*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 – Josh McCown, Chicago Bears
In a season where we’ve seen so many backup quarterbacks come into games, McCown has been one of the best, if not the single best. He’s thrown seven touchdowns and only one interception in the five games he’s played in.
While those numbers are impressive, what’s even more impressive is his overall quarterback grade. McCown currently ranks as the seventh-best quarterback in the league, four spots ahead of his teammate Jay Cutler.
That’s simply unheard of for a backup quarterback. McCown plays the porous defense of the Minnesota Vikings this week. Yes, that’s the same defense that allowed Matt Flynn to tear them up. At a cost of only $6,100, McCown is the biggest steal of the week.
Running Back – Brandon Jacobs, New York Giants
Jacobs has been a bargain pick before and he makes the list again in Week 13.
The Giants play the Washington Redskins this week and their third-worst run defense. The Redskins run defense grade sits at a -53.5, which is just laughable. While teammate Andre Brown will get the majority of the carries, Jacobs will get the ones that really count; the ones in the red zone.
With Jacobs coming off a performance where he posted nine carries for 75 yards, he seems to have the momentum to have another productive week. His cost is $4,800, which he should easily outplay.
Wide Receiver – Justin Hunter, Tennessee Titans
It took a few weeks for Hunter to get his footing in Tennessee, but it finally seems to be happening.
He’s seen an increase in his overall snaps the past few weeks as he posted 41 in Week 12. He also posted his second-highest grade of the season last week with a +1.6. That was due to posting six receptions, 109 yards and a touchdown.
Hunter is a true deep-threat receiver, but he’s becoming more polished overall with each week that passes. With the Indianapolis Colts on the schedule for this week, Hunter should once again have a dominant performance.
Tight End – Martellus Bennett, Chicago Bears
We’ve already talked about McCown, but his tight end for Week 13 has the ideal matchup at this position. With a cost of only $5,400, Bennett could end up being the best value play of the week.
Bennett is coming off a huge week that saw him see six targets, record four receptions for 62 yards and a touchdown. In fact, only Jared Cook of the St. Louis Rams posted a higher grade last week for a tight end.
McCown seems to love what Bennett brings to the field, so a matchup against a weak secondary could mean huge things for the Bears tight end.
Ideal $55K Salary Team
The difficulty with a $55K salary team is that you really only have room for one “elite” player. You could potentially get two “elite” players on your roster, but you’d have to really dig deep and find bargain players at a number of other positions.
This week we’ll take a look at the ideal $55K team where we’ve actually found a number of bargain players in order to get two top-tier players.
QB – Josh McCown, Chicago Bears ($6,100) – The Vikings have the third-worst pass defense in the league and that’s who McCown plays. If Matt Flynn can torch Minnesota for 200 yards and a touchdown, McCown should have no trouble having a huge week.
RB – Adrian Peterson, Minnesota Vikings ($9,100) – Let’s stick with the Vikings-Bears matchup for a second longer. As bad as the Vikings pass defense has been this year, the Bears run defense has been just as bad. Furthermore, Peterson is coming off a performance where he rushed for 146 yards and forced six missed tackles. Simply put, Peterson is going to dominate the Bears defense.
RB – Brandon Jacobs, New York Giants ($4,800) – Jacobs is a touchdown machine and has an ideal matchup against the Redskins this week. He also posted over eight yards per carry last week, so the Giants might give him even more carries this week.
WR – Dwayne Bowe, Kansas City Chiefs ($5,300) – The cost of Dwayne Bowe this week is just absurd. Sure, he’s had an up-and-down season, but he’s also recorded nine catches for 108 yards and two touchdowns over the past two weeks. And one of those performances came against the Denver Broncos, who Bowe goes up against this week.
WR – Justin Hunter, Tennessee Titans ($5,300) – Hunter is quickly becoming one of the most dangerous rookie receivers in the week. He’s coming off a career game last week and gets a matchup against a Colts defense who hasn’t been able to slow down anyone in recent weeks.
WR – Rueben Randle, New York Giants ($5,100) – Only one team has been worse than the Redskins against the pass this week, and that’s who Randle gets to play this week. Randle has become Eli Manning’s second-favorite target in New York and should see plenty of targets in this potentially high-scoring affair.
TE – Rob Gronkowski, New England Patriots ($8,200) – Gronkowski is our second elite player on the roster. He plays the Houston Texans who have seemed to already give up on the 2013 season. They also have the fourth-worst pass defense, so Gronkowski should have a field day.
K – Mike Nugent, Cincinnati Bengals ($5,200) – Picking a kicker comes down to whichever team you think is going to put the most points on the board. With a number of other top kickers playing elite defenses, Nugent should see plenty of opportunities to get points with a matchup against the San Diego Chargers.
DEF – Carolina Panthers ($5,300) – The Panthers play the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this week. While rookie quarterback Mike Glennon has looked good in recent weeks, he hasn’t played a defense nearly as talented as the Panthers defense. Look for Carolina to completely dominate Glennon and post a monster game for a defense this week.
© 2024 PFF - all rights reserved.