This article is part of our FanDuel Fantasy Football series.
In most season-long fantasy leagues more than 80 percent of the teams are no longer in contention with leagues down to two teams in the championship. That makes it the perfect time to play DFS on FanDuel.com if you aren't already. The big contest this weekend pays out $1.3 million with $250,000 going to first place. The great part? It only costs $5 to enter, meaning you could get back a return of 50,000X your investment.
QUARTERBACKS
This is a great week to spend up at quarterback given the top options all have ridiculous matchups going for them in games that are meaningful. Josh Allen ($8,800), Patrick Mahomes ($8,500) and Tom Brady ($8,300) face defenses who are 29th, 32st and 24th against the position, respectively. Allen seems like the best option given his home matchup, his rushing ability and that he's a two-touchdown favorite against the Falcons. Mahomes is poised to be in a shootout in Cincinnati with two of the higher-scoring offenses facing off against each other. Brady face the lowly Jets, a team he's dominated throughout his career. Just watch the weather reports for Sunday, as all three games take place where it could be a factor.
Given his big game last week, Joe Burrow ($7,700) will be a popular GPP play, and it's justifiable to use him in cash games as well. My mid-tier pick for the week is the Cowboys' Dak Prescott ($7,400). He's a home favorite where weather won't be a concern, and their matchup with the Cardinals has a healthy over/under of 51. He arguably has the best trio of receivers in the league, and Dalton Schultz ($5,900) has been solid catching passes over the middle. Unlike Sunday night's game, the Cardinals should keep this relatively close, meaning Dak won't be relieved by Cooper Rush.
My dark-horse pick of the week is the 49ers' Trey Lance ($6,400). It appears Jimmy Garoppolo will miss at least this weekend with a thumb/hand injury, opening the door for Lance to make his first start in more than two months. The fantasy appeal to Lance is his ability to run; he had 130 rushing yards over two games earlier this season. The playbook should be very different with Lance under center, and the 49ers should find some creative ways to use Lance with RPOs and designed quarterback runs.
RUNNING BACKS
Last week, there was a lot of value at the position, and I think there's still the opportunity for that this week. I can see using Jonathan Taylor ($10,000) this week but only in tournaments given the salary cap he imposes. He's got a great home matchup, and if Carson Wentz isn't 100 percent, the Colts may lean on him heavily. Joe Mixon ($8,500) seems like a better option dollar for dollar and the Chiefs, while playing better as of late, rank 22nd in the league in allowing fantasy points to opposing running backs. Mixon has at least 23.1 fantasy points in six of his games this season.
Now let's look at who can provide some solid fantasy points without killing your salary cap. Darrel Williams ($6,200) should get most of the work out of the Chiefs' backfield with Clyde Edwards-Helaire out. This should be a high-scoring game, and it's one of the few instances that I can see using a quarterback along with his running back in a GPP stack. Of course, if you shy away from Mahomes at the quarterback spot, I'd recommend using Williams.
In a similar fashion (about not using Mahomes), if you're not going to use Josh Allen, I'd look to using Devin Singletary ($6,000). Everyone will expect another big game from Allen, but it's totally possible Singletary gets a lot of work if the Atlanta defense sits back and dares the Bills to run the ball as opposed to passing. Singletary has established himself as the Bills top running back and has scored 16.3, and 11.9 fantasy points in the last three games against teams much tougher against the run than the Falcons.
Dare Ogunbowale ($5,500) will not be the most efficient running back this week as the season-long, limited sample of 3.1 yards per carry indicates. Dare will get a lot of volume this week as the Jaguars main running back, but it wouldn't be surprising to seem him crack double-digit fantasy points like he did last week in relief of Robinson. I like him more than Rex Burkhead ($5,600) this week), as crazy as that sounds.
WIDE RECEIVERS
As far-fetched as it seems, I will likely do a lineup with both Jonathan Taylor and Cooper Kupp ($10,200) this week. Kupp gets the 28th ranked defense against the wide receiver this week and is a virtual lock for at least 15 fantasy points as he's done in his last 10 games. Tyreek Hill ($8,200) is likely the better option given his matchup with the Bengals who are the worst this season at defending opposing wide receivers. Hill is coming off a season-worst 2.9 fantasy points, which will hopefully make him an unpopular option.
Many may forget about Brandin Cooks ($6,500) who has a plus-matchup Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers. Cooks is coming off back-to-back 100-plus receiving games and is poised to get another game of double-digit targets. Amari Cooper ($6,700) faces an Arizona defense that is 27th against opposing wide receivers, and in a game that should be a shootout, you'll want at least one piece of the Dallas offense.
TIGHT ENDS
Travis Kelce ($8,200) is likely well-rested after his week off and has the best matchup of any tight end, facing the Bengals linebackers. I have no problem paying up for him and taking the salary cap hit given there are other spots in which to be more frugal.
I have to mention Rob Gronkowski ($6,700) because I think it's doubtful he has two bad games in in a row, and the absence of Tampa's top wide receivers should have him firmly planted on Brady's radar. The Jets rank 25th in the league against opposing tight ends.
DEFENSES
There are a ton of defenses to sift through this week, and taking any of the teams who are double-digit favorites makes sense. Looking for a contrarian option? Try using the Bears ($4,800) against the hapless Giants, who couldn't get 200 yards from their offense last week. Quarterback is a huge concern for New York, and the Bears should take advantage of a team that more or less has given up on this season.
