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 .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 15 Recap

We joked on Twitter that we selfishly wanted to win the Millionaire Maker tournament this weekend. While we unfortunately fell a bit short of that, we definitely had some really nice winnings as our stars and sleepers both came through big time in our lineups. We had a couple of late scratches with Ronald Jones II heading that list, but swapped him out with Leonard Fournette who was able to punch a pair of touchdowns in. Our Star of the Week got off to a hot start as Jonathan Taylor scored the first touchdown of the weekend. He finished the day with over 100 total yards and that one TD which was definitely solid value for his price point. Our lineups contained Lamar Jackson and Ryan Tannehill at the quarterback position and both helped carry the load.

Here’s a closer look at who performed and who didnt:

Who Made Us Look Brilliant?

• Lamar Jackson – 243 Yards Passing, 35 Yards Rushing, 4 Total TDs
• Ryan Tannehill – 273 Yards Passing, 21 Yards Rushing, 5 Total TDs
• Derrick Henry – 147 Yards Rushing, 5 Yards Receiving, 1 Total TD
• Jonathan Taylor – 83 yards Rushing, 14 Yards Receiving, 1 Total TD
• Calvin Ridley – 163 Yards Receiving, 1 Total TD
• Travis Kelce – 68 Yards Receiving, 1 Total TD
• Brandon Auyik – 73 Yards Receiving, 1 Total TD
• Tyler Higbee – 67 Yards Receciving, 1 Total TD
• Corey Davis – 110 Yards Receiving, 1 Total TD
• Chad Hansen – 55 Yards Receiving, 1 Total TD

Who Made Us Look Foolish?

• Cooper Kupp – 39 Yards Receiving, 0 Total TD
• T.J. Hockenson – 19 Yards Receiving, 1 Yard Rushing, 0 Total TD

NFL Week 16

STAR OF THE WEEK:

If you had told the BetCrushers that we would have David Montgomery as a must-start Star of the Week in the first two months we would have laughed in your face. Fast forward to the month of December and Montgomery has been the hottest running back in the league not named Derrick Henry or Dalvin Cook. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly how the Bears have gotten their running game cranked up, other than the fact they stayed committed to Montgomery and challenged their offensive line to play better. You could probably add in the fact they’ve had a few weaker opponents and it all adds up to a nice run for Montgomery and the Bears offense. Sunday they will take on another defeated defense when they travel to an important game for their playoff chances to take on the Jacksonville Jaguars. It’s safe to assume Chicago will lean heavily on Montgomery and their running game in an effort to wear down the Jacksonville defense. Now, Montgomery doesn’t come cheap for a change (he was on our sneaky sleeper list just a few weeks ago). In this week’s slate, he’s worth centering your RB squad around.

The biggest decision that you’ll need to make this Sunday is how you want to approach the quarterback position. Patrick Mahomes is about as sure of a thing as you’ll find, but of course will cost you. Can you trust a cheaper option like Matt Ryan, Mitchell Trubisky or Drew Lock? The same question could be asked with tight end Travis Kelce as the dropoff in salary between Kelce and the rest of the pack is substantial.

PLAYERS WE’RE TARGETING:

Quarterbacks:

Patrick Mahomes – $8,500 vs. Falcons
Deshaun Watson – $7,600 vs. Bengals

Running Backs:

David Montgomery – $7,700 vs. Jaguars
Miles Sanders – $7,000 vs. Cowboys

Wide Receivers:

Tyreek Hill – $9,000 vs. Falcons
Keenan Allen – $7,500 vs. Broncos

Tight Ends:

Travis Kelce – $8,500 vs. Falcons
Noah Fant – $4,800 vs. Chargers

Defense / Special Teams:

Chicago Bears – $3,600 vs. Jaguars

Quarterbacks:

Jared Goff – $5,900 vs. Seahawks
Matt Ryan – $5,800 vs. Chiefs

Running Backs:

Chris Carson – $6,400 vs. Rams
Le’Veon Bell – $5,800 vs. Falcons

Wide Receivers:

Cooper Kupp – $6,600 vs. Seahawks
Amari Cooper – $5,700 vs. Cowboys

Tight Ends:

Dallas Goedert – $3,600 vs. Cowboys
Austin Hooper – $3,500 vs. Jets

Defense / Special Teams:

Philadelphia Eagles – $2,900 vs. Cowboys

Quarterbacks:

Mitchell Trubisky – $5,700 vs. Jaguars
Drew Lock – $5,000 vs. Chargers

Running Backs:

Giovani Bernard – $4,800 vs. Texans
Todd Gurley II – $4,700 vs. Chiefs

Wide Receivers:

Tee Higgins – $4,700 vs. Texans
Jamison Crowder – $4,500 vs. Browns

Tight Ends:

Dalton Schultz – $3,200 vs. Eagles
Zach Ertz – $3,100 vs. Cowboys

Defense / Special Teams:

New York Giants – $2,500 vs. Ravens

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!