NFL Preview Part 2: Site by Site Value Plays
Part 2 of the RG Week 1 NFL Preview focuses on where you can find value on each daily fantasy site. Every site has a group of players who are underpriced for whatever reason so we will take a deep look into which players specifically can help your team out for a very low price. The goal is to name a couple of guys from each position on each site, and to focus on how that site’s scoring system for NFL affects your value plays. Let’s see which players can lead you to the promise land in Week 1 by saving you some serious coin.
Some of these picks will overlap, but I’ll do my best to keep a fair amount of variance in the value plays.
FanDuel
- Jay Cutler – $6900
-Cutler is hoping to rekindle old love with the return of Brandon Marshall. It doesn’t hurt that the Bears start their journey against a helpless Colts defense that did little to improve on last season’s 17 FPPG-allowed average to opposing quarterbacks. I like Cutler at this price to provide incredible value.
- Jacob Tamme – $5300
-Tamme and Peyton are together in Denver and while the NFL transitions into a more pass heavy league each year, the great QBs know how to use their tight-ends properly. Brady, Brees, Manning and Rodgers all incorporate their TE’s in a big way and Tamme is on the very cheap end of the TE range. Love Tamme here.
- Antonio Brown – $6000
-$6K for a guy that killed it last season? I only expect more and more from Brown this year as the Steelers offense will get a lot more pass-heavy with Todd Haley as their new offensive coordinator. Expect Brown to explode and provide incredible value on FanDuel at that price.
- Seattle – $5000
-Here’s my defensive cheap pick on FanDuel for Week 1. The Seahawks against a Cardinals team that is deciding between John Skelton and Kevin Kolb at the QB position? Ouch that hurts. Larry Fitzgerald is such a wasted talent in Arizona.
- Kevin Smith – $5000
- Kevin Smith proved last year that he has huge upside when he gets a lot of touches. He’ll likely be the Week 1 starter so if he can get it going against the 31st ranked rush defense of last season(St. Louis) then he can put up BIG points for a very cheap cost.
- Nate Washington – $5300
-Everyone expects him to suck(or drastically fall off), but 121 targets last year is enough for me to take a flyer on Washington at $5300.
DraftStreet
- Falcons – $3993
-We’ll start with the defense play here. One of the cheaper defenses on DraftStreet and going against a Chiefs offense that has little firepower. Sure the return of Jamaal Charles and addition of Peyton Hillis make the Chiefs better on that side of the ball, but the Falcons have a solid defense and shouldn’t falter against a subpar offense.
- Mark Sanchez – $10,997
-He’s really cheap and I know that everyone thinks Tebow will be the starter by Week 6 or whatever but I honestly believe he comes out and plays well against the Bills. Buffalo improved a lot defensively but they still have little depth in their defensive backs so I think Sanchez could well overplay his price on DS in Week 1.
- Rashad Jennings – $5575
-You’re going to see me name this guy a lot because he has been killing it in the preseason and should be the Week 1 starter as MJD continues to sit it out while waiting on more cash. Jacksonville appears reluctant to budge so expect Jennings to be a very popular sleeper play in Week 1.
- Delone Carter – $3244
-I don’t know what else to say besides the fact that he’s dirt cheap and currently listed as the starting running back. He can’t be that bad right?
- Leonard Hankerson – $6045
- His minutes are up in the air, but after how he ended last season he clearly has big potential. He can blow up for some big plays and has nice TD upside.
DraftDay
- Drew Brees – $19125
- I know that this isn’t exactly a value play but he’s reasonably cheap considering how many points he could put up. Similar to Brady and the Patriots following SpyGate in 2007, I think Brees and the Saints come out with a vengeance and absolutely pour it on a hapless Redskins defense. For this price, he’s pure value on DraftDay.
- Brandon Lloyd – $11745
-My biggest concern with Lloyd is that he will serve as a decoy in the Patriots offense that flaunts many weapons. Luckily they will throw the ball enough where I think Lloyd can break free for a few big plays and probably a TD in his first appearance for New England. Middle of the range for WR on DraftDay too.
- Devery Henderson – $4915
-Dirt cheap and see the reasoning behind Brees earlier. Also, the Saints offense is a rubik’s cube in that you never really know who is going to have a huge game. Taking a risk on some one this cheap could definitely pay off in that passing game.
- Kevin Smith – $10490
-See explanation above.
- Owen Daniels – $7735
-Daniels is a really good tight-end who struggled last season. For a price tag this cheap, he should easily outperform his value.
- Jaguars – $5100
-Jags defense was actually really good last year. They get a Vikings team that has a limited AP? Sounds like they could definitely shut down the Vikes in Week 1 to me.
DailyJoust
- Peyton Manning – $146,000
-Lowest end of the scale across all sites for Manning was on Joust. Peyton is going to return with a big year for Denver and he should definitely start that out on national TV against Pittsburgh. Big concern here is the Steelers Defense is really good.
- Jay Cutler – $140,000
-See above.
- Rashad Jennings – $61,000
-See above.
- Stevan Ridley – $84,000
-Ridley is listed as the top RB for New England and there are very few #1 running backs that are going this cheap. Sure Belichick has a little Mike Shanahan in him and taking a NE back can be scary, but have faith. I believe he scores at least 1 TD against a Titans team that struggled against the run last year.
- Emmanuel Sanders – $45,000
-I don’t know, I just like him a lot as the 3rd option in a Steelers offense that will pass a lot. He’s really cheap.
- Justin Blackmon – $53,000
-Dirt cheap for a rookie WR who is obscenely talented. A.J. Green blew up last season, I think Blackmon will have a big year and Week 1 vs. Minnesota. That is, if someone can get him the ball.
- Owen Daniels – $56,000
-See above.
FantasyFeud
- Eddie Royal – $25,000
-Cheapest possible player value on FantasyFeud.
- Owen Daniels – $50,554
-See above.
- Peyton Manning – $151,324
-See above.
- Houston Texans – $81,500
- Rashad Jennings – $25,000
-See above.
- Peyton Hillis – $68,025
-Dirt cheap and will get plenty of goal-line touches. I remember last year everyone went through a John Kuhn kick. Well this is like that but Hillis is actually really good.
DraftKings
- Jake Locker – $3000
-New England’s pass defense struggled last season and shouldn’t be all that improved. Locker is filthy cheap and could rush for a TD and toss 1 or 2 others.
- Rashad Jennings – $2000
-See above.
- Jermichael Finley – $4300
-He’s a top-5 Tight End when healthy. All signs point to him being back which means the Packers just have one more big time receiving option for Rodgers to toss it at.
- Kevin Smith – $2200
-See above
- Adam Vinatieri – $2000
-Cheapest at the kicker position. Not much value on DK for kickers.
- Ravens – $2300
-16th most expensive defense is an absolute insult against the Bengals.
Hope you enjoyed, Part 3 coming soon!