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Top FanDuel Football Values Week 11

AFC Championship - Baltimore Ravens v New England Patriots*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.  We’ll also give you an ideal lineup using these bargain players while also breaking down a handful of huge upside plays for the riskier folks out there.

 

Ideal Matchup at Each Position

Quarterback – Scott Tolzien, Green Bay Packers

Last week, Seneca Wallace was our ideal quarterback matchup, and he got hurt in the first quarter.  Hopefully that doesn’t happen to Tolzien because this kid actually looked pretty solid in his first ever NFL action.

He finished last week’s game with 278 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.  Not great numbers, but not terrible numbers for a quarterback who has never taken a regular season snap before.

Tolzien should be much better prepared this week and has an ideal defense to throw against with the Packers traveling to face the New York Giants this week.  At a cost of only $6,000, Tolzien could pay off in a big way this week for your team.

 

Running Back – Bernard Pierce, Baltimore Ravens

What in the world has happened to Ray Rice?  Seriously, did little aliens come and steal his talent a la Space Jam?

Rice currently has a grade of -12.8, which is good enough for the worst overall grade of any running back.  While Pierce hasn’t been great in limited action, he’s still been way more productive than Rice has been.

There have been reports this week that the Ravens will give the ball to whomever runs better at the start of the game.  With Rice playing terrible football right now, that player should ultimately be Pierce.  Look for him to get the majority of carries this week and produce in a big way.

 

Wide Receiver – Rueben Randle, New York Giants

Randle has had an up-and-down season this year, but if there is any week Randle will be up, it’s this one.  The Giants have a matchup against the Green Bay Packers and their awful, awful pass defense.

The Packers currently have the eighth-worst pass coverage grade in the NFL right now.  While the Giants have certainly had their struggles on offense, Green Bay has given up huge games to Josh McCown and Nick Foles in back-to-back weeks.

Randle only costs $5,200 this week, so his upside outweighs his cost in a major way.

 

Tight End – Charles Clay, Miami Dolphins

For the past few weeks, the Dolphins offense has looked rather stagnant.  However, this could finally be the week that everything turns around for them.

The Dolphins play the San Diego Chargers this week.  The Chargers currently have the worst pass defense in the league.  There is absolutely no reason that Miami should struggle on offense this week.

With a cost of just $4,700, Clay could end up providing the most value of any player this week.

 

Ideal $60K Salary Team

With a $60K salary, you have the ability to get a good mix of top players if you can find some steals at other positions.  You have to be more conservative with this salary than with the $65K salary, but you should still be able to field a fantastic roster.

With a number of advantageous matchups this week, let’s take a look at an ideal $60K salary team.

 

QB – Nick Foles, Philadelphia Eagles ($8,600) – Foles has thrown 16 touchdowns and zero interceptions on the year, which is just incredible.  His matchup this week is against the Washington Redskins and their second-worst defense in the league.  Another seven-touchdown performance is certainly possible this week.

RB – Marshawn Lynch, Seattle Seahawks ($9,000) – The Minnesota Vikings, who Lynch plays this week, currently has the fifth-worst run defense in the league.  Lynch is also coming off a week where he rushed for 145 yards and a touchdown and had the top grade for a running back last week.  Look for him to have a huge game again this week for the Seahawks.

RB – Bernard Pierce, Baltimore Ravens ($4,500) – With Ray Rice continuing to struggle on epic proportions, Pierce has a great chance to get the majority of the carries for Baltimore this week.  With a favorable matchup against the Chicago Bears, Pierce could excel this week.

WR – Calvin Johnson, Detroit Lions ($10,200) – All you need to know is that Calvin Johnson is completely unstoppable.  The fact that he’s from a completely different planet can only help your fantasy football team this week.

WR – Larry Fitzgerald, Arizona Cardinals ($6,400) – Fitzgerald’s cost this low seems awfully low, even though he’s having a down year.  That should change this week thanks to a matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars for the Cardinals.  Don’t be surprised if Fitzgerald has the best game of his season this week.

WR – Rueben Randle, New York Giants ($5,200) – The Giants play the Packers this week who have just been awful against the pass.  Why Randle is the choice at receiver for the Giants is because the Packers will likely be without cornerback Casey Hayward this week.  That means Randle will have the best matchup and should get plenty of opportunities to put up big numbers.

TE – Charles Clay, Miami Dolphins ($4,700) – The Dolphins offense hasn’t been great these past few weeks.  However, a matchup with the San Diego Chargers and their worst-ranked pass defense could turn things around.  If Clay is going to have a great game, this is the week that seems most likely.

K – Steven Hauschka, Seattle Seahawks ($5,700) – The Seahawks have the potential to put up a ton of points this week against the Vikings.  That puts Hauschka atop the list of kickers for your team.

DEF – Arizona Cardinals ($5,700) – There is no better matchup this week for a defense than the Cardinals.  They play the Jaguars and their worst-ranked offense this week.  It’s definitely possible that the Cardinals defense puts more points on the board than the Jaguars offense does this week.

 

High Upside Gamble Players

Brandon Bostick, WR, Green Bay Packers

With Tolzien starting at quarterback this year for the Packers, he’s going to throw the ball to players he’s most comfortable with.  That was Bostick last week, who caught the only touchdown pass that Tolzien threw.

While FanDuel considers Bostick a wide receiver, the Packers play him more as a tight end.  That’s good for your team because he’ll see the field more often as a tight end than he would as a wide receiver.

At a cost of only $4,800, Bostick could get big points, especially if he can find the end zone again this week.

 

Tyler Eifert, TE, Cincinnati Bengals

Eifert is simply too talented to only have a cost of $4,500.  Has he struggled to produce this year?  Sure, but a matchup with the Cleveland Browns this week could change that.

Of course, Eifert will need quarterback Andy Dalton to play much better than he did last week.  If Dalton can have a bounce-back game this week, Eifert could finally have his breakout game.

 

Brian Leonard, RB, Tampa Bay Buccaneers

With Doug Martin and Mike James out for Tampa Bay, Leonard becomes the No. 1 running back on the depth chart.  Anytime you can get a No. 1 running back for only $4,500, it’s hard to turn that down.

The only problem with Leonard is that the Buccaneers have been rather awful on offense this year.  However, they’re coming off a win last week where Leonard looked quite solid.

If the Buccaneers can build on last week’s victory, Leonard could be in for a huge game this week, especially against the weak run defense of the Atlanta Falcons.

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