FanDuel Bargains: Week 11
Week 11 brings the final week with teams on bye. Having an entire field of players to choose from will be greeted with open arms next week but first, let’s dig through the player pool for some bargains on the week 11 slate.
Keep in mind that these suggestions are made for large field 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
Mark Sanchez, QB PHI
With the report that Sam Bradford will miss week 11 (and perhaps more) with a shoulder injury as well as a concussion, Sanchez ($6,400) will inherit the job. The former Jet proved himself a year ago as a useful fantasy option in Chip Kelly’s offense, averaging 268 passing yards and tossing 14 touchdowns in nine games.
Sanchez takes over the reins just in time to face the Buccaneers, who just happen to give up the third most fantasy points per game to quarterbacks. Having already allowed 19 touchdown passes on the season, the Bucs will have a hard time slowing down the Eagles fast paced offense.
With such a low price tag, Sanchez has a good chance to be the top bargain at the position in week 11. He’s my favorite option this week for those looking to fade the top options like Tom Brady ($9,200) and Cam Newton ($8,600).
Derek Carr, QB OAK
If you’re looking for a quarterback cheaper than the top options but more dependable than Sanchez, look no further than Carr ($7,700), who has averaged 24.9 fantasy points per week over the last month. Those kind of numbers make him a top-five performer at the position, yet he’s listed as the ninth-highest priced passer this week.
Along with the cheap price tag, Carr also has a dynamite matchup coming up on Sunday. Despite holding Aaron Rodgers ($8,900) in check for the most part a week ago, the Lions have struggled mightily at stopping opposing quarterbacks – allowing the fourth most points per game to the position.
Other Options: Ryan Fitzpatrick ($7,400), Matthew Stafford($7,000) and Brock Osweiler ($6,000)
Running Back
Charcandrick West, RB KC
Coming off a big game where he accounted for 158 yards from scrimmage and a pair of touchdowns against the Broncos’ tough defense, West ($7,100) has seen his price tag rise of late. Considering his matchup this week though, he still qualifies as one of the top bargains in the backfield.
The Chargers are giving up the third most rushing yards per game to opposing running backs (115.7) and more fantasy points per game to the position (27.29) than any other defense in the league. West has been a workhorse for the Chiefs over the last three weeks, getting 66 of 79 (83.5%) of the team’s tailback carries. He should be in for another big workload again versus the Chargers below-average defense.
Darren McFadden, RB DAL
Many daily players will struggle to go back to McFadden ($6,800) after he posted just 32 rushing yards on 17 carries a week ago against Tampa Bay, but that may be a mistake. The Buccaneers were able to commit their entire defense to stopping the run with Matt Cassel under center but the Dolphins won’t have that luxury with Tony Romo back this week.
Miami has allowed big games to tailbacks over the last four weeks, giving up 27 points to Arian Foster in week seven, 20.2 points to Dion Lewis in week eight, 23 points to Karlos Williams and 18.9 to LeSean McCoy in week nine, and 14.9 to DeMarco Murray last week which would have been a bigger number had Ryan Mathews not snaked his touchdown.
Rostering McFadden is certainly a risk, but with his workload and the return of Romo he certainly has the upside to outplay his salary a few times over.
Frank Gore, RB IND
Another tailback that is getting a big workload and has a nice matchup, Gore ($6,600) has touched the ball 54 times over the Colts’ last two games and will face the Falcons in week 11.
Atlanta has given up the fourth most points per game to tailbacks (25.49) and allowed 11 rushing touchdowns on the year. With the Colts being “Luck-less,” they’ll likely continue to lean on their veteran tailback against the Falcons on Sunday.
Danny Woodhead, RB SD
From now on, expect Woodhead ($6,400) to be listed here regardless of his matchup.
With the season ending injury to Keenan Allen, the Chargers are running low on playmakers. Along with their tight ends, Woodhead is one of their best option in that department. That should keep the ball in his hands and at his price, he’s a solid option as an RB2 on FanDuel.
Other Options: Lamar Miller ($7,400), Chris Ivory ($7,200) and Latavius Murray($6,800)
Wide Receiver
Amari Cooper, WR OAK
With all due respect to Michael Crabtree ($6,500) and his resurgent season, Cooper ($7,200) is the Raiders’ best receiver. On pace for nearly 90 catches and 1,300 receiving yards, he’s having a huge year and that should continue this week in Detroit.
Although the Lions held the Packers offense in check for the most part a week ago, that had far less to do with their defense than it did the Green Bay offense being suddenly dysfunctional. Cooper hasn’t gone over 100 yards in the last three weeks but I’d be surprised if that doesn’t change this week. He should be good for triple-digit yardage and at least one score against the Lions’ horrible pass defense – which makes him my favorite overall play at wide receiver this week.
Jordan Matthews, WR PHI
Despite his drops as well as a down outing last week against the Dolphins, Matthews ($6,300) looks like a nice option this week against the Buccaneers, who have had trouble slowing down opposing wide outs throughout the season.
If you’re planning on playing Mark Sanchez at quarterback and want to stack him with one of his targets, Matthews ($6,300) is your guy. After all, he had some big games with Sanchez under center last season and nobody should be surprised if he has another one this week.
Danny Amendola, WR NE
With Julian Edelman nursing a broken foot, the door has swung wide open for Amendola ($6,100) to take over as the primary slot receiver in New England – a role that has churned out big fantasy points for the last decade. Quietly having a good season, Amendola stepped up to the tune of 10 catches for 79 yards last week after taking over full time in the slot.
Facing a Buffalo defense that hasn’t been strong against opposing wide receivers, Amendola should see a lot of action on Monday night. He has the upside to out produce his salary a couple times over this week.
Stevie Johnson, WR SD
If you’re not interested in rostering Danny Woodhead as your RB2 for the reasons I mentioned above, consider Johnson ($5,600) for the same reasons. Now the de facto number one wide receiver, he should be peppered with targets against a Chiefs defense that has given up more fantasy points per game (39.61) to wide receivers than any other in the league.
Johnson won’t be the downfield threat daily players look for but Philip Rivers has to throw it to somebody and Stevie is the best option among his receivers. If he finds the end zone, his incredibly low salary should allow daily players to afford a couple high upside studs in other spots.
Other Options: Randall Cobb ($7,100), Eric Decker ($7,000), Tavon Austin ($6,000) and John Brown ($5,700) – particularly if Michael Floyd ($6,400) misses the game.
Tight End
Jacob Tamme, TE ATL
Tamme ($5,300) has been a big part of the Falcons’ offense over the last couple weeks, catching 16 passes for 164 yards and a touchdown. Now he’ll take on the Colts, who have allowed a touchdown to tight ends in four consecutive games and 19.45 points per game to the position over that stretch.
If you’re looking to fade Rob Gronkowski ($8,400) and the rest of the top tight ends, you could do much worse than Tamme.
Other options: Eric Ebron ($5,400), Richard Rodgers ($5,400) and Zach Ertz ($5,200)
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