*For those that are weekly readers, simply skip the first few paragraphs of explanation and jump down to the ideal matchups. Don’t forget that the promo code ‘PFF’ is worth a 100 percent deposit bonus.
If you’ve never played weekly salary cap games, you’re missing out on an exciting game to play throughout the NFL season. The game that we’ll be breaking down in this weekly article is for the website FanDuel.
For those of you that have never played a salary cap game before, I’ll quickly go over the rules so you can understand how these games work. Each player is given a monetary value based on statistics, matchups and that player’s hype. You then try to create the ideal lineup using as salary cap, such as $60,000.
The purpose of this weekly article is to point out the best values each week so you can make the most ideal lineup. A few positions you’ll never see on this article is defenses and kickers. With these positions you’re just basically looking for the most ideal matchup, whether that’s a rookie quarterback for a defense or a terrible defense for a kicker.
With all this information, let’s now take a look at some of the most ideal matchups over at FanDuel. Since there are only eight teams remaining, it’s going to be difficult finding an ideal matchup at each position. Instead, we’ll take a look at an ideal starting lineup and point out some of the better matchups available.
Ideal $60K Salary Team
With only eight teams let in the playoffs, picking your team is going to be a little difficult. We’re going to try to find at least one player we know is going to have a big game and get him on our roster no matter his cost. We also will need to find at least one extremely good deal at a position in order to help offset the cost of higher-cost players.
Take a look below at our ideal $60K salary team this week for the divisional round of the NFL playoffs.
QB – Tom Brady, New England Patriots ($9,000) – The Indianapolis Colts gave up nearly 400 yards and four touchdowns to Alex Smith last week. It’s possible that this game is also a shootout and Brady matches or surpasses Smith’s numbers from last week.
RB – Ryan Mathews, San Diego Chargers ($7,600) – There aren’t many good choices at running backs this week, and Mathews may be the best of the bunch. The Chargers get the Denver Broncos this week and they’ll likely attempt to run the ball as often as possible. Mathews is coming off a big week last week and could have similar success in this game.
RB – Frank Gore, San Francisco 49ers ($7,000) – Gore doesn’t have an ideal matchup this week against the Carolina Panthers, but he provides the best potential production for your money at the running back position. The 49ers are going to run with Gore and if he can break one or two big plays he could have a productive week.
WR – T.Y. Hilton, Indianapolis Colts ($7,500) – Hilton is coming off a historic game last week and there is no reason to think he won’t be Andrew Luck’s No. 1 option this week. While he may not post over 200 yards and two touchdowns, he should still see enough targets to be a top scoring receiver this week.
WR – Michael Crabtree, San Francisco 49ers ($6,900) – No player has better value than Crabtree this week. Last week against the Green Bay Packers, Crabtree saw 13 targets and recorded eight receptions. Quarterback Colin Kaepernick obviously loves Crabtree, so there’s no reason to believe he won’t be in for another big week.
WR – Kenny Stills, New Orleans Saints ($4,800) – Stills is our inexpensive player that we’re going to use to help offset the cost of the rest of our team. He’s a huge risk because he could only see a handful of snaps, but he also has a ton of upside because he plays for the high-powered offense in New Orleans.
TE – Greg Olsen, Carolina Panthers ($5,700) – The problem with the tight end position this week is that you either need to pay a premium for a guy like Jimmy Graham or find the best deal you can. Olsen offers ideal value because Steve Smith isn’t going to be 100 percent this week and Cam Newton needs to throw the ball somewhere. Look for Olsen to post some solid numbers against the 49ers this week.
K – Nick Novak, San Diego Chargers ($5,200) – It’s possible that the Chargers-Broncos game turns into an offensive shootout. However, even if it doesn’t, the Chargers have an offensive capable of at least getting into field goal range. Novak offers us a good cost that could ultimately turn into huge production.
DEF – San Francisco 49ers ($6,200) – With a defense we are looking for the unit playing the worst overall offense. This week that honor goes to the Carolina Panthers, who have certainly had their fair share of struggles offensively. Don’t be surprised if this matchup turns into a defensive battle with a number of turnovers and sacks.
© 2024 PFF - all rights reserved.