Welcome to the third week of NFL football and my start or sit column.
I’ve done this for a few years, but I will continue with the FanDuel picks at the bottom. For normal leagues, I’ll pick some players outside the top 10 and 15 who I think will play well as well as some higher rated players who I see underachieving using the ESPN rankings.
Last week, I went 11-9 in underachievers and overachievers, and 12-7 in what was a successful week for me in FanDuel. Let’s get to it.
Underachievers
- New Orleans QB Drew Brees: He is banged up, going on the road and looking older by the week, there are better options.
- Minnesota Vikings QB Teddy Bridgewater: He looks to be a game manager and until it changes, stay away.
- Detroit Lions QB Matthew Stafford: He continues to struggle against good teams.
- Cincinnati Bengals RB Jeremy Hill: He has a few things going against him, playing a tough Baltimore Ravens run defense at their home, he was benched last week and even when he played has been underwhelming while his backup Gio Bernard has been great.
- Denver Broncos RB C.J. Anderson: I am on defcon 4 and need to see production before I start him again.
- Baltimore Ravens RB Justin Forsett: He seems to be in a job share and the lack of red zone carries is concerning.
- Indianapolis Colts WR T.Y Hilton: He still looked injured and even though it’s a nice match-up, I see a more ball control kind of game this week.
- New Orleans Saints WR Brandin Cooks He is putting up WR3 stats at best, they go on the road against a tough pass defense, stay away.
- Chicago Bears WR Alshon Jeffrey: He has been in and out of practice and has to play in Seattle, there are better options.
- Dallas Cowboys TE Jason Witten: He has numerous injuries and I can see the defense focusing on him this week.
Overachievers
- Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton: He gets an awful defense at home plus with the rushing yards is easily a top 6 QB.
- Miami Dolphins QB Ryan Tannehill: He had a big fantasy week plus the Buffalo Bills had some issues defending the pass.
- San Francisco 49ers QB Colin Kaepernick: I expect them to be trailing and him having to throw in which he is completing 69%.
- Jacksonville Jaguars RB T.J Yeldon: The Patriots are weak against the run plus with his pass catching and the Denard Robinson injury should get 20 touches.
- Atlanta Falcons RB Devonta Freeman: He has not played well but has no one behind him and should get 20 touches at the least.
- San Diego Chargers RB Danny Woodhead: He is getting 15-18 touches a game and the Vikings have not been good against running backs.
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Vincent Jackson: With Jenkins out, that open up more targets in a pretty good match-up.
- Dallas Cowboys WR Terrance Williams: I expect at least 10 targets again with the Witten injury.
- Green Bay Packers WR Jsmes Jones: All he does is score touchdowns.
- New York Giants TE Larry Donnell: The Redskins have been strong but is giving up yards to the tight end.
Here are my FanDuel picks for the week where I will give some higher and lower salaries I like at each position, as you will see I will be focusing on the worse defenses:
QB
- Carolina Panthers QB Cam Newton, $7,900: The rushing yards plus playing the New Orleans Saints.
- Buffalo Bills QB Tyrod Taylor, $7,000: He has been a top 10 QB this year.
- St Louis Rams QB Nick Foles, $6,500: The Rams are back at home and the Steelers are a bottom 5 pas defense.
RB
- Pittsburgh Steelers RB Le’Veon Bell, $8,800: The Rams have been a bottom 5 rush defense.
- Buffalo Bills RB LeSean McCoy, $7,800: He looks healthy and playing overrated Miami Dolphins.
- Oakland Raiders RB Latavius Murray, $7,00: The Browns have not been stout against the run.
- Atlanta Falcons RB Devonta Freeman, $6,500: He will get all the touches.
- San Diego Chargers RB Danny Woodhead, $6,400: Just a great price for the touches he will get.
- Houston Texans RB Chris Polk, $5,300: The best cheap option of the week at RB for a starter.
WR
- Pittsburgh Steelers WR Antonio Brown, $9,2000: I see double digit targets and a touchdown as always.
- Atlanta Falcons WR Julio Jones, $9,000: Not sure how you cannot pick him.
- New York Jets WR Brandon Marshall, $7,400: Playing the best ball in the last few years, should soak up all the targets.
- Dallas Cowboys WR Terrance Williams, $6,500: Great price for a WR1.
- Indianapolis Colts WR Donte Moncrief, $6,000: Luck continues to pepper him with tons of targets.
- Green Bay Packers WR James Jones, $5,700: Touchdowns all day every game.
- Cincinnati Bengals WR Marvin Jones, $5,000: My favorite cheap play at receiver.
TE
- Baltimore Ravens TE Crockett Gilmore, $5,400: He should be the top target of QB Joe Flacco.
Thank you for reading and have a great week, feel free to ask any questions here or on Twitter.
Mike Dietrich is the fantasy football columnist for JetNation.