NFL FanDuel: Week 5 top plays (Early only!)
NFL FanDuel: Week 5 WR Targets – (Early Only)
Julio Jones – $8,200 – (Cash)
One thing a cheap David Johnson allows for this week is the ability to spend up a little bit on a WR in cash games for a change. For those that remember from last year, I am a #NeverJulio guy for the most part, but he is in a great spot here against a Texans defense that ranks 20th against the pass. I’ll admit I thought this guy was washed last year, but he is doing it yet again this season with just under 80 receiving yards per game and four TD’s through four games.
If the Falcons want to beat the Texans on the road, Julio is going to have to have a big game. If there is one thing this Houston defense has struggled with it is the ability to cover solid number one receivers. Michael Thomas caught 10 passes for 123 yards in week one with a then healthy Drew Brees, then in week three this defense gave up 183 yards and two TD’s on 13 catches to Keenan Allen. I think we see vintage Julio this week as the match-up is prime for it.
Adam Thielen – $6,900 – (GPP)
With all of the drama that unfolded in Minnesota over the course of the week, we have a situation here where everyone is staring at just Cook from this offense for DFS purposes. With the way Cousins has played I understand the restraint, but there is so much talent around him that we just expected better. Most of the struggles from the quarterback can be attributed to the offensive line not giving him time to throw, but Cousins has also missed some throws he should have made up to this point in the season.
My gut is telling me the Vikings are going to air it out, and not only get both Diggs and Thielen involved, but Kyle Rudolph and Irv Smith Jr. may also finally get some passes thrown their way as well. I noted the struggles the Giants have had in their secondary, and I think they will put their better corner in Jenkins on Diggs for most of the game. That should leave the rookie Baker on Thielen, and I think he catches a few balls in space with room to run on Sunday.
Diggs will likely be higher owned after his 7-108 game last week and cheaper price tag, and the fact that Thielen will likely be around 5-10% owned is what is putting me on him. It’s already do-or-die time already for Cousins and the Vikings. Another loss will send these receivers in another spiral, and at 2-3 the fire sale could begin if Diggs remains unhappy.
Golden Tate – $4,500 – (Cash)
Tate was talked about early in the week, then the talk kind of dissipated. Obviously, if you have not noticed by now, Golden Tate returns from suspension this week and is the bare minimum WR price. As the week went on and we learned that Bengals WR John Ross III landed on IR, all of a sudden the focus shifted to another Tate in Auden, who will be stepping in for Ross.
Personally, I don’t want any part of either on FanDuel this week, because I have not made a lineup where I found it necessary to go there. Tate has a tough match-up here against the Vikings, and will likely not be on a full package of plays for the Giants. However, there is a strong possibility he will still garner some ownership in cash games because of his ridiculously low salary.
Auden Tate, on the other hand, is $5,300, and there are just better options in this price range. I would rather pay $100 more for Hollywood Brown who is a legit home run threat, or $300 less for Steelers WR Diontae Johnson who found the end zone last week. The matchup between the Bengals and the Cardinals has the highest game total on the slate so points will come from somewhere. But I look to Tyler Boyd to have a big game, and our target on the next slide to be more heavily involved as well.