With three touchdowns in all but one of his games in 2018, Philip
Rivers has been a model of consistency and the type of player
cash game owners love to plug into their lineups. Oakland ranks
16th in fantasy points allowed to QBs and have little to no pass
rush to get to Rivers. This game could be a sneaky high scoring
game, and Rivers at $6,700 is an excellent way to get a high-floor
play.
Owners looking for a low-cost quarterback with home run potential
may want to give Blake Bortles a shot this week against a Kansas
City defense that is on pace to allow the most yards in the history
of the NFL. Although I don’t anticipate Mahomes continuing his
torrid pace this week against the Jags, I do think Bortles and
the offense will be forced to put up 28 points to win this game.
Pair Bortles with Dede Westbrook and T.J. Yeldon in a GPP triple
stack.
The Case Keenum experiment in Denver has not worked out quite
the way that John Elway envisioned, as the journeyman QB has struggled
after starting the season with three touchdown passes against
the Seahawks. Keenum has not thrown a touchdown in his last three
games, including what should have been an easy home matchup against
the Chiefs.
I like to pay up for running back in cash games to secure a strong
foundation for my roster. In the case of Melvin Gordon, he has
been the poster boy for consistency with 30 points in three of
his four games this season. The Raiders allow the eighth-most
points to opposing running backs, and Gordon should once again
deliver 100 total yards and a score or two.
This may come as a surprise to some of my readers based on the
fact that Montgomery has just one double-digit game this season
and has been relatively quiet. But with the Packers down Randall
Cobb and Geronimo Allison, and with Davante Adams dealing with
a calf injury, Aaron Rodgers may lean more heavily on Montgomery
to beat the Lions this week. He is undoubtedly a high risk/high
reward play, but at $3,800 he is cheap and allows you to spend
elsewhere.
A likely negative game script and the likelihood of more carries
for Nick Chubb makes me want to avoid Hyde this week against the
Ravens. He has benefitted from a ton of goal line work and has
fairly little upside unless he scores.
With no less than 12 targets and 102 receiving yards in each
of his four games this season, Adam Thielen has been a cash game
mainstay. The Eagles have a strong pass rush and are stout against
the run, but they have really struggled to stop opposing wide
receivers. I like both Thielen and Stefon Diggs this week.
It is not often that you find the NFL’s leading touchdown
scorning wide receiver playing in what should be a shootout for
less than $6k. For some reason, Ridley continues to be undervalued
by the price setters at DK. Don’t miss out on this inexpensive,
high upside play in what could be a high-scoring game.
Although Adams is likely going to practice on a Saturday and
play on Sunday after sustaining a calf injury in practice this
week, I don’t have much faith in him staying healthy and producing
fantasy points to justify his cost. I’d rather spend $100 less
on JuJu Smith-Schuster against the Falcons at home.
With the tight end position a barren wasteland void of many options
that you can count on, paying a premium for 10-plus targets to
Ertz makes sense in cash games on DraftKings. Although Ertz has
yet to reach the end zone, he has at least ten receptions in two
of his four games, making him a premium play in full PPR formats.
McDonald is the perfect GPP play with a sky-high ceiling and
questionable floor. The former 49er could be the highest scoring
tight end this week in a game against a Falcon team missing five
starters on defense. But he also could end the game with one catch
for ten yards. In GPP, I’m rolling the dice on McDonald
for the upside.
After a breakout preseason that had fantasy owners envisioning
a breakout season, Njoku has been relatively silent this season
with three games of less than seven fantasy points. The targets
have been there (seven in three of four games), but the production
has not followed. I’m trying to avoid all Browns in this
game if possible, including the tight end position.
Defense & Special Teams
High Priced Option Worthy of the Cost:
Titans ($4,000) @ Bills
Bargain Priced with Upside: Ravens ($2,800) @
Browns
