For the uninitiated, playing daily games on 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 players at each position on DraftKings and make value-based recommendations for both your cash games and tournaments.
Below you will find a list of recommended players for both formats. 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 for a player is so strong, he may fall into both categories…let’s have a look.
QUARTERBACKS
GPP
Andrew Luck (Primarily GPP, Salary: $7900). Through two games, the Colts have scored a grand total of 21 points. Andrew Luck leads the NFL in interceptions thrown and has the league's worst quarterback rating (58.9). Much of the blame can be pointed squarely in the direction of the offensive line, who have been overmatched by two of the better defenses in league (Buffalo and the NY Jets). This week should offer Luck and company a bit of a reprieve; the Titans made Johnny Manziel look like a legitimate NFL quarterback last week and they have no answer for Andrew Luck, T.Y. Hilton, and Donte Moncrief. After his first two weeks of fantasy misery, Luck will be very low owned at his hefty salary, but he possesses the type of upside that can lead a DFS roster to a large-field GPP victory.
Nick Foles (Primarily GPP, Salary: $5200). A lot of attention is being given to the Steelers' offense this season, but they are only one-point favorites against the Rams this Sunday. That means that the smart folks in Vegas think that Nick Foles can lead an offensive attack that is sufficient to keep pace with the Steelers. At first glance, it would seem unlikely, but a deeper look into the numbers shows that the Steelers are the ProFootballFocus' 30th ranked pass coverage unit, allowing nearly 300 passing yards per game and 6 touchdowns through the air through two games. Foles does not have a wealth of high-profile receivers at his disposal, so it may not be necessary to stack him with any receiver at all; if he manages to throw for 300 yards and 2 touchdowns, he will easily achieve the 4x value needed for tournaments. If you must have a stack, my recommendation is tight end Jared Cook, a 6'6" redzone monster who has 13 targets on the season and is a bargain at $2800.
Ryan Fitzpatrick (Primarily GPP, Salary: $5100). The Jets enter their Week #3 matchup against the Eagles banged up with Chris Ivory questionable and Eric Decker on the doubtful side of questionable, leaving Brandon Marshall and Quincy Enunwa to pick up the slack in the passing game. That will be enough to scare most people away from the Jets' passing game, but they are still 2-point favorites over the visiting Eagles and are not likely to pound the ball 30 times with Bilal Powell; instead, look for Fitzpatrick to move the ball with a series of short passes to Powell, Enunwa, and Marshall. If the Eagles can muster a bit of offensive momentum in this one, the Jets' offense could conceivably run 70 plays from the line of scrimmage and the majority (> 35) will likely be pass plays, particularly if Ivory is announced as inactive. At low ownership and almost minimum salary, Fitzpatrick is a perfect GPP play this Sunday.
CASH GAMES
Tom Brady (Cash and GPP formats, Salary: $7700). Tom Brady is the Matthew Wilder of the NFL right now (you know you wanna click that link). After Week #1, we attributed his 288-passing yard, 4-touchdown game to how bad the the Steelers' passing defense was...so he disproved that theory last week against a solid Bills' defense with a 466-passing yard, 3-touchdown game. The truth is that the Patriots and Tom Brady are unflappable right now and there is no reason to believe that the Jaguars will be able to slow their momentum at Foxborough on Sunday. With a healthy arsenal at his disposal and a projected team total of 30 points, Brady needs only 300-passing yards and 2 touchdowns to reach value, which he could feasibly have by halftime.
Russell Wilson (Cash and GPP formats, Salary: $7000). The Seahawks have started the season 0-2 with two disappointing road losses, but return to the comforts of CenturyLink Field to host the Bears in Week #3. The Bears will be without Jay Cutler and Alshon Jeffery, while Seattle will see the return of their Pro Bowl Safety holdout Kam Chancellor. All is not perfect in Seattle, however, as Marshawn Lynch is contending with a calf injury and is a game-time decision on Sunday; likewise, Jimmy Graham is two games into the season and already unhappy with his role in the offense. The table is therefore set for Russell Wilson to carry the Seahawks to this must-win victory; expect to see a heavy dose of Wilson on Sunday, whether it be through his legs (55 rush yards per game thus far) or through the air to soften Jimmy Graham's anger by feeding him the ball. Either way, Wilson's salary is pedestrian for the type of consistency and upside he provides; he is a prime play for all formats this weekend.
RUNNING BACKS
GPP
Jamaal Charles (Primarily GPP, Salary: $7500). The 2015 Kansas City Chiefs > the 2014 Kansas City Chiefs. Last year, the Chiefs did not throw a single touchdown pass to a wide receiver all season, which allowed defenses to focus their attention to the running game and Jamaal Charles still finished the season with over 1300 all-purpose yards, 14 touchdowns, and an average of 5.0 yards per carry. This season, Travis Kelce has a full year of playing experience and the Chiefs have a legitimate wide receiver in Jeremy Maclin, which should force defenses to play a bit more honest with the Chiefs' running game. On Monday night, Kansas City will try to keep pace with the Packers at Lambeau Field, which is an uphill battle, but Charles will be heavily-involved in both phases of the offense, which augments his fantasy potential (particulary on a full PPR site like DraftKings); at $7500, most people will roster either Adrian Peterson or Marshawn Lynch due to their more favorable matchups, but Jamaal Charles has just as much upside as any running back in this league and will be owned at a fraction of the other two similarly-priced options.
Justin Forsett (Primarily GPP, Salary: $6000). As of the writing of this article, it appears that Lorenzo Taliaferro is unlikely to play against the Bengals on Sunday. If Taliaferro is sidelined, Justin Forsett will become the de factobellcow running back and see at least 20 touches, which bodes well for his fantasy prospects. The Bengals have not yet yielded a rushing touchdown, but they gave up large chunks of yardage to Melvin Gordon last week, including one run that was very close to being a touchdown. Likewise, gamescript has been on the Bengals' side; they have only given up 97 rushing yards/game, but that is largely because they have been leading both games and their opponents had to abandon the rush to play catchup, which is an unlikely scenario on Sunday against the Ravens. The Bengals are allowing 4.7 yards per carry (28th in the league), which when combined with the likelihood of Taliaferro being announced as inactive, should have Forsett licking his chops. This is the cheapest we have seen Forsett all season, his ownership will be less than 10%, and his upside is 120 all-purpose yards and 2 touchdowns, which is good enough for 5x value.
Melvin Gordon (GPP only, Salary: $5000). Melvin Gordon rushed for 29 touchdowns as a senior running back at Wisconsin, so it is safe to argue that he has a penchant for the endzone. Despite his proclivity for finding paydirt, Gordon is still scoreless in the NFL and will look to end that drought on Sunday against the Vikings. His matchup is solid--the Vikings were gashed in Week #1 by Gordon's former Big Ten opponent, Carlos Hyde, before tightening up a bit last week against the Lions. That said, the Vikings are still allowing 4.9 yards per carry (30th in the league) and Gordon represents the best running back they have faced all season. Gordon looked explosive last week, almost breaking several long runs for touchdowns; he will be underowned because the world has a love affair with Danny Woodhead, which makes Gordon a sneaky GPP play at a very fair price point.
Devonta Freeman (Primarily GPP, Salary: $4600). Rookie sensation Tevin Coleman will miss the next few weeks with a cracked rib, which means that Devonta Freeman will see most of the action out of the Falcons' backfield. The Falcons are extremely thin behind Freeman after releasing Antoine Smith this preseason, so expect Freeman to touch the ball 20+ times on Sunday against the Cowboys. Freeman has been an excellent receiving back, which augments his value on DraftKings, where every reception is scored as a 10-yard gain. The only thing working against Freeman on Sunday will be the Cowboys' stingy defense that is yielding only 53.0 rushing yards per game (best in the league) and a remarkable 2.6 yards per carry; however, Freeman's perceived workload and low salary make him a tempting prospect for GPP formats this weekend.
CASH GAMES
Adrian Peterson (Cash and GPP formats, Salary: $7500). After gamescript issues effectively removed Adrian Peterson from the game in Week #1, the Vikings went to Peterson early and often last week. Peterson had 16 carries before halftime last week and finished with 31 touches for 192 all-purpose yards, although he did not score a touchdown; he did, however, have a touchdown that was called back after video review and several other close calls. This week, Peterson will face off against the Chargers, who have given up 4.7 yards per carry (28th in NFL) to the Lions and Bengals' running backs, none of whom have Peterson's ability. Look for Peterson to get off the schneid this week with a 100+ yard performance plus at least one touchdown, which would put him right at value for your cash games on DraftKings.
Marshawn Lynch or Fred Jackson (Cash and GPP formats, Salary: $7400 or $3000). Full disclosure: Marshawn Lynch was my favorite DFS on the entire weekend and I was going to have massive exposure to him until it was announced that he is having calf issues and is questionable for Sunday's game against the Bears. As of Saturday morning, Lynch is questionable to play for a late game in Seattle, which makes roster building difficult; I am slowly leaning towards fading Lynch now because, even if he does play, we have to wonder if he'll play a full complement of snaps and whether those snaps will be at 100%? Monitor this situation closely on Sunday morning to get a better feel of the severity of Lynch's injury, as well as the role that Fred Jackson will play as his backup (if any). If Lynch is inactive, Fred Jackson (at minimum salary) enters must-play territory in a game that sets up fabulously for the Seattle running back(s); as 14-point favorites, the Seattle running game should see plenty of action in the second half against a Bears defense that has more points than any team in the NFL through the first two weeks.
Dion Lewis (Cash and GPP formats, Salary: $4200). Through two weeks, Dion Lewis has seen 74% of the touches out of the New England backfield and reports out of Foxborough are suggesting that he will continue seeing at least 50% of those opportunities. That said, anything coming out of the Patriots' camp has to be looked upon with a discerning eye, as Bill Belichick and company are not known for being the most forthright of folks; LaGarrette Blount will certainly see an increased workload over what he saw in Week #2 (8.1% of snaps), which will eat into Lewis' touches, but at $4200, Lewis still offers great value on full PPR sites. The Patriots are projected to score over 30 points on Sunday and Lewis will surely catch several passes, accumulate 50-80 rushing/receiving yards, and could score a touchdown; his floor is 10-12 points and his ceiling is upward of 20 points against the lowly Jags.
*Bilal Powell* (Cash and GPP formats, Salary: $3000). If Chris Ivory is announced as inactive on Sunday, Bilal Powell is an instant cash game play; Zac Stacy will steal some of Powell's thunder under those circumstances, but Powell will still be heavily involved in both phases of the offense. If Ivory plays (but is less than 100%), Powell would likely enjoy an uptick in snaps, where he is currently at a 50/50 split through two weeks with Ivory. No matter what happens, Powell's low salary, his involvement in the passing game, and the pace of this game will all contribute to making him a viable cash game play; if he finishes the day with 50 all-purpose yards and 4 receptions, he reaches value...anything above those numbers count as extra.
*James Starks* (Cash and GPP formats, Salary: $3000). Another difficult situation because of the timing of the game in question...but James Starks could be a rock solid cash game play on Monday night if Eddie Lacy is deemed inactive with an ankle injury. The problem is having a reliable pivot point for Monday night, if Lacy ends up playing--there isn't one. If you want to take a chance, my best advice is to have a 'tandem pivot' of James Starks ($3K) and Randall Cobb ($7.4K), where Starks is in the 'flex' spot; if Lacy plays, you can then pivot your flex to Travis Kelce ($5K) and replace Cobb with James Jones ($4.8K), while still staying under the salary cap. Please note that this is risky because I would not consider Kelce a cash game option this week, but if you are dead-set on getting Starks into your lineup if Lacy sits, this is the best arbitrage I can find for you.
*Play is contingent on the injury status of the primary running back. Check in with fellow Footballguys Steve Buzzard and Dr. Jene Bramel for their expert insight on Sunday morning.
WIDE RECEIVERS
GPP
Demaryius Thomas (GPP only, Salary: $8000). How good is your memory? Do you remember last year when Demaryius Thomas got off to a slow start over the first three weeks of the season? In Week #4, the DFS community had largely given up on Thomas (< 5% owned in GPP's) and he responded with a 226-yard, 2-touchdown performance against the Arizona Cardinals. The likelihood of another 40-point performance is minimal this week against the Lions, but the numbers are in Thomas' favor: He has 25 targets through the first two games and the Lions are allowing the second most passing yards per attempt (9.7), which bodes well for a big play receiver like Demaryius Thomas. At $8000, the high-upside Thomas will once again be underowned, which makes him a prime play for tournaments in Week #3.
T.Y. Hilton (Primarily GPP, Salary: $6700). Speaking of recency bias, who have you heard more about this week: Donte Moncrief of T.Y. Hilton? 98% of the DFS, Colts-specific content floating around the internet this week appears to be focusing on Donte Moncrief (see my comments in the next section), but let's not forget that T.Y. Hilton is still the WR1 on this team. Last weekend, Travis Benjamin caught 3 touchdown passes on 9 total routes when Coty Sensabaugh and Blidi Wreh-Wilson were in coverage; this weekend, T.Y. Hilton should see those same dreadful cornerbacks (ranked 96th and 104th out of 108 qualifying cornerbacks in 2014), which could lead to a massive fantasy day for the receiver who has 21 targets on the season, but who has yet to score.
John Brown (Primarily GPP, Salary: $5100). Larry Fitzgerald has been the beneficiary of some fantastic football being played by John Brown over the first two weeks. Brown is stretching the field and attracting additional attention from safeties because single coverage just is not doing the job; in the meantime, Larry Fitzgerald has been picking up 10-yard chunks underneath and managed to collect 3 receiving touchdowns last week, too. The truth is is that Brown has collected three pass interference penalties over the first two weeks for a total of 97 yards and it is quite likely that at least two of those penalties saved the defense from giving up a touchdown. This weekend, Brown gets a tasty matchup against the Niners, who are allowing a league-high 10.2-passing yards per attempt with eight 20+ yard receptions and four 40+ yard receptions; in other words, a big play receiver like John Brown is going to give them fits all day long.
Michael Crabtree (GPP only, Salary: $4600). Michael Crabtree is another receiver that is playing well, but not receiving the recognition he deserves by the DFS community. Fresh off a 16-target Sunday against the Ravens, Crabtree would have his hands full with perennial Pro Bowl cornerback Joe Haden, if only Haden were going to cover him; reports out of Cleveland are that Haden has been watching film to focus his attention on rookie standout, Amari Cooper, which means that Crabtree could be the primary target in the Raiders' offense this weekend. Being the primary receiver on an offense that is averaging over 40 passes per game could lead to some gaudy stats, if things play out as outlined here.
Allen Hurns (GPP only, Salary: $3700). The Patriots' cornerbacks are far from stellar this year; throught the first two weeks of the season, only four teams have a worse rated pass coverage unit (ProFootballFocus). The gamescript in this Pats-Jags matchup is tremendously skewed in favor of the Jaguars' passing game, which includes several talented young receivers in Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns. Most DFS players who are considering a Jaguar receiver will lean towards Robinson, who is the WR1 and coming off a 6/155/2 performance last week against the Dolphins, but the better GPP move will be to consider Hurns, who is $1500 cheaper and will receive less attention from the Pats' secondary. If Belichick decides to key on the better receiver, as he has done in the past, Hurns could easily achieve 4x value (14 points), which is not far above his average points per game (10.4) thus far and he will be less than 5% owned across all contests.
CASH GAMES
Antonio Brown (Cash and GPP formats, Salary: $8900). If you need justification to roster Antonio Brown in your cash games at this juncture, this article is not enough to make you a profitable player. Brown is a model of consistency--he has caught at least 5 passes for 50 yards for almost three consecutive years and he is averaging ~ 35 fantasy points per game without Martavis Bryant to steal receptions and redzone looks this season. If you can squeeze in his hefty salary by utilizing some of the value picks at running back, try to do so.
Julian Edelman (Primarily cash games, Salary: $7100). Julian Edelman has two consecutive games with 11 receptions and 97 receiving yards, which amounts to 20.7 fantasy points using DraftKings' full PPR system; he scored two touchdowns last week, which pushed his total to nearly 35 fantasy points. This week, his salary rose only $400, but is still within reason for the type of fantasy floor that Edelman brings to the table. Because of the possession receiver role that Edelman plays on this team, he is rarely eliminated from the gamescript, as the Patriots will not ground the ball with a lead; furthermore, with a 30-point team total this weekend, there should plenty of scoring to go around...if Julian Edelman only repeats what he has been doing, he will set you up for cash game wins all across the DraftKings' site.
Brandon Marshall (Cash and GPP formats, Salary: $6200). Eric Decker did not practice all week, which means that Brandon Marshall's stable mates will be the likes of Quincy Enunwa and rookie Devin Smith. In other words, look for Brandon Marshall to get targeted a bunch against the Eagles on Sunday afternoon; ordinarily, there would be concern about the secondary double-covering a guy like Marshall in this situation, but the Eagles' secondary simply is not talented enough to shut him down with double coverage and still contain those accessory receivers. After Decker left Monday night's game, Marshall became the primary target despite being blanketed by the league's best coverage cornerback, Vontae Davis; if he can excel against Davis, he will have little problems with the products that the Eagles put on the field. At $6200, Marshall needs 6 receptions for 60 yards and a touchdown, which would appear entirely reasonable with both Decker and Ivory potentially missing this game.
Larry Fitzgerald (Primarily cash games, Salary: $5800). The return of Carson Palmer to the Arizona desert has renewed Larry Fitzgerald's fantasy prospects. Over the past two years, Palmer has played in six complete football games and Fitzgerald is averaging 91.3 receiving yards on 6 receptions and 0.83 touchdowns per game during those appearances (20.1 fantasy points per game); without Palmer, Fitzgerald's offensive output drops by over 50% (4.7 receptions for 45.8 receiving yards and no touchdowns...9.4 fantasy points per game). As discussed above with John Brown, the 49'ers are going to have their hands full with this Cardinal passing game on Sunday. While John Brown is the GPP play because of his big play ability, Larry Fitzgerald is a great cash game play because his floor is 5 catches for 50 yards, but the likelier scenario is 6-8 receptions for 80 yards and a possible touchdown, which is more than the 17 points needed to reach value for cash game format.
Donte Moncrief (Cash and GPP formats, Salary: $4800). A year after displaying flashes of brilliance in his rookie season, Donte Moncrief appears to be making the next step to becoming a top-tier NFL reciever. First, Moncrief is finally playing a signficant percentage of snaps (76%) to make him relevant. More importantly, it seems that Andrew Luck is building a rapport with the young receiver, as evidenced by his 19 targets through the first two games and a touchdown in each of them. Luck and Moncrief should have plenty of opportunity to connect on Sunday, when they travel to Nashville to face the porous Titans' secondary. Moncrief will primarily line up across from Perrish Cox, but should also get some exposure to Blidi Wreh-Wilson, who can give up double-digit fantasy points in a single play; this would appear to be an ideal spot for the Colts to get their high-flying offense off the ground after a slow start. At $4800, Moncrief does not need a lot of production to reach value...a 6-catch, 80-yard day with accomplish it.
TIGHT ENDS
GPP
Jimmy Graham (Primarily GPP, Salary: $5800). Jimmy Graham went on the record this week stating that he hates his role in the Seattle offense. Having made his name as a pass-catching, redzone monster, Graham is unhappy with the fact that he is being asked to block about 1/3 of the time he is on the field; unfortunately, the Seahawks have one of the worst offensive lines in the entire league, which almost necessitates Graham staying behind to keep Russell Wilson from being flattened. That said, Pete Carroll would be wise to get the ball into Jimmy Graham's hands more often and Graham's words this week might have been enough to get his attention. If Marshawn Lynch is inactive, Graham immediately becomes the Seahawks' best redzone target and he will be low-owned because of his inflated salary and low production to this point in the season; for those reasons, he is a perfect tournament play on Sunday.
Greg Olsen (Primarily GPP, Salary: $4800). OK...the Earth shifted back into alignment last week when Greg Olsen ended Week #2 with 14 targets and 6 receptions for 70 yards after a 1/11/0 clunker on opening weekend. Despite the tremendous number of targets, Olsen was unable to find the endzone, which may be more of a reflection of the offense than Olsen's skillset; without a legitimate wide receiver, defenses can key on Olsen and force the Panthers to score on the ground with Mike Tolbert or a lesser receiver. That said, any time a receiver is getting double-digit targets, he should be on your GPP radar simply because of the upside that kind of volume represents. This Sunday's matchup against the Saints is favorable with the Panthers projected to score 25 points and it would not be surprising to see Cam Newton finally connect with Greg Olsen on some meaningful passes (i.e., touchdowns) towards that number.
Gary Barnidge (GPP only, Salary: $2500). There was never a truer GPP play than Gary Barnidge this weekend against the Raiders. Josh McCown returns under center and will assuredly being looking to dump off short passes any time the Raider defensive line can get pressure on him; cue up Barnidge, who is offered at the site minimum salary, and could catch a few of those outlet passes from McCown. Perhaps more to the point, the Oakland Raiders are the league's worst team in defending the tight end position thus far, allowing 4 touchdowns to opposing tight ends (Tyler Eifert and Crocket Gillmore). Barnidge is not nearly as involved in the passing offense as those other two tight ends, but if he finds himself open in the redzone, Josh McCown will assuredly be looking in his direction. At $2500, you are looking for some combination of output to obtain 10 fantasy points, which is possible with this matchup and the check-down nature of the starting quarterback.
CASH GAMES
Rob Gronkowski (Cash and GPP formats, Salary: $7400). If the Patriots are slated to score 30 points, it is advisable to have their biggest redzone target on your DFS cash game squad. Some people will balk at Gronk's salary, but remember that he is basically a wide receiver playing in a tight end position; if he were a wide-receiver, Gronk's salary would be an additional 20%, so you are effectively getting a 20% discount by putting him into your lineups. That said, you will need to find value elsewhere because spending $7400 at the tight end position will certainly cramp your decision-making at other positions; this week, however, there is likely enough value at the running back position due to injuries to allow you to strongly consider Gronk for your cash games.
Kyle Rudolph (Primarily cash format, Salary: $3300). If you want to save salary at the tight end position, Kyle Rudolph is your man. Norv Turner tight ends tend to be important cogs in the offense and a healthy Kyle Rudolph is this year's beneficiary; through the first two games, Rudolph has seen 75% (3 out of 4) of redzone passing attempts for the Vikings, including the only touchdown pass thrown by Teddy Bridgewater this season. Lastly, Rudolph gets a plus matchup against FootballOutsiders' 29th ranked defense in defending the tight end position in 2015. At a modest salary, one only needs 10 fantasy points from Rudolph, which is 5 catches for 50 yards...allowing plenty of touchdown opportunties for the aforementioned Adrian Peterson.
DEFENSES
GPP
Panthers (Primarily GPP, Salary: $3100). The Carolina Panthers will host a Drew Brees-less Saints team that was unable to beat the Tampa Bay Bucs at home last week. The Saints are not traditionally a good team away from home and that will certainly be exacerbated by the fact that Luke McCown will be their starting quarterback on Sunday; McCown, who is currently more famous for appearing on a Verizon commercial than actually playing football, has not started an NFL regular season game since 2011. To say that McCown may have to work out the kinks is fair given the four-year layoff and he likely does not want to do that against one of the better defenses in the league.
Broncos (Primarily GPP, Salary: $3000). The Broncos may have the best defense in the league after all 16 games are played; their defensive line is tremendous, their linebackers are smart, and their secondary is one of the best in football. Their matchup against the Lions looks just average on paper, but this unit has upside every week because of the talent they are putting on the field. It would not be surprising to see the winless Lions struggle at home against this strong defense, who will be low-owned simply because there are three more obvious plays (listed in the cash game section below); for that reason, using the Broncos' defense could be a way to differentiate your roster from the masses without compromising too much upside at the team defense position.
Dolphins (Primarily GPP, Salary: $2900). Again?!?! Last week, the Dolphins dashed our dreams when they gave up 23 points to the Jacksonville Jaguars as one of the better defensive options on a limited slate. After that performance, very few people will be willing to give them another chance this week against the Buffalo Bills, which is why they are a strong GPP play. The defensive personnel are talented, which means that they just have to put some things together to play up to their potential; outside of Tyrod Taylor, the Bills are not a scary offensive team, so the Dolphins could be a sneaky play at home after such a disappointing performance in Week #2.
CASH GAMES
Seahawks (Cash & GPP formats, Salary: $3400). The Seahawks are the chalk play at team defense this weekend and for good reason...the Bears are missing both Jay Cutler and Alshon Jeffery and will be asking Jimmy Claussen to lead an 0-2 Bears' team into one of the tougher arenas in the NFL to play as a visitor. The Bears are largely toothless right now and they will not be able to take a bite out of this defense, who gets back their Pro Bowl safety, Kam Chancellor, as well. All the pieces are lining up for a complete demolition of the Bears' offense in this one and you will definitely want a piece of the Seahawks' defense for all these reasons.
Texans (Cash & GPP formats, Salary: $3200). J.J. Watt and the Texans will play host to the Tampa Bay Bucs, who surprised the Saints in New Orleans just a week ago. We should not expect a repeat performance by this Bucs' offense, however, as the Texans' defense will assuredly apply pressure to rookie quarterback, Jameis Winston, to force him into making mistakes like he did in Week #1 when he was sacked four times and threw a pick-six. If you want to avoid too much exposure to the Seahawks' defense, drop down a few hundred dollars and take the Texans; they offer a similar return on your investment.
Patriots (Cash & GPP formats, Salary: $3100). Only the Chicago Bears are projected to score less points than the Jaguars this weekend, which means that the oddsmakers in Vegas think that the Patriots could put up some nice fantasy numbers on both sides of the ball this week. Blake Bortles was infamous for throwing interceptions that were run back for touchdowns in 2014 and while he has shown signs of maturation this season, the young quarterback will be asked to throw the ball 40+ times on Sunday to keep pace with Tom Brady and it would not be surprising to see a few of those passes end up in the arms of a Patriots' player. Playing at home against an error-prone quarterback, the Pats are the third strong team defense option for your cash games and tournaments in Week #3
For last-minute advice, player decisions, and injury news on Sunday morning, tune into the “NFL Gameday” webcast at 11:30 AM (EST) on RotoGrinders Live, where John “tipandpick” Lee, Justin "stlcardinals84" Van Zuiden, and Dean “Dean78904” Shavelson will analyze all NFL games every week. You can find the webcast at: https://rotogrinders.com/live. All other daily fantasy questions can be directed to John’s Twitter page at: https://twitter.com/tipandpick
