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 9 Recap

The proverbial mixed bag for the BetCrushers in week nine, as you’ll sometimes have when selecting players in Daily Fantasy Football. We had some of the weeks best performers in some lineups, but a couple of misses, and selections kept us from profiting. We probably need to start with what really hurt us the most over the weekend, and that was the Bengals and Panthers game. Joe Mixon was a fantasy champion with 5 touchdowns and a ton of yards, and we didn’t have him in any lineups. Additionally there, we played the value Panthers defense as well, and they were obviously unable to produce. Those things happen from time to time, but our missed selections are what are really unacceptable. We had three players circled this week that were constant in our lineups. Of those three, Travis Etienne, Jr. was the only one that produced. Our Star of the Week Terry McLaurin had a very pedestrian performance, and certainly didn’t take advantage of some matchup advantages. We also loved Aaron Jones against the Lions, and that turned out to be a complete dud. Of course, that was also due to an early injury which ruined any chance of big points. In reality, the way Jones and the Packers were playing, he likely wasn’t going to do a whole lot anyhow. Here’s a closer look at who got us some points, and who kept us from getting into the money.

These Players Made Us Look Good:

Cooper Kupp – 127 Yards Receiving, 1 Yards Rushin, 1 Total TD
Justin Jefferson – 115 Yards Receiving, 10 Yards Rushing, 1 Total TD
Josh Allen – 205 Yards Passing, 86 Yards Rushing, 2 Total TDs
New England Patriots DST – 3 Points Allowed, 9 Sacks, 1 Int, 2 Total TD
Travis Etienne, Jr. – 109 Yards Rushing, 17 Yards Receiving, 1 Total TD
Rhamondre Stevenson – 60 Yards Rushing, 13 Yards Receiving, 1 Total TD
Curtis Samuel – 65 Yards Receiving, 16 Yards Rushing, 1 Total TD
Geno Smith – 275 Yards Passing, 38 Yards Rushing, 2 Total TDs
Cade Otton – 68 Yards Receiving, 1 Total TD

These Players Made Us Look Foolish:

Aaron Jones – 25 Yards Rushing, 20 Yards Receiving, 0 Total TD
Marcus Mariota – 6 Yards Receiving, 0 Total TD

NFL Week 10 Preview

If you’re the type of roster creator that likes to play a lot of mid-tier players to have a balanced lineup, this might not be the week for you. There are plenty of nice options in that middle tier, certainly at quarterback and running back, however passing on some big talent could be a big mistake Sunday. The leagues top performers have some really juicy matchups and we could see one of them put up a nail in the coffin type total, similar to what Joe Mixon did last week. Of course, that also means if you’re going to take one of these top talents, you’ve got to pick the right one. Overall, this week has the feeling of some random team winning the Millionaire-Maker, and not an analytics team with a bazillion rosters.

Before we highlight our three levels of talent, let’s look at our projected star of the week:

STAR OF THE WEEK:

This is without question the most conflicted selection we’ve ever had with our Star of the Week in the three years we’ve been publishing this article. Not because we’re torn on a different player, but because we’re pulling the trigger on the Bears Justin Fields. If you’ve followed the BetCrushers at all, you’re probably well aware that we don’t think too highly of the young quarterback. He’s clearly an exciting and athletic player, however that seems to be where the buck stops with Fields. Despite our lack of enthusiasm over him, we’re going to be playing him as our starting quarterback in week number ten. There’s three main reasons this is our strategy. First, the Bears seem to have figured some things out from an offensive scheming standpoint to play to Fields strengths. He’s been more decisive, throwing the ball a little better, and not hesitating to use his biggest strength of his legs to run. Next, he’s playing at home against a team in the Detroit Lions that has given up a lot of yards throughout the season, and lacks the consistency of a pass rush. And finally, and perhaps most importantly, his price point is right to allow for some other top tier players. Since there really isn’t a stack option with the Bears, unless you want to chase the points with Cole Kmet again, you can play Fields solo and spend at the RB or WR position. In a week where you almost have to configure your lineups with big dollar stars like Derrick Henry, Saquon Barkley or Tyreek Hill, using Fields should allow you to creatively use your salary. If Fields doesn’t get it done, we’ll consider him buried and dead to us, but if there’s ever a time to give him a shot, it seems like it’s this Sunday.

Quarterbacks:

Patrick Mahomes – $7,900 vs. Jaguars
Tua Tagovailoa – $6,700 vs. Browns

Running Backs:

Saquon Barkley – $8,600 vs. Texans
Derrick Henry – $8,300 vs. Broncos

Wide Receivers:

Tyreek Hill – $9,100 vs. Browns
Cooper Kupp – $9,000 vs. Cardinals

Tight Ends:

Travis Kelce – $7,100 vs. Jaguars
T.J. Hockenson – $5,300 vs. Bills

Defense / Special Teams:

Las Vegas Raiders – $3,800 vs. Colts

Quarterbacks:

Daniel Jones – $5,700 vs. Texans
Derek Carr – $5,600 vs. Colts

Running Backs:

Tony Pollard – $6,500 vs. Packers
David Montgomery – $6,000 vs. Lions

Wide Receivers:

Amon Ra-St. Brown – $6,900 vs. Bears
Juju Smith-Schuster – $6,000 vs. Jaguars

Tight Ends:

Tyler Higbee – $3,600 vs. Cardinals
Greg Dulcich – $3,400 vs. Titans

Defense / Special Teams:

Arizona Cardinals – $2,700 vs. Rams

Quarterbacks:

Jacoby Brissett – $5,400 vs. Dolphins
Trevor Lawrence – $5,400 – vs. Chiefs

Running Backs:

Najee Harris – $5,500 vs. Saints
Isaiah Pacheco – $5,000 vs. Jaguars

Wide Receivers:

Rondale Moore – $5,200 vs. Rams
Mecole Hardman – $4,500 vs. Jaguars

Tight Ends:

Tanner Hudson – $2,600 vs. Texans
Brevin Jordan – $2,600 vs. Giants

Defense / Special Teams:

Minnesota Vikings – $2,200 vs. Bills

If you play Daily Fantasy Football, 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!