Finding Paydirt: Week 2
Touchdowns, while extremely variant, make or break daily fantasy success and swing thousands of dollars every Sunday. Every weekend, players wait anxiously for the players on their roster to find paydirt. The purpose of the contest is to provide an opportunity for the RotoGrinders community to come together and have fun as we spend much of our time during the week stressing over the construction of our weekly lineups. Did I mention there will be prizes? Let’s have some fun!
Week 1 across the NFL was not short on scoring. Touchdowns came in bunches and many of our Week 1 contestants reaped the rewards. Week 2 adds an additional game to the DraftKings Main Slate as the West Coast Monday Night Football nonsense is over. For a look at how everyone performed in Week 1, read this week’s Finding Paydirt: Week 1 Results. For information about the contest and prizes, take a quick glance through my recently published Finding Paydirt: 2019 Contest Guidelines. Okay, let’s make some cuts.
The Cut List
Simply put, to compete in this contest you must pick a running back, wide receiver, and tight end to score a touchdown on Sunday. The player must be on the DraftKings Main Slate and cannot be any of the players below. These players are the top five at both RB and WR and the top three at TE — I nix them hoping to make the contest more interesting. Leave a comment with your picks.
| Running Back | Wide Receiver | Tight End |
| Saquon Barkley | Deandre Hopkins | Travis Kelce |
| Ezekiel Elliott | Michael Thomas | George Kittle |
| Alvin Kamara | Davante Adams | Evan Engram |
| Dalvin Cook | Keenan Allen | |
| David Johnson | JuJu Smith-Schuster |
Now, for my three picks this week.
Mark Ingram – RB – $6,000
Mark Ingram found paydirt twice in Week 1 as the Ravens bludgeoned the Dolphins 59-10. Ingram received five carries in the red zone during the lopsided affair. He seemed to be the red zone bellcow when the game was in reach.
The Ravens are implied to score 30 points on Sunday against the Cardinals — the second-highest implied total — as a 13-point home favorite against the visiting Cardinals. The Cardinals squeaked out a tie at home last weekend versus the Detroit Lions. The game script sets up perfectly for an early-down type back — playing as a massive home favorite in a high-total affair. Ingram should see plenty of work as the Ravens try to slow down the Cardinals’ extreme pace.
The Cardinals ran 82 plays on offense in their overtime affair last weekend while allowing 80 plays on defense. The pace is other-worldly and should allow opposing offensive players to see a boost in projections, as a result. Ingram will likely see a small uptick in carries due to the pacing and could see more opportunities within the scoring area as a result.
Amari Cooper – WR – $7,400
In Week 1, the Cowboys put on an offensive clinic against the Not-So-Giants. Scoring 35 points, the Cowboys and Dak Prescott seemed to get every pass-catcher involved. Michael Gallup had a monster game while Amari Cooper was targeted 9 times — producing a very strong stat line of 6 catches, 106 yards, and one touchdown. Cooper is an electric athlete and has proven repeatedly that he can score from anywhere on the football field.
The Washington Football Team surrendered three receiving touchdowns in Week 1 on their way to a blown lead in their loss versus the Eagles. Last season, the Washington Football Team gave up plenty of points in the air, as well. Playing on the road, I do not anticipate the Cowboys to blow out Washington similar to the Giants on Sunday. So that said, Cooper should see his typical target load as well as a few opportunities in the red zone.
Michael Gallup received more catches than Cooper but Amari led the team in targets. While Dak might spread it around this year, Amari Cooper is unquestionably the alpha-dog in this offense. His nine targets led the team. Cooper was likely not pressed into an abundance of red zone work because the Cowboys had no issue putting the Giants away. This week, on the road, the Cowboys might need more from their star.
Delanie Walker – TE – $3,500
Delanie Walker received two targets in the red zone last weekend against the Browns and cashed both in for scores. Walker’s two touchdowns were an anomaly for the tight end position — only seven other tight ends caught a touchdown during the Week 1 Main Slate.
The Colts troubles versus the tight end position were documented in my Week 1 article when I selected Hunter Henry against the Colts defense. While the running back position gave Indianapolis fits this past weekend, I am not willing to disregard their allowance of so many targets to the position last season.
Walker is a key piece of the Titans offense. Tennessee will attempt to establish the run with Henry as much as possible. That said, Marcus Mariota will likely turn to Delanie Walker when needed and especially in the red zone.
Thanks very much for taking the time to read through this week’s picks. Be sure to tell me who you think will score a touchdown at each position in the comments section below. Also, give me a follow on Twitter to stay updated with the content I contribute to RotoGrinders throughout the football season. I will be back on Tuesday with a recap of Week 2 as well as a leaderboard update. Until then, good luck.