to start stepping up and earning his keep. This week the matchup is a decent one against the Jaguars and with the fantasy community all over Odell Beckham Jr at this point a fade to Randle might be a sneaky play. Randle has been targeted 97 times for 53/557/2 statline on the season.
Steve Smith $6,400 - Smith found the endzone for the first time in 5 games last week against the Saints and will be at it again this week against the Chargers. On the season, old man Smith has produced a great statline of 53/817/5 on 90 targets. Look for Joe Flacco to continue to trust Smith and look in his direction often in a game which should be a close one and be somewhat of a back and forth grudge match.
Kenny Stills $5,100 - FanDuel dropped Stills price by $900 this week despite his breakout game of 8 receptions for 98 yards. At only $5,100 he is almost a must play this week as a WR3 type and provides a nice salary relief and comes with some good upside to easily double his value at salary and should be a lock to score at least 10 fantasy points.
Value Plays: Andre Johnson $6,300, Marques Colston $6,000, Pierre Garcon $5,800, Robert Woods $5,600
TIGHT ENDS
Jimmy Graham $7,500 - Graham is coming off a big game against the Ravens where he caught 6 passes for 47 yards and 2 touchdowns. With the Saints struggling to find ways to win this year, look for Brees to continue to feed the ball to Graham on third downs and in the redzone. It should be a back and forth type of offensive battle between the Saints and the Steelers.
Delanie Walker $5,700 - Walker is coming off his biggest yardage total with 155 against the Eagles in week 12. Walker was targeted 9 times and caught 5 passes for an average of 31 yards a catch. Walker is quietly having a top tier fantasy TE year with 43/667/4 statline.
Value Plays: Antonio Gates $5,600, Larry Donnell $5,500
KICKERS
Justin Tucker $5,000 - When it comes to picking a kicker, you always have to have Justin Tucker in the conversation as when given the chance he is money from no matter the distance. Tucker should have plenty of FG opportunities against the Chargers and he is at a decent price at just $5,000.
Value Play: Mike Nugent $5,000, Greg Zuerlein $4,800
DEFENSE
St. Louis Rams $5,200 - It is hard to sway away from the Rams defense squaring off against the Raiders this week. The Rams defensive line has been strong all season long despite the offense being up and down. If the Rams offense can get a lead in this game it could be the defense finally getting their due with a huge game filled with turnovers as the Raiders look to play catch up.
Value Plays: Cincinnati Bengals $5,000
SUGGESTED ROSTER ($60,000) - Cash Games
- QB Peyton Manning DEN (at KC) $10,000
- RB Le'Veon Bell PIT (vs NO) $9,200
- RB Rashad Jennings NYG (at JAC) $7,100
- WR Kenny Stills NO (at PIT) $5,100
- WR Steve Smith BAL (vs SD) $6,400
- WR Andre Johnson HOU (vs TEN) $6,300
- TE Delanie Walker TEN (at HOU) $5,700
- K Justin Tucker BAL (vs SD) $5,000
- D St.Louis Rams (vs OAK) $5,200
