NFL FanDuel DFS: Week 15 Early Only Cash Plays
Got your Week 14 NFL FanDuel 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.
For the newbies, NFL FanDuel cash games are simply the games in the Fanduel 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.
Let’s continue by saying this, if you don’t like chalk, these slates are not for you. This article highlights who the top options are in my opinion, and whether they are popular plays or not is not any of my concern. I am just trying to give you a good starting point and a few plays to build around for this nine-game slate.
NFL FanDuel DFS: Week 14 Recap
I am a big fan of transparency, and I will be the first to admit I do not always get them right. But I think if you appreciate the conclusions I come to by you doing further research yourself, then I know you will be back for another read. Again, I am always here to help so reach out to me on Twitter, and that sample lineup is just a SAMPLE cash lineup. Regardless, I will play it every week, and we will track it right here!
QB – Tom Brady – $7,600 – (26.62)
RB – Christian McCaffrey – $9,100 – (25.1)
RB – LeSean McCoy – $5,700 – (0.1)
WR – Michael Thomas – $8,300 – (15.3)
WR – Josh Gordon – $6,700 – (12.1)
WR – Tre’Quan Smith – $5,700 – (0)
TE – Rob Gronkowski – $6,200 – (20.7)
FLEX – Sony Michel – $6,900 – (5.7)
DEF – New Orleans Saints – $3,800 – (9)
(114.62)
Well the Brady, CMC combo was the right one, as the main sample lineup did much better than the alternate, but it was a losing week, and it’s time to start a good streak again before the end of the year. The cash line was around 123 or so for my 50/50’s, and I ended up missing cash by nine points.
McCoy going down early certainly didn’t help any, but a big fat zero from Tre’Quan Smith was the nail in the coffin. Brady ended up with 26+ FDP and he fared much better than Drew Brees, and it was also a necessity to roster McCaffrey, but the misses here including only getting 5.7 FDP from Michel clearly outweighed the good calls this week. I am going to play it a little safer this week, as I see a clear route for my cash lineup on this slate.
NFL FanDuel DFS: Week 15 Cash Plays (1PM Only)
QB – Josh Allen – Buffalo Bills – $7,600
This was shaping up to be the chalk pick of the week, but it looks as though many are jumping off the bandwagon. The Bills will take on the Detroit Lions at home, and someone pointed out that the Lions defense has kept a couple of rushing type QB’s in check over the last few weeks. I am not sure that is the type of stat to take anything anyway from what Allen has done over the last three weeks.
The rookie QB is not lighting it up in the passing game, but his ability to run the ball when nobody has been open has been incredible. The reason I think the Lions have just as hard of a time as anybody else here is that these are not designed runs. Allen is working with a mediocre at best receiving corps, and when nobody is open, he is making things happen with his legs.
Allen has rushed for over 100 yards in back-to-back games, and ran for 99 in the previous game. He has scored two rushing TD’s, and is averaging 25.79 FDP in this three game stretch. I am going to ride this out one more week, as I think this kid is out to prove something.
***Also Consider: Mitchell Trubisky $7,900 – Kirk Cousins $7,800***
NFL FanDuel DFS: Week 15 Cash Plays (1PM Only)
RB – Ezekiel Elliott – Dallas Cowboys – $8,800
With Giants rookie sensation Saquon Barkley set to battle with the might Titans defense, I think he takes a back seat in terms of fantasy production this week to Zeke. The Cowboys have a tough match-up as well in Indianapolis against the Colts, who have been tough against the run all season. Truthfully there is some vulnerability at the top this week with Elliott and Barkley, but fading both just doesn’t seem right.
Elliott is on a five game stretch that features the kind of consistency you look for when making your cash builds. His LOWEST FDP game in this span is 22.5 against the Saints two weeks ago, and he has averaged 26.76 FDP along the way. With the 1-2 punch this team has developed with Zeke and Amari Cooper, I expect this offense to continue to get better each week.
RB – Dalvin Cook – Minnesota Vikings – $6,200
If you want to go the mega chalk route, make sure you include Derrick Henry in your builds. After a 40+ FDP week you can bet I will be chasing it in the flex, but I think with the firing of offensive coordinator John DeFilippo after last weeks loss, this team goes back to what was working for them when they were winning, and this offense was firing on all cylinders.
Cook is yet to get going himself, but this is an incredible talent, and one of the fastest guys on the field at all times. He received his biggest workload since week one last week, and now that he gets a crack at a struggling defense, I like the chances of an explosion week. Vegas is all over the Vikings as well, as the spread in this game has jumped from seven to nine points, and Minnesota has a chance to right the ship here against a Miami defense they should be able to shred.
***Also Consider or FLEX: Saquon Barkley $9,400 – David Johnson $7,400 – Tarik Cohen $6,800 – Derrick Henry $6,100***
NFL FanDuel DFS: Week 15 Cash Plays (1PM Only)
WR – Adam Thielen – Minnesota Vikings – $8,200
I mentioned it briefly with Cook, but the Vikings are assumed to get back to what was working early in the season this week, as longtime positional coach Kevin Stefanski will take over this offense. Thielen has regressed a bit as expected, but tough match-up’s and more double coverage than normal has turned into an average couple of weeks.
Now the Vikings are home this week with everything on the line against the Dolphins. If this team wants to win, Thielen and Cook should both have big games here. You will see plenty of love for Diggs as well this week, but with Dolphins top cornerback Xavien Howard expected to miss this game, both are in terrific spots. I am putting my faith back in Thielen this week, and I think he will be targeted early and often in this one.
WR – Amari Cooper – Dallas Cowboys – $6,600
Welcome to the chalk of the week. Cooper is now six games into his stint with the Cowboys, and all questions about this guys effort and ability have been put to bed. For now at least. Do I think Cooper can sustain this run? Of course not, but for still less than $7K this feels like an egregious pricing error. The Colts have been surprisingly tough against the pass all season long, but the run that Cooper is on in the last three games cannot be ignored.
We all saw what he did last week against the Eagles, who he torched for 217 yards and three touchdowns. However, it was just two weeks before that he destroyed the Redskins for 180 yards and two scores. Cooper is just 78 yards short of crossing the 1000-yard mark for the season, and I think he and Zeke get fed plenty in this one.
WR – Jordy Nelson – Los Angeles Raiders – $5,000
I don’t feel too great about this pick, as Jordy Nelson is just a shell of what he used to be in Green Bay. He has made some noise the last couple weeks however, and the match-up against the Bengals is as good as it gets. The best thing about this play, is that going this low at WR with a couple of guys can help you roster Elliott and Barkley.
Nelson has been targeted 18 times in the last two games, but he lacks the ability he once had to get away from defenders. He turned those targets into 16 catches, but it was only good for 145 yards and zero touchdowns. Again you can play him with Barkley, but the Derrick Henry / Adam Thielen combo looks to be safer for cash games.
***Also Consider or FLEX: T.Y. Hilton $7,900 – Allen Robinson $6,500 – Corey Davis $5,800***
NFL FanDuel DFS: Week 15 Cash Plays (1PM Only)
TE – Eric Ebron – Indianapolis Colts – $6,500
Alright I am finally done fading this guy. To be honest, I expected his salary to be up over $7K considering the type of run he is on, and I don’t think I will be passing on him again. Ebron was a complete bust with the Lions, as he was never able to hold on to a pass. He has certainly resurrected his career with Andrew Luck as his quarterback, and now has an incredible 12 touchdowns this season. That’s a lot.
Seriously, Ebron has been lights out, and he faces a tough defense in the Cowboys, but the one position they have struggled with is tight end. In the last three weeks he has amassed 31 targets, and caught 19 passes for 191 yards and three touchdowns. That’s good for an average of 14.63 FDP per game. It’s clear the drops are a thing of the past for the most part, and at the rate he is being targeted, at this price, he is an impossible fade for me.
***Also Consider: Jared Cook $6,300 – Trey Burton $5,500***
DEF – Minnesota Vikings – $3,900
It has been a tough go for this defense with the level of competition they have faced over the last four games. It started against the Bears on the road, and then they faced another division rival in Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. Follow that with road games against Tom Brady, then back across the country in Seattle against Russell Wilson, and this team has had it pretty tough any way you break it down. Now this week they return home to US Bank Stadium, and they will host the Miami Dolphins. I am guessing it will be a pleasure to see a guy like Ryan Tannehill behind center, compared to how tough it has been. I think this will be a big week for this defense, and I am all in on this one.
***Also Consider: Chicago Bears $3,700***
NFL FanDuel DFS: Week 14 Sample Cash Lineup (1PM Only)
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.”
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QB – Josh Allen – $7,600
RB – Ezekiel Elliott – $8,800
RB – Dalvin Cook – $6,200
WR – Adam Thielen – $8,200
WR – Amari Cooper – $6,600
WR – Corey Davis – $5,800
TE – Eric Ebron – $6,500
FLEX – Derrick Henry – $6,100
DEF – Minnesota Vikings – $3,900
It’s a tough call this week to fade Saquon Barkley after what he did to the Redskins last week, but I just don’t like the idea of pivoting down to Jordy Nelson in cash, and fading Thielen either. It is a tough call, but swapping out Henry for Barkley, and Thielen for Nelson is the other option I was pondering. I personally will save the Barkley, Nelson combo for GPP, but playing Barkley despite the tough match-up in cash is understandable.
NFL DFS Game By Game Breakdown, Week 15. dark. Next
I hope you enjoyed some slate specific coverage today. 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 FREE content here from many incredibly talented writers at FantasyCPR, and new stuff to check out constantly. As we try to cover more and more angles of fantasy sports, you will see more articles focusing on the smaller slates among the different NFL DFS sites. Good luck on the early slate!