Cracking FanDuel: Week 18

Photo: USA Today Sports

Saturday Morning Update

In a somewhat surprising move, Cole Beasley will be active this week. This likely takes John Brown out of cash game consideration. Updated Primary Cash lineup is below.

SAMPLE ROSTER 1 ($60K) – PRIMARY CASH- (DD PROJECTED POINTS = 121.2)

• QB Josh Allen, BUF, $9,000
• RB James Conner, PIT, $6,200
• RB Cam Akers, LAR, $6,100
• WR T.Y. Hilton, IND, $6,200
• WR Michael Thomas, NO, $6,800
• WR Corey Davis, TEN, $6,400
• TE Jonnu Smith, TEN, $5,200
• Flex RB Derrick Henry, TEN, $10,200
• TD Seattle Seahawks, $3,600

SITUATIONS THAT STAND OUT TO THIS WEEK ON THE MAIN SLATE.

• Baltimore (at TEN) – 29 points
• Buffalo (vs IND) – 29 points
• New Orleans (vs CHI)– 28 points

CASH GAME STRATEGY WEEK 18- Quarterback is key

This week seems to be pretty straight forward, as the lineups for the most part on this six game slate will look very similar. However, there are three quarterbacks this week that you’ll want to consider for cash games that will largely determine your outcome this week.

Josh Allen is in the perfect spot to have a huge game this week. The leading fantasy scorer this season, Allen scored 405 FanDuel points on the year which is 31 more than the next closest quarterback on this slate (Russell Wilson). Indianapolis defense has completely fallen apart in the second half of the season as they have 300+ passing yards in four of their last five games and the only game that they did not was to Mike Glennon who threw for 261 yards and 2 touchdowns. This seems like a prime spot for Josh Allen in Buffalo’s first home game this century to have a massive day.

There was some consideration for Russell Wilson to bounce back, but it is so difficult to trust him in cash at this point. The price is outstanding at $7,400 but something just doesn’t seem right. Since Week 9, Wilson is only averaging 207 yards passing per game which is near the bottom of the league. He’s talented enough to flip the switch at any point, but the matchup remains a difficult one as he faces the Rams who have allowed the fewest points to opposing quarterbacks this season.

Finally, Lamar Jackson is in consideration here as well as he has been running much more over the last five weeks of the season compared to early on in the season. The problem with Lamar is that as bad as the Titans defense has been this season, they seem to have Lamar Jackson’s number. They all but shut him down earlier this season holding him to just 51 yards rushing and 181 yards passing, and in the playoffs last year, they held the Titans to just 12 points (Jackson had a huge second half in garbage time running for 143 yards and throwing 365 yards). He has high upside for sure in this one, but the worry is that Josh Allen has nine weeks inside the top five this season in terms of fantasy points scored, while Jackson has just four weeks. The more consistent option has to be Allen this week.

INJURY UNLOCKS OPPORTUNITY?

Jared Goff is questionable this week with a thumb injury. This one seems up in the air a little bit as Goff got a limited practice in, but John Wolford looked competent and provided a running upside that the Rams may look towards. If Wolford is the starter, he is firmly in play due to his running upside. If Goff starts, then the wide receivers get a significant boost.

Cleveland continues to deal with Covid related issues. Joel Bitonio will miss this week and Jack Conklin missed Friday’s practice due to illness. If both of them miss this week, it will greatly impact Baker Mayfield and the passing game in this one as pass blocking is the biggest issue when backup lineman come into the game. Chubb/Hunt may take a small downgrade, but if Conklin misses, Mayfield becomes unplayable.

The Ravens defense has some guys that are questionable. Marlon Humphrey and Jimmy Smith are both questionable at corner, while on the defensive line Yannick Ngakoue and Calais Campbell are both questionable. If they are missing a few of these players, it could greatly impact their defense in what is projected to be the highest scoring game of this slate.

Washington is dealing with injury issues as Alex Smith, Terry McLaurin, and Antonio Gibson are all questionable and did not practice this week. McLaurin if he goes is an intriguing cash game play as he is priced down at just $7,100. If Gibson does not play, J.D. McKissic is in a great spot as they should try to run the ball bay passing to McKissic.

Cole Beasley appears that he will miss this week with a knee injury. This opens up a tremendous opportunity for John Brown this week as he returns from an ankle injury this week. Brown looked great last week as he had 72 yards on just 4 receptions, but did find the end zone.

KEY CASH CORE

James Conner $6,200

The Steelers need to realize that Benny Snell just is not going to happen as much as they don’t want to give James Conner the bulk of the carries. Conner has been the far superior running back to Snell as evidenced by his 4.3 yards-per-carry average compared to Snell who is just at 3.3. Conner shredded the Browns earlier this season. The problem on this slate is that there are so few good options as we have some of the best run defenses in football on this slate. Conner’s volume has been the biggest concern as he has just 14 carries over his last two games, but does have 10 receptions as well. At just $6,200, he should be one of the top low-end players as he had 101 yards and a touchdown earlier this season.

Michael Thomas $6,800

The Saints will get Michael Thomas back this week which is a tremendous help for their chances at a potential deep playoff run. While Thomas has had an incredibly disappointing season, he did start to show signs of returning back to his elite form prior to getting hurt as he had 17 receptions for 189 yards in the last two games prior to getting hurt. Thomas is a matchup nightmare especially with Drew Brees back at quarterback as he should once again lock on to the elite receiver.

Cam Akers $6,100

With no Darrell Henderson, Akers will once again be the lead running back heading into this game. Akers had been great this season, but did struggle immensely with John Wolford’s inability to keep the defense honest as the Cardinals loaded the box to shut down Akers. Akers had just 34 yards rushing on 21 carries. This week, Akers gets the Seahawks which is a difficult matchup, however there are so few options on this slate at the running back position that he is intriguing especially if he can get 20+ targets similar to what he had prior his injury.

Derrick Henry $10,200

At $10,200, don’t expect Derrick Henry to be all that popular against a good Baltimore defense. However, Baltimore’s defense is far from 100%, as both Calais Campbell and Yannick Ngakoue two of their best defensive lineman are extremely questionable for this game. Henry has dominated the Ravens over their last two meetings as he had 133 yards and a touchdown earlier this season, and 195 yards rushing last year in the playoffs. Henry weighs 20 pounds more than middle linebacker Patrick Queen, and if the Ravens can’t clog up the defensive line with Campbell/Ngakoue, expect Henry to get to the second level several times in this game.

Key GPP Fade

Alvin Kamara- $9,000

Expect Alvin Kamara to be far and away the most popular player in cash games based on his most recent performance against the Vikings in Week 16 in which he had 155 yards rushing and 6 touchdowns. The key however, is to treat this game as a potential outlier and look at the rest of his most recent performances. In his four games prior to the huge game, Kamara averaged just 12 carries and 61.5 rushing yards. Now, part of that was with Taysom Hill, but that’s not even the biggest concern. The biggest concern is that Kamara has not practiced since December 31^st as he was put on the Covid list and won’t be eligible to return until Sunday. This likely will limit his chances for any new formations or plays and potentially have a split scenario with Latavius Murray.

LINEUPS

SAMPLE ROSTER 1 ($60K) – PRIMARY CASH- (DD PROJECTED POINTS = 123.2)

• QB Josh Allen, BUF, $9,000
• RB James Conner, PIT, $6,200
• RB Cam Akers, LAR, $6,100
• WR Allen Robinson, CHI, $7,200
• WR Michael Thomas, NO, $6,800
• WR John Brown, BUF, $5,700
• TE Jonnu Smith, TEN, $5,200
• Flex RB Derrick Henry, TEN, $10,200
• TD Seattle Seahawks, $3,600

SAMPLE ROSTER 2 ($60K) –Cash LINEUP If Antonio Gibson Misses(DD PROJECTED POINTS = 131.4)

• QB Josh Allen, BUF, $9,000
• RB J.D. McKissic, WAS, $5,400
• RB Alvin Kamara, NO, $9,000
• WR John Brown, BUF, $5,700
• WR Michael Thomas, NO, $6,800
• WR Allen Robinson, CHI, $7,200
• TE Mark Andrews, BAL, $7,000
• Flex RB James Conner, PIT, $6,200
• TD Seattle, $3,600

SAMPLE ROSTER 3 ($60K) – GPP LINEUP BUF/IND Game Stack CLE/PIT RB Stack (DD PROJECTED POINTS = 121.8)

• QB Josh Allen, BUF, $9,000
• RB Nick Chubb, CLE, $7,700
• RB Derrick Henry, TEN, $10,200
• WR John Brown, BUF, $5,700
• WR Chase Claypool, PIT, $6,100
• WR T.Y Hilton, IND, $6,200
• TE Jonnu Smith, $5,200
• Flex WR Marquise Brown, BAL, $6,300
• TD Seattle, $3,600

NEW FEATURE: PLAYER POOL

Projected points are static as of Saturday morning and will not be updated throughout the weekend. Green means great cash game play, yellow means should be in consideration in cash game lineups.