FanDuel Bargains: Week Five

Dan Meylor

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Editor’s Note: Love those DFS games? Make sure you get into the DLF Football Championship for week five.

Now that there are four teams on bye this week, the player field is trimmed just a bit but that should just sharpen our focus when it comes to finding FanDuel Bargains.

Keep in mind these suggestions are made for GPP (Guaranteed Prize Pool) tournaments where players are looking for bargains to fill out their lineups after already inserting their “studs” for the week. Many of them are risky plays and shouldn’t necessarily be considered in head-to-head or 50/50 games.

Quarterback

Jay Cutler, QB CHI

Cutler ($7,400) wasn’t playing at 100% in week four but still played well, throwing for 281 yards and a pair of scores against the Raiders. Another week removed from his hamstring injury, he should be nearing full health when the Bears play Kansas City on Sunday. After giving up more fantasy points to quarterbacks over the first month of the season, the Chiefs are becoming the trendy defense to pick on for daily players. Kansas City is allowing 311 passing yards per game and has given up more touchdown passes (11) than any other defense in the league.

The latest word out of the Windy City has Alshon Jeffery in line to return in week five as well, which would do nothing but help Cutler carve up the Chiefs secondary.

Marcus Mariota, QB TEN

All things point to a strong showing for Mariota ($7,400) against the Bills. On top of the extra week, he and the Titans’ coaching staff had to prepare following the bye, they get a tasty matchup against a Buffalo secondary that has allowed 304 passing yards per week and multiple touchdown passes in each of their four games.

There’s certainly some risk in rostering Mariota as the Bills have also forced seven turnovers from opposing quarterbacks. With that said though, those looking for a contrarian play with a low ownership number in tournaments should consider the rookie passer.

Other Options: Philip Rivers ($7,500), Josh McCown ($6,700) and Michael Vick ($6,500)

Running Back

Justin Forsett, RB BAL

Forsett ($7,200) finally had a quality game last week against Pittsburgh when he went off for 150 rushing yards on 27 carries. This week, he’ll face the Browns’ defense who are among the worst in the league at slowing down opposing running backs, allowing 551 rushing yards on 106 carries (5.2 yards per carry) and three touchdowns as well as 17 catches for 239 yards (14.1 yards per reception) so far on the year.

Forsett hasn’t found the end zone yet, but that should change this week against the Browns.

Dion Lewis, RB NE

Some may be leaning towards LeGarrette Blount ($6,200) this week after he went off the for 78 rushing yards and three touchdowns the last time the Patriots played, but I prefer Lewis ($6,900). After all, it was Lewis who was on the field for nearly every snap of Blount’s big game until it was well in New England’s control.

This week, the Pats will tangle with the Cowboys, whose defense is susceptible to giving up big plays to running backs in the passing game. In fact, Dallas has allowed 31 receptions to tailbacks for 330 yards and a touchdown in their four games including huge games from C.J. Spiller and Mark Ingram last week.

Although trying to figure out what’s going to happen in Bill Belichick’s backfield is risky business, this feels like a Lewis game to me. He has the upside to outperform his salary drastically this week and is easily one of my top bargains.

Todd Gurley, RB STL

[inlinead]Gurley ($6,700) was very impressive in the second half last week against the Cardinals. He ran for 146 yards on 19 carries (7.7 yards per carry) in the game and likely would have scored a long touchdown on his final touch of the game had he not gone down intentionally to seal the win. At this point, it’s obvious the Rams’ offense should run through their talented rookie tailback and that should start on Sunday in Green Bay.

The Packers’ defense hasn’t looked bad over the last three weeks despite facing a trio of quality tailbacks. Over that time, they’ve held Marshawn Lynch, Jamaal Charles and Carlos Hyde to only 3.2 yards per carry, but they also allowed Matt Forte to terrorize them for 166 yards from scrimmage in week one and given up five total touchdowns to tailbacks so far in 2015.

The Rams should enter their matchup in Green Bay with the intent to control the ball with their running game and play solid defense. If they can keep the game close, Gurley should be in line for a pile of touches on Sunday.

Other Options: Karlos Williams ($6,900), Ronnie Hillman ($6,600), Melvin Gordon ($6,500) and Ameer Abdullah ($6,100)

Wide Receiver

Jeremy Maclin, WR KC  

After a slow start to the season, Maclin ($6,900) has hauled in 19 passes for 289 yards and a touchdown over the last two weeks. Despite the big performances, his salary hasn’t risen much over that time, so he still qualifies as a bargain.

Maclin and the Chiefs take on the Bears in week five and Chicago’s defense has allowed eight touchdowns to opposing wide receivers so far this year. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him continue his hot streak against a very shaky Bears defense.

James Jones, WR GB       

How does Jones ($6,400) still have a salary under $7,000 on FanDuel? All he’s done is average 15.8 fantasy points per game.

Although he has a tough matchup against the Rams coming up this weekend, it’s difficult not to include Jones’ name in this article every week because he’s the preferred choice of Aaron Rodgers when he looks deep.

I’m still not convinced Jones can keep up this pace for an entire season, but I am convinced Rodgers will target him deep down the field against the Rams at least a couple times and that’s enough to make me consider him at his discounted rate.

Eddie Royal, WR CHI

As I mentioned above, the Chiefs have really struggled against the pass. Obviously if Alshon Jeffery ($7,600) is back, he’s the preferred option among Bears wideouts, but he’s also priced $2,100 more than Royal ($5,500), who caught seven passes for 54 yards and a touchdown last week on ten targets.

Over the last two weeks, the Chiefs have given up 316 receiving yards and three touchdowns on 20 receptions to slot receivers. Royal is easily the Bears’ primary slot man as he’s running 77.6% of his routes out of the slot. He’s certainly no sure thing, but Royal will be in at least a couple of my tournament lineups this week.

Kendall Wright, WR TEN

If you’re looking to pair Mariota with a pass catcher in tournament lineups, look no further than Wright ($5,900) who has two very good outings so far on the year sandwiched around a dud in week two. As I mentioned above, Buffalo has struggled to slow down opposing passing games, giving up more than 300-yards per game and ten touchdown receptions.

Still carrying a very modest salary, Wright’s name sticks out like a sore thumb when looking for a wideout priced under $6,000.

Willie Snead, WR NO

Now that Snead ($5,300) has clearly taken over as the Saints’ number two receiver, he should be on the radar of daily league bargain hunters. He’s been targeted six times in each of the last three weeks and has at least 11.9 fantasy points in each of Drew Brees’ last two starts.

This week, the Saints face Philadelphia’s porous pass defense who are among the five worst in the league when it comes to allowing fantasy points to opposing wide receivers. Although he’s an extremely risky play (particularly on the road), Snead’s bottom of the barrel price tag will allow you to get studs like Julio Jones ($9,200), Demaryius Thomas ($8,600) or DeAndre Hopkins ($8,000) into your lineups so he may be worth the risk.

Other Options: Jordan Matthews ($6,800), John Brown ($5,900), Terrance Williams ($5,900) and Cecil Shorts ($5,300)

Tight End

Charles Clay, TE BUF

Clay has come up big over the last couple weeks, catching 14 passes for 193 and a score over that span. It seems as if Tyrod Taylor and the Buffalo coaching staff have realized their free agent tight end may be their best pass target and this week they face the Titans, who have already allowed a couple big games to the position on the season by giving up five catches for 110 yards and two touchdowns to Austin Seferian-Jenkins in week one and nine catches for 83 yards to the duo of Coby Fleener and Jack Doyle in week three.

Despite Clay being tied for the fifth highest salary at the position, he has the upside to be one of the biggest bargains of the week.

Owen Daniels, TE DEN

It’s become almost automatic to play tight ends against the Raiders, who have allowed more than 100 yards per game and seven total touchdowns to the position over the first four games of the year.

Although Daniels ($4,900) doesn’t have great numbers so far, he’s hauled in touchdowns in each of the last two weeks. The increased looks in the red zone as well as the unbelievable matchup makes Daniels the best bargain at the position for week five.

Other options: Tyler Eifert ($5,600) and Richard Rodgers ($5,100)

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dan meylor