Daily fantasy football players have numerous tools at their disposal
when selecting a lineup, including fantasy points against, vegas
betting lines, and other advanced metrics. While all of these tools
have value and should be used when considering how to spend your
budget, there are times in which a bit of common sense and trusting
your gut pay dividends as well.
One simple way I find value when building a DFS lineup is to
look for talented players who have not performed well recently,
but have advantageous match ups that bode well for them to break
out of their funk. These players are proven commodities usually
in high-scoring offenses, who for a multitude of reasons have
yet to perform and their true value. The lack of previous production
has reduced their salary to a point where if they produce at their
baseline expectation entering the season, their depressed values
make them attractive value picks.
Just like a value based strategy in the stock market where investors
look for strong companies who are currently valued below their
intrinsic book value, but have the ability to increase in value
and perform at a high level, I like to find blue chip players
who have yet to deliver a big week despite having the skills and
an advantageous matchup to deliver.
Here are a few players who fit this strategy for Week 6.
Eddie Lacy ($7,300 on FanDuel)
The lead back in a one of the best offenses in the NFL, Lacy
has been a disappointment this season with only one rushing touchdown
in five games, with 257 yards on 63 carries. He struggled to run
the ball last week against a tough Rams defense, posting a dismal
13-27 line and a 2.1 average.
His poor start has dropped his salary to $7,300 on FanDuel, on
par with Chris
Ivory and Chris
Johnson, and well below the top tier players like Le’Veon
Bell, Arian
Foster, and Adrian
Peterson. With a Week 6 match up against a San Diego Chargers
defense that has allowed the second most fantasy points to opposing
running backs, Lacy is a blue chip player who will deliver a bounce
back performance for DFS owners on Sunday.
T.Y Hilton has yet to find the endzone
but is on pace to set career highs for catches and targets.
T.Y. Hilton ($7,400 on FanDuel)
With 27 catches on 50 targets through five games, Hilton is on
pace to set career highs for both stat categories. Unfortunately
for Hilton owners in season-long leagues, the speedster from Florida
International has failed to reach the endzone in 2015.
Look for that to change this week when the Colts take on New
England Patriots team that has allowed the 10th most points to
opposing wide receivers. Hilton is due for a touchdown this week,
and his depressed salary of $7,400 makes him an attractive target
considering the game between the Colts and Pats should be high
scoring.
C.J. Anderson ($6,600 on FanDuel)
A first round draft pick in most season-long fantasy leagues,
Anderson has been one of the biggest disappointments this season
as he has failed to deliver the type of production he showed in
the second half of 2014. In a shared backfield with Ronnie Hillman,
Anderson has failed to reach the endzone while rushing for 139
yards on 54 carries. His poor play opened the door for Hillman
to earn more carries, while lowering Anderson’s price to
a mere $6,600 for Week 6.
With Hillman limited with a sore hamstring and the Broncos playing
against the worst run defense in the NFL, Anderson is in a perfect
position to bounce back this week. I am not advocating a long-term
resurgence for Anderson, but a 100-1 line for him is within reach
against the Browns.
Jarvis Landry ($7,300 on FanDuel)
Landry has been a target monster this season, with double digit
targets in all four of Miami’s games. But those targets
have failed to result in fantasy points, as Landry has managed
to top the century mark in yards only once and has yet to score
a touchdown.
The fact that Landry has scored at least ten points per game
in three of his four contests makes him a nice play in any format,
especially head-to-head games in which consistency is key. His
$7,300 price tag and the probability that one of those numerous
targets will finally result in a touchdown make him even more
attractive this week.