This article is part of our FanDuel Fantasy Football series.
Welcome back for another season on FanDuel. This season, we'll discuss several players at each position with both cash and GPP targets highlighted.
QUARTERBACK
Dak Prescott, DAL vs. NYG ($5,000): FanDuel pricing came out before the Tony Romo injury and, as a result, Prescott is priced at a minimum since he should have been Romo's backup. Prescott is a dual-threat quarterback who looked very comfortable in the Dallas preseason, albeit against second- and third-stringers. Prescott has a plethora of weapons at his disposal led by Dez Bryant, who throughout the preseason was the go-to guy in the red in both games and practice. The Giants had one of the worst defenses in the league last season and likely will not become a top-5 unit in one year's time given their personnel. Prescott is the guy to use if punting at quarterback.
Kirk Cousins, WAS vs. PIT ($7,800): This game has one of the higher over/unders of the week, and there's a good chance neither defense can stop the other offense. Cousins makes for a great GPP play as his opponent on the other side of the ball, Ben Roethlisberger ($8,500), will likely have a higher ownership. Kirk Cousins played much better at home last season after the first two weeks. In that time, Cousins had six of his best eight fantasy performances on the season at Washington, scoring 21.36, 21.7, 22.18, 28.96, 30.18 and 35. 86 points. He has a lot of weapons at his disposal and pairing him with Jordan Reed and DeSean Jackson is a good GPP strategy.
RUNNING BACK
Spencer Ware, KC vs. SD ($5,400): Ware likely will be the chalkiest play at running back this week considering there's a good chance Jamaal Charles might be inactive. Even if Charles suits up, he won't get his usual number of snaps; Ware will get the most touches in the Chiefs' backfield. Last season, the Chargers were 27th against the run, and in every game last season that Ware got double-digit carries, he scored a touchdown, averaging 5.7 yards per carry in those four games (62 carries). Don't overthink this one in cash, but with an expected high ownership he's worth fading in GPPs.
Christine Michael, SEA vs. MIA ($4,800): Thomas Rawls was expected to be ready for the start of the season, but he's participated sparingly during practice and only got two carries in one preseason game. More information for Pete Carroll and the Seahawks would be helpful in assessing the situation, but one only has to go back to last season to see that they aren't always trustworthy. Heading into Week 10, Marshawn Lynch hadn't practiced, but all the coach-speak was that he would be ready to play, especially after playing the week before. However, when the inactive list came out for the late game after FanDuel rosters had locked, Lynch was inactive. The result of that game? Rawls had 254 yards from scrimmage and scored twice. This is a different situation with Michael looking like the safer play; just realize Rawls could still be a part of the mix against Miami unless definitive word comes out that Rawls is inactive.
WIDE RECEIVER
Marvin Jones, DET at IND ($5,500): This game is expected to be a shootout, and many expect Jones to be the top fantasy receiver in Detroit this season. Calvin Johnson leaves behind an average of 159 targets from the last four seasons. Helping Jones is that the Colts are banged up on defense and will be without top corner Vontae Davis, Clayton Geathers and possibly Darius Butler in the secondary. Andrew Luck should put up points in this game as the favorite, keeping Matthew Stafford throwing all game.
Corey Coleman, CLE at PHI ($6,500): There are a few rookie wide receivers to consider this weekend, especially in GPPs. Sterling Shepard ($5,600), Tyler Boyd ($5,600) and Michael Thomas ($4,900) are worth consideration, but it's only Coleman who will be considered the No.1 receiver on his team. Even in GPPs he may not be the highest owned of the four rookies mentioned only because he has the highest price by a decent amount. The Eagles last season were 28th against the pass, and without Josh Gordon there's a good chance Coleman get 10-plus targets from Robert Griffin.
TIGHT END
Dwayne Allen, IND vs. DET ($5,500): The three Colts wide receivers will all have higher ownerships than Allen who should fly under the radar this weekend. Allen no longer has to compete with Coby Fleener for targets, and it says a lot that the Colts signed Allen, instead of Fleener, to a four-year deal worth almost $30 million. The Lions gave up the fourth-most points to opposing tight ends last season, including 12 touchdowns (T-most). Pairing Allen with Andrew Luck would be an interesting contrarian play as most will use the Colts' wide receivers with their talented quarterback.
KICKER
Sebastian Janikowski, OAK at NO ($4,600): Figuring out which kicker to take is always a crapshoot, but there are some reasons to think about Janikowski this weekend. He'll be kicking in a dome, and the Raiders are only a one-point underdog to New Orleans thanks to a much better offense with Derek Carr under center. Janikowski also has some of the best range in the league and should have the green light from 50-plus.
DEFENSE
Cleveland Browns at PHI ($4,000): This game has one of the lower totals for the week, suggesting whichever defense stops the other offense will win the game. The Browns' defense isn't some special unit but has a big factor working in its favor this week: the matchup against rookie Carson Wentz. Wentz had limited game exposure this preseason battling a rib injury, and it's easy to forget Peyton Manning threw 28 interceptions his rookie season. There's a good chance the Browns force multiple turnovers in this one while racking up a few sacks.
