Daily fantasy football continues to climb in popularity as jackpots have risen consistently and more fans are joining sites every week. Our weekly article showcases players to target at three general levels of value: The big dollar talent (Heavy Hitters), the average-priced contributors (Average Athletes), and the guys very questionable players at the bottom of the cost charts (Sneaky Sleepers). Our selected players are based on DraftKings values as that is our daily fantasy site of choice, but the values should translate fairly well to any other sites you may use. We don’t share specific lineups or optimized computer rankings, but we will give you some great candidates for you to consider. We set this breakdown up that way because while winning is great, a big part of the fun draw of daily fantasy is mixing and matching your lineups to see how you can maximize your team. That and the fact that we are trying to win the same way that you are, and quite frankly, we don’t want our readers to all have the same exact lineups.
NFL Week 1 Recap
A pretty strong start in week one with our Draftkings DFS. We absolutely nailed some huge players, primarily in the sleeper category, which helped us cash in. However, we definitely whiffed on a few big players as well. We always have to review our Star of the Week, and despite a really good performance from Baker Mayfield, he was pretty ineffective from a fantasy football standpoint. The Browns running backs ate up all three touchdowns in the red zone, leaving Mayfield with a goose egg in terms of touchdowns. Much like handicapping and wagering on football games, week one requires a lot of observation to really gauge which players are going to get the reps needed to be viable options moving forward. Let’s take a specific look at who crushed it, and who literally dropped the ball for us in the opening weekend.
Who Made Us Look Brilliant?
- Patrick Mahomes – 337 Yards Passing, 3 Total TDs
- Tyreek Hill – 197 Yards Receiving, 1 Total TD
- Travis Kelce – 76 Yards Receiving, 2 Total TDs
- T.J. Hockenson – 97 Yards Receiving, 1 Total TD
- Deebo Samuel – 189 Yards Receiving, 1 Total TD
- Alvin Kamara – 83 Yards Rushing, 8 Yards Receiving, 1 Total TD
- Jalen Hurts – 264 Yards Passing, 64 Yards Rushing, 3 Total TDs
- Tyrod Taylor – 295 Yards Passing, 40 Yards Rushing, 2 Total TDs
- Dalvin Cook – 61 Yards Rushing, 41 Yards Receiving, 1 Total TD
- Melvin Gordon – 101 Yards Rushing, 17 Yards Receiving, 1 Total TD
Who Made Us Look Foolish?
- Aaron Rodgers – 133 Yards Passing, 0 Total TD
- Calvin Ridley – 51 Yards Receiving, 0 Total TD
- James Robinson – 25 Yards Rushing, 29 Yards Receiving, 0 Total TD
NFL Week 2 Preview
Week number two is going to be a light play for the BetCrushers in DFS for one simple, yet fun reason. There are just too many juicy options, it’s impossible to really find advantages. There are going to be a lot of players, both high dollar and sleeper that put up some big stat lines. If you’re planning on playing, we feel really good that you’re going to end up really happy with a lot of the guys we have featured below. Mix and match, hope for some luck, and hopefully you can come out with some winners. Before we highlight our three levels of talent, let’s look at our projected star of the week:
STAR OF THE WEEK:
Just as we mentioned, there are literally a dozen great candidates beyond the typical big names for Star of the Week. We’re rolling the dice and giving you a player who’s never had a big fantasy performance in his career. Of course, he’s only played in one tough game, so let’s not grade him as a bust just yet. Najee Harris was brought into Pittsburgh to be a three down back who can run between the tackles and make big runs, when the opportunities are there. That didn’t happen in a really physical opener against the Buffalo Bills, but his matchup against the Raiders should be a lot more favorable. Although the Raiders defense is better than it was a season ago, they are still far from an elite unit, particularly against the run. They were actually gashed a few times in their opener with the Ravens fourth string running back. It would have been easy to give out a Nick Chubb pick here, but let’s gamble a bit and see what the rookie can do.
PLAYERS WE’RE TARGETING:
Quarterbacks:
Josh Allen – $7,200 vs. Dolphins
Tom Brady – $6,900 vs. Falcons
Running Backs:
Nick Chubb – $7,800 vs. Texans
Austin Ekeler – $7,300 vs. Cowboys
Wide Receivers:
DeAndre Hopkins – $8,000 vs. Vikings
D.K. Metcalf – $7,600 vs. Titans
Tight Ends:
George Kittle – $6,400 vs. Eagles
Hunter Henry – $4,300 vs. Jets
Defense / Special Teams:
Denver Broncos – $3,800 vs. Jaguars
Quarterbacks:
Justin Herbert – $6,700 vs. Cowboys
Baker Mayfield – $6,000 vs. Texans
Running Backs:
Najee Harris – $6,300 vs. Raiders
Chris Carson – $6,100 vs. Titans
Wide Receivers:
Chris Godwin – $6,600 vs. Falcons
Allen Robinson II – $6,200 vs. Bengals
Tight Ends:
Noah Fant – $4,200 vs. Jaguars
Mike Gesicki – $4,000 vs. Bills
Defense / Special Teams:
Pittsburgh Steelers – $2,800 vs. Raiders
Quarterbacks:
Jimmy Garoppolo – $5,700 vs. Eagles
Teddy Bridgewater – $5,400 vs. Jaguars
Running Backs:
Melvin Gordon – $5,900 vs. Jaguars
Chase Edmonds – $4,900 vs. Vikings
Wide Receivers:
Russell Gage – $4,800 vs. Buccaneers
Tim Patrick – $4,600 vs. Jaguars
Tight Ends:
David Njoku – $3,600 vs. Texans
Dalton Schultz – $3,300 vs. Chargers
Defense / Special Teams:
New York Jets – $2,200 vs. Patriots
If you play Daily Fantasy Football we love talking sports and we’d love to hear your take and who you like each week, find us on Twitter @TheBetCrushers and let us know. Good luck and enjoy the weekend!
