Welcome to the NFL edition of Picks and Pivots, a fantasy football column focused on helping you find the best FanDuel NFL lineup! The purpose of this column is to first identify key building blocks that can be used for any roster construction and then identify pivot points to help differentiate your lineup in hopes of a big payday!
In Week 3, FanDuel has changed the game for us as we can no longer get exposure to the Monday night game through the Main FanDuel NFL Sunday slate but that does not mean we cannot play this game.
Fellow Fantasy CPR Expert, Matt Rogers introduced me to this Monday Night- Thursday Night two game slate last week and it is quickly becoming a favorite play for me.
Typically playing the Monday/Thursday night games became more of a strategic decision in how to weight ownership as the nationally televised games tended to be more heavily owned. As a result these became strategic fades for me most times, but by isolating these two games into one slate we get to enjoy these games and get some added fantasy football time!
So let’s get started on this two game slate and dig into the top FanDuel NFL plays from the Texans-Broncos and Jaguars-Titans.
Normally the Monday-Thursday slate is one of my favorite cash game bankroll padding slates but this week, the slate is BRUTAL! Before I go too far into my picks, my recommendation on this slate is to play lightly, throw in some GPP’s for fun and a few 50/50 lineups to help pad your bankroll for the start of the NBA season and the upcoming Week 8!
Blake Bortles ($7,400) When looking at Quarterback for this two game slate, you have 3 top 10 defenses against the pass with the Texans and Broncos at 1 and 2. This leads me to look to the Thursday night game and with Blake Bortles facing the 18th ranked passing defense, he has the best pure match-up of any QB we can choose from.
Bortles has at least 1 passing touchdown in each game this year and 3 games with 2 scores while racking up double-digit FanDuel points in every start. It is weird to consider Bortles “cash-game” playable on this slate but frankly that is where we are at with these games!
I have no interest in either of the QB’s on Monday night so I am happy to take the slight salary savings from Marcus Mariota and slide Bortles in as my top QB on this slate!
The running back position on this slate is going to be mighty chalky, but there are two clear top options to build around in cash games and make for dangerous fades in tournament play!
Lamar Miller ($7,700) should be the absolute focal point of a Texans offense going up against a top ranked passing defense that is 20th against the run. In what should be a close/ugly game, Miller should easily see 25-30 touches and after a 31.3 FanDuel outing last week he has the upside to carry your team to the “green line.”
DeMarco Murray ($8,500) is the most expensive player on the slate and for good reason! Murray is a cash game staple, as his consistency of 20+ carries in four straight games makes him one of the few “safe” plays on this slate.
Murray also has flashed upside as he has 4 of his 6 games with 20+ FanDuel points and going up against a Jaguars defense that is more susceptible to the run, this is a great place to spend your salary.
In tournaments the one potential pivot you can roll out would be to move away from DeMarco and take the salary savings with DeVontae Booker ($5,600). Earlier this week, the Broncos coaching staff has said they plan to get Booker more involved in the offense and with C.J. Anderson sputtering to start the season, Booker makes for a high risk – high reward GPP play!
For as straight-forward as the running back position may have seemed, the WR spot is where you can play around with multiple combinations if you are a multi-entry player as the amount of variability with this crew is large!
Demaryius Thomas ($7,300) & Emmanuel Sanders ($6,700) I may not like the passing games in this offense, but the one thing you cannot disregard is the high level of targets the Broncos WR’s get each week. Without any clear-cut WR options in ideal match ups, I am looking to lock in the relative safety of targets to build my WR roster construction.
So far this year, Trevor Siemian has targeted Emmanuel Sanders 37 times and Demaryius Thomas 33 times with no other player above 20 targets. You certainly have to temper your expectations against the tough Texans pass defense that has allowed only three WR’s to go over 70 yards this season however with the sheer volume of targets, both WR’s could still put up respectable numbers.
More from FanSided
- Predicting NBA’s Christmas Day Schedule: Lakers, Warriors highlight slate of postseason rematches
- 3 reasons the Blazers should trade Damian Lillard to the Heat and 2 reasons they shouldn’t
- LeBron James, Giannis, Damian Lillard all want that Mbappé money
- Is this Alex Morgan’s last Women’s World Cup with the USWNT?
- 3 reasons the NY Giants won Saquon Barkley contract negotiations
Will Fuller ($6,800) The Broncos pass defense has allowed only two WR’s to go over 60 yards AND Fuller burned us all last week with his 1 catch 0.9 FanDuel point performance so why am I going back? Well when everyone jumps off, that is the best spot to jump back on to try to separate yourself.
The reality is, the Jaguars and Titans WR core is inconsistent and I feel I can get enough offensive exposure through the running game and with Delanie Walker that I do not need to utilize their WR’s. The sheer talent at WR in the Monday Night game is where I will lean towards in the hopes that talent wins out over matchup!
Delanie Walker ($6,500) One of the reason I am OK fading Marcus Mariota on this slate is that I feel I can get the Titans pass exposure by locking in their best pass-catcher in TE Delanie Walker. Walker has 8 targets in 3 of his last 4 games, and is the clear top option in the Titans passing attack. Walker is the absolute top cash game target and he makes for a dangerous fade as the best TE option at a reasonable price.
Next: Is James Harden the top Fantasy Basketball Pick?
Best of luck on this short two game slate and enjoy the end of Week 7 and the start of Week 8 in the NFL!