FanDuel Bargains: Week 13

Dan Meylor

lacy

Now that we’re done with the byes and the three game Thursday slate of Thanksgiving is in the past, we have a full roster of players to choose from (minus the endless list of star players on injured reserve – but that’s for another article.) Let’s go bargain hunting.

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

Ryan Tannehill, QB MIA

Despite having a relatively down season for his fantasy owners to this point, Tannehill ($7,300) has been better of late. Throwing multiple touchdowns in each of the last three weeks, much of his production has come in garbage time with the Dolphins trailing but it counts nonetheless.

Tannehill will take on a Baltimore defense that ranks among the bottom-five teams in the league in fantasy points allowed to quarterbacks. Priced as the 18th most expensive quarterback, he’s a good bet to outscore his modest salary in Week 13.

Matt Hasselbeck, QB IND

It may sound crazy to roster Hasselbeck ($6,500) but he’s actually been quite useful to fantasy owners since taking over under center for the Colts. With three consecutive games with multiple touchdown passes and coming off a game where he eclipsed 300 passing yards, he now has a winnable Week 13 matchup with the Steelers.

The way to beat Pittsburgh is through the air as they’re among the worst in the league in touchdown passes given up (22) and passing yards per game allowed (283.6). Quarterbacks have thrown for 300 yards in three straight games against the Steelers and they’ve allowed 10 total touchdown passes over that span including four to Derek Carr and five to Russell Wilson.

At such a low price, he’ll allow FanDuel players to roster a lot of talent around him. If he’s able to reach 20 fantasy points, he’s well worth the investment.

Other Options: Ryan Fitzpatrick ($7,500) and Matt Ryan ($7,400) and Jay Cutler ($7,000)

Running Back

Thomas Rawls, RB SEA

[inlinead]Rawls ($7,000) has been a true workhorse since Marshawn Lynch went down and his price hasn’t caught up to that just yet. Averaging 25.5 carries per game and 5.7 yards per carry over the last two weeks, he’s getting an ideal workload in a run first offense which is fantasy gold.

Hitting the road to take on Minnesota this week, the Vikings have been good against the run for a majority of the season but have struggled over the last couple weeks, allowing 100-yard performances to both Eddie Lacy and Tevin Coleman. Rawls is likely to be highly owned but with the amount of touches he’s getting and his reasonable salary, it’s difficult to ignore the potential value.

Eddie Lacy, RB GB

Lacy ($6,900) was listed in this space a week ago and came through, running for 105 yards on 17 carries and catching four of five targets for 34 yards and a score against the Bears. He’s been the lone bright spot of the Packers’ offense over the last couple weeks, averaging 5.25 yards per carry, and the Packers’ coaching staff has noticed.

The latest out of Green Bay is that Mike McCarthy is planning on using Lacy as the featured tailback once again which means the days of splitting time with James Starks are in the past. Although Detroit’s defense has played well of late, Lacy should flirt with 20-plus touches which gives him bargain appeal on Thursday night at his price.

C.J. Anderson, RB DEN

After being one of the biggest disappointments of the fantasy season, Anderson ($6,800) burst back on the scene against the Patriots by tallying 113 rushing yards and a pair of touchdowns on 15 carries while adding four catches for 40 yards which adds up to a whopping 29.3 fantasy points.

Now that the Broncos have finally moved away from playing strictly out of the shotgun because of Peyton Manning, Gary Kubiak’s running attack is looking like the one that tore things up when he was in Baltimore and Houston.

Anderson finally looked healthy and easily outplayed Ronnie Hillman ($6,300) on Sunday night. Now with a cupcake matchup against the Chargers, who have given up more fantasy points to opposing running backs than any other defense (27.56 per game), he has the potential to be the top bargain at the position in week 13.

David Johnson, RB ARI

The stars are aligning for Johnson ($5,900) to be one of the top overall bargains in Week 13.

With Chris Johnson nursing an injured knee and expected to miss multiple weeks and Andre Ellington battling a toe injury, Johnson is in line to start and see a majority of the touches out of the Cardinals’ backfield against the Rams on Sunday.

Although St. Louis’ defense has a strong front seven, they’ve struggled to stop opposing running backs over the last handful of weeks. Despite being a lock to be very highly owned, his explosiveness along with the large workload Johnson should see will make it difficult to keep him out of FanDuel lineups this week.

Other Options: DeAngelo Williams ($7,200), Javorius Allen ($6,800), T.J. Yeldon ($6,100), Shaun Draughn ($5,900) and Danny Woodhead ($5,700) in garbage time against the Broncos.

Wide Receiver

Amari Cooper, WR OAK

After a truly awful game in week 11 against the Lions when he caught just one pass for four yards, Cooper ($7,000) rebounded with a seven catch, 115 yard, one touchdown outing against the Titans on Sunday. This week he’ll take on the Chiefs, who have been absolutely torched by opposing wide outs all year and have given up more points to the position than any other defense.

Sammy Watkins hung 30.8 fantasy points on the Kansas City defensive backs a week ago, catching six passes for 158 yards and two scores. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Cooper just as active this week.

Also, if you need a little cap flexibility you can consider going with Cooper’s teammate, Michael Crabtree ($6,600). I prefer the rookie though.

Martavis Bryant, WR PIT

Bryant ($6,900) has had an up and down season but daily players should expect it to be an up week. The Colts will likely shadow Antonio Brown ($9,000) with Vontae Davis which leaves Greg Toler and Darius Butler to attempt to cover Bryant. That won’t go well for them.

Number two wide receivers have had a field day against the Colts all season and few of them are as talented as Bryant. He offers two touchdown upside and is a great option for GPP lineups this week.

Danny Amendola, WR NE           

Amendola ($6,700) is expected to return this week and it couldn’t be a better time as Rob Gronkowski is now expected to miss some time. With the exception of Brandon LaFell (who was a colossal disappointment last week), the Patriots are running out of pass catchers so Amendola should see the ball early and often against the Eagles.

Philly’s defense has been one of the worst in the league at defending the pass throughout the season and has been shredded through the air in the last couple weeks by the Buccaneers and Lions.

As long as he’s active, Amendola should be one of the top options at wide receiver this week.

Donte Moncrief, WR IND

If you’re considering Matt Hasselbeck at quarterback and want to stack him with a receiver, your options are T.Y. Hilton ($7,300) and Moncrief ($6,400). Personally, I prefer the cheaper choice.

After struggling to get on the same page with Hasselbeck in his first few starts of the season, Moncrief caught eight of nine targets for 114 yards against the Buccaneers on Sunday. Now he’ll get a matchup with the Steelers, who have allowed 33.26 fantasy points per game to wide outs – which ranks 29th in the league – and are coming off a game where Doug Baldwin (33.50 fantasy points) absolutely torched them.

Moncrief is one my favorite bargains among wide receivers this week and he’ll be in many of my lineups.

Other Options: Dez Bryant ($7,200), Eric Decker ($7,200), Jordan Matthews ($6,200), DeVante Parker ($5,500) if you believe the Dolphins’ new offensive coordinator will give him a shot (which he should) and Marvin Jones ($5,200)

Tight End

Scott Chandler, TE NE

Those looking to fade Greg Olsen ($6,600), who will likely be the most highly owned tight end for good reason, should consider Chandler ($5,300).

Already playing increased snaps due to injuries throughout the receiver corps, Chandler got a team-high 11 targets on Sunday night, converting them into five catches for 58 yards and a touchdown. Now that Gronk is likely to be on the shelf for at least this week, he should continue to be one of the top targets of Tom Brady.

Chandler will likely be one of the top tight ends in ownership in week 13 but at his price, it’s hard to ignore his upside.

Other options: Kyle Rudolph ($5,100) and Eric Ebron ($4,900)

[ad5]

dan meylor