DFS Fantasy Football Picks: Week 9 DFS Bargain Bin
DFS Fantasy Football Picks:
Similarly to baseball, finding cheaper value players are ever so critical to the success of your DFS Fantasy Football Picks. In order to unlock the studs of the slate, you’ll need to find the bargain players that provide important salary relief. Here are my top bargain plays for week nine on both DraftKings and FanDuel.
Colin Kaepernick – SF (QB) – DK $5600, FD $7200
Chip Kelly’s San Fransisco 49ers will come off of the bye this week, to take on the New Orleans Saints, at home. Colin Kaepernick will get the start under center, after having two weeks under his belt and a full bye week to prepare for a susceptible Saints’ defense. The Saints currently sits as 4.5 point favorites, so all conventional betting wisdom would suggest that this would be a spot to back the 49ers, with the Saints being short road favorites. This game should also feature the most offensive plays on the week. The 49ers rank 1st in second per play, and the Saints rank 4th.
Diving further into the individual play of Kaepernick, we can see the rushing upside that he provides. Through two games, he has accumulated 150 rushing yards. It’s important to note that Carlos Hyde is very questionable for Sunday’s match up, which may increase Kaepernick’s usage. It’s tough to fully endorse a below average quarterback, but if you’re looking to spend down at the position, consider Colin Kaepernick.
Darren Sproles – PHI (RB) – DK $3900, FD $4800
The Eagles backfield has been a mess all season long, but if we can accurately predict where the touches will go, it can be quite lucrative. After their loss to the Cowboys on Sunday night, coach Doug Pederson came out and suggested that they would be reevaluating their lead back. Later in the week, he then went on to say that Ryan Mathews remains the starter. Coach-speak can be somewhat misleading and used as a bluffing strategy, and when looking at the snap and touch count, it would seem that Ryan Mathews is no longer the lead back. Last week, Darren Sproles had 15 rushing attempts and an additional, 7 targets (to Mathews 4 rushing attempts and 1 target). While there is uncertainty that the volume will remain the same, I’m willing to take the risk at the price, in tournaments. The Giants have struggled with pass catching backs and receivers playing out of the slot, which will provide a favorable match up for Sproles. It’s also important to note that Josh Huff was cut by the Eagles earlier this week. Huff and Sproles had a similar role in the offense and we would assume that this could provide a slight uptick in Sproles’ usage.
Donte Moncrief – IND (WR) – DK $5800, $6100
Donte Moncrief will be a plug and play player for me this week. I’ve talked him up all last year and through the preseason this year, and he’s now placed in a dream match up. Green Bay is bleeding points to opposing wide outs and without Sam Shields, it doesn’t appear to be changing any time soon. Luck and Moncrief have a tremendous connection and Moncrief is the number one red zone target for the Indy offense. We’ll have montior T.Y. Hilton‘s injury status, but even if he does play, Moncrief is still very much in play.
DraftKings Specific:
Antonio Gates – SD (TE) – $3000
Old man Gates? Really? Yup. It was reported that Hunter Henry was held out of practice on Thursday with a knee injury. If he remains absent from practice on Friday, Gates would likely assume 100% of the tight end role for the Chargers. While it’s almost impossible for Gates to run away from defenders anymore, he still is a master at body positioning and his connecting with Phillip Rivers is undeniable. Gates is Rivers’ safety blanket and is still be used in the red zone. In his last two weeks, Gates has seen 9 and 10 targets. It wont take much for Gates to pay off his $3000 salary.
FanDuel Specific:
Tyrell Williams – SD (WR) – $5600
Playing off of the Hunter Henry news, Travis Benjamin has battled a PCL sprain and while he could suit up, Tyrell Williams would see a slight uptick in usage if either Henry or Benjamin miss action. Tennessee is better against the run, but conversely, they can be exploited in the passing game. Williams has seen plenty of red zone work, but has yet to convert. I think we’ll see touchdown variance even out, and Williams will find the end zone this week.
Kyle Rudolph – MIN (TE) – $5000
After a Monday night loss to Chicago, Minnesota will take on the visiting Detroit Lions, in what is a juicy match up for Kyle Rudolph and the Minnesota passing game. Outside of Darius Slay, the Lions have failed to slow down opposing passing attacks. They’ve also allowed the most points to opposing tight this year. While Minnesota’s offensive line has struggled mightily, and Sam Bradford isn’t anything to write home about, Kyle Rudolph is much too cheap, given the volume that he’s expected to see.
Good luck!