This article is part of our FanDuel Fantasy Football series.
He's baaaack! After a week hiatus I'll check out some selections on FanDuel this week as we try to navigate through both injuries and the growing number of players on the COVID-19 list. Let's take a look at who to consider and what kinds of matchups they have.
QUARTERBACKS
The upper tier of quarterbacks this week seem to all come with a red flag or two. Patrick Mahomes has been underwhelming this season, and the Steelers defense should show up, even on the road. Josh Allen didn't fare well against the Patriots the last time out, and he's an underdog to New England on the road. Tom Brady is missing weapons and has to go on the road to face a decent Carolina Panthers defense. This leads to my two favorite cash game picks this week, Justin Herbert ($8,400) and Matthew Stafford ($7,900). While both are on the road, both have plus-matchups with Stafford getting the better of the two against a vulnerable Vikings' secondary. Other than Josh Allen, Herbert has averaged more fantasy points per game (23.62) than any other quarterback on the main slate.
Unfortunately, Tyler Huntley ($7,500) is no longer a secret, and he's seen his salary cap increase over the last two weeks. The good news is he faces a Bengals team that allows the most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks on the season. The Ravens don't have the great defense they once had, meaning this should be one of the higher scoring games of the week. Don't be afraid to make a lineup with Joe Burrow ($7,100), and stacking the game using each quarterback in a lineup is an interesting GPP strategy.
My long shot of the week is going to be the Broncos' Drew Lock ($6,600). He didn't look good when pressed into action last week, but he'll have a full week of practice with the first stringers under his belt for this matchup in Las Vegas. The Raiders rank 22nd in the league against the opposing quarterback for fantasy purposesm and Lock arguably has a top-eight receiving corps at his disposal as well as a strong running attack.
RUNNING BACKS
The amount of players hurt or on the COVID-19 list have made this an easy position to gauge for cash games. There's no reason to spend up given the amount of value with backups suddenly finding themselves in a starting role. Alexander Mattison ($5,500), Justin Jackson (if Ekeler is out) ($5,400) and Ronald Jones ($5,400) are likely to be not only the highest rostered players at the position but perhaps on any lineup. All three are likely to see 15-plus touches in their offense and should return solid value. Don't be surprised to see all three used in a cash game lineup with one filling the Flex spot.
My favorite "contrarian" play of the week is the Steelers' Najee Harris ($8,400). While it's sort of lame to call the player with the highest salary cap a contrarian play, hear me out. He's coming off his worst fantasy game of the season (3.6 fantasy points), so recency bias may be a factor for some when considering using him. Three much more economical options have already been discussed, and they may block Harris from being used. With all of the injuries and COVID-19 absentees this weekend, I'm likely picking two of the backups mentioned to use along with Harris in cash games.
WIDE RECEIVERS
Whether you go Justin Herbert or Matthew Stafford, there's no reason Cooper Kupp ($9,800) can't make into your lineup given the options at the other positions. He's had at least 10 targets in six straight games and has at least 22.9 fantasy points in three straight games. Given his salary cap hit, I can see passing on him even in cash games, though. I'm probably using him in about a quarter of my tournament lineups and haven't decided yet on whether to use him for cash games.
The first player that came to mind for cash games this week is the Buccaneers' Antonio Brown ($7,000). He appears to be the last man standing between him, Chris Godwin and Mike Evans, and it's hard to imagine a scenario where he doesn't get at least 10 targets from Tom Brady. I don't mind using him along with Ronald Jones in the same lineup, as I think using the two sets a solid floor for fantasy points. Tyler Johnson ($5,000) is interesting for tournaments after he got seven targets from Brady last Sunday night.
I'm most likely staying away from Gabriel Davis ($5,300) for the most part this weekend. I'm not saying I'm going to completely ignore him, but Emmanuel Sanders could be back for the Bills, and despite an attractive salary, it's hard to imagine Davis doing anything more than scoring in the low double-digits as his upside against New England. In addition, he's going to be one of the more popular plays in tournaments, so it makes sense for me to fade him.
Other midrange wide receivers I'd consider: Russell Gage ($6,700), DK Metcalf ($6,700) and Amon-Ra St. Brown ($6,500) if Jared Goff is under center.
My long shot of the week is the Texan's Nico Collins ($5,200). This comes with the caveat that I only like him if Brandin Cooks is out, and it's looking pretty iffy as I write this Thursday night. Davis Mills has looked very good since taking over as the starter, and Collins should get all the targets he can handle if Texas is without Cooks.
TIGHT ENDS
Mark Andrews ($8,000) can easily be fit into any lineup this week even with his elevated salary cap hit. It's the best fantasy matchup for a tight end against the Bengals, and he's on fire with a total of 53.6 fantasy points over the last two weeks. If I have any issue with him it's that over those two weeks, he's caught 21 of 24 passes (87.5 percent), which is obviously an unsustainable number. There is a solid floor here, though, as he should see around 10 targets.
I have to think a lot of winning lineups this week will have Tampa players in them, so if you pass on Ronald Jones and Antonio Brown, I'd recommend using Rob Gronkowski ($6,700). Brady should target him heavily since he's missing his two top wide receivers, and there's a good likelihood Gronk runs more pass routes than he normally does.
Noah Fant ($5,600) has an excellent matchup with the Raiders who are 29th against opposing players at the position. I'd feel better about Fant if Albert Okwuegbunam sits this one out tending to his knee injury.
DEFENSE
There are a ton of attractive defenses this week just given all of the key offensive players missing time this week. Crazy as it sounds, I like the New York Jets ($4,100) given their home matchup against the Jaguars. Trevor Lawrence has looked awful this season and is almost a guarantee for a turnover or two. This should be a low scoring game as well with the opportunity for a few sacks.
A long shot of the week of the week is the Atlanta Falcons ($3,800). They might end up facing Tim Boyle at home, and even though they won this last week, let's not confuse the Lions with the '99 Rams. This is all about fading the Lions on the road.
*Side note: There's likely going to be a lot that changes between now and Sunday; I'll do my best to update the status of players in the comments section.
