Cracking FanDuel Week 5

Sunday Morning Update

No Changes to the Primary Cash Game Lineup. The only way that a change would be made to the lineup at this point would be if Rhamondre Stevenson was ruled out when inact

• QB Brock Purdy, SF, $7,700
• RB Najee Harris, PIT, $6,500
• RB Kyren Williams, LAR, $8,400
• WR Jayden Reed, GB, $7,200
• WR Michael Pittman Jr., IND, $6,100
• WR George Pickens, PIT, $6,000
• TE Tucker Kraft, GB, $5,300
• Flex RB Jordan Mason, SF, $8,700
• TD Denver, $4,000

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

• San Francisco (vs ARI) – 28.5 points
• Baltimore (at CIN) – 26.75 points
• Green Bay (at LAR) – 25.25 points

Week 4 Recap

Week 4 was another victorious week for the Primary Cash Lineup taking the season record to 3-1 on the year. It looked like it was going to be a tough one after Atlanta’s defense was 35% rostered at $3,300 and scored two touchdowns last week. Thankfully, the lineup recovered in large part to Chuba Hubbard who was just 20% rostered and ended up with 23.1 points.

Total points scored- 126.22

• QB Jayden Daniels, WAS, $8,200- 25.02
• RB Najee Harris, PIT, $6,600- 8.8
• RB Chuba Hubbard, CAR, $6,500- 23.1
• WR Nico Collins, HOU, $7,700- 30.1
• WR Amari Cooper, CLE, $6,400- 5.5
• WR Diontae Johnson, CAR, $6,200- 17.8
• TE Brock Bowers, LV, $6,500- 4.1
• Flex RB Breece Hall, NYJ, $8,000- 2.8
• TD Las Vegas, $3,700- 9.0

What went right:

• Jayden Daniels at 45% rostered was a key to victory. The quarterback was outstanding last week putting up 25.02 points. His rushing upside that he provides every week is amongst the best in the NFL.
• Nico Collins is emerging as the best wide receiver in the 2024 season.

What went wrong:

• Breece Hall was a disaster as he had just 10 carries for 4 yards in a weird rain-soaked game against Denver. Thankfully Hall was 75% rostered last week, so the overall penalty for not playing him was relatively minimal.
• Amari Cooper at 5% rostered only putting up 5.5 points was tough. Especially since he had an 82-yard touchdown catch called back due to a phantom holding call that was one of the worst calls of the week. Cooper also had a horrendous drop that ended up being intercepted as he continues to have issues with dropping the ball this season.

Injuries Create Opportunity:

We are in the portion of the season where the weekly news isn’t always clear, so continue to check back on this article throughout the weekend to see what has changed as many situations could unfold that would drastically change the lineup.

• The Panthers linebacker situation is abysmal. Shaq Thompson who is the team’s leading tackler is out for the season, while Josey Jewell is also out this week. This was already one of the worst run defenses in the NFL. These injuries should set up extremely well for the Bears’ rushing offense, but the question is whether we believe in the emergence of D’Andre Swift after just one great week and three poor performances.
• Davante Adams is once again out this week with a hamstring injury and desire to be traded. FanDuel raised Tre Tucker’s price to $5,800 to be equal to Jakobi Meyers, which makes it tough to play either one of these guys. Of the two, Tucker likely has more upside as Meyers should be in a tough spot this week against Patrick Surtain II who is one of the few corners who will shadow the number one receiver.
• Zamir White is also out for the Raiders. At $5,800, Alexander Mattison should be a solid value play this week. We’ve gone down this path before with Mattison and there is always risk associated with it dating back to the Minnesota days, but the matchup is looking like a difficult one after they completely shut down Breece Hall last week, but Mattison should see enough volume to be cash game relevant.
• Malik Nabers will miss this week with a concussion. Wan’Dale Robinson will likely be the top target. Robinson is not likely to be cash game viable this week given the lack of touchdown upside that the 5’7’’ receiver has this week.
• The Giants are also likely going to be without Devin Singletary. With no Singletary, Tyrone Tracy Jr. appears the most likely to get the majority of the carries. At $4,800 he’s a decent value as the Giants have very little behind Tracy the only other running back who has a snap this season is Eric Gray who has not played more than 10% of snaps on the year.
• Jonathan Taylor is out this week with an ankle injury. Trey Sermon at $5,900 will get the start. The matchup is difficult for the Colts against a good Jaguars run defense. Sermon has just one start in his career when he had 88 yards on 17 carries. The issue for Sermon is that he’s shown an inability to catch the ball throughout his career. This could open up doors for more of a pass-heavy approach to Michael Pittman Jr or Josh Downs.
• Rhamondre Stevenson is not going to start this week but will play according to Jerod Mayo. This is a clear stay-away for both he and Antonio Gibson as Stevenson is not starting due to his fumbling issues. The issue here is we have no idea if this is just a punishment for the issues, or if he is becoming the number two back in this offense.
• Romeo Doubs and Christian Watson are both doubtful this week. This should consolidate a lot of the work for Green Bay to Jayden Reed, Dontayvion Wicks, and Tucker Kraft. Of the three, Jayden Reed is the guy to target as at just $7,200 should project to be one of the top wide receivers this week.  
• Jaylen Warren will once again miss this week. Harris was disappointing last week, but his price at just $6,500 remains extremely low in a favorable matchup with Micah Parsons out for Dallas.

Week 5 Strategy- Expensive Wide Receivers

Determining where to spend your salary this week is going to come down to the wide receiver position. While Nico Collins and CeeDee Lamb should both be in a great spot this week, they’re prohibitively expensive on a week where there are so many running back injuries. The question you have to ask yourself is whether you want to take chances on some of these low-end running backs or instead look at some of these mid-priced wide receivers that seem undervalued such as Brian Thomas Jr., Michael Pittman Jr., George Pickens, or Terry McLaurin.