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FantasyDraft NFL – Picks and Pivots for Week 5

By Brian Tulloch

CHARLOTTE, NC - SEPTEMBER 08: Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey (22) celebrates a touchdown during the game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Carolina Panthers on September 08, 2019 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte,NC. (Photo by Dannie Walls/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CHARLOTTE, NC - SEPTEMBER 08: Carolina Panthers running back Christian McCaffrey (22) celebrates a touchdown during the game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Carolina Panthers on September 08, 2019 at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte,NC. (Photo by Dannie Walls/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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DENVER, CO – SEPTEMBER 29: Denver Broncos tight end Noah Fant #87 celebrates his first NFL TD with quarterback Joe Flacco #5 as the Denver Broncos take on the Jacksonville Jaguars at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on September 29, 2019. (Photo by Joe Amon/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
DENVER, CO – SEPTEMBER 29: Denver Broncos tight end Noah Fant #87 celebrates his first NFL TD with quarterback Joe Flacco #5 as the Denver Broncos take on the Jacksonville Jaguars at Empower Field at Mile High in Denver, Colorado on September 29, 2019. (Photo by Joe Amon/MediaNews Group/The Denver Post via Getty Images) /

FantasyDraft NFL – How will it translate to Week 5?

The one biggest takeaway that I have from the previous four weeks of NFL action and after reading through all the great content we have here at FanSided Fantasy – building around the players with the likely highest raw point ceilings is step number one in any roster build this week.

If you look at the 6 most expensive players in the FantasyDraft NFL player pool you are looking at RB’s like Christian McCaffery, Dalvin Cook, Alvin Kamara and Ezekiel Elliot and the top two WR’s in Julio Jones and DeAndre Hopkins.

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Starting with two and even three of these players, especially with all the value we have this week, feels like the clearest path and I am a big believer in not overthinking NFL DFS and letting the week-long drag,  allow us to tinker our way towards getting too cute.

Jones and Hopkins make for an elite pairing in what should be a highly popular Falcons/Texans game stack environment considering the 49 total is the highest of all game during the day on Sunday with only the Chiefs/Colts topping it on Sunday Night Football which is actually on the FantasyDraft Main Slate, unlike on FanDuel and DraftKings.

That last point is important and I think a key strategic point if you are playing on FantasyDraft as many times, folks will take their DraftKings build and lift and shift to FantasyDraft which in many instances leaves the Sunday Night game to go over-looked. Considering we have the Chiefs offense on Sunday Night, making room for Travis Kelce ($12.1K) may be the late-night hammer you need especially with a weak TE player pool.

The other option would be to simply load up on the high-projected running backs here and the more I play around with roster construction, the more it becomes obvious you can fit three of McCaffery, Kamara, Zeke and Cook without an issue.

As an example, go ahead and lock in the top 3 backs just based on price – and even with McCaffery, Kamara and Cook in the lineup, you will still have $8.5K per player for the last 6 spots in your build.

With a trio of stud backs locked in, the next step is going to be finding that QB-WR stack and because of the investment in these backs, it means looking for value. Looking at my man Thunder Dan’s GPP Pivots article this week he brought up the fact that Broncos WR’s Courtland Sutton and Emmanuel Sanders were 1-2 in the NFL this season in red-zone targets and going up against a Chargers team that is ranked 30th in the league in DVOA against the pass, they stand out as solid one-off WR values.

However, if we believe in the match-up and this is a game script that Vegas is showing as one the Broncos will be trailing as touchdown underdogs on the road, can we expand upon the one-off and look to a Broncos passing attack stack with Joe Flacco ($10K) alongside Sutton/Sanders who are both under $10K this week.

Look back at last week as an example of what Denver’s passing attack is capable of doing as the Broncos WR duo combined for 42.6 fantasy points while their minimum priced QB added 26 fantasy points of is own.

So what does it all mean?

If the trends hold true, you are going to need at least 2 of the top raw point plays and a correlated QB-WR/TE pass-catching stack and on FantasyDraft this week, I think there is a clear path to replicating that kind of build.

Locking in three of the stud running backs, you are hoping to nail ceiling type games from all three and get 30+ fantasy points of production from that trio and if you are able to get a similar aerial onslaught from the Broncos cheap passing stack you start to see a path towards a ceiling lineup with a FLEX, TE and DEF still yet to go.

Conversely, you can opt to mix and match two of the top RB plays with a similar cheap passing stack and you would rely less on the punt/value plays that will likely be popular across the industry this week.

Whatever you do, before you simply go clicking on the top plays of Week 5 that everyone else is telling you to play, look back at the previous weeks and see which trends have resulted in big wins and what paths this week you can use to try and replicate it.

Have some fun, take some shots and don’t worry NBA DFS will be here before you know it.

Next. NFL DFS Week 5 Game by Game Breakdown. dark

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