With the end of the fantasy football regular season nearing, many of you who haven't done so well in standard leagues are turning to these daily formats. One of our goals at Pro Football Focus is to help you find the best possible values for these daily leagues.
If you want a chance to win $2.5 million in guaranteed prizes on Draftstreet this year, you are going to have to get creative. The idea here is to find values up and down the board to fill out your weekly rosters so that you are able to actually pick up a couple of the elite fantasy options that remain in Week 10.
As a reminder, check out their qualifier league that enables 40 Players qualify for the Championship Event.
Jake Locker, QB, Tennessee Titans ($12,410)
Due to a combination of factors, Locker’s breakout season hasn’t necessarily translated to fantasy football. He’s been nothing more than a decent QB2 option when on the field this season. Locker does rank in the top-10 of the NFL in points per drop back, which is an indication that he’s able to make a decent impact when he is on the field. Tennessee will be taking on a Jacksonville Jaguars defense that has yielded the fourth-most fantasy points to opposing quarterbacks and ranks in the bottom six in the NFL in pass coverage.
As Draftstreet’s 15th-most expensive quarterback this week, Locker represents top-10 value. That’s hard to come by when you look at daily leagues.
Seneca Wallace, QB, Green Bay Packers ($9,078)
Insert any Packers’ quarterback here, right? I guess you could come to that conclusion but Wallace’s performance on Monday night wasn’t indicative of what he can bring to the table, especially with the offensive weapons around him. Remember, it’s a much different story for a backup quarterback to go into the game after an injury to the starter. It’s a much different thing to have him take a full week of first-team reps in practice. Wallace will have that ability prior to Green Bay’s Week 10 matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles.
Speaking of Philadelphia, it’s yielding an average of nearly 343 total yards per game to opposing quarterbacks and is our 26th-ranked defense against the pass. There really is no reason to believe that Wallace cannot provide QB1 numbers as a stopgap measure in replacement of starter Aaron Rodgers.
Draftreet guarantees 2-3 qualifiers per week. Week 1 through Week 14 of the NFL season. Imagine the bragging rights you will earn if Wallace helps you obtain that goal.
Maurice Jones-Drew, RB, Jacksonville Jaguars ($9,146)
Jones-Drew is not typically the type of player that shows up in articles like this one. As a regressing running back in an offense where he is pretty much the only focal point, it’s hard for the veteran to get going on a consistent basis. With that said, Jones-Drew has shown some flashes recently. He’s averaging about 85 yards per game in his last four outings after putting up 163 total yards in his first four games.
Jones-Drew goes up against a Tennessee Titans defense that has yielded the eighth-most fantasy points to opposing running backs and has a -10.6 grade against the run this season. Expect mid-tier RB1 production from Draftstreet’s 16th-ranked fantasy running back.
Mike James, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers ($7,779)
James’ 158-yard performance against the Seattle Seahawks last week wasn’t a fluke. He ran strong, broke tackles and found some nice holes to run through. Fortunately for James and the Buccaneers, they’re not going up against an upper-echelon run defense this week. Instead, they will be taking on a Miami Dolphins’ unit that has yielded the second-most fantasy points to running backs this season.
According to Draftstreet, the rookie is considered a bottom-tier RB2 and is priced below the likes of Pierre Thomas, Andre Ellington and Lamar Miller, all of whom have more difficult matchups. Buy low on James and expect RB1 production here.
The cost for Draftstreet Qualifiers range from $22 to $420. I’d be willing to put that up on James placing among the top-10 in running back production this week.
Shonn Greene, RB, Tennessee Titans ($4,903)
Why go with Chris Johnson’s backup after he had a stellar performance against the St. Louis Rams last week and will be facing a much worst defense in the form of the Jacksonville Jaguars who we grade out 31st against the run this season. It is precisely for these reasons that Greene, as a cheap option, should provide some decent numbers as Johnson’s backup. If you are looking to get production from a cheap FLEX option, go with Greene and not look back. In fact, he’s going to get the necessary short-yardage touches to possibly provide you that surprising score near the end zone. It’s a low-risk, high-reward proposition, folks.
DeAndre Hopkins, WR, Houston Texans ($6,586)
Hopkins is a dirt cheap bargain in Draftstreet leagues this week. At under seven percent of your total cap number, he provides top-tier WR2 upside. As I noted above, the Jacksonville Jaguars grade out as our 28th-ranked defense in pass coverage and will have their hands full doubling Andre Johnson. This should leave Hopkins in single coverage against less than stellar competition.
The rookie started out this season extremely well with 243 yards in his first three games but struggled once Matt Schaub started to throw more interceptions to the defense than to the offense. Now that Case Keenum is under center, it appears that Hopkins’ production is on its way up. He’s put up six receptions for 130 yards and a score in Keenum’s two starts. As Draftstreet’s 36th-most expensive wide receiver, this is an absolute steal.
Doug Baldwin, WR, Seattle Seahawks ($5,222)
With Sidney Rice out for the season and Percy Harvin unlikely to return this week, Baldwin will continue to get more playing time at wide receiver this week against the Atlanta Falcons. He put up six catches for 75 yards and a score against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last week.
Fortunately for those who are looking for Baldwin to make a strong impact this week, he is going up against a Falcons’ defense that we grade out in the bottom 10 of the NFL in pass coverage. As the 50th-most expensive receiver in Draftstreet leagues, there is no reason to believe that Baldwin won’t far outpace his perceived value.
Garrett Graham, TE, Houston Texans ($4,775)
While Graham hasn’t made a major impact since Owen Daniels went out with an injury, he is going to benefit from better quarterback play. As bad as it sounds, his fantasy numbers are also going to start reflecting Daniels’ injury. There is no better game for that to happen than against an Arizona Cardinals defense that ranks dead last against against fantasy tight ends. Taking into account the value that Draftstreet has given Graham this week, which is nothing more than a top-tier TE2 option, he represents solid upside as a cheap TE1 option.
Brent Celek, TE, Philadelphia Eagles ($3,234)
Talk about buying cheap on someone who might provide TE1 upside. Much like every Eagles’ offensive player last week, Celek put up a solid statistical game. Despite catching only three passes for 27 yards, he was able to put up a score and finished as the 10th-ranked fantasy tight end. He’s not even considered a decent FLEX option in Draftstreet leagues and is going up against a Green Bay Packers defense that has yielded the sixth-most fantasy points to opposing tight ends this season.
Here is a little more information on Draftstreet qualifiers…
– Qualifier winners receive flight and accommodations to Las Vegas on December 15th for Championship Event
– December 15th is Championship Sunday where players draft for $1,750,000 in prizes.
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