We continued our recent streak of good fortune with FanDuel Bargain Buys in week 13 with 70% of our picks outperforming their cost. Last week's were paced by the Lions defense at DEF2, C.J. Spiller at RB5 and Alex Smith at QB6. This was Smith's third consecutive week in the Bargain Buys and his third straight week as a top six option at quarterback. The only real letdown this week was at receiver where Victor Cruz and Dwayne Bowe didn't provide the value we'd planned. In week 14 we'll try to improve at wide receiver and post another winning week.
Quarterback
- Highest Priced Player: Peyton Manning- $11,300
- Average Priced Player: Three players- $7,700
Best Bang for your Buck: Josh McCown ($7,200 vs. Cowboys). With news that Jay Cutler will miss another week, McCown looks like a surefire bargain in week 14. David Dodds has McCown as his 7th best quarterback despite the fact that his cost isn't among the top 16 quarterbacks. He's been great in Cutler's place but that's also due in large part to a Cowboys pass defense that has been anything but stingy.
Bargain Buy: Mike Glennon ($6,500 vs. Buffalo). Glennon struggled last week, but who doesn't struggle against the Panthers? He's scored at least 17 fantasy points in six of his last eight games and should get at least that against Buffalo. One of the more appealing things about Glennon this week is that while everyone else is playing in snow and sleet, he'll be playing in 70 degree weather at home.
Running Back
- Highest Priced Player: Jamaal Charles- $9,600
- Average Priced Player: Three players- $7,000
Best Bang for your Buck: Shane Vereen ($6,500 vs. Cleveland). This is just a case of FanDuel's values not quite catching up with the value of Vereen because of his extended absence earlier this year. Vereen is a target monster and the Patriots offense looks like it's starting to get rolling. He's a great value at this price and a likely top ten option at running back.
Bargain Buy: Ray Rice ($6,400 vs. Minnesota). As someone that's been burnt by Ray Rice this year, it's hard to suggest him here, but daily leagues are about this week only and Rice has a great situation this week. He's playing an inferior opponent with a poor run defense in terrible weather. If Rice is ever going to be good it will be this week. At this price you can afford to gamble.
Wide Receiver
- Highest Priced Player: Calvin Johnson- $10,000
- Average Priced Player: Michael Floyd- $6,700
Best Bang for your Buck: Victor Cruz ($6,500 vs. San Diego) Yes Cruz was a little disappointing last week, but he was by no means terrible. This week he gets another great matchup in San Diego. Weather comes into play here, or at least the lack thereof. Like with Glennon, Cruz will see much better weather than most of the options at his cost.
Bargain Buy: Keenan Allen ($6,400 vs. New York Giants) Allen may just be the favorite for rookie of the year, and like Cruz he has a favorable matchup in good weather. Allen has posted double digit targets and triple digit yardage in each of the last two weeks and there's good reason to believe he may continue that streak in week 14.
Tight End
- Highest Priced Player: Rob Gronkowski- $8,200
- Average Priced Player: Charles Clay- $5,000
Best Bang for your Buck: Antonio Gates ($4,900 vs. New York Giants) Yeah, I guess you could say we expect this game to be a shootout. Gates has been a big surprise as an aging tight end that's posted very good numbers. Assuming the Chargers struggle to run against the Giants as many teams have, it's not hard to believe that both Gates and Allen could have a big week.
Bargain Buy: Jared Cook ($4,900 vs. Arizona) Cook has been hard to predict this year, but the Arizona Cardinals against tight ends have not. The Cardinals have been very good at a lot of things this year but they've been terrible against tight ends. It's hard to see the Rams having much success against the run in this game, so expect for Clemens to look for Cook early and often.
DEFENSE
Baltimore vs. Minnesota. The Ravens have fallen to $5,000 simply because they've been short on big plays lately. But in this game they figure to have a lead early and Matt Cassel playing quarterback against them. To me that sounds like the perfect storm for a big play. Even if they don't get it, it seems very likely that they could hold this offense to a low point total that will at least get you some points.
Kicker
Robbie Gould vs. Dallas. Gould was a slightly above average kicker last week, but what more can you ask for at $5,000? The Cowboys are unlikely to keep the Bears out of scoring range, but the Bears haven't exactly been proficient at punching it in lately. With several opportunities in Dallas territory I figure Gould will have a floor similar to his week 13 production.
Contact Heath at cummings@footballguys.com or on Twitter @heathcummingssr
