NFL DFS: Week 4 Fanduel Cash Plays (1PM Only)
Got your main slate NFL DFS lineups all set and looking for a good reason to avoid tinkering with them? Make some more lineups on some smaller slates!! This article will focus on the top cash game plays for the 1PM only slate on Fanduel.
Welcome to the newest article from FantasyCPR. I should almost follow that up with “the leader in free NFL DFS content.” but I am not authorized to do so, so let’s just begin. This new piece will give us a solid look at how to attack our cash games for the eight-game, 1PM only slate on Fanduel. For the newbies, cash games are simply the games in the lobby that are 50/50 or close to that to win. These are basically all of the games other than the tournaments and guaranteed prize pool tournaments (GPP’s). Head-to-Head’s (H2H), 50/50, and double-ups would best summarize cash games.
Week four of the 2018 NFL season is now upon us, and this Sunday we have eight games kicking-off at 1PM ET. With a quick glance at these eight games, one stands out well above the others as far as projected points go. This game will be in Atlanta, where the Bengals will come to town for an NFC/AFC showdown. With a game total of 53.5, the next closest match-up on the slate is at 48, between the 3-0 Dolphins and the 1-2 Patriots.
Let’s start by saying this, if you don’t like chalk, these slates are not for you. Not only will this article highlight who seems like the top options whether they are popular plays or not is not any of my concern, With just an eight game slate, we are getting a little close to thin. Ideally, you would like these early slates to be at least ten games, but that is just not the case this week. With that said, let’s talk a little bit about the slate before we focus in on the targets.
Slate Overview:
As mentioned a little in the introduction, your chalk in these early only cash games will no doubt be present in the Bengals/Falcons tilt at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. While I think the Falcons will be a little more popular, some Bengals appear to be under priced a bit, so my targets are leaning that way. All in all, other than this spot for both offenses, there really is not a whole lot of other places to attack.
The Texans are off to an 0-3 start, and will travel to Indianapolis to face the Colts in a divisional battle. The Colts D has been pretty good up to this point, but I will look for that change a bit this week. On the flip side, Houston’s D has not been playing up to par up to this point in the season. I like some bits and pieces from this game as well.
To sum it all up, it is a pretty straight-forward eight game slate. It is all going to come down to what happens in Atlanta today for me. The Falcons are trying to avoid going 1-3 to start the season, but the Bengals offense has looked pretty good through the first three games, despite the early injury to star RB Joe Mixon. I think the Bengals look more talented overall, and the Falcons stars Matt Ryan and Julio Jones are showing to just not have what they used to. My plan of attack is stack four Bengals, and find the best spots from there. With that said, let’s get to it!
QB – Andy Dalton – Cincinnati Bengals – $7,400
Our first Bengal to target today, is everyone’s favorite ginger QB Andy Dalton. Not typically known as a fantasy darling, considering he rarely puts up huge games, Dalton has looked very much like a fantasy darling to start this season. He has already thrown eight TD’s in the first three games, and has faced a couple of tough defenses in Carolina and Baltimore along the way. He did throw four interceptions last week against the Panthers in a losing effort, but the Bengals pretty much threw the ball the whole game. Dalton was able to have his best yardage effort of the season despite the INT’s, throwing for 352 yards. Atlanta has given up back-to-back huge games to Drew Brees and Cam Newton, and if any holes on the defense have been found on tape over the last two games, I think Dalton could surprise some people today.
***Also consider – Deshaun Watson – $7,600***
RB – Ezekiel Elliott – Dallas Cowboys – $8,200
On a smaller slate like this, the first place you want to focus on, is where is the overall top talent in the best spots that you want to pay up for. For me on this slate, it was easy to identify. Zeke and his Cowboys will be at home, as the 1-2 Detroit Lions will come to town. The Lions have really been an odd team to start the season. Get destroyed by the Jets at home, then two weeks later, easily handle the mighty Patriots 26-10 again at home. Their only road game, they went to San Francisco, and ended up losing a close one 30-27. In that game, 49ers feature back Matt Breida was able to rip off a 66 yard TD run, and run for 138 yards on just 11 carries. Elliott will probably get somewhere in the neighborhood of 20-25 carries, and I expect him to have a huge game here. He is the top play on the slate for me. He should be much more than $8,200 in my opinion.
RB – Giovani Bernard – Cincinnati Bengals – $6,400
This is likely the top chalk of the slate here, as Bernard will spend at least one more week in the feature roll in the absence of Mixon. The Falcons have faced Alvin Kamara and Christian McCaffrey the last two weeks, and both were tremendous catching passes. In those two games, both running backs were targeted a whopping 35 times combined in the passing game, and ultimately led their teams to victory. Bernard is usually a third-down receiving back when Mixon is healthy, so the Bengals would be foolish not to exploit this match-up. He is too cheap for a starting running back, and will be my top value play for this slate.
***Also consider (or flex) – Jordan Howard – $7,200***
WR – AJ Green – Cincinnati Bengals – $8,500
I think what you are going to see a lot of today, especially on this early slate, is more Tyler Boyd than AJ Green. Yes, Boyd had a huge game last week, and his was the match-up to exploit. You may think that again this week, but not so fast. Falcons shut down corner Desmond Trufant has been far from that so far this season. Offenses are having their way with this Falcons defense no which angle they choose to attack from. Green carried a questionable tag throughout the week, and while he may be a bit banged up, I think was just some maintenance days for the veteran to keep him fresh. He has four TD’s to start the season, and is looking once again like a top threat. I doubt Boyd matches last weeks production, and I would turn to the top threat Green this week instead. Especially for cash games for this early slate.
WR – Will Fuller V – Houston Texans – $7,600
Another lock here in my opinion, is Texans number two wide receiver Will Fuller. The price tag again is too low, as he continues to score a touchdown every game that he is on the field with Deshaun Watson as his QB. Both are healthy this week, and I am really preferring this match-up to Texans top threat DeAndre Hopkins. Reason for this, is that Fuller and Watson seem to have that rhythm I just spoke of, and on top of that, usually in these situations, Fuller is open because Hopkins’ athleticism garners a double team. With back-to-back 100 yard games each with touchdowns, Fuller should be over $8K at the very least. I will keep playing him until he is, or he does not score a touchdown. Enough said there.
WR – Kenny Golladay – Detroit Lions – $5,800
My last WR target should offer up some nice value here, as Golladay is quietly becoming a top target of Lions QB Matt Stafford. The 6’4″ Northern Illinois product is looking like a keeper, and a solid third round pick in 2017. He has caught at least six passes in all three games this season, and has found the end zone in back-to-back games. The Cowboys defense has plenty of holes right now, and with most of the attention going to Marvin Jones Jr. and Golden Tate, Golladay should be open plenty, and should continue to get found by Stafford. This will likely be a lower owned play for cash games, as the masses will likely flock to Tyler Boyd at the same price point, or Falcons WR Calvin Ridley, who had the monster game last week.
***Also consider: Mike Evans – $7,900, Calvin Ridley – $6,300***
TE – Eric Ebron – Indianapolis Colts – $5,500
I am going to write up Ebron here because he is likely your chalk with Jack Doyle out again. In week two with Doyle, Ebron had one less target than Doyle, but QB Andrew Luck found his newest red zone friend Ebron for the second straight week. It almost seems Ebron is better with Doyle on the field, but the truth is, without him, he may get even more looks in the red zone. One last stat, In those first two games with Doyle, Ebron received just nine targets, last week without Doyle, Ebron had the ball thrown his way 11 times. My problem with the whole scenario, is that with those 11 targets, Ebron had just five grabs for 33 yards. He never lived up to the hype in Detroit, and it seems every time he has been in a good spot to succeed throughout his career he has failed. You will see touts everywhere saying playing Ebron this week, and while I can’t argue the spot, the track record is telling me different. I will be “Also considering” the guy below this paragraph at a $900 discount. (Hint Hint..)
***Also consider – Tyler Eifert – $4,600***
DEF – Green Bay Packers – $4,300
Well we all know anything can happen in the NFL. Any Given Sunday right? The Buffalo Bills sure proved that last week, as they marched into US Bank Stadium as 17 point underdogs, and absolutely handled the Vikings 27-6. They will get another crack at the NFC North, as they will now travel to Green Bay to face the Packers. Despite the good week for the Bills offense last week, the Vikings proved their defense is simply in shambles, as Jared Goff and the Rams torched them again on Thursday. The Pack have not been great themselves, but this Bills offense is still a mess, and I will target them again. At 1-1-1, the Packers cannot afford to lose this game like Minnesota did, and I doubt they will. As 10 point favorites and the widest spread on the slate, for the price point, the Packers fit well with what I am trying to do.
***Also Consider – Jacksonville Jaguars – $5,200***
NFL DFS: Week 4 Fanduel (1PM Only!) Slate Sample Lineup:
The line-up below is meant to be illustrative only to further back-up the logic laid out in previous slides. It is not an optimal line-up. It is in fact, just a “Sample Lineup.”
QB – Andy Dalton – Cincinnati Bengals – $7,400
RB – Ezekiel Elliott – Dallas Cowboys – $8,200
RB – Giovani Bernard – Cincinnati Bengals – $6,400
WR – AJ Green – Cincinnati Bengals – $8,500
WR – Will Fuller V – Houston Texans – $7,600
WR – Kenny Golladay – Detroit Tigers – $5,800
TE – Tyler Eifert – Cincinnati Bengals – $4,900
Flex – Jordan Howard – Chicago Bears – $7,200
DEF – Green Bay Packers – $4,300
Next. NFL Week 4 DRAFT Rankings!. dark
Thank you for giving this first time article a read. You can find me on Twitter with the link at the top of the page. Reach out to me if you would like to see more of this! We have TONS of content here at FantasyCPR and new stuff to check out constantly. As we try to cover more and more angles, you will see more articles focusing on the smaller slates among the different DFS sites. Good luck on the early slate!