Derek Fisher LF | HOU |
Alex Abrines SG | OKC |
De'Aaron Fox PG | SAC |
Chandler Parsons SF | MEM |
Skal Labissiere PF | SAC |
Eric Hosmer 1B | SD |
J.D. Martinez RF | ARI |
Tyson Ross P | SD |
Yasmany Tomas LF | ARI |
Madison Bumgarner P | SF |
Tyler Ulis PG | PHO |
Matt Chapman 3B | OAK |
Tyson Chandler C | PHO |
Elvis Andrus SS | TEX |
Avery Bradley SG | LAC |
Marcus Smart PG | BOS |
Reggie Bullock SF | DET |
Shane Larkin PG | BOS |
Trevor Ariza SF | HOU |
Zach Britton P | BAL |
Graham Gano K | CAR |
Kawhi Leonard SF | SA |
Jason Kipnis 2B | CLE |
DeSean Jackson WR | TB |
Aaron Gordon PF | ORL |
Nikola Vucevic C | ORL |
Corey Dickerson LF | TB |
Robin Lopez C | CHI |
Brandon Guyer RF | CLE |
Yasmani Grandal C | LAD |
Matt Bryant K | ATL |
Davis Webb QB | NYG |
Case Keenum QB | MIN |
Daniel Nava LF | PIT |
Adam Vinatieri K | IND |
Devon Travis 2B | TOR |
Joe Musgrove P | PIT |
Austin Barnes C | LAD |
Blake Swihart C | BOS |
Brent Honeywell P | TB |
Trevor Story SS | COL |
Andrew Benintendi LF | BOS |
Joe Kelly P | BOS |
Carlos Rodon P | CWS |
Alex Wilson P | DET |
Nomar Mazara RF | TEX |
Freddy Galvis SS | SD |
LeBron James SF | CLE |
Ryan Merritt P | CLE |
Jabari Blash RF | NYY |
Chris Owings SS | ARI |
Brad Hand P | SD |
Wil Myers 1B | SD |
Drew Brees QB | NO |
Javier Baez 2B | CHC |
Mark Melancon P | SF |
Goran Dragic PG | MIA |
Hassan Whiteside C | MIA |
Yu Darvish P | CHC |
Ben Zobrist 2B | CHC |
Johan Camargo 3B | ATL |
Colby Rasmus CF | TB |
Darren Collison PG | IND |
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson SF | BKN |
Tim Frazier PG | WAS |
Miguel Sano 3B | MIN |
Joakim Noah C | NY |
Michael Beasley SF | NY |
Frank Gore RB | IND |
Andrew Luck QB | IND |
Jonathan Isaac PF | ORL |
Jeff Hoffman P | COL |
Cameron Payne PG | CHI |
Justin Holiday SG | CHI |
Alshon Jeffery WR | PHI |
Felix Hernandez P | SEA |
Nick Folk K | TB |
Crockett Gillmore TE | BAL |
Trevor Siemian QB | DEN |
Jonathan Stewart RB | CAR |
Michael Saunders LF | TOR |
Michael Conforto LF | NYM |
Carlos Gomez CF | TEX |
Carlos Torres P | MIL |
Chris Taylor LF | LAD |
Ronald Torreyes 2B | NYY |
Brandon Drury 3B | NYY |
Daily fantasy football isn’t all about who you are going to use. Sometimes it’s just as important to determine who you aren’t going to use. That way, if the salary happens to fit for your last spot, you’ll know which names to disregard in order to produce the greatest overall fantasy point output. Here are the guys to cross off your list heading into the 10th week of the NFL season.
Jameis Winston, Buccaneers, $10,000 – Starting quarterbacks (QBs) are never ever priced at the bare minimum on FantasyDraft, so this one is a bit surprising. The value alone may entice a fantasy owner to buy in, similar to basement pricing at Walmart. You may not need three copies of Kevin James’ “Paul Blart: Mall Cop”, but at 99 cents, the DVDs basically buy themselves. Let me be the one to tell you: don’t. Sure the Cowboys have been reasonably tough on QBs as they have allowed the ninth-fewest fantasy-point output to the position, but that’s not even the main reason to avoid Jameis Winston… his receivers can’t catch! Watching the Buccaneers’ offense last week was enough to make you sick to your stomach, as Mike Evans dropped five passes alone… and he’s supposed to be their top target! Add Doug Martin’s lone drop to the equation and Tampa Bay pass-catchers dropped nearly 20-percent (19.44) of Winston’s attempts last week. The team misses Vincent Jackson and it appears he’s not close to returning either. Combine a less-than-appealing matchup with a brutal receiving core and there’s simply no reason to use Winston even if you want to save money at the position. Ryan Tannehill and Sam Bradford are only slightly more expensive, yet possess much higher ceilings. Lean in their direction instead.
Jeremy Langford, Bears, $9,200 – Did you hear a loud sigh on Monday evening in the distance? That was the sound of the daily fantasy community’s relief when Jeremy Langford finally entered the game after Ka’Deem Carey drew the start seemingly out of nowhere. When all was said and done, Langford did indeed act as the team’s workhorse back and produced more than 140 total yards and a TD. However, St. Louis’ defense is not San Diego’s defense… this one will be an infinitely more difficult test for Langford and the Bears’ offense as a whole. San Diego ranks in the bottom seven of total yards allowed while the Rams rank in the top five (meaning they have allowed the fifth-fewest total yards). They have allowed the 11th-fewest-or-less total of fantasy points to the QB, running back (RB), wide receiver (WR) and TE positions. In fact, the only ones who have had success against the Rams are defense/special teams units (D/ST) that play against their offense. Look, Langford will once again be allotted a full workload, so he’ll have plenty of opportunity to produce. I just don’t see him as an upper-echelon cash play in a very difficult matchup coming off a price increase of $1,600. Could he produce with all the volume he’ll be receiving? Absolutely. I simply will be avoiding him in cash goes and looking towards safer options like Matt Jones against the putrid New Orleans Saints’ defense.
Brandin Cooks, Saints, $12,000 – Look who reared his head into relevance once again last week. Brandin Cooks beat the defense and found the end zone, his visits to which have unfortunately has been few and far between this season. Other than the three touchdowns (TDs) he has accounted for in the past two weeks, he had scored just one other time in the previous seven weeks. His recent uptick in production/success may lead one to go back to the well in week 10, but he’s the fantasy equivalent of fool’s gold. At 5’10”, he’s not going to be a consistent target in the red zone on anything other than short routes. The team likes to go to the TEs or even resort to the running attack once they get to the goal line, so the likelihood of another TD is low. Furthermore, according to Football Outsiders, the Redskins rank among the most effective against team’s opposing WR1 in the passing game. This feels like a game where Drew Brees will spread the ball around, therefore making any single receiver difficult to rely on. Do not succumb to the “recency bias” in regards to Cooks.
Brandon Marshall, Jets, $14,400 – Okay, so this one is only for those playing the Thursday-Monday slate this week, but Brandon Marshall should not be in consideration. He’s a true WR1 in both fantasy and reality yet the whole Thursday thing typically hampers production, especially in the passing games. There is a narrative in play as the Jets’ will look to stick it to their ex-Coach Rex Ryan who just named IK Enemkpali, the guy who knocked out Geno Smith in the preseason, the team’s co-captain. Regardless of the overlying un-quantifiable factors, the Bills have been far stingier against number-one WRs than number twos. That’s why if I were playing a receiver from this game, I would go with Eric Decker against the Bills, who notoriously possess a group of vertically challenged corners (which in theory should benefit Marshall as well). Decker has found the end zone in every game but one that he has suited up in this season and I believe that he, and not Marshall, adds to the total this week, making him the play.
Julius Thomas, Jaguars, $7,200 – It’s frustrating to think about Julius Thomas’ stats last season then stare at this price and still have to pass. “We’re not in Kansas anymore,” was Dorothy’s famous line from The Wizard of Oz, but as for Thomas: he’s not in Denver anymore. To be fair, he is still recovering from a hand injury that kept him out for the first four weeks and is now suffering from a groin injury. In reality he has only caught six passes in three games besides his anomaly seven-catch, 78-yard week six capped off by a TD. The Ravens have given it up in the passing game but have allowed the fourth-least amount of fantasy points to the TE position. It appears it’s going to be a big week for Blake Bortles and his pass-catchers, but guys like Allen Robinson and Allen Hurns are more likely to be the main beneficiaries.