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 great start to the season as we had really nice ROI, with our rosters centered around Patrick Mahomes and Star of the Week Michael Pittman, Jr. A lot of players started slow and then ultimately rounded into nice form in the latter halves of their respective games. The player that unfortunately was on his way to a productive day in the rain, but suffered a knee injury in the second quarter was running back Eli Mitchell of the 49ers. Had he not been forced to miss nearly three quarters, we likely would be celebrating some massive winnings in week one. Let’s take a closer look at some of our picks below.
These Players Made Us Look Good:
Patrick Mahomes – 360 Yards Passing, 5 Yards Rushing, 5 Total TDs
Michael Pittman, Jr. – 121 Yards Receiving, 1 Total TD
Lamar Jackson – 213 Yards Passing, 17 Yards Rushing, 3 Total TDs
Kirk Cousins – 277 Yards Passing, 2 Total TDs
Jonathan Taylor – 161 Yards Rushing, 14 Yards Receiving, 1 Total TD
Ja’Marr Chase – 129 Yards Receiving, 1 Total TD
Terry McLaurin – 58 Yards Receiving, 1 Total TD
These Players Made Us Look Foolish:
Devonta Smith – 0 Yards Receiving, 0 Total TD
NFL Week 2 Preview
Now that we have a sample size, albeit a limited one, we can start more accurately drilling in on some key players. There are a six teams that will not be playing on Sunday who have quite a few of the biggest stars in the league, mainly at the quarterback position. As you look to build your lineups, there are some very possible stacking options with some of the potentially higher-scoring games of the weekend as you’ll notice we have listed below. We’re not spending big on the elite QB names this week as there are some very promising value players not in the top five. Similar at the running back position as we’re opting to pass on the top five and focus on the tier just below.
Before we highlight our three levels of talent, let’s look at our projected star of the week:
STAR OF THE WEEK:
Quarterbacks:
Kyler Murray – $7,500 vs. Raiders
Matthew Stafford – $6,300 vs. Falcons
Running Backs:
Nick Chubb – $7,100 vs. Jets
D’Andre Swift – $7,000 vs. Commanders
Wide Receivers:
Davante Adams – $8,600 vs. Cardinals
Deebo Samuel – $7,800 vs. Seahawks
Tight Ends:
Mark Andrews – $6,800 vs. Jets
T.J. Hockenson – $4,900 vs. Eagles
Defense / Special Teams:
Cleveland Browns – $3,700 vs. Jets
Quarterbacks:
Derek Carr – $6,200 vs. Cardinals
Carson Wentz – $5,800 vs. Lions
Running Backs:
Cordarelle Patterson – $6,000 vs. Rams
Josh Jacobs – $5,800 vs. Cardinals
Wide Receivers:
Amon-Ra St. Brown – $6,500 vs. Commanders
Allen Robinson II – $5,500 vs. Falcons
Tight Ends:
Pat Freiermuth – $4,400 vs. Patriots
Tyler Higbee – $4,200 vs. Falcons
Defense / Special Teams:
Carolina Panthers – $3,000 vs. Giants
Quarterbacks:
Jameis Winston – $5,500 vs. Buccaneers
Jared Goff – $5,400 – vs. Commanders
Running Backs:
Rhamondre Stevenson – $5,200 vs. Steelers
Chase Edmonds- $5,200 vs. Ravens
Wide Receivers:
Devin Duvernay – $4,300 vs. Dolphins
Jahan Dotson – $4,200 vs. Lions
Tight Ends:
Hayden Hurst – $3,600 vs. Cowboys
Will Dissly – $2,800 vs. 49ers
Defense / Special Teams:
Cincinnati Bengals – $2,200 vs. Cowboys
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! 
