After an 80% success rate in week nine, there was really nowhere but down to go in week ten. We dropped farther than we'd like to and only nailed 40% in week ten. What was worse was that there weren't any really great picks. Picking on Thursday makes it tough, and Josh McCown proved that, but there are no excuses. The down week drops us down to 57% on the year, but we're far from done. It's time to make some money again, with this week's FanDuel Bargain Buys.
Quarterback
- Highest Priced Player: Peyton Manning- $11,000
- Average Priced Player: Ben Roethlisberger- $7,300
Best Bang for your Buck: Case Keenum ($6,600 vs. Oakland) Keenum has been a solid QB1 since he took over the starting job and one of the top three fantasy quarterbacks the past two weeks. The Raiders secondary shouldn't slow him down one bit. This may be the last week that Keenum is a bargain so take advantage.
Bargain Buy: Alex Smith ($6,200 vs. Denver) Smith hasn't exactly been a fantasy stud this year, but almost any quarterback is a good play against the Broncos. The Chiefs spent the first half of the season doing only what it took to win on offense. They'll have no choice but to open up the offense in the second half, and that starts with Smith.
Running Back
- Highest Priced Player: Adrian Peterson- $10,000
- Average Priced Player: Eddie Lacy- $6,700
Best Bang for your Buck: Ben Tate ($5,700 vs. Oakland) FanDuel hasn't adjusted to the fact that Arian Foster is out for the year, and that creates a huge opportunity with Tate. We obviously expect the Texans to move the ball at will against the Raiders, which could create a lot of opportunity for Tate in the second half.
Bargain Buy: Chris Ivory ($6,400 vs. Buffalo) The running back situation in New York has been hard to figure out this year, but at least recently Ivory looks like the back to own. He's topped 100 yards in two of his last three games and has a great chance to do it again this week against the Bills.
Wide Receiver
- Highest Priced Player: Calvin Johnson- $10,200
- Average Priced Player: Josh Gordon and Danny Amendola- $6,700
Best Bang for your Buck: Cecil Shorts ($5,800 vs. Arizona) Shorts struggled last week against the Titans, but he's been a target monster this year and the Jaguars will have to throw the ball to move the ball against Arizona. This feels like a garbage time play if there ever was one. Shorts is cheap, and has the potential to put up several catches and a touchdown after the game has already been decided.
Bargain Buy: Dwayne Bowe ($5,000 vs. Denver) I've been waiting ten weeks for this, so I'm not going to back down now. Bowe has been ripped for his lack of production early this year, but as I suggested above I expect the Chiefs passing game to come alive starting this week. Expect double digit targets for Bowe with an excellent chance that he gets into the end zone at least once.
Tight End
- Highest Priced Player: Jimmy Graham- $8,400
- Average Priced Player: Rob Housler- $4,900
Best Bang for your Buck: Heath Miller ($4,800 vs. Detroit) The Steelers have been kind of tough to figure out this year, but there's one thing I feel very comfortable with this week. Their offensive line will not be able to protect Roethlisberger against the Lions, meaning he'll need to get the ball out quick. Miller should be that safety valve and see a lot of targets.
Bargain Buy: Garrett Graham ($4,700 vs. Oakland) Graham hasn't had quite the success we were expecting since Owen Daniels went down and part of that is because Case Keenum is so much more comfortable throwing the ball downfield. I expect him to lean on Graham a little more this week with the Raiders putting all of their focus on stopping Andre Johnson and DeAndre Hopkins.
DEFENSE
Buffalo vs. New York Jets. The Bills paid off modestly last week and have an even better matchup this week. Geno Smith has been mistake prone this year and the Bills defense is opportunistic if nothing else. They're as good a bet as anyone to grab a pick six this week and Mario Williams should be able to get pressure on Smith.
Kicker
Justin Tucker vs. Chicago. The much-maligned Baltimore offense faces the much-maligned Chicago defense. The Ravens may have trouble punching the ball into the end zone but they should have no trouble moving the ball up and down the field. I like Tucker to get multiple field goal attempts in what should be a close game.
Contact Heath at cummings@footballguys.com or on Twitter @heathcummingssr