This article is part of our FanDuel Fantasy Football series.
Another week went by, and again I failed in my quest to win $1 million dollars. Even though DFS runs basically 20 weeks, my personal strategy is to try and hit one or two weeks big that pays for the rest of the season with a little scratch left over. Let's see if we can get one of those types of week this week.
Quarterbacks
All three of the top salaries — Russell Wilson ($8,700), Dak Prescott ($8,500) and Kyler Murray ($8,400) make sense in cash games. If forced to choose, I'd lean toward Murray who has the best matchup on paper facing the Lions at home. The Seahawks/Cowboys game should be a fantasy carnival, and it's one of those games where it makes sense to stack the game, rather than one team or the other. This will be one of the few weeks this season to consider using Mitchell Trubisky ($7,500), only due to his matchup in Atlanta. Atlanta has shown the ability to score a lot of points but also give up a lot of points as well (although Seattle and Dallas weren't the easiest matchups). Trubisky gets his start this week and Allen Robinson ($6,900) should have a big game. The final two "unpopular" quarterbacks I like for GPPs are Justin Herbert ($7,200) and Baker Mayfield ($7,100). It was pretty amazing to see Herbert perform at a high level when he didn't even find out until Sunday he was starting. He's had a week of practice with the first string and should be more prepared this week against Carolina. Mayfield has a juicy home matchup with the Washington team who has to be a little road weary. They had to play in Arizona last week, go back to Washington and now travel to Cleveland (although that isn't some great journey). The secondary has looked suspect for the Washington team and Mayfield should be able to exploit them.
Running Backs
There's plenty of value at running back this week, and it's plausible to go with a top stud like Dalvin Cook ($8,600), Derrick Henry ($8,200) or Nick Chubb along with two midpriced options. Jonathan Taylor ($6,700) should probably have a higher salary given he's scored 11.9 and 18 fantasy points in his first two games. He'll be a lock for another 20-plus touches this week with a solid matchup at home against the Jets. Kenyan Drake ($6,500) seems a bit underpriced considering the home matchup. He's scored double-digit fantasy points in each of his first two starts and he makes sense to use in a lineup without pairing him with Kyler Murray. Mike Davis ($6,000) is an interesting play for tournaments, as he fills in Christian McCaffrey. He could see a similar heavy workload as CMC but it's not the greatest road matchup against the Chargers. There's a high ceiling here but a low floor. Jerick McKinnon ($5,700) is in a similar position to Davis taking over the San Francisco backfield. He's got a better matchup against the Giants, but it's just unclear what role Jeff Wilson will play and if he'll vulture any goal-line work. I'd trust McKinnon slightly more than Davis but will likely use both in lineups for the big $4.44 tournaments.
Wide Receivers
Calvin Ridley ($8,000) comes in this week with the second-highest salary, and rightfully so. He's scored 26.4 and 29.4 fantasy points in his first two games and even if Julio Jones plays, he won't be 100 percent. If that scenario plays out, Russell Gage ($5,700) is an excellent, economical option. Stacking Ridley and Gage with Matt Ryan ($7,800) isn't a bad idea for single-entry tournaments. There are several low-to-mid salaried options to consider this week, especially for tournaments. A.J. Green ($5,900) has seen plenty of targets with 22 but has yet to translate that to fantasy success. The Eagles have a decent secondary, but he should given a nice return on investment if he gets another 10 targets. Jarvis Landry ($5,800) has had some extra time to rest his hip and is a great GPP option considering his hit-or-miss ability. The Washington team's secondary isn't one to be worried about, and Landry should have plenty of room to operate opposite Odell Beckham ($6,800). Finally, T.Y. Hilton ($6,200) dropped a touchdown last week, and if he gets that opportunity again it's doubtful he makes the same mistake.
Tight Ends
The position is filled with midranged options this week with George Kittle being banged up. There's no Travis Kelce or Mark Andrews on the main slate with the Chiefs playing in Baltimore Monday night, and everyone after Kittle has a salary of $6,600 or less. Therefore it seems like this week would be a good time to turn back to Zach Ertz ($6,200) who'll get the Bengals at home. The wide receiver position for the Eagles hasn't gotten off to a great start, so it would make sense for Carson Wentz to turn to his All-Pro tight end. The Chargers' Hunter Henry ($6,000) is another good choice considering as he's scored 11.3 and 9.8 fantasy points in his first two games. The good news is that he hasn't found the end zone yet, so a game with 15-plus fantasy points could come as soon as Sunday. The long shot to use this week has to be the Bengals' Drew Sample ($4,800). He's now the starting tight end for Cincinnati and gets the Eagles who were just torched by Tyler Higbee last week.
Defenses
*Note: This week in the $4.44 Sunday Millionaire contest, a bonus of $100,000 is being offered if you use a defense that scores a defensive or special teams' touchdown. Those lineups will split the $100,000 with all of the other teams using a defense that scores.
It makes sense this week to pay up for the top-priced defense, the Los Angeles Chargers ($5,000). The defense has looked like an elite unit thus far, and the home game against the McCaffrey-less Panthers is an ideal matchup. They're one of the better options for cash games. Looking for a wild card in this slate, the Cleveland Browns ($3,900) should be a good option. They'll get the Washington Football Team at home where Dwayne Haskins should be good for a turnover or two as well as multiple sacks.
