Week 17 was a good week
in cash. Plays such as Rashad Jennings, Julio Jones, Zach Ertz,
and Colts Defense should have led you over the cash line in most
contests. It’s always nice to leave the end of the regular
season on a high note.
In playoff weeks, cash games entail quite a bit more risk than
a larger regular season slate. That is not to discourage you from
playing, just to inform you that it may be advantageous to scale
back your exposure a bit. With just four games, the lack of options
gives the advantage to the novice player, as there are less “wrong
answers” and not as many choices to make overall. Lineup
construction is a bit more limited but there is still value to
be had this week.
AJ McCarron is the clear top value at quarterback on this small
Wild Card slate. No QB especially stands out on paper and this
play allows you to load up at other positions. McCarron has the
best matchup on paper against the Steelers who are in the bottom
third in pass defense in the NFL. When McCarron first faced the
Steelers in relief of Andy Dalton (injury), he threw for two touchdowns
and 280 yards along with two interceptions. McCarron has yet to
throw an interception since and has thrown four touchdowns and
has been a very steady option for the Bengals.
He may not be a value but he has to be mentioned as the top WR
option on the slate by a wide margin. Brown finished the season
second in the NFL with 1,836 receiving yards and tied for the
lead with 136 receptions. He has caught at least six passes in
ten straight games and has a very high floor for cash games every
single week.
The danger here is the lack of effectiveness of the Green Bay
running game in general and the fact that they have been going
with the hot hand approach of late. But the matchup
is great against Washington who has allowed 4.8 yards per carry
to running backs this season and is by far the worst team against
the run on this slate. Lacy is a touchdown regression candidate
with just one touchdown in his past three games and the offense
will have plenty of opportunities to score in this one.
Baldwin has twelve touchdowns in his last eight games while averaging
just over 90 yards per game over that time period. He finally
had his touchdown streak end last week but he will still be a
focal point of this Seahawks offense in the red zone. In a touchdown
heavy format on FanDuel, Baldwin has to be a consideration in
cash every week. In Week 13 Baldwin had a 5-94-2 receiving line
against the Vikings and Russell Wilson is still playing as well
as any quarterback in the league.
Jeremy Hill had his first 20-plus yard run of the season last
week and showed a flash of what we saw from him in 2014. Since
McCarron has been starting, Hill has received 16 carries in all
three games. He will be heavily leaned on as the feature back
in the Wild Card Round in a week that is extremely murky at the
RB position. His strength is still touchdown production over yardage,
which suits the FanDuel format very well.
Rodgers has been the most efficient red zone target for the Packers
the past three weeks. Rodgers has thrown three interceptions to
receivers in the red zone on 29 attempts in the past three games
but has connected with Rodgers twice for touchdowns on six targets
over that span. Rodgers leads all Green Bay receiving options
in FanDuel points over the last six games. The Redskins have allowed
the third-most fantasy points per game to tight end over the last
four games.
Reed has been producing Rob
Gronkowski numbers for a non-Gronkowski price all season long.
Reed finished with 87 catches for 952 yards and 11 touchdowns
in his 14 games played. Aside from last week where the Redskins
rested starters, Reed had seven or more targets in six straight
games. Reed is the chalk at TE this week but at a premium price
and ownership.
