FanDuel NFL: Quarterbacks Week 2

Sep 11, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Indianapolis Colts quarterback, and FanDuel NFL stud, Andrew Luck (12) looks on in the first half against the Detroit Lions at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /

FanDuel NFL: Quarterbacks Week 2 is a column highlighting the best player, most affordable, and best value options for your FanDuel NFL lineups focusing on salary versus expected points. The intention of this article is to help you build your FanDuel NFL lineup for the most likely big payday each week.

I like to lean on FantasyPros for weekly point projections, the information is a result of consensus from many fantasy football experts. I check the point projection results, which update daily, with the salary set by FanDuel for players each week. Entering week 2, we should start to see salaries settle into a more reasonable point for many players. However, some players may still be over/under valued based on their week 1 results.

To help you optimize your FanDuel NFL lineups each week, we’re focusing on the Most Points, Best Affordable, and Most Value options. This article will focus on the Quarterback position. Here’s a brief description of each category:

Most Projected Points – Evaluation of top projected point options from FantasyPros
Best Affordable – Your most affordable, best player, options leaving you with enough money for good players in other positions
Most Value – Identify the cheapest players with the highest upside

Now, let’s take a look at the players everyone’s targeting:

Next: Most Projected Points - QB

Aug 20, 2016; Orchard Park, NY, USA; New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (10) talks with New York Giants wide receiver Odell Beckham (13) during the second half against the Buffalo Bills at New Era Field. Bills beat the Giants 21-0. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Hoffman-USA TODAY Sports /

Most Projected Points – QB

Eli Manning piled up 19.28 FanDuel NFL points against a solid Dallas defense, 11th among QB’s for week 1. We’ll see if the Dallas defense is as good as years past after a few more games, but it was very clear on Sunday, Eli has some talented receivers to throw to each week. Week 2, Manning and crew face what looks like a very terrible New Orleans defense. On Sunday, the Saints defense engaged in a shoot-out with Derek Carr and the Oakland Raiders, mostly due to poor defensive play on each side of the field. Eli is projected to drop 20.9 points against the Saints, the 2nd highest projection of all quarterbacks this week. Among the top four projected points at QB, Manning is easily the cheapest with a $8,100 salary. Eli Manning is a must start in FanDuel NFL lineups week 2.

Cam Newton leads the projected points list for QB’s this week. Newton had 22.16 points in week 1, 10th among all QB’s and just ahead of Eli, against a very good Denver Broncos defense. It’s reasonable to believe Newton could have a big game against the San Francisco 49ers this weekend, and likely does better than his Broncos result. However, you’re also paying $9,000 for Cam, which is pricey.

Also expensive is Drew Brees, at $9,200. Brees salary climbed $500 from last week. That’s not surprising considering Drew tour apart the Oakland Raiders defensive backfield for 31.42 points, 2nd among all quarterbacks. Only Andrew Luck ($8,500 / 18.5 @ Den) had more points last week against the Detroit Lions, 35.50. Brees is expected to have another great week in New York against the Giants, projected to hit 20.2 points. But I’m not sure that’s worth the payload you give up. Stick with Eli Manning if you can afford him.

Next: Best Affordable - QB

Sep 11, 2016; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) walks off the field after defeating the Indianapolis Colts at Lucas Oil Stadium. The Lions won 39-35. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports /

Best Affordable – QB

It feels like we were just talking about Matthew Stafford being the Best Affordable QB last week. Oh wait, we were. Stafford and Indianapolis Colt’s QB Andrew Luck were locked in a shoot-out last week, which likely made many Stafford and Luck fantasy owners see dollar signs. Stafford piled up 26.10 points in week 1, 5th among all FanDuel NFL quarterbacks, on an affordable $7,400 salary. For week 2, Stafford’s salary climbs $400 to $7,800. That still seems reasonable given Matthew is tied with Aaron Rodgers for 19.6 projected FanDuel NFL points this week, 4th among all quarterbacks. Ameer Abdullah ran well against the Colts and the Lions receivers seem locked into Stafford’s anticipated throws. I’m going to keep riding Stafford until he gets too expensive or finally disappoints.

Blake Bortles is another mid-salary-range option for week 2 who could have a lot of upside. The San Diego Charges looked pretty dominate in the first quarter on Sunday. Then Keenan Allen went down with a suspected ACL tear, and the entire team played deflated football (not the Tom Brady kind) for the rest of the game. In the end, Alex Smith totaled 29.02 points, 3rd among all FanDuel NFL QB’s last week. Alex Smith is not your typical top 3 fantasy quarterback so he and the Kansas City Chiefs offensive unit found some big holes in the SD defense. I suspect Bortles and the Jags could do the same this weekend. Blake only hit 16 points on Sunday, but he faced a tough Green Bay Packers defense. I also thin Bortles offensive unit has a ton of talent. This should be a good weekend for Blake. With a projected 19.3 points, 8th among all QB’s, and a $8,100 salary, Bortles is a solid value in San Diego.

Next: Most Value - QB

Sep 11, 2016; Philadelphia, PA, USA; Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Carson Wentz (11) celebrates after running back Ryan Mathews (not pictured) scores a touchdown in the fourth quarter against the Cleveland Browns at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: James Lang-USA TODAY Sports /

Most Value – QB

I took a huge gamble in two lineups last week and played Carson Wentz. Like Dak Prescott, Wentz was attractive because FanDuel had already set his value at $5,000 about a month in advance, anticipating he wouldn’t start. However, after the late-preseason trade of Sam Bradford to the Minnesota Vikings, Carson was immediately thrust into the starting QB spot for the Philadelphia Eagles. I didn’t expect much. I just knew I suddenly could start fantasy studs at RB and WR. If it wasn’t for Gurley’s flat start to the season, it would’ve been a great weekend. Carson finished the game with a respectable 19.22 points, 12th among all starting quarterbacks. Not bad for a rookie, but the real story was how bad the Cleveland Browns defense looked. Next, Wentz gets the Chicago Bears. I’m more skeptical about this one. The reason I picked Carson over Dak last week was purely the defensive matchup. However, the Bears defense, while better than the Browns, isn’t that good. Also, Chicago has a banged up secondary. With an increased $6,900 salary, Carson could still be a solid play this weekend. But there’s very clear risk.

Now in his second year, we haven’t heard much about Marcus Mariota for the 2016 season. Mariota quietly piled up 17.74 points last weekend, a solid result for a $7,500 salary. Now Marcus faces a Detroit Lions defense who was shredded by Andrew Luck. Yes, Mariota is nowhere near as good as Andrew Luck, at this stage of his career. However, the Lions defense gave up 35.50 FanDuel NFL points to Luck last weekend, the most of any quarterback. In week 2, it’s possible Mariota exceeds his 17 point performance from week 1. Marcus is projected to hit 17.7 points yet again, but I think there’s clear upside here. If you’re looking for another bargain pick with more security, Mariota is your guy!

Next: Is Carson Wentz Real?

Wrapping up value, we should revisit Eli Manning one more time. Eli is projected to pull in top 2 FanDuel NFL points for QB’s and has a mid-range salary of only $8,100. Manning is my favorite option this week, followed by Matthew Stafford.