TheVault: DraftKings GPP Plays - Week 2
Hope everyone had a good Week 1. We hit big on a few QB’s (Stafford, Ryan) and almost all of our TE’s last week, but only got a couple of decent games out of our RB’s and WR’s. Luckily, we get to do it all again this week. It seems like a lot of the salaries have softened this week so I definitely recommend spending at the QB position. I normally like to find a couple of cheaper ones to build around but this week there is a ton of upside and you only have to spend $7000-$8000. There is a ton of value at the RB and WR position, as like I said earlier, most of the good plays last week disappointed which in turn lowered their price tag this week. Take advantage of that while you can as good players in good matchups don’t often disappoint multiple weeks in a row. Good luck to everyone in Week 2!
Quarterback
Top Plays of the Week
Andrew Luck – $8400 – Luck’s price is why I think he is a great play this week. He is priced as the 2nd highest QB and has a ton of great QB’s just below him in price that many will likely flock to. I love the matchup against an Eagles D who made Chad Henne look like an MVP for a half last week. With the Colts inability to run the ball, Luck will be among the league leaders in passing attempts this year and he has a great compliment of weapons to turn all of those attempts into huge fantasy outings.
Aaron Rodgers – $7900 – Rodgers is one of those great QB’s priced just below Luck. His price fell an astounding $900 after that tough matchup in Seattle last week so it’s your one chance to take advantage of what I foresee being his lowest tag of the season. I don’t think the Packers will have much success in the run game against a stout Jets run D so I think Rodgers will air it out early and often. The Jets secondary let Derek Carr put up a 94.7 rating in his first NFL start on the road so just imagine what kind of numbers Rodgers is going to put up at home. Rodgers is my top QB play this week and I think he will be very highly owned. Fade at your own risk.
Jake Locker – $7100 – Much like Rodgers, I think Locker will be highly owned this week. Locker was a top 10 QB last week and gets a dream home matchup with the Cowboys. The Titans have a lot of underrated weapons in the passing game and Locker is always a threat to do damage with his legs. I’m more inclined to fade Locker than Rodgers, but I certainly wouldn’t be shocked to see him wind up a top 5 QB option this week.
Tom Brady – $7000 – While I expect more people to be on Locker, Brady can be had for $100 less and has just as much upside. The Vikings were the worst pass D in the league last year and although they kept the Rams out of the end zone last week, they still allowed 273 combined yards between Shaun Hill and something called an Austin Davis. With a healthy Gronk back in the fold, I look for Brady and this Patriots offense to light up the scoreboard starting this week.
Boom or Bust Play of the Week
Andy Dalton – $7500 – Most people don’t realize Dalton finished as a top 5 fantasy QB in 2013. He certainly didn’t do that by consistently putting up numbers every week. He was the definition of boom or bust. I expect the same type of year from him this year and this is primed to be his first boom week of the season. Vegas has this pegged as a top 3 scoring game this weekend. If that holds true, I expect Dalton to have a monster game.
Salary Saver of the Week
Brian Hoyer – $5000 – After the 1st half last week, I wasn’t even sure Hoyer would be starting this week. The Browns went to a no huddle offense in the second half and looked very good. Vegas expects a lot of points to be scored in this contest and I think the Browns keep it competitive. This is the same Saints D that gave up 448 yards to Matt Ryan last week. While I certainly don’t expect that type of output, I could certainly see Hoyer approaching 300 yards with a couple of TD’s while keeping up with the Saints high powered offense.
Running Back
Top Plays of the Week
Matt Forte – $8000 – Forte is in a good spot because most will be off of him because of price and matchup. Tony Romo made the 49’ers defense look a lot better than they are. I’m still under the impression they are an overrated squad at this point in the season. They managed to let DeMarco Murray run for over 100 yards in less than 3 quarters of play. Forte was targeted in the pass game 9 times last week and I expect a high number of targets again this week. I see this game being a shootout and Forte getting over 150 total yards with several catches and a TD.
Arian Foster – $7000 – With a plethora of stud RB’s $200-$500 more than him, I think Foster again could sneak through as an under owned play. That being said he is my #1 RB of the week and will be a building block for all of my lineups. He looked very good last week and gets a juicy matchup against a bad Raiders D this week. He lost a fumble last week inside the red zone but I expect him to find pay dirt multiple times this week while also eclipsing the 100 yard mark for the 2nd consecutive week.
Giovani Bernard – $6300 – I am very high on the Bengals offense this week and Bernard should be a big part of the game plan. While the coaching staff has said Jeremy Hill will be a bigger part of the offense this week, I don’t think he’ll be involved enough to hurt Gio’s stock. He had a whopping 10 targets last week and if he consistently sees that type of volume in the passing game, he has the talent to be a top 5 RB this year. The Falcons gave up over 42 points last week to New Orleans RB’s and I think the Bengals backs will have similar success, led by Bernard.
Alfred Morris – $5200 – Morris was the lone bright spot for the Washington offense averaging 6.5 YPC on his way to 91 yards last week. He looked really good and I’m not sure why they didn’t go to him more. I like the home matchup against the Jags this week and I look for Morris to get 20 carries and eclipse the century mark. He isn’t really involved in the passing game, but I hope a TD and the 3 point bonus for the 100 yards will more than make up for that.
Boom or Bust Play of the Week
Darren McFadden – $3000 – As of this writing, it is sounding doubtful MJD is going to play on Sunday. If he doesn’t, I think McFadden is worth rostering. As I mentioned in the Morris blurb, he averaged 6.5 YPC against this Texans D last week. I think the Texans D will be a popular pick so if McFadden can go off you are killing 2 birds with 1 stone. McFadden has always had the talent, he’s just never been able to stay healthy. He’s put up huge games in the past and might have another one in him on Sunday at home.
Salary Saver of the Week
Carlos Hyde – $3300 – Hyde earns the write up in this spot for the 2nd straight week. He went for 50 yards and a TD last week and I expect more than that this week against a terrible Bears run D. The Bills RB’s combined for 25 last week but Jackson was also tackled at the 1 yard line twice. I think Hyde’s role will only grow as the season goes on as he looks to be the better back to me at this point in Gore’s career.
Wide Receiver
Top Plays of the Week
Demaryius Thomas – $7000 – Thomas was disappointing in Week 1 but that’s to our advantage in Week 2 as his price plummeted making him the 6th most expensive receiver this week. I fully anticipate him being the highest own WR so this is more of a fade at your own risk write up again. I know he will be a cornerstone for my WR corps. Manning went to him early and often last week but for whatever reason it wasn’t working so the focus shifted to Julius Thomas. I expect Demaryius to pick it back up and have a huge week Sunday against a struggling Chiefs D.
Jordy Nelson – $6600 – Nelson was heavily targeted last week on the field and I think he will be heavily targeted by fantasy players this week as well. So again, fade at your own risk. I expect this Packers passing attack to be hitting on all cylinders Sunday and Nelson will be leading the way. Randall Cobb is also a great play at $6400 if you want someone with similar upside that will be lower owned.
Reggie Wayne – $5300 – Wayne looked like the old Reggie last week catching 9 passes for 98 yards and being the focal point of the Colts passing game. Like I said in the Luck blurb, I expect the Colts to pass the ball a ton on Monday night and Wayne will be the main beneficiary. I would be surprised if he didn’t post similar numbers to last week while also adding a score. Much like the Packers situation, TY Hilton is also a great play at $5000 if you want someone with similar upside that will be lower owned after a disappointing Week 1.
Justin Hunter – $4300 – You’re definitely going to want some exposure to the Titans passing game and Hunter represents the most upside of the bunch. He led the team in targets last week and is the most talented receiver on the roster. I wouldn’t blame you for going with Kendall Wright, but for the price, I’m going to save some salary cap and go with Hunter.
Boom or Bust Play of the Week
Riley Cooper – $4000 – Cooper had a disappointing Week 1 but he was targeted 7 times. He’s had huge games in the past and I think he is a sneaky play to have another one on Monday night. Outside of Vontae Davis I think the Colts secondary can be attacked. With Davis most likely matching up with Maclin, that opens up the door for Cooper. Vegas has this pegged as the highest scoring game of the week so you’ll want some exposure to both teams. I think Cooper is the guy you want this week for the Eagles.
Salary Saver of the Week
Doug Baldwin – $3400 – The Chargers were bottom 3 against opposing WR’s last year and allowed over 300 yards and 2 TD’s to the Cardinals passing game last week. The Chargers defense as a whole is not terrible though and I think their focus will be on stopping Lynch and Harvin. While that is harder said than done, Baldwin should find himself in good sports. He had 5 targets last week and I expect that number to be higher on Sunday. I’m envisioning a 6 catch, 80 yard, 1 TD day out of Baldwin.
Tight End
Top Plays of the Week
Rob Gronkowski – $6000 – Much like Julius Thomas in this spot last week, Gronk can be had at quite the discount from the top 2 highest priced TE’s this week. I avoided Gronk last week as I wanted to see how he would be involved in the offense in both play count and targets. He played in just 38 of 86 snaps but was targeted a whopping 11 times in that limited playing time. I expect that play count to increase weekly and if Brady is targeting him that much, Gronk is almost a must play this week. It doesn’t hurt that the Vikings were bottom 5 against the TE last year. Much like I recommended with Vernon Davis last week, don’t be afraid to use Gronk in the flex spot if you want to pair him with another cheap TE.
Vernon Davis – $5700 – I’ve only written up one 49’er so far but I am very high on their offense this week. Davis had a pair of TD’s last week but unfortunately like most of the other 49’ers, he was limited due to the Cowboys ineffectiveness on offense. The game quickly got out of hand and San Fran went into conservative clock killing mode. I expect the Bears to keep it close this week so look for Davis to take advantage all game long of a bad Bears D that was bottom 5 against the TE last year.
Jason Witten – $3800 – Witten was one of many in the Cowboys passing game last week that disappointed. He was targeted 6 times last week, which isn’t terrible for a TE, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see that number double this week. With Romo struggling, I look for him to look Witten’s way a lot early to get his confidence up. The Titans allowed some big plays and a TD to the TE last week so look for Witten to break a couple of long ones and get into the end zone.
Delanie Walker – $3700 – I’ve always liked Delanie Walker but this week I love him. Keeping with the theme of picking on the Cowboys, Walker is the last Titan write up of the week. The Cowboys D was bottom 3 against the TE last week and got torched for 2 TD’s last week to Vernon Davis. Walker had a TD himself but I think his catches and yards will be way up this week compared to last.
Boom or Bust Play of the Week
Jordan Cameron – $3800 – Keep an eye on the injury updates Sunday morning but if Cameron suits up, which I think he will, he makes a great play. He will be low owned but will be heavily involved in the Browns passing game. He has big play ability (got hurt on a 47 yard catch last week) and is a great red zone target for Hoyer. The Browns are going to put up points and Cameron will be the top option in the passing game on Sunday. The risk and the bust factor comes in if he plays and happens to reinjure that shoulder early in the game.
Salary Saver of the Week
Larry Donnell – $3000 – It’s going to be a rare occurrence if I don’t recommend a TE against the Cardinals. Donnell gets that matchup this week. Last week I recommended Ladarius Green in this spot but unfortunately Gates was the one who went off. Fortunately this week, Donnell is the clear #1 TE for the Giants. I am down on the Giants offense as a whole but Donnell was definitely a bright spot last week catching 5 balls on 8 targets including a TD. Donnell is one of my favorite plays this week as I love the matchup, his involvement in the offense, and I think most will overlook him as he is much of an unknown at this point in the season.