Daily Optimized Lineup: Week Two

The DLF team of TheFFGhost and George Kritikos helped get you off to a great start in the 2015 FanDuel DFS season with some highly competitive lineups. We got a lot of great feedback from those who followed our advice and hope to help you all win some more money in Week Two, so let’s jump right in and get started:

Here are the suggestions from TheFFGhost:

Quarterback – Philip Rivers – $8,200

Rivers looks to be priced pretty fairly considering the performance he had last week coupled with the scenario he likely faces this week. Rivers went off for an incredible 404 passing yards against Detroit as the Chargers were able to dominate the flow of the game. I expect the Bengals to be aware of this and to try to dominate the time of possession instead – this should force Rivers into more passing situations in an effort to keep pace. I don’t expect the explosion he had last week, but I do think circumstances will necessitate Rivers to pass a healthy portion of the game.

Projected Stat Line – 28 completions, 330 passing yards, two total touchdowns

Running Back – Marshawn Lynch – $8,500

Here is an interesting little tidbit I found when researching this lineup – did you know Marshawn Lynch has never run for fewer than 98 yards against Green Bay in his career as a Seahawk? It’s true! If you factor in the playoff game they played, you get an average of 122 rushing yards and one touchdown per game. I’ll take those stats any day of the week, but especially Sunday. Add to that Green Bay gave up the seventh most rushing yards last season and has already given up the second most rushing yards this season. The Packers gave up 5.7 yards per rush attempt to the Bears, so you know Seattle is eyeing that statistic with baited breath. So what if Seattle is forced to pass in order to keep up with the Packers? No problem. Last week, Lynch caught five passes against the Rams, the same amount Matt Forte was able to tack onto his stat line when he faced the Packers last week. All in all, Lynch should find himself squarely in the middle of the Seahawks’ game plan one way or another this week.

Projected Stat Line – 20 rushes, 110 rushing yards, five catches, 40 receiving yards, two total touchdowns

Running Back – Jeremy Hill – $8,400

Remember when I said Cincinnati would try to slow the game down on San Diego in order to control the time of possession in an attempt to stunt the Chargers’ offensive attack? Well the main player the Bengals will lean on in order to accomplish this will be Jeremy Hill. Expect Hill to see a heavy workload on the ground with a couple passes mixed in for good measure. San Diego gave up the seventh most rushing yards per attempt during week one with 4.3 yards gained per rush, making this game plan all that much more likely as well. The Bengals will need to stay disciplined in order to win this game, but Hill is just the player to keep their game plan moving.

Projected Stat Line – 15 rushes, 120 rushing yards, two catches, 20 yards, one total touchdown

Wide Receiver – Keenan Allen – $8,200

This is Philip Rivers’ partner in crime and the ying to Jeremy Hill’s yang for this matchup. Look for Allen to be very involved in Chargers’ offensive scheme and relied on heavily to keep San Diego’s offense moving forward. Allen’s performance last week is a big reason for his price tag this week but provided the strategy I believe the Bengals will be looking to implement works, Allen should be a nice add this week. I’m very aware this may be viewed by some as chasing last week’s production, but I’ not looking for that level – just a solid day based on a great opportunity.

Projected Stat Line – Nine catches, 110 yards, one total touchdown

Wide Receiver – Cole Beasley – $5,700

Due to an unfortunate injury to Dez Bryant, Cole Beasley has an opportunity to see an increased role against an Eagles team who gave up the seventh most passing yards last week and the sixth most passing yards per completion. You can tell Tony Romo trusts Beasley as he targeted him three times in the last seven minutes of the game after Bryant had left – the same number of times he targeted the more expensive and higher owned option Terrance Williams ($6,300). That extra cash should come in handy later while providing a nice high upside play here.

Projected Stat Line – five catches, 60 yards, one total touchdown

Wide Receiver – Kendall Wright – $6,100

So the NFL unveiling of the Marcus Mariota era in Tennessee proved to be quite a success and a large part of that achievement was directly related to the performance of Wright. This week, Wright looks to capitalize on the relationship he and Mariota forged against Tampa Bay with a game this week against an apparently still rudderless Cleveland team. Cleveland may not have given up many passing yards against the Jets, but I believe Rex Ryan kept the offensive game plan simple for his quarterback who was starting his first NFL game. The Titans, however, appear to be fully behind Mariota and he appears to be fully behind Wright. Look for Wright’s production to remain high and for him to easily outperform his price point.

Projected Stat Line – five catches, 110 yards, one total touchdown 

Tight End – Martellus Bennett – $6,100

Bennett is a late add to my lineup this week, but there is reason to believe he should have a fantastic game. First, it appears as if Alshon Jeffery is still suffering some muscle strain issues in his leg and could be held out from the Bears’ matchup with the Cardinals, increasing the likelihood that Bennett sees more targets. Second, Arizona has been notoriously poor against tight ends in recent years giving up the most receiving yards in the NFL to tight ends last two years. Finally, Bennett looked to be Cutler’s second favorite target last week, a role which should upgrade if Jeffrey is limited or even out. I expect his ownership percentage to be a bit on the high side but he’s also nearly impossible to ignore.

Projected Stat Line – Five catches, 90 yards, one total touchdown

Kicker – Josh Brown – $4,500

The Giants/Falcons game should easily be one of the higher scoring affairs of the week two with two high powered offenses teeing off against two defenses with known and exploitable issues. Josh Brown should be able to step in and deliver several field goals while capitalizing on any extra points the offenses is able to deliver as well. Everything about this game screams high scoring and I want a piece of the action somehow.

Projected Stat Line – three field goals, three extra points

Defense – Pittsburgh Steelers – $4,200

The Steelers got absolutely wrecked by an angry Patriots team to open the season. Additionally, their opponent this week surprised a lot of people with their newest star, Carlos Hyde. So, why am I suggesting the Steelers this week? Well, it centers around a few different aspects. First, the 49ers are going to be flying east across the country to face the Steelers, which rarely bodes well for a West Coast team. Second, the Steelers played Thursday night and the 49ers played Monday night, which gives the Steelers three more days to game plan for San Francisco. Finally, despite Hyde’s performance, Pittsburgh is fairly tough against the rush and should give him a much tougher time than the Vikings did. All in all, the price here is great for a squad likely to be lowly owned.

Projected Stat Line – 17 points allowed, three sacks, three turnovers

Here’s George Kritkos’ take on Week Two:

Quarterback – Ryan Fitzpatrick – $6,700

The “Amish Rifle” had a nice week one against Cleveland and now faces the prospects of a shootout in Indianapolis. The Colts gave up nearly two passing touchdowns per game last year and Tyrod Taylor carved up their pass defense last week. His price is the kind to chase where you can fit some elite players at other positions.

Projected Stat Line – 18 completions, 210 yards, two touchdowns

Running Back – Matt Forte – $8,900

The pickings are slim at running back this week so I wanted to look here to invest more heavily in a few key matchups. Seeing Mark Ingram carve up the Arizona defense via the pass should inspire confidence in Forte’s chances.

Projected Stat Line – 23 rushes, 95 yards, six catches, 65 yards, two total touchdowns

Running Back – Marshawn Lynch – $8,500

Forte torched the Packers’ defense for 141 rushing yards last week, making Lynch salivate as he waits until Sunday. Green Bay had the eighth most rushing attempts against them in 2014, so the 23 carries from Forte was not an aberration. Expect Lynch to see a heavy workload with multiple chances to score.

Projected Stat Line – 24 rushes, 100 yards, three catches, 25 yards, two touchdowns

Wide Receiver – Pierre Garcon – $5,400

DeSean Jackson is hurt and Jordan Reed is ailing. Someone needs to catch passes in this game. The Rams gave up the sixth most points to wide receivers in 2014. Add in a week one effort where the Rams’ cornerbacks gave up 15 catches on just 21 targets (71% completion rate) and Garcon should be highly targeted.

Projected Stat Line – seven catches, 90 yards

Wide Receiver – Julio Jones – $8,800

He will be highly owned, but I am fine owning him for another week given the situation. This game is expected to be high scoring (51 total points by Vegas) and the Giants gave up the seventh most fantasy points to wide receivers in 2014. Prince Amukamara and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie gave up 12 catches on 16 targets last week to a largely non-Dez Bryant Cowboys, so Don Julio should be able to take advantage.

Projected Stat Line – nine catches, 115 yards, two touchdowns

Wide Receiver – Jordan Matthews – $7,000

After a week one price of $6,800, Matthews only saw a $200 increase in price this week. The team is again expected to be in a shootout (55 total points) and given Matthews’ 13 targets last week, he should once again be heavily involved. This week, I expect him to find the end zone after having some bad luck against the Falcons.

Projected Stat Line – eight catches, 100 yards, one touchdown

Tight End – Jason Witten – $6,000

Likely to be highly owned, Witten is a player I want some shares in this week. Without Dez and little dynamism among the remaining receivers, Witten is going to see major volume. As mentioned with Matthews, this game should be high scoring so Tony Romo is going to have to throw once again.

Projected Stat Line – seven catches, 65 yards, one touchdown

Kicker – Zach Hocker – $4,500

Vegas expects the Saints to be the second highest scoring team this week. The only downside to Hocker is if the team has too much success getting in the end zone (see Titans, week one).

Projected Stat Line – one field goal, four extra points

Defense – Pittsburgh Steelers – $4,200

The 49ers had a nice week one playing the subpar Vikings defense while the Steelers struggled against the Patriots, making the price quite attractive. They are poor in the secondary but Colin Kaepernick is unlikely to be the one exploiting that.

Projected Stat Line – 17 points allowed, three sacks, one interception, one fumble recovery

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