DraftKings Bargains: Week Three
With two weeks of the NFL season in the books, it’s time to rummage through the bargain bin to see if we can find any deals on DraftKings. DFS gives us the opportunity to roster the players we couldn’t get our hands on in our dynasty and redraft leagues. It also provides us the chance to analyze players on a week-to-week basis. Even if daily fantasy is not your cup of tea, you can still benefit from the research and added information from the newer format for setting lineups and projecting player outputs.
QUARTERBACK
Matt Ryan, QB ATL ($5,700)
Ryan has a juicy matchup against the New Orleans Saints at home this week. In their last eight meetings, the Saints and Falcons have averaged 53 total points. In 19 career games against the Saints, Ryan has averaged 294.89 yards per game. So far this season, the Saints defense has allowed on average 325.5 passing yards per game and 2.5 passing touchdowns per game.
Vegas also believes this game is going to be a high-scoring affair. They have the over/under at 53 points and the Atlanta Falcons are favored by three points. The game script should be in favor of both teams and we will see a lot of passing in this game. All signs point to a QB1 fantasy performance for Ryan.
With a $5,700 price tag, there are 14 quarterbacks cheaper than Ryan. The Saints defense is vulnerable against the pass and like a lot of their previous matchups, this game is expected to be a laser light show. The price point almost makes Ryan too chalky, but it’s hard to refrain from putting him in your lineups. I would roster him in a few lineups, but I would try to limit my exposure to him due to a potential high ownership percentage. On the contrary, he’s the perfect play for cash games.
Other options: Jimmy Garoppolo $6,500, Andrew Luck $5,600, Josh Allen $4,500
RUNNING BACK
Kenyan Drake, RB MIA ($5,600)
There are a lot of things currently going in Drake’s favor. He has seen four passing targets in his last two games. Frank Gore averaged just 2.8 yards per carry last week and has only seen just one passing target in the first two weeks of the season. The ineffectiveness of Gore should help increase some of Drake’s workload.
The Oakland Raiders’ defense has allowed a 100-yard rusher in both of their games this season. So far on the season, they have allowed on average 154 rushing yards per game. This appears to be a great matchup for Drake considering the Raiders’ current shortcomings when it comes to defending the run.
The running-back-by-committee approach the Dolphins use is the main concern here. It’s hard to get excited about Drake’s workload when you know that the Dolphins’ coaching staff is still keen on giving Gore a considerable share of the touches. However, this could work in your favor because Drake’s ownership percentage should be on the low side when compared to the other running backs in his price range. He’s getting work in the passing game and is getting enough carries to be productive. I don’t suggest using him in cash games, but he is a player you should strongly consider using in GPP tournament formats.
Vegas has the over/under for this game at 44 points and the Dolphins are favored by three points. This game should go down to the wire and the Dolphins shouldn’t be in a position that would cause them to abandon the run game. With all things considered the game script should be in Drake’s favor this week.
Other options: Kareem Hunt $6,000, Matt Breida $5,400, Dion Lewis $4,500
WIDE RECEIVER
Sammy Watkins, WR KC ($5,100)
Sammy Watkins is the buy low of buy lows. He is being undervalued in all formats. Against the Steelers, he played 83 percent of the snaps and received seven targets. Tyreek Hill’s mega performances caused Watkins to take a back seat, causing him to not receive any recognition for his efforts. He finished last week ranked 21st among wide receivers, with 19.10 PPR fantasy points.
He will be playing against a soft San Francisco 49er pass defense which has already given up 591 yards through the air this year. There’s a ton of potential for Watkins and the other pass catchers in this game. Patrick Mahomes should continue his air assault in this game and make it rain on his receivers.
The cannibalization of targets by Travis Kelce and Tyreek Hill is baked into Watkins’ price this week. However, the Kansas City’s high-powered pass offense provides hope that he could produce big numbers this week. His $5,100 price tag is the main reason why he’s being mentioned in this week’s bargains. His potential output combined with his salary makes him a good play in tournament formats. I would refrain from using him in cash games because it’s not guaranteed that he will receive enough targets to be a surefire moneymaker.
Bovada has the over/under for this game set at 56.5 points and the Chiefs are favored by seven points. Vegas is predicting a shootout which could elevate his fantasy production. The only concern here is that the game script might not favor the Kanas City’s pass offense, because there’s a good chance that they could get a commanding lead early in this game, causing them to lean more on the run.
Even when we take all the risks into consideration, Watkins’ upside is still worth his very affordable salary.
Other options: Kenny Stills $5,800, Tyler Lockett $5,300, Ted Ginn $4,700
TIGHT END
Austin Hooper ($2,900)
It’s hard not to stack your lineups with Saints and Falcons this week. We know this game is going to be a barn burner with lots of scoring. There’s a lot of fuel to burn with this game and all we have to do is pick the right players.
Hooper caught all five of his targets for 59 yards and one touchdown last week against the Panthers. He currently owns a 12.68 percent target share of the Falcons’ offense. Julio Jones is the only pass catcher on the team who has more targets than him with 28. Obviously, the Saints’ defense is going to key on stopping Jones in this game which could open things up for Hooper. All we need is a touchdown and a couple of catches out of him to be a productive asset.
It’s hard to beat his $2,900 salary. You really can’t get much cheaper than this week’s Hooper discount. There are no tight ends with a cheaper salary than Hooper’s who you can confidently roster this week. This game is going to be nothing but fireworks and you’re going to want to have a few players from this game in your lineups.
Other options: Jared Cook $4,000, Jack Doyle $3,500, Ricky Seals-Jones $2,800
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