Football started with a bang this year, and I’m sure you all are enjoying watching football again just as much as I am. Hopefully you were able to avoid the landmines last week and the stressful sweats of the cash line bubble. I started off this beautiful NFL season hot and am looking to keep the momentum going moving forward. With that being said, ON TO THE MONEY!!!!
Each week, I will identify my top plays for cash games and GPPs and will include expected ownership percentage, which I believe is a very underrated aspect of DFS tournaments.
DraftKings Week 2 Lineup Suggestions
Quarterbacks
Sam Bradford $6900
O/U 55 PHI -5.5
Expected Ownership: 15.8%
Some may scoff at Bradford being a top QB play this week and I hope they do – more for me. Bradford and the Eagles nearly gave Twitter a heart attack when they started off very slow against the Falcons on Monday night. The good thing is that is exactly what most people will remember which could cause them to shy away from him. As ugly as it started out, Bradford did finish the night with over 330 passing yards and 18.44 fantasy points on DraftKings. All the performance did for me was validate that Bradford has one of the safest floors for QBs and at his price he is my top QB play for cash games and I will be running him out in a few tournaments as well.
Nick Foles $5500
O/U 41 STL -3.5
Expected Ownership: 4.2%
Nick Foles is happy. pic.twitter.com/k9dQ2nq2Y6
— Benjamin Hochman (@hochman) September 13, 2015
I am not the biggest of Foles’ fan base but when a guy puts up nearly 300 yards against Seattle, I take notice. Foles and the Rams will head to Washington this week in a game that I could see Foles scoring 20+ fantasy points and with his cheap price tag, that would be more than enough. Washington’s run defense is pretty solid so I would expect Foles to continue to let it fly like he did against Seattle and I strongly believe that Washington’s personnel won’t be able to handle it. I think the Redskins got lucky last week in that they were able to control the ball for the majority of the first half because they were able to establish the run game. Good luck establishing the run against the Rams front seven. More on that later….
Johnny Manziel $5200
O/U 41.5 CLE +1
Expected Ownership: 8.2%
This is obviously assuming that Josh McCown (concussion) will not be able to play on Sunday. Manziel haters will continue to point out why he is not a good quarterback and quite frankly, I don’t care. Love him or hate him, there is no denying that he makes plays. That being said, he is a bit of a wildcard (ie. holds ball too long, doesn’t tuck it, radical decision making). BUT at $5200, he is essentially a lock to reach value and he has the upside to win you a tournament against a less than stellar Titans defense. I would probably shy away from Manziel in cash games but I have him labeled as a strong tournament play.
Sam Bradford is going to be my my QB in the majority if not all of my cash games. For GPPs, I am targeting guys like Manziel and Foles where I can save quite a bit on price but still have the upside for large tournaments at a low ownership percentage. I am not opposed to Drew Brees, Carson Palmer, or Tanny either this week.
Running Backs
DeMarco Murray $7000
O/U 55 PHI -5.5
Expected Ownership: 19.7%
DeMarco Murray. Enough said, man. He might as well go by DeMarco Hurry. Because when he runs the ball, he gets to the end zone quick
— Jon Gruden (@Faux_Gruden) September 15, 2015
Clearly you can see a trend so far this season: Play the Eagles = Win Money….Whether you believe that or not, chances are you have a lineup or two with DeMarco Murray this week. The Eagles are a 5.5 point favorite at home this week so Murray fits the bill as a solid RB play. It looks as though the Eagles DO run enough plays to be able to feature Murray but still spread the love with all of their other offensive weapons. You really don’t think he is going to abuse his former team?!
Mark Ingram $5900
O/U 47.5 NO -10
Expected Ownership: 15.5%
Ingram has a great matchup this week as the Saints will host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers who looked like the same Buccaneers from 2014 last week. I am hoping people see that Ingram rushed for just 24 yards on only nine carries against the Cardinals and look elsewhere at RB in Week 2. Arizona is a tough team to run against and let’s face it, Tampa Bay is not. Ingram also added 8 catches for 98 yards in the passing game and as long as Spiller is out, you can count on Ingram being a nice PPR option. Game script would suggest Ingram getting 15-20 touches being a 10 point favorite at home in this one. Look for the Saints to lean on him heavily, especially in the second half.
At the Running Back position this week, these two will be in almost every lineup I have in both cash and tournament play. It is much harder this week to get as much value at RB as we did last week and for that reason, I will be paying up in the majority of my lineups and looking for better spots to save salary. For what it’s worth, I am still on Sproles again this week. At $3500 against Dallas, there is no reason not to have some exposure to him in PPR scoring formats. Aside from him, I am okay with Abdulluh at $4500 at Minnesota who made Carlos Hyde look like Barry Sanders. I am also starting to talk myself into Forte who is the king of the checkdown and Ingram showed last week that Arizona struggles stopping running backs in the pass game.
Wide Receiver
Jarvis Landry $5900
O/U 41.5 MIA -6
Expected Ownership: 18.8%
Q: Jarvis Landry? How good can this kid be?
@ACohenFins: His ceiling is somewhere in the clouds.
https://t.co/UPwFjkLsER
— Miami Dolphins (@MiamiDolphins) September 16, 2015
If you don’t know, now you know!!! Landry was made for DraftKings scoring. I hate talking about the same players week-after-week, but until DraftKings compensates for Landry’s scoring ability and his price remains this low, I cannot stress it enough that you should play him. He had eight catches last week against Washington even after the slow start and while he didn’t find the end zone that way, he did return a punt for a touchdown. Note: Washington special teams is still really bad. Anyway, there is no reason to think Landry’s targets take a hit against Jacksonville. He is one of the safest cash game plays at WR this week.
Cole Beasley $3300
O/U 55 DAL +5.5
Expected Ownership: 7.3%
Everyone is going to be on Terrence Williams this week so naturally, I think Cole Beasley should serve as a great pivot play. Beasley caught four balls for 49 yards on Sunday night against the Giants. Those numbers won’t leave you drooling but at his price, he is in a great spot to exceed value this week. He had six targets last week with Dez Bryant(sometimes) on the field. With Bryant sidelined and this being a high scoring game that I assume the Cowboys will be throwing alot, Beasley is shaping up to be a great play in both cash and GPPs.
Obviously at WR, Julio Jones and Antonio Brown should be rostered every time you have the salary to afford them. Aside from them, I will be sprinkling in some Odell Beckham Jr. and Calvin Johnson, who I think both will have nice bounce back games and have somewhat low ownership percentages. I will also have some DeAndre Hopkins but that has nothing to do with the matchup. I just really think Nuk is matchup proof. Jordan Matthews will once again be one of the highest owned guys at WR and so I will be playing him pretty much solely in cash games. Tavon Austin is always a threat to take one to the house and did I mention that Washington special teams is a mess…again? Austin should once again serve as a nice low owned GPP option.
Tight End
Martellus Bennett $4500
O/U 45 CHI +2
Expected Ownership: Chalk
Preparation for our journey requires far more than possessing a mere map..
— Martellus Bennett (@MartysaurusRex) September 14, 2015
Bennett was a chalk play last week and that shouldn’t change this week after a nice performance. Bennett caught five passes off seven targets for 55 yards and a touchdown against the Packers. This week, he gets to face the Cardinals who are historically bad against TEs. Bennett is a safe bet to once again see six-eight targets, and I think he will be efficient enough to reach value whether or not he scores.
Jared Cook $3000
O/U 41 STL -3.5
Expected Ownership: 4.5%
Cook had a very solid and hopefully overlooked Week 1against Seattle. He caught five balls off six targets for 85 yards. Foles should continue to look for him as a safety blanket as Cook will create mismatches for the Skins this week. Not to mention, he caught two touchdowns last December when these teams met. Cook should serve as a great tournament play and I would be okay with peppering him into some cash game lineups as well
At the TE position this week, I think it is a great spot to fade Gronk 100% against Buffalo. He is $1500 more expensive than the second-highest priced TE. I know he is an absolute animal, but the matchup is very tough and I wouldn’t be surprised to see Gronk not reach value this week. I will have some exposure to the “bounce back” game for Greg Olsen and aside from him, I always like me some Jordan Cameron.
Defenses
St. Louis Rams
O/U 41 STL -3.5
Expected Ownership: Chalk
Relive the thrilling Week 1 victory over the Seahawks!
Highlights: http://t.co/WpXlCTr5sy pic.twitter.com/P1cALvPn1n
— St. Louis Rams (@STLouisRams) September 16, 2015
This is one of the spots where I don’t think the Rams ownership could reach high enough levels for me to even consider fading them. The Jets, Dolphins, and Seahawks D/ST’s all paid off last week, but this week I will only have exposure to the Rams. The Rams are arguably the favorite to lead the league in sacks and against a bad offensive line, things look even worse for Cousins this week. Then, throw in the fact that you have one of the best kick/punt returners in the league in Austin going against probably the worst special teams in the league. I’m trying to find a scenario where the Rams D/ST isn’t the highest scoring play this week and I just can’t…
My Top Stacks:
Ben Roethlisberger – Antonio Brown
Matt Ryan – Julio Jones
Sam Bradford – Jordan Matthews
Ryan Tannehill – Jarvis Landry
Tony Romo – Cole Beasley (GPP only)
Nick Foles – Tavon Austin (GPP only)
My Top Fades:
Peyton Manning
Adrian Peterson
Terrance Williams
Rob Gronkowski
Seattle D/ST
BOLD PREDICTION: Jared Cook will be the top scoring TE this week!
If you live under a rock and don’t already have a DraftKings account, sign up using my link and deposit just $5 and you get a free $20 entry into this week’s millionaire maker where the winner will take home $2 million dollars!
Best of luck to everyone playing this week!
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Categories: 2015 Fantasy Football
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