Welcome back for another week of cashing in here at Razzball. I am here with your weekly DFS-focused article laying out my favorite options to target at each position for the Sunday DFS main slate. This article goes position by position, giving you my favorite pay-up option and my favorite pay-down or dart-throw option at each position to help you build out a winning DFS lineup. I use DraftKings pricing as a point of reference to seek out some values, and the goal is to help you “double up” in a 50/50 cash game with solid plays. Of course, you can use the dart throws to try to win the GPP tournaments, but at the end of the article, I give you my “double up” lineup using the players discussed in this article. Let’s get right into it, let’s build this lineup, and let’s make some money
QB:
Pay up – Russell Wilson – $7,200 – I am likely not going to pay up at quarterback this week. With some of the top quarterbacks playing primetime games this week, I don’t love anybody at the top of this slate. Of the top guys, Russell Wilson would be my pick. He shouldn’t be that highly rostered after a lackluster week 1, but I expect the offense to open up a bit more this week and let Russ cook some more. In his first home game as a Bronco, Russ should be able to throw for multiple touchdowns this week and be a solid “pay up” option in DFS this week if you go that route.
Pay Down – Derek Carr – $6,200 – This is the range that I am looking at quarterback this week. I don’t love any of the high-priced guys and I think we get a few guys at the mid-range pricing that have top-tier upside this week. One of those guys is Derek Carr. Carr threw for nearly 300 yards last week, but people may shy away from him this week after throwing 3 interceptions. The Chargers defense brought a lot of pressure last week but this week he gets a lesser Arizona defense who just gave up five passing touchdowns in week one. Look for Carr to bounce back and get all of his receiving weapons involved in this big game.
RB:
Pay Up –Saquon Barkley – $7,300– Saquan proved last week that a healthy Saquan is still a dominant force. He led the Giants singlehandedly to an upset win in Tennessee while putting up over 36 fantasy points on DraftKings. He had 24 touches for nearly 200 yards and a touchdown and this week he gets to face a Carolina defense that just ran all over by Cleveland last week. Saquan is clearly a focal point in this offense both as a runner and as a pass catcher, so to get a 3-times return on our investment we only need 22 points. Saquan will get us well over that if he plays like he did last week!
Dart Throw – Chase Edmonds – $5,200– I love the price tag on Chase Edmonds this week. He was used as the lead back last week as we saw him play 63% of the snaps last week to Raheem Mostert’s 42%. While Edmonds only got 25 yards on the ground on his 12 carries, he did catch all 4 of his targets and added 40 yards as a receiver. Even in a “down” game, he put up double-digit fantasy points last week. I believe that he should see even more work this week, stay involved in the passing game, and if he finds the endzone he could pay off handsomely as a dart throw at this price.
WR:
Pay Up – Cooper Kupp – $9,900 – If I am going to pay up anywhere this week it will be here on Cooper Kupp. Kupp caught 13 of 15 last week for 128 yards and is clearly picking up where he left off last season as a high-volume playmaker. He gets a tasty matchup this week against a weak Atlanta secondary that he should be able to feast on. If you have the funds, pay up for Kupp.
*Bonus Mid-Range – Hunter Renfrow – $5,500 – If you use Derek Carr at quarterback, you could certainly pay up for Adams, but if you want to go with Kupp, you could always pivot down here to Hunter Renfrow. Renfrow was a dud last week, but Carr was hyper-focused on his shiny new toy and force-fed targets to Adams all game. Carr should even it out a bit more moving forward and this matchup against Arizona will be a good opportunity to do that. Carr has 3 main receiving weapons and I expect them to all eat this week. A 6 for 50 and a touchdown stat line would get us a 3-times return on our investment in Renfrow.
Dart Throw – Parris Campbell – $3,700 – Campbell was a guy I was drafting a lot late in best ball season. He has the skills to be a solid WR2 in Indy if he could just stay healthy but he’s being challenged by guys like Ashton Dulin and the rookie Alec Pierce. Well, Pierce is currently in the concussion protocol and Michael Pittman has also missed practices this week with a quad injury, so there may be some great opportunity this week for Campbell. This Jacksonville defense gave up 4 receiving touchdowns and over 300 yards last week to Washington, so this sets up nicely for the Indy pass catchers. If Pierce doesn’t play, which it looks like he won’t, I GUARANTEE a touchdown from Parris Campbell this week to pay off in our lineups.
TE:
Pay up – Mark Andrews – $6,400 – Probably another position where I won’t pay up this week, but if you want a top-tier tight end, it has to be Mark Andrews. Andrews only had about 10 fantasy points last week, but he was still targeted 7 times and the game script in an easy win didn’t need much from him. This should be a tougher game for Baltimore, and they should have to put up points to keep pace with Miami in a game that has sneaky shootout potential. Lamar is going to need Andrews this week, and a 7 for 60 and a touchdown stat line from Andrews will give us just about 3 times the return on our investment.
Pay Down – Dalton Schultz – $5,200 – Part of the reason I won’t be paying up at tight end this week is because I like the value here with Schultz. Last week, in a miserable offensive performance where the Cowboys only scored 3 points, Schultz still managed to catch 7 passes on 9 targets for 62 yards. That was good for 13 fantasy points against a good Tampa defense which is much better than the Cincinnati defense he gets this week. With a banged-up receiving group and a backup quarterback, Dallas should be utilizing Schultz heavily this week and that’s why I will be using him as my paydown tight end.
Defense:
Pay Up – LA Rams – $4,000 – A top-tier defense that can bring pressure and create turnovers against a Marcus Mariota-led Falcons team? Sign me up.
Pay Down – Cincinnati – $2,200 – After a heartbreaking loss last week, Cincinnati goes into Dallas to play a backup quarterback with limited weapons. They’ll bring the heat and get a turnover or two to pay off this cheap price.
JB’s Example “Double Up” Lineup:
QB – Derek Carr
RB – Saquon Barkley
RB – Chase Edmonds
WR- Cooper Kupp
WR- Parris Campbell
WR- Curtis Samuel
TE – Dalton Schultz
Flex – Hunter Renfrow
DST – Bengals
That will do it for week 2. Thanks for checking in and I look forward to seeing you here every week to build out a winning DFS lineup. Make sure you check out all the fantastic new tools on Razzball.com and sign up for a FREE TRIAL of the Razzball tools subscription as you get ready to set the rest of your week 2 fantasy lineups. You are always invited to follow me on Twitter @FantasyCoachJB and ask me any questions you may have. Good luck in your upcoming matchups, and I’ll see you in the winner’s circle!
