Initial Thoughts on Week 4 Value Plays
Week 3 of the NFL season was a much-needed reminder that just when you think you can predict the NFL, it’s time to give yourself a Lee Corso: “Eh! Not so Fast!”? Noone can predict injuries on a week-to-week basis (I don’t care what they tell you). Those who went with one of the best up-and-coming WRs in the league this week, were out of luck when 23 year old Kenny Britt tore his ACL/MCL (still waiting on official results) early Sunday. Somehow, his aging QB, Matt Hasselback, still threw for 331 yards and 2 TDs on the day. The Giants defense, which suffered injury-after-injury this off-season, stuffed the top daily fantasy QB of last season, sending Mike Vick home with just 176 yards, 0 TDs, a pick, and a broken hand, while the Dream Team took another loss on the season. On Sunday, we saw staple RBs Frank Gore leave the game and Mike Turner come up with just 20 yards on 11 carries vs. the Bucs’ rush D which gave up 120 to Adrian Peterson the week before. You just can’t predict these results, and if you think you can, please send me a link to your lineup with Torrey Smith of the Ravens in it, and I’ll give you a shout out in my next column. But all is not lost! In daily fantasy, injuries and poor play often lead to an opportunity for a value play to step up next week. Here are the emerging players from Week 3 I have my eye on heading into Week 4. Prices for week 4 have not been released yet. FanDuel’s pricing system however, takes a few weeks to get up to speed, so there should be value to be had still for the players below (FanDuel Week 3 Pricing):
Week 4 Potential Value Plays
Kendall Hunter ($4,500) – Frank Gore left the game with an ankle injury, and Kendal Hunter impressed when given the opportunity this preseason. Frank Gore is getting up there in age, and could easily miss Week 4, putting Hunter in line for starters carries vs. PHI.
Nate Washington – $5,900 – Nate Washington had a monster day after Britt went down. He’ll be the clear cut #1 WR for the Titans moving forward, as they try to get CJ500 back to CJ2K as quickly as possible.
Torrey Smith $4,500 – Seriously, if you started this guy, I want to give you recognition. PM me your lineup immediately. I’m not buying he’ll be a consistent option moving forward, but for $4,500 he’s an intriguing GPP flyer pick for Week 4.
Sidney Rice – $6,500 – Woah. Sidney Rice put up a line coming off of a lengthy injury hiatus, with Tavaris Jackson slinging him the rock, that was comparable to his days with Brett Favre. Not sure this will be a consistent result, but his upside makes him a good value pick to keep an eye on over the next couple weeks.
Denarius Moore – $5,200 – This guy’s the real deal. He’s the only Oakland WR doing anything noteworthy right now, and he succeeded in limited opportunities vs. the J-E-T-S stout defense. Here’s what coach Hue Jackson had to say about D-Moore: “Give it to 17, Denarius Moore Jackson said. “Let your players make plays. That’s what I’m trying to create here. I’m going to create an environment where our great players can do something special. … (Moore) is becoming a really, really fine football player.”
Johnny Knox – $6,000 – MEMO: Roy Williams is done. After this week, it is abundantly clear who the #1 WR in Chicago is. He should pass his $6,000 price tag in Week 5.
Danario Alexander = $4,900 – He had a rough day, but he did have 8 targets. Also, he’s 6’5”, under Josh McDaniels offensive helm, and has amazing potential.
David Nelson – $5,200 – I’m so happy to see this guy thriving in the NFL. An after thought while at Florida, he’s now performing as well as his former National Champion teammates Percy Harvin and Aaron Hernandez are in the bigs. A hard-worker, and even-keeled, David Nelson will make the best of his opportunity in this pass-heavy Bills attack moving forward.
Vernon Davis – $5,900 – The 49ers remembered who their best target was this week, and stopped having Vernon Davis block for them. With Braylon Edwards out 2 more weeks, Vernon will lead the team for certain.
Scott Chandler – $5,500 – ANOTHER TD. This guy could be for real. And he is very cheap.
Jimmy Graham – $6,100 Another TE, but worthy of the spot. Jimmy Graham is solidifying his preseason hype.
Ben Tate – $6,400 – Nothing too surprising here. If Arian Foster is out again, Ben Tate is a stud RB value pick. He looked solid in Week 3 as the featured back, though he didn’t find the end zone.
Dane Sanzenbacher – $4,700 – If Earl Bennet is out again, Sanzenbacher is very capable of producing lines like Sunday’s (5 catches and a TD), which way exceed his $4,700 price tag.
Dexter McCluster – $5,200 – A 10 point day is on par for Run-DMC mini-edition’s debut without Charles. Look for his offensive role to expand moving forward. Against SEC rush defenses, he was dominant with 20-plus carries. Those that saw his 25 carry, 250+ yard, 4 TD game vs. Tenn his senior year, know what he’s capable of.
Cameron MacMillan
RotoGrinders.com Fantasy Content Manager