Strategy

Jalen Reagor, Miles Sanders and Alshon Jeffery are back in action. Those upgrades make a big difference for both Carson Wentz’s floor and ceiling. He’ll have viable pass-catchers to go along with his unheralded rushing production. So many rookie WRs have popped in this class, and after dealing with some injuries, it’s time for Reagor to do the same. Enjoy the cost savings of the $4,300 price tag to fill out the rest of your roster.

As one of the cheapest options on the slate, playing in a dome, against a not particularly threatening defense, it may not feel great, but there is a lot to like about Andy Dalton this week. Amari Cooper’s 8.5 (No. 84 among qualified wide receivers) Average Target Distance shows he’s getting easy targets near the line of scrimmage which he can take and turn up field, evidenced by his 220 (No. 18) Yards after the Catch. That presents a solid combination of floor and ceiling for the dollar.

Sifting through the high-end stacking options this week, there is one that may get lost based on matchup. Russell Wilson and the Seahawks face the intimidating Los Angeles Rams defense. In a game with the second highest projected total, ignore the difficult on-paper defensive matchup and get exposure to massive upside at what’s expected to be unusually low ownership from the Seahawks offense.

With projected negative Game Script and a healthy set of receivers, Drew Lock should see enough volume to make him a viable play at $5.5K on DraftKings. Jerry Jeudy has arrived. It took some time as a rookie, but he is now commanding an alpha-level Target Share and alpha-level Air Yards. He’s delivering on that opportunity as well. Yet DraftKings seems to think it’s still Week 7 by pricing him at $5.6K. Capitalize while you can.

We’re banking on a get-right game this week for Josh Allen against a porous Seahawks defense. At $7,000 on DraftKings, he has slate-breaking upside. Stefon Diggs is the queen chess piece of this Bills offense. DraftKings priced him up to $7,400 this week in anticipation of the matchup, but his underlying opportunity is still too good to pass up.

Typically a game manager, Teddy Bridgewater will be forced to come out firing this week in order to keep up with a Chiefs offense that will not have problems against the soft Panthers defense. Robby Anderson continues to be undervalued by DraftKings based on the opportunity he’s getting. Bank on the underlying opportunity for the high floor and hope the TDs start to come for the ceiling.

Russell Wilson has been a top 5 QB in four of his six games played and never outside the top ten. PlayerProfiler’s No. 2-ranked cornerback Jason Verrett is set to line up against D.K. Metcalf. Seahawks-49ers features a high point total (53) in what should be a game to stack. Banking on fantasy gamers being hesitant to chase the points from last week, Lockett should be relatively lower owned than his solid projection and lower price would naturally indicate.

Facing a barrage of sacks and pressures from his offensive line, Joe Burrow continues to look downfield, where his 347.3 Air Yards per Game rank No. 3 in the league. Those Air Yards are why Tee Higgins continues to be a strong play week in and week out. His 10 (No. 12) Deep Targets demonstrate his valuable role in the Bengals offense. Given the game state, feel free to go with a heavy game stack playing both Higgins and Tyler Boyd, running it back with one or two Titans players as well.

This week, Justin Herbert draws a Jacksonville passing defense that we’ve been targeted this year. He’ll have all day to throw, allowing him to continue to increase that Money Throw total and deliver fantasy points in bunches. Last we saw Keenan Allen, he left early in Week five with a back injury after scoring a touchdown. Using the bye week to get healthy, he is poised to step right back into his target magnet role as he lines up against burnable corners.

Julio Jones costs less than teammate Calvin Ridley this week. At $7100, Jones is outside the top 5 WRs. He suffered no reported setbacks last week in an absolutely dominant return. Matt Ryan, for his own part, has everything we look for when it comes to passing metrics for a QB. Some of it is Game Script-driven, but it’s not like that will be changing anytime soon. The issue has been efficiency, but we expect that to bounce back to historic norms with Julio back in the lineup against the Lions.

In a game where they led by multiple scores almost wire-to-wire, Lamar Jackson saw a huge increase in pass attempts. They are trying to get him going through the air. Marquise Brown is set to be the main beneficiary of this passing uptick. Last week, his routes and targets jumped to season highs. He is consistently targeted deep down the field, creating a volatile, splash play machine waiting for that blowup 150-plus yard, two-score game. This is the week.

This week in particular sets up to encourage plenty of passing action from the Jaguars against the Lions in the week’s most likely shootout. For the stack with Gardner Minshew, we’re going with Laviska Shenault. Similar to Marquise Brown, with the opportunity combined with the dynamism, it’s only a matter of time until he has a monster, slate breaking week. If you want to go all in on this game shooting out, throw D.J. Chark into the lineup and run it back with Kenny Golladay or T.J. Hockenson.

Deshaun Watson has been super efficient aggressively throwing the ball down the field this year. He has recorded 664 (No. 8 among qualified quarterbacks) Completed Air Yards, 8.4 (No. 7) Yards per Attempt, and 8.5 (No. 10) Air Yards per Attempt with a 108.8 (No. 8) True Passer Rating. Good things happen when Watson throws to Will Fuller. In a game projected to shoot out with a 54-point total, expect multiple splash plays from these two.

Joe Burrow’s passing volume makes him appealing week in and week out for daily fantasy. While some will be scared off going against Baltimore, the pass volume and expected Game Script give Burrow a high floor. We’re targeting Tee Higgins this week mainly due to price. He’s $4900 on DraftKings despite taking over WR2 responsibilities. He’s commanded over 100 Air Yards in each of the last two weeks. That downfield target role makes him more valuable in tournament settings as we look to capitalize on big plays.

With a middling projected point total, and given the Colts defensive scoring stats so far, many DFS gamers may be scared off this Colts-Bears matchup. However, those defensive stats came against the Jaguars, Vikings, and Jets. Not exactly a murderer’s row. Given the expected volume and increased efficiency in the Chicago passing game, paired with the favorable CB matchup, a Nick Foles-Allen Robinson stack provides tantalizing upside with low ownership.

In what should be a high scoring affair, target Cam Newton (priced at QB10) and both of his leading receivers against the Chiefs for maximum upside. N’Keal Harry and Julian Edelman have combined for over 50-percent of the Patriots Target Share, which increases to almost 60-percent of the red zone targets. That red zone activity combined with Newton’s goal line rushing ability gives this stack a monopoly on Patriots touchdowns.

The Rams-Bills game projects to be a high scoring affair in which the Rams are underdogs. Given the expected Game Script, Jared Goff will be forced to throw. When he does, Cooper Kupp will be the beneficiary. With Goff and Kupp, we have slight underdogs in a projected high scoring affair who have been efficient to this point with a dream defensive matchup. We get that with low projected ownership and price; Goff is QB19 on DraftKings.

Despite being a rookie, Joe Burrow fits the mold to power out big time fantasy performances for himself and his teammates. His 10 (No. 4 among qualified quarterbacks) Deep Ball Attempts and 759 (No. 3) Air Yards demonstrate his aggressive nature. It hasn’t materialized in the box score yet, but the volume A.J. Green has seen is undeniable. His 22 targets rank No. 4 among qualified wide receivers, while his 338 Air Yards rank No. 1.

With Kenny Golladay ruled out again, the Lions facing a burnable Packers defense in Week 2. Only priced at $3800 on DraftKings, Quintez Cephus is close to a free square this week. While missing his top target and facing mostly positive Game Script, Matthew Stafford still dished out 42 (No. 6) pass attempts. Combine that passing volume with his 8.8 (No. 6) Air Yards per Attempt and we have a QB ready to put up massive numbers.

This week, the Chargers face the fearsome Kansas City Chiefs. Given the offense they’ll be going against, they will have no choice but to unleash Taylor given the likelihood that they face negative Game Script. With Taylor costing only $5300 (QB23) and Williams at only $4200 (tied for WR60 and $1500 cheaper than Keenan Allen), this stack presents maximum upside while unlocking salary for a loaded RB corps.